2013 Jamboree Troop A318

Crew 713-106 Members and Parents of Crew Members,

Please take a minute and look over the contents of this envelope related to your 2012 Philmont trek. Please fill out the postcard and return it to me. Keep this information in a place you can find and use the included envelopes to make the payments.

The dates for our trip will be from July 12, 2012 to July 26, 2010. Next, I anticipate our trip to cost about $1150. The fee that Philmont is charging is $740. The rest of the money will cover transportation, meals on the road, hotels on the road, TWO REQUIRED shakedowns and required CREW gear, including crew photo and t-shirt. This fee does not include personal gear (boots, sleeping bag, pad, backpack) or spending money. I will update the cost by our first shakedown, but it is pretty close.

Money and Deadlines

Please pay attention to event dates and payment or information deadlines. All deadlines are established so we can make our payments. Your deposit should be made by now. The first $400 payment is due September 10, 2011. The second payment of $400 is due January 31, 2012. You balance ($250) is due by 4/1/2012. PLEASE MAKE CHECKS PAYABLE TO TROOP 518. If you want to pay with one check, that is fine.

The Shakedown dates are look at the shakedown dates are the last weekend in February 2012 (6 PM 2/24/2012 to 2 PM 2/26/2012) and Memorial Day ( 7 PM 5/25 to Noon 5/28 plus travel time). Please let me know on the postcard ASAP if you have a conflict for the two shakedowns, otherwise, please pay attention to the dates and keep your schedule open on these dates. In addition to payments, it is equally important to pay attention to due dates for physicals (we will get the form around Christmas) or other required documentation. Please use the payment envelopes I have included with this letter.

Commitment

I hope you are excited about this adventure. Philmont is a life changing experience for most people. It is also a group project. To be able to succeed, our crew will have to train and work together. Your commitment is extremely important. This is not a trip that you can pack and prepare for the night before you leave. Now is the time to prepare.

I am 110% committed to insuring that you are ready for this experience and will do all I can to help you prepare, but you must do your part. Being prepared will require attending all shakedowns, reading the Philmont Guidebook to Adventure (I have included old copies and I will send you the new copy when I get them in the spring, however, they do not change much from year to year) and carefully reviewing your personal equipment.

Safety

I expect all participants to commit to following Philmont’s rules and regulations that you are taught. They have rules for a reason. You might prefer a different method but, in matters of safety, we will not debate Philmont’s methods and you will be expected to do things the Philmont way. Failure to abide by Philmont’s rules on our trek/shakedowns will not be tolerated once you are taught the proper procedures. When we go over rules, please pay attention. I will expect you to follow the rules after we cover them. Each rule has a health or safety implication and can directly affect you or your crew members.

We will not be hiking in the back yard. We will be in the wilderness and we will not be at the top of the food chain. Philmont has many locations that are several hours from a radio or a jeep trail or a cell phone signal. With that being said, thousands of scouts hike at Philmont safely each year, but the key is knowing and following the established procedures for hiking, camping and cooking. We will learn the procedures taught at Philmont during the summer of 2011 and I will consult with Philmont rangers on anticipated changes for 2012. I will be teaching you the current procedures, however, some procedures are modified each year and we will need to adapt.

Gear Comments

Now is the time to start checking out your gear and deciding what will work and what will not work. The big 3 things are your boots, your pack and your sleeping bag. Don’t skimp on your boots. While backpacking, nothing is more important than your feet. You will probably need to spend at least $150 on appropriate boots. Your pack needs to be in good shape. Picking an internal or external frame is up to you. You will spend a third of your trek in your sleeping bag, so make sure it will keep you warm enough if the mercury drops to the thirty’s. You will also spend a third of your trek carrying your bag, so if it is over 3 pounds it might be time to upgrade. It should not be much larger than a basketball.

We will examine your gear on the first shakedown, so please have what you need by then. Your name needs to be on every thing you take-from your water bottle to your t-shirts. If I find a sock, I want to find a name on it. If you want something returned that you drop on the trail it will need to have our expedition number on it- 713-106. REI in Dallas is a good place to get educated on gear. The staff can show you appropriate gear for Philmont and they will give you a couple of choices. They will not over sell to you. We will use Philmont tents so you do not need a tent.

At the end of this letter you will find a gear list. This is a maximum list. You can comfortably spend 10 days with much less than is on the list. A good goal for your personal gear, without water, crew gear or food is 20 to 25 pounds. You should start gathering everything on this list and we can weed it out on our shake downs. I will expect you to have ALL YOUR GEAR for the FIRST shakedown. If you are not sure if something is ok- ASK ME. I have included links for illustrations and will send you an email copy of this letter. If your gear looks similar to the product shown, you are probably in good shape. If you are not sure if something will work, ask me.

A few little things are also required- you need at least 3 wide mouth 1-LITER/QUART Nalgene type water bottles and a rainsuit. You also need a sleeping pad.

Skills

Mastery of skills is vital to insuring a successful trip. Camping skills, backpacking skills, orienteering skills, cooking skills, hygiene issues, and familiarity with your surroundings, including weather and nature is of the utmost importance. We will cover all of these skill sets and more in our shake downs. We will cover many of the requirements in several merit badges. It will be up to you to work with a merit badge counselor and apply your accomplishments to the appropriate merit badge. As a group we will work to complete the requirements for the Philmont Arrowhead and 50-miler award, but not merit badges.

Shakedowns

I have traditionally held three shakedowns. We will have two, but we will spend the same amount of time together preparing. In the past I had two overnighters and a three nighter. We will combine the overnighters into a full weekend. These represent our two chances to prepare as a crew and are not optional. If you want to go to Philmont with this crew you need to attend both. Shakedowns allow us to maximize our Phil PHUN.

Right now, I am planning on having our first shakedown at Tyler State Park the last weekend in February 2012 (2/25/2012). We will do some short hikes, but the emphasis will not be on hiking. It will be on gear, team building and learning Philmont camping techniques. The second shakedown will give us a chance to function as a crew for a long weekend. It will be over Memorial Day (5/25 to 5/28) in the Ouchita Mountains on the Boardstand Loop in Oklahoma near Talihina starting at Talimena state park. Shakedowns are NOT for getting in shape, they are for learning skills. You need to prepare physically on your own. If either of these dates are known conflicts, please let me know ASAP.

We will probably hike about 60 miles. It will probably include at least a couple of 10 mile days. We will be at high elevations between 7000 and 12,000 feet. Most trails are around a 8% incline, but many are near 20 to 25% incline (20 feet up and 100 feet down the trail). You will be carrying a 40 to 50 pound pack as well. This will be a tough hike. The one comment I kept hearing this summer during the trek was “wow, you said it would be tough”…”or WOW, I wish I had trained harder or more… Now is the time to start preparing, not next June.

Do not hesitate to ask any questions you might have. If I do not know the answer, I will find out. This trek will put me over 250 nights at Philmont, so I have answers for most questions. I will use my experience to help you have a TERRIFIC and PHUN time at Philmont. For you to benefit, however, you must start preparing today.

All the information I give you is available at www.troop1525.org on the Philmont page.

IWTGBTP,

Matt Lindsey

903-262-8043 or [email protected]