Philmont

For a couple of years now, our scout organization has been talking about going to Philmont. To be honest I had never heard of it but have learned that it is basically Boy Scout Mecca. It's a camp located in NE New Mexico. Scout organizations can choose what kind of hike they are up for. One troop from our area did a trail that was 40 miles long. Ours was 80+!

Curtis and Jonah made the decision to go and our troop was planning to send 12 people, 4 adults and 8 boys. Preparing the gear and working out the logistics took a lot of work. They had to decide whether to drive 22 hours to get there or to fly to Denver or Albuquerque and drive the rest of the way. They decided to fly and catch a 5 hour shuttle to Philmont.

They spent a lot of time walking and backpacking around Katy (wearing their hiking boots!) to prepare. Curtis was a little nervous and spent many mornings driving Jonah to seminary and then walking/jogging during the class.

A week before they were set to leave, we had a terrible shock. One of the adult leaders, Craig Meldrum, was out walking with his family when he had a heart attack. He passed away almost immediately, while his wife and 14 year old son tried to revive him. We were all devastated. Craig was truly one of the most Christlike men we've ever known. He was only a few years older than Curtis and very close to his son. His funeral was held a few days later and so many tears were shed but we were all strengthened as we reflected on his life of service and obedience. I believe without a doubt that he is back with Heavenly Father and many loved ones, doing work on the other side. Craig's son decided to stay home from Philmont and the others in the group continued with their preparation. The adult leaders in particular were so affected by this turn of events but tried to remain positive and hopeful.

Philmont, trail #30 is an 80 mile hike (if you don't get lost) over the course of 12 days. There is a shower half way through the trek and each night they meet at camps for dinner, activities and much needed sleep. The ground is very rocky and almost never flat, so they said sleeping was an adventure, even though they were exhausted each night. Some days were 6 miles, others more like 12 or 15. The food was mostly freeze dried and not great. In fact, when they came home Jonah absolutely scarfed my dinner of Teryaki chicken and brown rice down. He's not a huge eater so that was unusual. I think he appreciated my cooking after Philmont. :O

There were different activities available, like mountain biking and rock climbing. Halfway through the trip the boys had the option of using a couple of burrows. Apparently this is a bit of a gamble because some are more work than help. Thanks to Jonah, however, the burrows they got were wonderful. They were able to carry about 100 lbs of equipment so the men and boys could get a little bit of a break. Jonah's new nickname is BW (Burrow Whisperer).

They made it to the top of Mount Baldy at 12,400 feet elevation! It was quite windy and the air was thin so they didn't stay long. Curtis said the boys were amazing on this climb. It was very steep and they were carrying heavy packs. They were positive and strong! All of the leaders were hopeful that they boys would catch the vision that they can do hard things. I think they did. Curtis said that the hike back to base camp from Baldy was actually the hardest part. Psychologically they felt like they were done or almost done but they still had 2 days of walking left.

They loved showering and washing their clothes back at base camp. The next day they took the shuttle back to Denver and flew home. When I saw them standing on the corner at the airport I couldn't believe it. They all looked so rugged and grown up (and Curtis so cute in his mountain man beard!). They had lots of stories to tell and we had such a wonderful reunion. I am so happy they were able to do this and hope that Isaac and Daniel can go in a couple of years.