A common question asked by both Scouts and parents involves memorabilia; i.e., what you'd like to buy in the way of T-Shirts, photos, post-cards, and other trinkets. This can vary from "nothing at all" all the way up to "hundreds of dollars worth." I've seen both. OK, this is what the Crew provides as part of the expedition:

(1) Philmont Arrowhead Patch
(2) Protective Sleeve for the Arrowhead Patch (for those who don't already have one from a previous trek)
(3) The current map of Philmont (ditto)
(4) A Philmont Bolo Tie (colors selected by the individual Scouts) (ditto)
(5) 50-Miler Awards (for those who earned them)
(6) 50-Miler Patches (for those who earned them)
(7) The 8 x 10 Official Crew Photo (if it's not a dog; if so, we'll use one of our own)
(8) Between 250 and 350 personal photos of the trek, including several 8 x 10's
(9) A diary of the trip prepared by myself
(10) A Crew T-Shirt (from the Council)
(11) A Council Expedition Patch
(12) The 2002 Philmont Adventure Patch

Again, all the above items are included in the price of the trip - you've already paid for them. The only other items that are provided by the crew for additional selective purchase will be about 300 crew photos - these will be laid out at a "photo-reunion session" about six weeks after we return. Unlike the above listed "personal" photos, these are group photos; i.e., photos of general interest which many Scouts may wish to purchase. Many are "scenery" shots, while others feature multiple Scouts. Generally, these reprints go for about 40 cents each. In the past, Scouts have selected from 10 to 150 extra photos; these take about 4 more weeks to deliver to all Scouts. Leftovers (photos no-one selected) are then also divvied up among all Scouts as additional "freebies"; this gets everyone another 15 - 25 photos at no additional cost. Note that we provide 4 x 6 photos.

Beyond photos, however, there are ample opportunities to spend additional money for memorabilia. We will be stopping at 3 different airports, plus Pike's Peak, Garden of the Gods, a Whitewater Rafting Outfitter, a Mountain Biking Outfitter, a stable, a bunch of restaurants, and Philmont itself. Most of these offer a large variety of memorabilia for purchase. T-Shirts are probably the most popular items (and there's some great - and extremely expensive - stuff out there), followed by postcards (everywhere), followed by additional Philmont stuff (patches, mugs, plaques, etc.) By far, the most popular additional item to purchase is a Philmont belt and belt-buckle. We do not purchase these because there is too much variety in what is available, and also not everyone wants them anyway.

It is up to each family to decide what is reasonable in the way of additional expense for memorabilia. Note that - although we will provide a banker for holding money secure for all Scouts during the trek - we do NOT hold little Freddy's hand with respect to how he spends his money. This is not summer camp anymore, and these Scouts are not 10 or 11 years old anymore, either. If he wants to spend $200 on a neat cowboy hat, or $35 each for half a dozen "really cool" T-Shirts, and he has the bucks to do so, that's his business. We may counsel in the event of truly eye-opening excess, but that's it.

As noted above, I've seen Scouts spend from next to nothing to upwards of $500 on a Philmont trek. I personally recommend about $75 cash in order to buy a few select items, plus have adequate "mad-munchies" money for junk food during the trip (and also on the Ranch itself, at the various trading posts.) You may provide more, or less, as you wish. We will have a designated Adult (Hugh) to hold all cash secure; however, this is optional; if you prefer, your son can retain all of his own money. Of course, he is then fully responsible for its security, and - fair warning - I will not waste one second of my time hopelessly attempting to track down "lost" or "stolen" personal funds. For the record, I have not had any such problems on any of my treks, but "war stories" abound on this topic. Basecamp in particular is a very bad place to leave valuables - there is a small cadre of Scouts (one hesitates to use the term in this context) who "failed out" on the trail and are sitting around the snack bar for days awaiting the return of their crews. For obvious reasons, I refer to this group as "F-Troop." They're bored, broke, and nothing but a pack of trouble for all the incoming and outgoing crews - most of whom are distracted and going half nuts with everything that needs to get done, and are therefore easy marks. We're pretty meticulous in watching and securing our stuff - but others are less cautious, and they sometimes pay the price for their lack of vigilance. Anyway, fair warning.

The crew banker will be collecting funds on Friday, July 12th, at the crew packing session. I again emphasize - CASH - no checks; we'll have no place to cash checks out in Colorado or New Mexico. Scouts using the banker will have a standard sign-out ledger system for keeping track of their funds. Note that any "banker" funds left over after the trip will be rolled into the final accounts, and (if a surplus exists) returned to the parents as a refund - not given to the Scouts as farewell mad-money.

Questions, please call me.

- Dr. Bob

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5 July 2002