Another step closer to Philmont

Just a little less than week before the first of our two crews leave for Philmont. Our crew was still in need of some conservation hours so we made our way over to the John Nichols Scout Ranch for a morning of hardy work. There is just something about the sound of a chainsaw, the feel dirt on your face and sweat to make you feel a sense of accomplishment.

The guys in our crew have been Scout together for many years and fortunately have been getting along very well during this year of preparation. I do not believe there have been any personality conflicts and they are work hard when needed and always find a way to find fun in what they do.

As an added bonus for me personally, the site for are little project was also the site of our very first Cub Scout campout five year ago when we had just recently joined Scouting. It is incredible to have gone from those days to these in just a short time.

We have one more meeting as a crew before we leave for a final gear shakedown.

Philmont Shakedown hike #1

This weekend was our first outing in preparation for our July Philmont trek. The weekend consisted of hiking the trails at the Wichita Wildlife refuge near Lawton OK. It was a bit of a backpacking “light” experience since we started from a campsite and returned to the location. This was a good option for a first shakedown since we had the home site in case there were any unforeseen issues or problems.


Friday night the two crews set up separate camps and the guys got to practice with their tents. The next morning was a 0600 wake up with a goal to be fully packed and ready to go in 30 minutes or less. Most did not meet the 30 minute objective this first time but hey that I why we practice right?

The hike was 10 miles on a loop through the refuge. I am huge fan of this area and the amazingly diverse topography. Basically it has everything. Hills, rocks, lakes, canyons, plains, trees and of course there is the wildlife. The Scouts in our group did great with the hike and I was impressed with their pace and positive interaction along the way. We did have one little scare when one of the guys tripped while walking down a rocky path and cut his forehead on a rock. Luckily it was just a scratch and he was fine. This worked out to be a good training on first aid since we had to break out the kit for him.



The guys were pretty exhausted by the end of the day and spent much of the afternoon around the camp hanging out under the dining fly and chatting. My time was spent thinking how much I am going to miss a place to sit. This has me seriously thinking about added a lightweight chair to my gear.

Sunday was a 0530 wake up so we could get an early start on the 1,000 foot 2.5 mile hike up Mt. Scott. We wanted to see the sunrise along the way and get done for an early return home. It was beautiful to see the sun reflecting off the granite one side and the morning clouds floating peacefully on the other.


A couple of our guys struggled quite a bit this second day physically. Part of the purpose of this short all uphill hike was as a fitness gut check. The hike was up a closed road, short and close to our cars if there were to be a problem. The Scoutmaster had told me in advance that this was purposeful so that the guys could get a good fitness measurement with time to get on the ball before we leave in July. The struggle guys made it to the top and hopefully will use the pain they felt as motivation to really jump on the need for additional fitness and weight loss before our Trek. We talked to them about working to thrive through the Philmont experience and not just survive. We train so extensive so that most issues can be worked out before going and when there have even more fun.

Overall it was a great weekend and I am now looking forward to our next shakedown adventure to Arkansas.

They did it!

Wow they did it! Our Scouts participating in the hiking merit badge hiked 20 miles last week. This was their final hiking requirement for the merit badge and last Philmont urban training hike before moving on to winter stair climbing.

As we walked I thought back to the first 5 mile hike we did way back in summer. I know at that time the thought of going a full 20 in a single day seemed a little far-fetched. Heck I have run several marathons but the idea of walking that far seemed crazy and painful in my mind. There is power in youthful exuberance and the guys had so much fun on all the hikes that the time seemed to fly by. I especially enjoyed the variety of locations around OKC and Edmond they chose for us to walk. It was not very many years ago that walking these trails would have been impossible since they did not even exist.

I was shocked really to read in a Philmont Advisor guide “Rangers that we talked to say that, based on their experience, 80% of the adult advisors coming to Philmont are not adequately prepared for the physical demands of the backcountry and that 50% of the adult advisors had not exercised at all prior to their arrival at Philmont.” Ouch!

I know from my own miserable experience as a youth at Philmont that being physically prepared is a key to actually having fun. I was not in the right shape as a kid at Philmont and my memories now are mostly of blisters and pain on the trail. Our Scouts and adults will be ready.

Perhaps my favorite part of the hike was the look on the faces of folks we passed by as they stared at this group of 14 crazy folks walking with packs on through OKC. I guess it is pretty unusual to see youth hiking 10 -20 miles starting at 6AM. There were also the whoo hoos! from people that would yell “go Scouts!” or people that would say, “You guys must be Scouts!”. Kind of good to know that even out of uniform they can be recognizable by the community is such a positive way.

Now it is time to move on to stage two of the fitness training plan. Hiking stairs at a downtown high rise building. Now that is going to be hard. (well and a lot of fun I am sure)

Final Philmont 10 mile training hike...

Yesterday was our final 10 mile hike and next up is the super challenge of a 20 miler on Sunday. The hike this week around was a little more scenic thanks to some time on a short trail through a local wildlife refuge. All of our hikes have been urban walks on paved paths prior to this and it was kind of nice to get some dirt on our boots for a change. Trails for these hikes would be ideal of course but her in our part of the state we would be looking at a long drive to find such a thing. We are fortunate at least to have a wide variety of walking trails available.


Overall this 10 mile hike experience has been a good one. The boys have taken the lead on each of them with the adults hanging a few steps back. Next week is going to be a big challenge with a 20 miler. I have run marathons and done other distance events but walking 20 miles is something new and finishing this is going to be an accomplishment for everyone.

After we complete the hike, the boys will move on to winter training which will be walking up and down stairs at a building downtown. Whew that is going to fun too! We have backpacking campout weekends set for the spring in various location and there is no doubt that these guys will be as prepared as possible for a great experience when they take that first step on the trail at Philmont in July 2012.

Training for Philmont #2

This morning was our second training hike for Philmont 2012 and the first of a series of 10 mile hikes as the Scout start work on the hiking merit badge. We got an early start by meeting at 530 the beat the terrible heat we are having in OKC. The planning Scout chose a nice route around one of my favorite local lakes.
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Overall it was a great hike today with our group finishing much faster than we had anticipated. It looks like we have a pretty fit group of guys with good attitudes. Never did I hear any complaining along the way. Our Scoutmaster is a veteran of many Philmont trips and uses his teaching skills by having Scouts take turns in the lead and by having several carry a compass along the way. It was often that he would ask one of them to give a barring to an object.
By the time we reached the parking lot I was still feeling strong but indeed was ready for the a/c of the car. My main need for training is work on my core to strengthen my back. So far I am doing well with this and it seemed to make a positive difference this morning.

Being our first 10 miler, I am incredibly proud of the Scouts and adults for the great effort today. More to come.....