Being back under the influences of society, routine, and schoolwork has made me grow far too lackluster in some of the values that became most important to me over the summer. I suppose I'll reconnect this summer when I'm back on the trail.
"It is only in adventure that some people succeed in knowing themselves - In finding themselves"
-Andre Gide
Wednesday, February 26, 2014
Monday, July 15, 2013
Week 7
I've been here for over seven weeks now. I'd say I'm fully used to living the camp staff life by now. Shoes in the shower, questionable food, and always being tired are a few ways to describe it.
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I did a three day, two night backpacking trip with my troop. They sent a crew of 11 over for a trek.
The first day I went from Cito Turnaround to Cimarroncito camp, which is about a four mile hike. I managed to catch a bus leaving HQ at 9:30 am. Hiking alone was quite strange... four miles is the most I've hiked alone. There were typical weather conditions (hot and dry) and I sucked through two liters of water in an hour and a half. Once I got there, I sat under a tree with a hat over my face and started dozing off while waiting for my troop to roll in. I kept hoping I timed it right, and they were actually on the schedule I thought they were. While dozing, I heard a convoy of Suburbans roll in. I knew it was abnormal for 3-4 vehicles to approach a backcountry camp at once, so I went a little bit closer to check out the scene. Over a dozen Saudi Arabian scouters got out of the SUVs. National Inspection week. I guess Philmont figured it would be a good time to invite international scouters while everything was running flawless for inspection week. I happened to be in the right place at the right time, because a group of them came up to me and said "hi" or "hello" (english 101) and one of them gave me a Saudi Arabia Boy Scout patch. Patches may not mean much to average folk, but many scouts go crazy over them. I wouldn't consider myself a patch enthusiast, collector, or trader, but having an international patch is still kind of cool.
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Yesterday I just got back from a four day, three night backpacking trip with Venture Crew 919. I knew two of the advisors, and one of the youth. Meeting new people from my area that are all about high adventure was fun. They weren't as well rehearsed or physically fit as the troop, but they got along better, which I appreciate more. They felt more like a family.
I think I have terrible long term memory. People that have been on Philmont treks with me before always describe things that we did, and I just don't remember. At least, until I get there. I passed a trail intersection that I haven't seen since 2007, and dozens of memories came flowing back.
I had to bend a few rules to get out to see the Venture Crew. Hiking alone from Maxwell turnaround up to Baldy Town camp was kind of sketchy. I ran into three huge ass bucks who didn't seem welcoming. I made it in 1 hour and 45 minutes though. The next day the VC did an equal amount of distance (but downhill) and it probably took 4 hours. Living at 6700ft has it's advantages.
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Being on Philmont staff is such a unique experience. I can't imagine many other places in the world where you can trust anyone with the same shirt as you to give you a ride. Just the other day I was sitting at a backcountry turnaround (parking/drop off area) waiting for some staffer with a car to find me. Sure enough, the first person headed back to HQ gave me a ride.
There's something special about getting in a car with people from all over the US that barely know each other and racing 45 minutes across the desert to get some McDonalds while blasting blue grass music along the way. In a way, you all sort of know each other. You've all been on a similar life changing experience by completing a trek. You may not even know their name without looking at their tag. But you're all there. And you're not all that different.
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I only have a month and three days left. Time flies. I'll miss the ranch, but at this point, I'm looking forward to going home. I miss infrastructure. I miss drumming. I miss friends. Going from New Mexico to fall semester in 2 days is probably going to suck, but I have a feeling it'll be easier mentally because I'll be waking up much later than I do here (usually 5:45-6am).
I'm thinking about jogging more here and entering a 5k in Boone. I would destroy some people... training at over double the elevation, and having my mountain goat legs back. Hmmm.
Anyways, I'll be back on the east coast in about a month. Look forward to hearing from everyone.
--------------------------------------------
I did a three day, two night backpacking trip with my troop. They sent a crew of 11 over for a trek.
The first day I went from Cito Turnaround to Cimarroncito camp, which is about a four mile hike. I managed to catch a bus leaving HQ at 9:30 am. Hiking alone was quite strange... four miles is the most I've hiked alone. There were typical weather conditions (hot and dry) and I sucked through two liters of water in an hour and a half. Once I got there, I sat under a tree with a hat over my face and started dozing off while waiting for my troop to roll in. I kept hoping I timed it right, and they were actually on the schedule I thought they were. While dozing, I heard a convoy of Suburbans roll in. I knew it was abnormal for 3-4 vehicles to approach a backcountry camp at once, so I went a little bit closer to check out the scene. Over a dozen Saudi Arabian scouters got out of the SUVs. National Inspection week. I guess Philmont figured it would be a good time to invite international scouters while everything was running flawless for inspection week. I happened to be in the right place at the right time, because a group of them came up to me and said "hi" or "hello" (english 101) and one of them gave me a Saudi Arabia Boy Scout patch. Patches may not mean much to average folk, but many scouts go crazy over them. I wouldn't consider myself a patch enthusiast, collector, or trader, but having an international patch is still kind of cool.
-------------------------------------------
Yesterday I just got back from a four day, three night backpacking trip with Venture Crew 919. I knew two of the advisors, and one of the youth. Meeting new people from my area that are all about high adventure was fun. They weren't as well rehearsed or physically fit as the troop, but they got along better, which I appreciate more. They felt more like a family.
I think I have terrible long term memory. People that have been on Philmont treks with me before always describe things that we did, and I just don't remember. At least, until I get there. I passed a trail intersection that I haven't seen since 2007, and dozens of memories came flowing back.
I had to bend a few rules to get out to see the Venture Crew. Hiking alone from Maxwell turnaround up to Baldy Town camp was kind of sketchy. I ran into three huge ass bucks who didn't seem welcoming. I made it in 1 hour and 45 minutes though. The next day the VC did an equal amount of distance (but downhill) and it probably took 4 hours. Living at 6700ft has it's advantages.
-------------------------------------------
Being on Philmont staff is such a unique experience. I can't imagine many other places in the world where you can trust anyone with the same shirt as you to give you a ride. Just the other day I was sitting at a backcountry turnaround (parking/drop off area) waiting for some staffer with a car to find me. Sure enough, the first person headed back to HQ gave me a ride.
There's something special about getting in a car with people from all over the US that barely know each other and racing 45 minutes across the desert to get some McDonalds while blasting blue grass music along the way. In a way, you all sort of know each other. You've all been on a similar life changing experience by completing a trek. You may not even know their name without looking at their tag. But you're all there. And you're not all that different.
-------------------------------------------
I only have a month and three days left. Time flies. I'll miss the ranch, but at this point, I'm looking forward to going home. I miss infrastructure. I miss drumming. I miss friends. Going from New Mexico to fall semester in 2 days is probably going to suck, but I have a feeling it'll be easier mentally because I'll be waking up much later than I do here (usually 5:45-6am).
I'm thinking about jogging more here and entering a 5k in Boone. I would destroy some people... training at over double the elevation, and having my mountain goat legs back. Hmmm.
Anyways, I'll be back on the east coast in about a month. Look forward to hearing from everyone.
Tuesday, June 11, 2013
Week 2 is complete.
I arrived in Denver at about 9:30 AM on the 26th of May. I scoped out the airport for other Philmont Staff that were arriving. I met up with two guys headed to the ranch: Chris from Georgia (a chaco wearing, mandolin toting ranger) and Steven from Nebraska. Chris quickly found the nearest bar while Steven and I traded backpacking stories at a cafe since we are both only 20.
Once we found our shuttle pickup site, we waited and chatted for about two hours before the van arrived. The van ride was terrible. Roughly five hours with cramped leg space. The funny thing is, those of us that are more serious about backpacking are generally taller. The same goes for drumline in my opinion. Most of the DCI guys are over 5'10". Our van driver (who barely spoke any English) let us stop twice during the journey to restock on junk food and over-sized drinks. We also picked up a few more riders in Colorado Springs.
Once I got to the ranch, I went to registration to hand in my paperwork and get my tent assignment. My tent mate is Matt from the Chicago area. He joined our shuttle in Colorado Springs, so I was happy that we'd at least talked before moving our stuff in together.
The tents aren't too bad. Much larger than CRK tents, and include cots and lockers. I lock most of my important stuff in my footlocker that I shipped here. The nights range from comfortable to chilly, and daytime ranges from hot to REAL HOT. The first few days were extremely windy and dry. If there's one thing I've learned from living in the desert, it's that ain't nobody got time for contacts. Those shits are sand magnets.
Trading Post training was fun. We had a ton of clinics from major outdoor brands. Representatives from MSR, Kelty, Jansport, Jetboil, Outdoor Research, Point 6 Socks, Osprey, Exofficio, Big Agnes, Patagonia, and many more all came with presentations about their products that we sell. This also came with a hearty helping of free shit. I managed to snag the following for free:
I arrived in Denver at about 9:30 AM on the 26th of May. I scoped out the airport for other Philmont Staff that were arriving. I met up with two guys headed to the ranch: Chris from Georgia (a chaco wearing, mandolin toting ranger) and Steven from Nebraska. Chris quickly found the nearest bar while Steven and I traded backpacking stories at a cafe since we are both only 20.
Once we found our shuttle pickup site, we waited and chatted for about two hours before the van arrived. The van ride was terrible. Roughly five hours with cramped leg space. The funny thing is, those of us that are more serious about backpacking are generally taller. The same goes for drumline in my opinion. Most of the DCI guys are over 5'10". Our van driver (who barely spoke any English) let us stop twice during the journey to restock on junk food and over-sized drinks. We also picked up a few more riders in Colorado Springs.
Once I got to the ranch, I went to registration to hand in my paperwork and get my tent assignment. My tent mate is Matt from the Chicago area. He joined our shuttle in Colorado Springs, so I was happy that we'd at least talked before moving our stuff in together.
The tents aren't too bad. Much larger than CRK tents, and include cots and lockers. I lock most of my important stuff in my footlocker that I shipped here. The nights range from comfortable to chilly, and daytime ranges from hot to REAL HOT. The first few days were extremely windy and dry. If there's one thing I've learned from living in the desert, it's that ain't nobody got time for contacts. Those shits are sand magnets.
Trading Post training was fun. We had a ton of clinics from major outdoor brands. Representatives from MSR, Kelty, Jansport, Jetboil, Outdoor Research, Point 6 Socks, Osprey, Exofficio, Big Agnes, Patagonia, and many more all came with presentations about their products that we sell. This also came with a hearty helping of free shit. I managed to snag the following for free:
- $18.99 pair of socks from Point 6
- $24.99 pair of underwear from Exofficio
- ~$15 t shirt from Outdoor Research
- Another awesome backpacking utensil that includes a fork, knife, and spoon in one package (MSRP $3)
- "Coozie" designed to fit freeze dried food pouches to keep your food hot longer
- A $120 Jetboil Cooksystem for $40
Not to mention all the outrageous discounts I get from all those brands (ranging from 40-70% off retail).
The only downside to getting all these crazy discounts is that I don't really need anything. I'm basically set on gear. The only thing I needed was a new stove with I got from Jetboil for 66% off.
The scenery here is pretty neat. Every sunset is photo-esque and the mountains here are just as big as I remember.
A typical sunset
View from the bottom of the Tooth of Time
View from the top (9,003 ft)
Sunday, March 17, 2013
Phase One: Complete
I have been offered a spot to work at Philmont Scout Ranch for summer of 2013. I'll be working in the trading post providing gear and food to campers before and after they go on their treks.
This Friday I received my staff packet which includes my staff contract, tax forms, travel information, and handbook.
I have my flight booked for the day before I start work.
Now I'm just waiting for summer to start.
This Friday I received my staff packet which includes my staff contract, tax forms, travel information, and handbook.
I have my flight booked for the day before I start work.
Now I'm just waiting for summer to start.
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