In June, Boy Scout Troop #168 in Ridgeway took a two-week long trip to visit Philmont Scout Ranch in New Mexico, the Boy Scouts of America’s premier high adventure base.
Assistant Scoutmaster Doug Foley said he, Scout Master Barry Farmer, and Robert Fincher, lifelong friend and Martinsville City Police chief, took six scouts on the backpacking trip.
Fincher and I, have “been in scouts our whole life, and so we actually went to Philmont when we were scouts. It was such a great trip, we never got over it,” he said.
Foley said 37 years later, he and Fincher returned, in the same troop and with their sons.
“We just got the opportunity to go back with our sons. It was something I think personally we wanted to do because we had such a great experience at Philmont, but then you get the opportunity to go back with your sons, and it makes it even better,” he said.
Philmont is owned by the Boy Scouts of America and encompasses over 140,000 acres of mountain wilderness in the Sangre de Cristo range of the Rocky Mountains.
“The scouts own all of this land out there, and they really cherish the land. They don’t let it get polluted or messed up with anything. They’re really picky about this land and it’s just beautiful. It’s just something you really can’t get anywhere else,” he said.
Foley said the group hiked over 70 miles during the trip, often hiking between six and nine miles each day.
“It’s a backpacking trip. Philmont tries to do their best to keep it as rustic and as real as can be as far as being in the back country. So, you have an itinerary and you walk so many miles each day, and you walk to camps and stations,” he said.
At the stations, he said the group participated in things like fly tying, archery shooting, rock climbing. The group went to the site of an old gold mine and panned for gold, and enjoyed various other activities.
“Besides the stations, just walking the miles every day and experiencing the beauty of the mountains of New Mexico is pretty cool,” he said.
Before the group went on the trip, a snowstorm warning was issued in the mountains, with some of them expected to have 12-foot snow drifts.
“We were at some pretty high elevations; we were over 11,000 feet. The highest mountains around here are around 5,000 feet, so once you start getting higher in elevation, the temperatures really get cold at night. We were down in the 30 (degrees Celsius) at night,” he said.
During the trek, Foley said he had the opportunity to see the boys change and evolve.
“They kind of worked as a group, and they become more responsible for themselves while they’re out there,” he said.
He noted the boys had to carry all their own cooking equipment, food, camping gear, and other necessary items.
“When you leave on your trek, what you got is what you have. So, everything you have to survive for those two weeks is in your backpack,” he said.
Foley said the group only ate backpacking food for the entire two weeks.
“Which is kind of rough on you. You’d be surprised how much you crave hamburgers or steak or any type of sweets, because you don’t get that while you’re out there. You’re just basically eating freeze-dried food or anything that’s dry packaged,” he said.
Foley said it is common for visitors to Philmont to recall what a great trip it was and how they’d like to go back.
“I think a lot of the kids sometimes don’t really appreciate it when they go out when they’re young, but when they look back on it, they’re going to think, ‘that was such an awesome experience,’” he said.
Foley believes it’s the best scouting experience as it really challenges one physically and mentally.
“You really have to be prepared for the trip. Some of the adults that went with us had to lose some weight before they went because they’re real strict on height and weight requirements. It’s just an awesome trip,” he said.
Foley added there are talks about possibly going back for another trek.
“I won’t rule it out, but it’s a commitment to go out there as far as taking time off work and what it costs per person to go,” he said.
