Boy Scout Troop 236 of Long Valley experience Philmont Scout Ranch in New Mexico

Boy Scout Troop 236 of Long Valley experience Philmont Scout Ranch in New Mexico

On June 28th a group of teenage Boy Scouts embarked on a hike at Philmont Scout Ranch in Cimarron, New Mexico, facing many difficulties along the way, making the trip a life-changing experience. Scouts in crew 628-i2 hiked over 65 miles through the Rocky Mountains over the course of 12 days.

Crew 628-i2 had to balance the various in-camp chores and the very fun activities. When the crew reached a potential campsite, they had to identify the bear-a-muda triangle. This safety measure refers to the campfire, where the crew cooked, the sump, where the crew disposed of certain wastes, and the bear bags, where the crew put all their smellables for the night. Also, the scouts had to make sure that their backpacks and tarp were in the bear-a-muda triangle, and that their tents were outside the triangle to make sure that no bears would attack the scouts in the tents.

Many of the fun activities changed the lives of the high school scouts. One of these life-changing experiences was during the homesteading activity, which included feeding the livestock on the farm, cutting wood for either a fire or for building a house. These chores showed the scouts how difficult life could be when living on the frontier. Philmont’s hail, bullet like rain, booming thunder, earth shaking lightning, and blistering heat put the scouts into situations that they would have never encountered back home in NJ.

Philmont Scout Ranch put these scouts on a journey of a lifetime, facing many challenges, and many fun-filled adventures, which the scouts will never forget.

Top: Christian Maier, Rich Mastriani, Tony Cretella, Andrew Cretella, Alberto Garza-Gomez, Robert Maier.

Bottom: Nathan Schommer, William McCartney, Seth Hanchett, Watson Pulliam, Tyler Longo, Trey Mastriani, Luke Degen.

For more information about Troop 236 please visit: http://troop236bsa.org/