Boy Scouts headed to Philmont Scout Ranch
By SARA HILL
Staff writer
The dream of going to Philmont Scout Ranch started three years ago for Hillsboro Boy Scout Troop 129. That dream led to selling Krispy Kremes donuts, fireworks, and popcorn, and having car washes and other fund-raisers.
Even though it has been 20 years since a Hillsboro troop went to Philmont, the Scouts hoped to earn the more than $500 per person it takes to attend Philmont and an additional $100 each for transportation.
Part of the Boy Scouts of America oath is "
Getting to the camp takes luck because selection is a phone-in process. On a designated day, members of each troop throughout the U.S. can call the phone number and request an expedition. Tens of thousands of calls are made for several 100 places. The phone-in process was changed to an Internet lottery this year.
"We got through in about 2 and one-half hours," said Scoutmaster Todd Jost, "We had lots of people calling, and I happened to be the one who got through. Our troop was added to the list."
Being added to the list was not good enough for Troop 129. Assistant Scoutmaster Lee Clark attended a Quivira Council meeting in Wichita to plead 129's case. Each council is given a certain number of contingency expeditions and the Hillsboro Troop wanted one — and they got it.
"The council was impressed with the amount of money we had already raised," Jost said.
The Hillsboro troop was 160th on the list with a slim chance of being chosen to go.
"We deserved to go," said Clark. "We had one-third of the money and the boys had worked hard."
Clark talked to leaders of the Quivira Council, which had three crews (positions) to give away. One was given to Troop 129.
That was two years ago. Now, the local troop has raised more than $5,000 through fund-raising and donations from Lions Club and the American Legion.
"We taxed a lot of people in Hillsboro and we've had a lot of support," Clark said. "We appreciate the support of the community. We couldn't have done this without community support."
Seven members of Boy Scout Troop 129, Scoutmaster Jost and assistant Scoutmaster Clark leave at 3 a.m. July 20 by Amtrak from Newton for the journey to Philmont Boy Scout Camp in northern New Mexico. Scouts attending the camp include Jimmy Clark, Jon Crouse, Zach Luthi, Frankie Martin, Travis Riesen, Daniel Schmidt, and crew chief Ryan Janzen. They will be back in Kansas at 3 a.m. Aug. 2.
The camp, north of Cimarron N.M., has 215 square miles (137,000 acres) in the Sangre de Cristo Mountains of the Rockies.
Owned and operated by BSA, Philmont has 32 staffed camps and 50 unstaffed. Hillsboro Troop 129 will take a 12-day backpacking expedition. The camp offers regular expeditions and special programs and serves as the National Volunteer Training Center for BSA.
The camp was a gift from Waite Phillips, an Oklahoma oilman, in 1938. The first camping season was in 1939 and since then, 700,000 Scouts have participated in the backpacking program.
The camping season is from mid-June to late August and campers must be at least 14 by Jan. 1 of the year they attend or have completed eighth grade. They also must be registered members of Boy Scouts of America.
The mission of Philmont Scout Ranch is "to achieve the purpose of the Boy Scouts and to serve local councils by providing an outstanding high adventure, training, or family program experience to older Scouts and family members."
Participants at the camp will be in crews of seven to 12 with at least two adult leaders. They will hike Philmont's mountains for 10 full days, spending nights at backcountry camps.
"We'll be on a 12-day backpacking trip with only two days not walking," said Jost. "We'll have layovers at staffed camps where we can pick up provisions. The staffed camps also will provide learning experiences for the Scouts."
Jost became an Eagle Scout and attended Philmont 25 years ago this summer.
"Attending Philmont is often considered a high point of a Scouting career," he said. "Philmont is the largest Scout camp. It is considered the best and the experience there is difficult to describe."
Philmont Scout Ranch is an active ranch. It has different kinds of camps including logging camps, cattle camps, paleontology camp, and mining camps.
Backpacking at Philmont tests Scouts physically with rigorous physical activity and socially/emotionally with being away from home and learning to work in a group.
"The major influence going to Philmont had on my life was by contributing to my lifelong desire to camp and be outdoors," Jost said. "I came away from there with a greater respect for the outdoors and a love for how to camp."
According to Jost, the expedition will be physically challenging, demanding, and unpredictable.
"I hope the Scouts who are going this time develop a competence in and a reverence for the outdoors," he said. "They will be forced to work together and to interact with nature with no distractions."
The Scouts will have 12 days without exposure to the modern world — no TV, newspapers, computers, phones, etc.
"There may be more than 1,000 Scouts on the trail and we won't see them," said Jost. "Other people will be around but as long as we don't need help, we won't see them."
Eagle Scout Janzen will be the crew chief and the Scouts will look to him for leadership. The adults will act as advisers forcing the Scouts to form a cohesive unit. For the first third of the trip, a ranger will travel with the group. After that, a ranger will check on the troop each night.
BSA has two other national high-adventure areas: the Northern Tier National High Adventure Program for cold-weather camping and canoe expeditions and the Florida National High adventure Sea Base aquatic program.
The mission of BSA is "to prepare young people to make ethical and moral choices over their lifetimes by instilling in them the values of the Scout oath and law."
Scouting for Boys began in England by Robert Baden-Powell with the help of Ernest Thompson Seton and others. Dr. James E. West was named the first Chief Scout Executive of the Boy Scouts in America in 1911 and is recognized as the true architect of the BSA.
Boys may become Scouts if they are 11-17 years of age or if they have earned the Arrow of Light and or have completed fifth grade. National membership in the Boy Scouts is more than 930,000 with more than 44,000 troops; local membership is 14 boys with Jost, Clark, and Richard Riemer as Scout leaders.
"We've been hiking and practicing for Philmont," said Clark. "The Scouts' hard work has paid off and after all the fund-raising activities, now we can get back to learning and having fun"
Four of the Boy Scouts in Troop 129 are working on Eagle Scout requirements. The Scouts hope their past and future fund-raising events will help them fund a major event every three or four years.
"There's such a long waiting list to go to Philmont," said Scout Luthi, "so it's really hard to get in. It should be fun."
"It's just an accomplishment to get to go to Philmont," added Scout Riesen.
The Boy Scouts motto is "Be prepared." Troop 129 is prepared — with hard work, some luck, and backpacks packed, they are on their way to a high adventure that may be the pinnacle of their Scouting careers.
