Philmont 1998, Crew 704-H

Newsletter #6, 5/25/98

Greetings to All! Much to talk about:

1) Air Fares Purchased - After waiting, and waiting, and waiting, I finally gave up and bought our fares to Colorado Springs for $252 Round Trip. We were beginning to get shut out of flights, so I had to buy. Even so, we have a very long layover in St. Louis on the way out; for some reason, they canceled the flight that would have left for Colorado Springs 90 minutes after our arrival (no, I have no idea why.) The price is $11 more than the cheapest that was offered this year (and $65 more than the next most expensive we've ever had to pay.) The van rental fees were also higher than past years. As a result, and as I had previously warned, I will be asking all families for an additional $100 for this year's trek, raising the total cost to $1000 Please bring a check for this amount, made out to Troop 111, to the Crew Meeting this Sunday night or the next Shakedown Hike (June 13 - 14); your choice.

I will be forwarding our tentative Trip Schedule in the next newsletter. Roughly, we're leaving BWI around 6:30am on the 1^st, and arriving in Colorado Springs around 1:30. Sorry, I left my file at work on Friday, so this is off the top of my head. Better facts and figures in the next newsletter.

2) Our original Trek 21 Modifications - will be themselves modified. Why? - well, that mid-May forest fire at Philmont did a pretty good job of burning off at least one of the camps we had planned to stay at during the first two days - and possibly both of them, I'm not sure yet. Not to worry, we'll figure out another variant. More details to follow....

3) First Shakedown a success! - Despite the dire weather forecast, we actually did very well weather-wise, and got a lot of training in versus either of the last two years. Not surprisingly, the crew is (once again) very fast, but of course we'll put that to a much sterner test during the Robertson's Mountain hike.

The only disappointment was in the equipment shakedown aspect of the event - many Scouts did not bring their whole kit (as requested), and also made only a perfunctory effort to substitute lighter weight items for those items which were identified as unacceptable at the last meeting. This is going to have to change, folks, and this week! Unrealistic training here equals unexpected pain there, and 35 pound packs don't happen Aby accident.

4) Our third crew meeting is this coming Sunday night, 7 - 9pm, at St. Agnes. No uniforms, and Parents optional. We will be handling some additional training, and doing one last hard-core equipment shakedown - again item by item. All participants should bring the weight lists from the last meeting for comparison of new versus original items. And this time, PLEASE BRING EVERYTHING!!! You have 6 full days to get your kit together - don't be throwing things into your pack 6:30 this Sunday afternoon!

I will need your signed permission slips for the upcoming shakedown, plus the $15 payment for same. I will also accept the final checks (i.e., the extra $100. payments detailed in Section 1 above) for anyone willing to part with their cash a little earlier than originally requested. If you are still missing forms (as detailed below), or if you've completed your Philmont Medical, I would like those as well (make sure you have ALL signatures on the Medical!)

Finally, I will be soliciting for parent drivers to bring us to and from BWI Airport on the 1^st and 16^th. We need at least three large vans, and four would be more prudent. Volunteers can drive my two vans, so that just leaves us two short. If you can help, LET ME KNOW AT THE MEETING (or email me to that effect.)

5) Other paperwork needed: To date, only the Chris and Rick W. have turned in their Philmont Medical Forms. I hope this isn't a harbinger of headaches to come. Other missing paperwork:

J.T. B. - U.S. Air Force Academy Covenant Not To Sue; Photocopy of the BACK of the Health Plan Membership Card

Chris B. - Troop 111 Medical Form; Photocopy of the BACK of the Health Plan Membership Card

Dan Hu.- Photocopy of the front and back of the Health Plan Membership Card

Mike S. - Photocopy of the front and back of the Health Plan Membership Card

6) The Robertson's Mountain Hike - The permission slip for this event was forwarded to all families by email or regular mail earlier today. As always, this event is mandatory - however, it being the last week of school, and following virtually all sporting activities, this shouldn't represent a crushing burden for anyone. John A. and Mike S. are using this event to complete their Life Practical Exams; please call them if you have questions on the weekend.

As noted above, this is a much more brutal affair than the first shakedown. Robertson's Mountain is one of the least climbed mountains in the entire Shenandoah Range, and virtually no-one goes up the face. You may rest assured, there's a reason for that, and we will be thoroughly testing the old Marine Corps adage that you can't drown in your own sweat. However, if we can handle this, we can handle the worst of what Philmont will throw at us (which is, after all, the entire point of the exercise in the first place.)

7) Some final comments on physical conditioning. Other than the Wolff's and myself, I have neither seen or heard of anyone else doing ANYTHING in the way of Around the neighborhood backpacking practice. This means that the Robertson's Mountain Hike will be a real wakeup call for several crew members who have (thus far) done nothing, and who will then be forced to kill themselves over the last two weeks in June to try and compensate for their current complacency. Or of course, get dropped off the crew for physical deficiency or injury - which I WILL DO IF NECESSARY.

This is completely unnecessary. Everyone has been repeatedly warned as to the rigors of the trek we selected, and repeatedly counseled as to the physical practice needed to handle same. There is only ONE WAY to get ready for a Super-Strenuous trek at Philmont - and that is backpack, every day, with steadily increasing weight, for steadily increasing distances, no matter how hot or how wet it is, or how busy or how tired you are. The sooner you start, the easier it will be.

Parents, please share and discuss this newsletter with your Scout(s); Scouts, please share and discuss this newsletter with your Parents. (Only) Five weeks to go!

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23 June 1998