Dr. Bob Klein, SM-111, Arlington, VA, always keeps a detailed diary during
his Philmont treks. The diary's intended audience are the Scouts and
Advisors in his Crew(s), as a permanent record of the events of the
trip.
Recently, his diaries have been published on the web in an effort to help
others understand what a trek at Philmont really entails. Many
readers
consider Dr. Bob's diaries the best training they received prior to their
own treks.
This year, we took three Crews to the Ranch (629-B-1, B-2, and B-3).
Dr. Bob's (and my) Crew (B-3) undertook New Trek Number 30 (old Trek 26),
which many Philmont afficionados consider to be the toughest but also the
best of Philmont's many outstanding itineraries, because it includes
Baldy,
Mt. Phillips, Black Mountain, and the Tooth of Time. However,
because
we ran into the Mt. Phillips Bear Attack AND the Tooth of Time Ridge
Forest
Fire, we ended up creating a unique trek of our own. This year's
diary
is also unusual because I have scattered hyperlinks to nearly 200 photos
of the trek throughout the text. Each of these photos pop up in a
separate
window, so they can be viewed without losing one's place in the
text.
I hope you enjoy the final product, and that your own trips to the Ranch
will be as great as ours were.
Yours in Scouting, Brad Jones
As you were all aware, I kept a personal diary of our trek - something to help keep our shared experiences alive in your minds down the years, along with the photos, patches and other memorabilia that you received. I hope you'll enjoy it just as I've written it. However, please keep in mind that it was written from my perspective, and therefore includes various rantings and ravings, self-criticisms, comparisons with prior trips, and suggestions or reminders for future treks. In addition, it is also missing descriptions of certain activities where I didn't participate (e.g., climbing the mesa above Sioux, the Spar-Pole Climbing and Continental Tie and Lumber Company at Pueblano, or the Gold-Panning sessions at both French Henry and Cyphers Mines.) There are certainly other things I missed - but that you participated in. I therefore strongly recommend that you each "annotate" my writeup with your own observations and experiences - in this way, your copy will become more personal. The Diary was intentionally copied one sided so that you could add recollections to the opposite back pages. Don't wait too long to do your additions - recollections rarely improve with the passage of time, and it's already been more than a month since we returned. I hope you enjoy our diary, now and down the decades. I also hope you all return to Philmont someday, as I have - now 9 times. Finally, do not forget the "Bob-Challenge" I gave to you upon our return to National Airport - Pass your unique knowledge and skills to your fellow Scouts, and to future Scout generations. It is all the Thanks I ask; if each of you does his fair share, I will consider myself well paid. Gentlemen, as always, it was a privilege.
Over the past 3 years, I have received over 2 dozen critical emails from
Scouters who complained that my diaries paint an unrealistic picture of
the difficulties of the superstrenuous treks my Crews undertake (that
is, I make them sound too easy.) In about half of these emails, I
was
essentially blamed for these Scouters' poor Philmont experiences.
Unbelievable but true. So here is fair warning: Not only are
the treks
we choose already quite challenging, we also add significant amounts of
extra mileage and occasionally select more arduous trails to further
enrich our experiences. We have great treks regardless because we
carry
relatively lightweight packs (20 pounds per man less than the average
Crew), are well versed in the use of our equipment, spend months in
physical training (especially our Advisors), do realistic shakedown
events, and follow a dawn-to-dusk schedule on the Ranch. If you want
an
experience which is similar or better to that portrayed in this diary,
you will have to work very hard for it. Frankly, if you're not
willing
to do so, you have no business going in the first place. In the
latter
case, do everyone (including yourself) a favor: Stay home - and
leave
Scouting's Paradise to those who understand that the value of what you
get out of Philmont, is directly dependent on the value of what you put
in.
- Dr. Bob Klein, SM-111, Arlington, VA
Content Copyright 2000-2001 Dr. R. F.X. Klein