47 replies to this topic

[ScoutX]

I loved Philmont.

emperor, check to see if your district or council ever sets up high adventure trips. My troop didn't do a ton of high adventure until later on, so I did a lot of my high adventure trips though my council. On top of the great trip, you get to meet a bunch of great guys you'd never meet if you just do stuff within your troop. I'm still in touch with about half of the guys I went to Philmont with.

[SackOHammers]

Eagle in '92 and Philmont Ranger in '97 (one of the best summers of my life)

Get that Eagle. Everyone recognizes it and if they do find out you're an Eagle, will afford you more social respect for being one.
I remember how I was on the fence with my girlfriend's father when we first met. He hadn't formed an opinion of me yet and was holding his cards close to his vest. When someone mentioned I was an Eagle, his eyebrows raised a little, his expression changed, and conversation from that point on was less tense.

I've noticed similar reactions through my life.

[emperor100]

thanks for the advice man I want to go soon my troop doesn't do much high adventure stuff to many kids but we still go white water rafting and possibly going on rafts on the Mississippi for a day or two like one of our scoutmasters did when he was a scout.

[ScoutX]

Philmont Ranger would be awesome. I worked at our week long summer camp for a few years. It was a pretty big commitment at that age, but it might be one of the best experiences of my life.

thanks for the advice man I want to go soon my troop doesn't do much high adventure stuff to many kids but we still go white water rafting and possibly going on rafts on the Mississippi for a day or two like one of our scoutmasters did when he was a scout.

We used to have the oldest group of kids go on a high adventure trip every year (Boundary Waters as it's only a 4ish hour drive) and the younger kids would go do a different camping trip at the same time. It let the older guys get that experience and at the same time, the middle kids get an early crack at being the oldest kids in the group for a bit.

[SackOHammers]

Yeah, before Philmont I worked a few years at the camp in our Council. I was an area director (1/3 of the camp) for a couple years. Good fun, but not nearly the experience of Philmont. Working at Philmont is pretty much for college aged people and older. Its a good time for college students looking for a summer job.

Ah yes, Boundary Waters. My college roommate handled one of the fly-in bases at Boundary Waters. He brought back some good stories. If you can't make it to Philmont.... from what I understand, Boundary Waters offers a similar caliber of experience... both in team building, comraderie, and personal growth.

[flyhigh734]

we went to quetico when i was in 6 grade it was my second year and i enjoyed it a lot i would say that the trip was a big factor for me to stay in till I was 18. but our drive was a little longer we put it over 2 days. about 18 hours.

[emperor100]

some friends went to boundry waters they said its cool. I'm considering going to world jamboree.

[Jharius]

I was an Explorer Scout, which is like the Special Forces of the Boy Scouts of America, when I was a teenager. We did alot of Warfare and Survival Operations to get us ready for the real World. I don\'t know if they were training us to be Cops or Mercinaries. It is kind of disturbing some of the stuff that they taught me when I was 14yrs old.


Are you serious?


Do you really need to know this at 14yrs old?

Edited by Jharius, 14 September 2009 - 09:08 AM.

[StockHunter]

thats great you were an explorer scout, but you didn't have to be a jerk about it with the badge photo.

[Jharius]

I changed it, it was suppose to be a joke.

[StockHunter]

lol, ok

[Pride Assassin]

And yes, you really need to know that at 14 years old.

[SackOHammers]

I was an Explorer Scout, which is like the Special Forces of the Boy Scouts of America,
We did alot of Warfare and Survival Operations to get us ready for the real World. I don\'t know if they were training us to be Cops or Mercinaries.

Well, thats certainly not true of all boy scouts / Explorer units. Some units, even regular scout troops, take on a para-military bent. Its the leaders that choose to take this path. There are many Explorer units that don't take this track at all.

Honestly, I always felt a little sorry for the scouts that were stuck in those units not because they enjoyed those activities, but because thats all they had in their area. In some cases, when those are the only type of troops around, people actually think thats what the boy scouts is about. Shame, really.

P.S. To Expand, explorer units are usually theme-based. SOME of them choose to focus on public service / police / para-military themes. Others choose sailing, rescue, technical climbing, or other interests. Anyway, I hope people reading this don't think that all Explorers are trained to be "survival experts" or "tactical combat experts".

Edited by SackOHammers, 15 September 2009 - 04:19 PM.

[ScoutX]

Yeah, before Philmont I worked a few years at the camp in our Council. I was an area director (1/3 of the camp) for a couple years. Good fun, but not nearly the experience of Philmont.

My brother held a similar position at his camp. Worked there for five years and ran the place for the last three. I think he was just trying to show me up.

Ah yes, Boundary Waters. My college roommate handled one of the fly-in bases at Boundary Waters. He brought back some good stories. If you can't make it to Philmont.... from what I understand, Boundary Waters offers a similar caliber of experience... both in team building, comraderie, and personal growth.

I would argue that Philmont is a much bigger experience than Boundry Waters. However, I grew up on the water and can drive home and go canoeing after work if I wanted to, but I have to leave the state to find a real mountain. So I guess it comes down to a perspective thing.

[bcndwilson]

I'm not sure how the boy scouts got shafted with popcorn while the girls got all the good cookies to sell.

[flyhigh734]

BCND we are not innocent little girls we are high school boys who wants to buy cookies off us.

[ScoutX]

Haha. Can you imagine some 17 year old dude showing up on your doorstep trying to sell you cookies?

We never did popcorn. Our biggest fundraiser was Christmas wreaths and garlands. My dad was the scoutmaster and we had a huge pole barn in our back yard, so my brother and I would haul ungodly numbers of boxes down there every winter, and then haul them back up as kids came to get their orders.

Also, to this day my dad runs a pair of 100' garlands along the fence in front of his house. Every spring we have a massive bonfire. Let me tell you a little something about 200' of dried evergreen on a roaring fire: Not approved by the Boy Scout Handbook.

[flyhigh734]

Not approved by the Boy Scout Handbook.

What is approved by bsa that most troops do.

[An1de2]

Anybody else spend time at Camp Sabattis? Damn, that was so long ago for me like 20 years ago :suicidebastard: :BnTdidit:

[flyhigh734]

nope most of mine was at Chief Logan scout Reservation.