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Philmont Scout Ranch

Campsite data
Owner Boy Scouts of America
Location Cimarron, New Mexico
Country United States
Coordinates 36°27′15″N 104°57′21″W / 36.45417, -104.95583
Founded 1938
Founder Waite Phillips
Attendance 33,583 campers (2006)[1]
Scouting Scouting portal

Philmont Scout Ranch is a large, rugged, mountainous ranch located near the town of Cimarron in the Sangre de Cristo Mountains of the Rocky Mountains of northern New Mexico. The Boy Scouts of America ( BSA) is the largest youth organization in the United States with over five million Cimarron is a Village in Colfax County, New Mexico, United States. The United States of America —commonly referred to as the Waite Phillips ( January 19[[ 883]]&ndash January 27[[ 964]] was the son of Lewis "Lew" Franklin Phillips and Lucinda Josephine "Josie" (Faucett A ranch is an area of landscape including various structures given primarily to the practice of ranching the practice of raising grazing livestock such as Cattle Cimarron is a Village in Colfax County, New Mexico, United States. The Sangre de Cristo Mountains ( Spanish for " Blood of Christ " are the southernmost subrange of the Rocky Mountains. Mountain peaks of the Rocky Mountains The Rocky Mountains, often called the Rockies, are a Mountain range in western North America. New Mexico ( is a state located in the southwestern region of the United States of America. The ranch, formerly the property of oil baron Waite Phillips and now that of the Boy Scouts of America, is currently in use as a National High Adventure Base in which crews of Scouts and Venturers take part in backpacking expeditions and other outdoor activities. Waite Phillips ( January 19[[ 883]]&ndash January 27[[ 964]] was the son of Lewis "Lew" Franklin Phillips and Lucinda Josephine "Josie" (Faucett The Boy Scouts of America ( BSA) is the largest youth organization in the United States with over five million Backpacking (in US tramping, trekking, or bushwalking in other countries combines Hiking and camping in a single It is the largest youth camp in the world by size and number of participants.

Philmont is also home to the Philmont Training Center, which is the main center for BSA's national-level training for volunteers and professionals. The Philmont Training Center (PTC located at the well-known Philmont Scout Ranch near Cimarron New Mexico, has been the National Training Center of the In addition to its extensive BSA programs, Philmont continues to operate as a ranch, maintaining a relatively small stock of cattle, horses, and bison. Cattle, colloquially referred to as cows, are domesticated Ungulates a member of the Subfamily Bovinae of the family The horse ( Equus caballus) is a hoofed ( Ungulate) Mammal, one of eight living species of the family Equidae. The American bison ( Bison bison) is a Bovine Mammal, also commonly known as the American buffalo.

It is the site of the only documented Tyrannosaurus rex track in the world (discovered in 1983 and formally identified in 1994) in North Ponil Canyon by Camp Anasazi. Tyrannosaurus ( or, meaning 'tyrant lizard' is a Genus of Theropod Dinosaur. [2]

Contents

Location and geography

Visto Grande
Visto Grande

Philmont is located in the Sangre de Cristo Mountains of the Rocky Mountains of New Mexico. The Sangre de Cristo Mountains ( Spanish for " Blood of Christ " are the southernmost subrange of the Rocky Mountains. Mountain peaks of the Rocky Mountains The Rocky Mountains, often called the Rockies, are a Mountain range in western North America. New Mexico ( is a state located in the southwestern region of the United States of America. The closest village is Cimarron, New Mexico, which sits at 36°30'34" North, 104°54'56" West (36. Cimarron is a Village in Colfax County, New Mexico, United States. 509467, -104. 915496). [3] The address of the ranch is usually given as 17 Deer Run Rd. , Cimarron, NM, 87714. It is also about 20 miles (30 km) west-northwest of Springer, New Mexico, and 35 miles (56 km) southwest of Raton, New Mexico. Springer is a Town in Colfax County, New Mexico, United States. Raton is a city in Colfax County, New Mexico, United States. The population was 7282 at the 2000 census. The Ranch is shaped somewhat like the letter 'I,' with the bottom section larger than the top. It is about 12 miles (19 km) across (east to west) at its widest point, and about 30 miles (48 km) long. There are no mountains to the south of Philmont, or to the east (indeed, part of the eastern fringe of the ranch is prairie) but the interior is quite mountainous. Prairie, from the French prairie ("meadow" "grassland" "pasture" refers to an area of land of low topographic relief that historically

Location of Cimarron, New Mexico
Mount Baldy, from the peak of Mount Phillips
Mount Baldy, from the peak of Mount Phillips

The lowest elevation is 6,500 feet (1981 m), at the southeast corner. The highest point is the peak of Baldy Mountain at 12,441 feet (3792 m), located on the ranch's northwest boundary. Baldy Mountain (official name or Mount Baldy, is the second highest peak in the Cimarron Range, a subrange of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains of The most recognizable landmark is the Tooth of Time at 9,003 feet (2744 m), a granite monolith protruding 500 feet (150 m) vertically from an east-west ridge. The Tooth of Time is an Igneous Intrusion of dacite porphyry formed in the Tertiary period of the Cenozoic era some 22-40 million Tooth of Time Ridge, and the latitude line on which it sits, mark the boundary between the central and southern sections of Philmont. The boundary between the central and northern sections is the narrowest part of the 'I'-shape, only a few miles across. U.S. Route 64 runs through Philmont just south of this line. US Route 64 is an east-west United States highway that runs for 2326 miles (3743 km from eastern North Carolina to just southwest of the Four Corners

Aside from Baldy, the ranch contains a number of prominent peaks. Directly south of Baldy lies Touch-Me-Not Mountain, which is located in Cimarron Canyon State Park. The South Country is home to a series of six difficult peaks, namely Mount Phillips, Comanche Peak, Big Red, Bear Mountain, Black Mountain, and Schaefers Peak. The final prominent South Country peak is Trail Peak, which is popular for its relative ease, its nearness to Beaubien, and the wreckage of the crash of a B-24 bomber in 1942 near its summit. The following are the camps located in Philmont Scout Ranch, a large property in Colfax County near Cimarron New Mexico, owned by the Boy Scouts of America

Of the ranch's various hikeable peaks (where a trail leads to the peak), Black Mountain is widely considered the most difficult, followed closely by Baldy and Big Red. Other prominent landmarks on the ranch include Grizzly Tooth, Window Rock, Deer Lake Mesa, and Urraca Mesa, the last of which is notorious for being allegedly haunted. Urraca Mesa is a large Mesa located in northern New Mexico on the property of Philmont Scout Ranch. A ghost is said to be the apparition of a Deceased person frequently similar in appearance to that person and usually encountered in places she or he frequented

History

Native Americans of the Jicarilla Apache tribe and Ute tribe once inhabited Philmont. Native Americans in the United States are the indigenous peoples from the regions of North America now encompassed by the continental United States Jicarilla Apache refers to an Apache people currently living in New Mexico and speak a Southern Athabaskan language. A tribe, viewed historically or developmentally consists of a Social group existing before the development of or outside of States Many anthropologists use The Utes (/juːts/ " yoots " are an ethnically related group of American Indians now living primarily in Utah and Colorado. A few Native American archaeological sites exist in the northern section nearby the 'Indian Writings' camp, and various camps seek to preserve Philmont's Native American heritage. Archaeology, archeology, or archæology (from Greek grc ἀρχαιολογία archaiologia – grc ἀρχαῖος archaīos

In 1942, a B-24 Liberator crashed into the side of Trail Peak. Waite Philips led a rescue crew up, but 5 people were lost, including 2 Eagle scouts. Some of the wreckage still remains, including a wing and propeller.

Private ownership

In the mid-19th century, the Santa Fe Trail crossed the plains just southwest of Philmont. The 19th century of the Common Era began on January 1, 1801 and ended on December 31, 1900, according to the Gregorian calendar The Santa Fe Trail was a Historic 19th century transportation route through southwestern North America connecting Missouri with Santa Fe The Tooth of Time owes its name to this trail; travelers knew that once they passed it, they had only one week to go until they reached Santa Fe, New Mexico. The Tooth of Time is an Igneous Intrusion of dacite porphyry formed in the Tertiary period of the Cenozoic era some 22-40 million Santa Fe ( Navajo: Yootó is the Capital of the state of New Mexico. Philmont's strategic location along the trail spurred some interest in it. In 1841, Carlos Beaubien and Guadalupe Miranda obtained a large land grant from the Mexican government, including the present ranch. Charles H Beaubien (October 1800-1864 (also known as Alexis Beaubien and Carlos Beaubien) was a Canadian-born American fur trader who was one of two investors who Guadalupe Miranda (1810-c 1890 was a Mexican public official who was mayor of Ciudad Juárez and recipient of the Beaubien-Miranda Land Grant The United Mexican States ( or commonly Mexico (ˈmɛksɪkoʊ () is a federal constitutional Republic in North America. Soon the grant fell into the hands of Beaubien's son-in-law Lucien Maxwell, who played an important role in developing and settling it. Lucien Bonaparte Maxwell ( September 14, 1818 - July 25, 1875) was a Rancher and Entrepreneur who at one point owned more Maxwell sold the ranch to the Maxwell Land Grant and Railroad Company, which gave up and handed it on to a Dutch development company, which decided to parcel it out to ranchers.

One of the most prominent ranchers was Jesus Gil Abreu, who ran the Abreu Rayado Ranch from the 1870s to his death in 1901. Jesus Gil Abreu (September 1 1823-June 30 1900 was a Rancher and pioneer who owned a New Mexico ranch that now comprises Philmont Scout Ranch. Events and Trends Technology The invention of the prototype telephone by Alexander G Operating from the Rayado Settlement, he raised cattle, goats, sheep, as well as growing limited amounts of crops. This article is about the settlement for other uses see Rayado (disambiguation. Cattle, colloquially referred to as cows, are domesticated Ungulates a member of the Subfamily Bovinae of the family The domestic goat ( Capra aegagrus hircus) is a subspecies of goat Domesticated from the Wild goat of Southwest Asia and Eastern Europe The family owned this property until 1911, when they sold most of it off. One of the sons remained on the ranch near the site of Abreu, a present staffed camp, and his homestead was preserved for years. Broadly defined homesteading is a lifestyle of simple agrarian Self-sufficiency. However, the building was made from adobe and collapsed. Adobe bricks are a Natural building material made from Sand, Clay, water and some kind of fibrous or Organic material ( Sticks, The foundation of this building now serves as the foundation for the Abreu cantina. The house was reconstructed in 1998 about 100 feet uphill. A foot (plural feet or foot; symbol or abbreviation ft or sometimes &prime – the prime symbol) is a non-SI unit

The history of mining at Philmont dates back to the years immediately after the Civil War. Mining is the extraction of valuable Minerals or other geological materials from the earth usually (but not always from an Ore body Causes of the war See also Origins of the American Civil War, Timeline of events leading to the American Civil War The coexistence of a slave-owning South At the time, many U.S. soldiers were stationed in the West, as the U.S. Army was driving out the American Indians. The United States of America —commonly referred to as the A soldier is a general English term that refers to a member of a land component of National Armed forces. The United States Army is a military organization whose primary mission is to "provide necessary forces and capabilities. Native Americans in the United States are the indigenous peoples from the regions of North America now encompassed by the continental United States The story is that one of these soldiers befriended an Indian, who happened to give him a shiny rock. The shiny material in the rock was found to be copper. Copper (ˈkɒpɚ is a Chemical element with the symbol Cu (cuprum and Atomic number 29 According to the story, the soldier and two of his friends went up to investigate, and found gold. Gold (ˈɡoʊld is a Chemical element with the symbol Au (from its Latin name aurum) and Atomic number 79 However, they could not stay and mine the gold, and by the time they returned the next year, the area was overrun by miners. Scores of gold mines were excavated in Philmont, and operated into the early 20th century. "Twenty" redirects here For the village in England, see Twenty Lincolnshire. A large vein of gold is said to lie under Mount Baldy to this day, but extracting it has not been feasible. Baldy Mountain (official name or Mount Baldy, is the second highest peak in the Cimarron Range, a subrange of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains of In fact, its a common joke at Philmont that some day the mines under Baldy will collapse and Phillips will be the highest mountain in Philmont. The Contention Mine, located at Cyphers Mine, is open to guided tours.

The penultimate owner of Philmont was wealthy oil magnate and wilderness enthusiast Waite Phillips, who amassed a large part of the old land grant in the 1920s, totaling over 300,000 acres (1,200 km²). Waite Phillips ( January 19[[ 883]]&ndash January 27[[ 964]] was the son of Lewis "Lew" Franklin Phillips and Lucinda Josephine "Josie" (Faucett The 1920s is sometimes referred to as the " Jazz Age " or the " Roaring Twenties " when speaking about the United States and Canada The acre is a unit of Area in a number of different systems including the imperial and U Phillips built a large residence in the lowlands of Philmont, and called it the Villa Philmonte. The Villa Philmonte is a large ranch manor located outside of Cimarron New Mexico, on the Philmont Scout Ranch property of the Boy Scouts of America The ranch became a private game reserve for Phillips and his friends, and a number of hunting lodges and day-use camps were built. It would not have been beyond his means to bring electricity to those camps, but he decided not to. Some of these camps, including Fish Camp and the Hunting Lodge, have been preserved, complete with wood-burning stoves, oil lamps, and unique design features indicative of Phillips's often eccentric taste. A stove is an enclosed heated space The term is commonly taken to mean an enclosed space in which fuel is burned to provide heating either to heat the space in which the stove is situated An oil lamp is a simple vessel used to produce light continuously for a period of time from a fuel source

Boy Scout involvement

The Tooth of Time, an icon of Philmont Scout Ranch.
The Tooth of Time, an icon of Philmont Scout Ranch. The Tooth of Time is an Igneous Intrusion of dacite porphyry formed in the Tertiary period of the Cenozoic era some 22-40 million

Phillips sometimes allowed others to visit his ranch, including a few Boy Scout troops. He was so impressed with the Scouts that in 1938, he donated 35,857 acres (145 km²) to the Boy Scouts of America. The Boy Scouts of America ( BSA) is the largest youth organization in the United States with over five million In giving it to the Scouts, he included 3 provisions: that his horse Gus could stay there until his death, that his family could come and visit the ranch, and that it remain a working cattle ranch. They initially named it the "Philturn Rockymountain Scoutcamp" [sic]. [4] The word 'Philturn' comes from Waite Phillips's name, together with the "Good Turn" he did by donating the property. In 1941, Phillips added more Philmont property, including the Villa Philmonte, bringing the total to 127,395 acres (516 km²). (Contrary to popular belief, Phillips did not give his entire ranch to the BSA, but only those properties that would have the most recreational value. The total donation comprised about 40% of the ranch. ) To help fund the upkeep of Philmont, he threw in his Philtower office building in Tulsa, Oklahoma. The ranch's name was changed at this time to the "Philmont Scout Ranch and Explorer Base".

Philmont was run differently in the early years than it is now. Half a dozen "base camps" were constructed at strategic locations. A visiting group of Scouts would stay at one of these camps for a week, and day-hike to surrounding locations of interest. If the Scouts wanted to visit a different area, they would pack up their gear, hoist it onto burros, and hike to another base camp. The donkey or ass, Equus asinus, is a member of the Equidae or horse family and an odd-toed ungulate. Eventually, possibly due to the advent of modern lightweight metal-frame backpacks and other backpacking technology, the program was restructured to be backpacking-based. Backpacking (in US tramping, trekking, or bushwalking in other countries combines Hiking and camping in a single

In 1963, through the generosity of Norton Clapp, vice-president of the National Council of the Boy Scouts of America, another piece of the Maxwell Land Grant was purchased and added to Philmont. Matthew Norton Clapp (April 15 1906-April 22 1995 was a Weyerhaeuser chairman who was among the private investors who built and owned the Seattle Space Needle. This was the Baldy Mountain mining area, consisting of 10,098 acres (41 km²).

In recent years, Philmont has also been able to gain use of the Valle Vidal Unit of the Carson National Forest. The Valle Vidal ( Valley of Life) is a 100000-acre (400 km² area in the Sangre de Cristo Mountains northwest of Cimarron New Mexico. Carson National Forest is a national forest in northern New Mexico, United States. Since 1989, Philmont has had a series of five-year special-use permits from the Forest Service, allowing crews to hike and camp in the Valle Vidal as part of their Philmont treks. Philmont operates three staffed camps— Whiteman Vega, Seally Canyon, and Ring Place —and two trail camps in that part of the Valle. Those camps serve around 3,000 Philmont campers each summer. Each camper performs three hours of conservation work in the Valle on projects approved by the Forest Service.

In addition, Rich Cabins, a historical farming cabin on Ted Turner's Vermejo Park Ranch, is also operated as a staff camp. Robert Edward "Ted" Turner III (born November 19, 1938) is an American Media proprietor and philanthropist. The Vermejo Park Ranch is a Ranch owned by Ted Turner in northeast New Mexico that is said to be the largest privately owned contiguous tract of land

Programs and activities

Trek

Map of Philmont
Map of Philmont

The standard and most popular Philmont program is the trek. A typical Philmont trek lasts 10 days and covers anywhere from 50 to 120 miles (80 to 190 km) of trail. In 2007 there were 33 different trek itineraries, ranging from challenging to super strenuous. Each trek is unique, covering distinct regions, peaks, and camps. A group of Scouts on a trek is called a crew; most crews are assembled by troops, Venturing crews, or local councils. A crew consists of eight to twelve people, with two to four adult leaders, a chaplain's aide, and a crew leader. A contingent consists of one or more crews from the same council (see Boy Scouts of America: Organization), traveling together. The Boy Scouts of America ( BSA) is the largest youth organization in the United States with over five million Sister crews are crews that follow the same itinerary and are usually from different troops. Around 360 trekkers arrive at base camp every day of the season.

A sign on the way to the closing campfire.
A sign on the way to the closing campfire.

A typical crew's experience is as follows:

The crew arrives in Base Camp, checks in at the Welcome Center, and meets its ranger, a trained staff member from the Ranger Department. He or she assists them in the various registration ("processing") procedures, which consist of verifying their itinerary with Logistics and checking out gear, such as a dining fly, bear ropes, bear bags, and water purification tablets, from the Services building.

A crew also receives several days' worth of Philmont trail food, packaged in bags which feed two people each; the exact quantity depends on the crew's itinerary and the day on which it is scheduled to reach the next commissary (see below). Philmont also provides optional cooking supplies.

The crew spends its first night in Trailbound Tent City where the trekkers sleep in canvas tents. The next morning, they eat breakfast at the dining hall and board a bus to one of the ranch's several trailheads, called "turnarounds" because they consist of a loop in the road for the bus to turn around.

A crew ready for their trek
A crew ready for their trek

The ranger verifies the trekkers' general backpacking knowledge, and teaches them specific Philmont procedures, such as bear procedure and latrine usage. Rangers stay with their crews for two days, and depart on the morning of the third day. In the next eight days the crew will hike through the Philmont wilderness, staying at various staffed camps and unstaffed "trail camps" scattered about the Ranch. On the final day, the crew returns to Base Camp, sometimes by bus from a turnaround or by climbing over the Tooth of Time and hiking directly into Base Camp. The Tooth of Time is an Igneous Intrusion of dacite porphyry formed in the Tertiary period of the Cenozoic era some 22-40 million During the final day at Base Camp, the crew cleans up, returns various Philmont-issued supplies, and attends the closing campfire.

Awards

By meeting the challenge of Philmont, participants are considered to be worthy of awards. The awards represent the Philmont experience that can never be sold or traded; only earned.

Arrowhead Award

An individual camper award is presented by their adult advisor when they have:
  • Attended opening campfire--"The New Mexico Story. "
  • Completed a Philmont-approved itinerary (except for medical reasons) with your crew.
  • Completed three hours of staff supervised conservation work or a camp improvement project on Philmont.
  • Fulfilled the personal commitment to the Wilderness Pledge.
  • Taken advantage of every opportunity to learn about and improve our ecology, and practiced the art of outdoor living in ways that minimize pollution of soil, water, and air.

"We All Made It" plaque

An award presented by Philmont to each crew that:
  • Demonstrated good camping practices and Scouting spirit. A commemorative plaque, or simply plaque, is a plate of metal ceramic stone wood or other material typically attached to a wall stone or other vertical surface and bearing
  • Followed an approved itinerary and camped only where scheduled.
  • Fulfilled the commitment to the Wilderness Pledge.
  • Took advantage of every opportunity to learn about and improve our ecology, and practiced the art of outdoor living in ways that minimize pollution of soil, water, and air.

50-Miler Award

All Philmont itineraries can qualify crew members for the 50-Miler award as it relates to distance. The 50-Miler Award is an award of the Boy Scouts of America designed to promote the ideals of Scouting and in Scoutcraft, conservation, Self-reliance 3 of the 10 required service hours must be done at Philmont. The award is secured through participant's local council service center.

"Duty to God" Patch

Under the guidance of a crew Chaplain's Aide, each participant in a trek may work to fulfill the requirements of the Duty to God Award.
The Requirements are:
  1. Participants must attend a religious service while at Philmont, participate in at least three daily devotionals with their crew, and lead Grace before a meal.
  2. Participants must obtain a Chaplain's Aide signature to certify completion of requirements.
  3. Chaplain's Aide must secure a "Duty to God" brochure for the crew upon completion of the trek.
Once these have been fulfilled, one may obtain the "Duty to God" patch from the Tooth of Time Traders Shop.

Other programs

In Trail Crew, participants are led by Foremen, employed by the Philmont Conservation Department, and spend the first week of the program building a trail to be used by the thousands of scouts and scouters who visit the ranch each year.

On the trek, participants have the opportunity to enjoy the ranch which they have given service to, and take part in many program activities. Trail Crew is very popular because of the unique experience which it provides and its attractive price tag. Compared to a regular Philmont trek, OATC is a bargain at $150 (plus transportation), and is used by many scouts as a way to get to the scouting mecca of Philmont at a much more affordable price. Although the program is inexpensive, many OA lodges and sections will give scholarships to arrowmen in need of assistance with the program or travel costs.

Program components

Camps

Philmont now operates from one large base camp. For the 2007 season there were 34 staffed camps and 65 unstaffed camps, known as "trail camps". Trail camps may, or may not have a nearby water source . . . those without water are "Dry Camps". Philmonts camps are generally set no more than a couple of miles apart. Every few years new camps are created, such as the House Canyon Trail Camp in 2007 and camps are closed or relocated, for instance Comanche Camp was relocated in 2006 due to flooding. Currently there are in excess of 25 closed camps, many of which will never re-open as a result of evolving safety protocols. For instance Camps once located on top of Urraca Mesa, or in the Baldy Saddle will likely never reopen as their locations posed lighting risks.

Base Camp

Base camp's "Tent City" where departing and returning treks are staged.
Base camp's "Tent City" where departing and returning treks are staged.

Base Camp is the center of all Philmont administration, ingress, and egress. Most of its area is occupied by Camping Headquarters; ancillary facilities include the Seton Museum (devoted to Ernest Thompson Seton's Woodcraft Indians and other works), the Philmont Training Center and Villa Philmonte, the fire response facilities, the cattle headquarters, and the administration area. Ernest Thompson Seton ( August 14 1860 - October 23 1946) was a Scots-Canadian (and naturalized U The League of Woodcraft Indians was a youth program established by Ernest Thompson Seton. The Philmont Training Center (PTC located at the well-known Philmont Scout Ranch near Cimarron New Mexico, has been the National Training Center of the The Villa Philmonte is a large ranch manor located outside of Cimarron New Mexico, on the Philmont Scout Ranch property of the Boy Scouts of America [5] Its population exceeds that of Cimarron on most nights of the summer, according to the hiker's pamphlet. Mark Anderson is the current head of programs.

Its primary facilities are:

A Scout throws his boots over the Philmont entrance sign at Base Camp, a famous tradition.
A Scout throws his boots over the Philmont entrance sign at Base Camp, a famous tradition.
A sunrise from base camp
A sunrise from base camp

Trail camps

A trail camp is simply an unstaffed camp. Trail camps contain several campsites, but they are often spread out over half a mile of trail or more, so that there is no sense of crowding. Each trail camp is marked by a map, attached to a tree or the side of a latrine at every trail which passes through it. Campsites are marked by:

Staffed camps

Scouts spar-pole climbing at Pueblano.
Scouts spar-pole climbing at Pueblano.

Many camps have several live-in staff members who are in charge of the camp's "program", which consists of a wide variety of activities. Camps often carry a historical or modern theme, such as logging (Crater Lake and Pueblano), mining or blacksmithing (French Henry, Cypher's Mine, and Black Mountain), fur trapping and mountain man life (Miranda, Clear Creek), land navigation (Zastrow) or western lore (Beaubien, Clark's Fork, or Ponil). The program in a camp is run by staff known as Program Counselors. These Program Counselors are supervised by a Camp Director.

Specific program activities include black powder rifle loading and shooting, shotgun shooting and reloading, .30-06 shooting, trail rides on horseback, burro packing and racing, rock climbing (on artificial towers as well as actual rock faces at Miners Park), tomahawk throwing, branding, search and rescue training, mountain bicycling, Mexican homesteading, blacksmithing, goldpanning, obstacle courses, archeological sites, spar pole climbing, and a variety of campfires and evening programs. Gunpowder is a an explosive mixture of Sulfur, Charcoal and Potassium nitrate (also known as saltpetre/saltpeter that burns rapidly producing volumes A shotgun (also known as a scattergun) is a Firearm that is usually designed to be fired from the shoulder which uses the energy of a fixed shell to fire a number The donkey or ass, Equus asinus, is a member of the Equidae or horse family and an odd-toed ungulate. Livestock branding is any technique for marking Livestock so as to identify the owner For the TV series of this title see Search and Rescue (TV series.

Most staffed camps contain several campsites of the same sort which appear in trail camps (with the exception of French Henry); however, the primary distinguishing factor is the presence of one or several cabins. There is always a main cabin, where an arriving crew is given a "porch talk" by one of the staff members. This includes information about available program, location of trash receptacles, and other timely information such as the presence of "problem bears. " Camps in the Valle Vidal (Seally Canyon, Ring Place and Whitman Vega) have yurts, large circular semi-permanent tents which allow for bear defense but may be removed in the off-season in the interest of leave no trace camping, rather than cabins. The Valle Vidal ( Valley of Life) is a 100000-acre (400 km² area in the Sangre de Cristo Mountains northwest of Cimarron New Mexico. A yurt is a portable Felt -covered wood lattice -framed dwelling structure used by Nomads in the Steppes of Central Asia. Leave No Trace is a set of principles for participation in outdoor Recreation that seeks to minimize the impact on the Natural environment.

Most staffed camps have a swap box—a box in which crews may place unwanted food and take anything they might desire. Predictably, swap boxes tend to fill up with foods that people tend not to like, get too much of, or food no one wants to carry. The swap boxes are usually filled with: canned meats, dried peaches, raisins, Polynesian chicken freeze dried meals, HOO-AH bars, drink mixes, G. O. R. P. , tropical G. O. R. P. , dried green beans, and vegetarian chili.

With several exceptions, staffed camps accept trash, send and receive mail, and offer purified water. The exceptions are those camps which have no road access or where the camps receive their supply shipments by burro. All staffed camps also contain radios, by which staff members can communicate with Logistical Services, the Health Lodge, or each other. Radio is the transmission of signals by Modulation of electromagnetic waves with frequencies below those of visible Light. The radio is used for all manner of communication, including notifications of the movements of the ranch's various vehicles, logistical inquiries between camps and Base, major and minor medical issues, and a nightly itinerary read-out which often includes world news and a weather forecast. The ranch's non-stationary staff are assigned unit numbers, by which they identify themselves on the radio. The ranch also employs a variety of esoteric radio ten-codes for rapid communication. Ten-codes, properly known as ten signals, are Code words used to represent common phrases in voice communication particularly by law enforcement and in Citizen's

In all, there are 32 staffed camps currently at Philmont Scout Ranch, by name: Abreu, Apache Springs, Baldy Town, Beaubien, Black Mountain, Carson Meadows, Cimarroncito, Clark's Fork, Clear Creek, Crater Lake, Crooked Creek, Cypher's Mine, Dan Beard, Dean Cow, Fish Camp, French Henry, Harlan, Head of Dean, Hunting Lodge, Indian Writings, Miners Park, Miranda, Ponil, Phillips Junction, Pueblano, Rich Cabins, Ring Place, Sawmill, Seally Canyon, Urraca, Ute Gulch, Whitman Vega, Zastrow.

Commissaries

A commissary is a small warehouse which is stocked with trail food for campers, real food for backcountry staff, and various other supplies, by weekly truck shipments. A small room in the warehouse holds a trading post, which sells a small variety of odds and ends, including postcards, postage, and games, along with repair kits, white gas for crews' stoves, and other backpacking necessities. Naphtha normally refers to a number of different flammable liquid mixtures of hydrocarbons i A crew typically stops by a commissary every 3-4 days in order to limit the quantity of consumables carried by the crew at any given point. Food is initially issued by the Services building in Base Camp, and is resupplied at the commissaries.

By volume the commissaries at Philmont are: Base Camp, Ute Gulch, Phillips Junction, Baldy Town, Ponil, and Rich Cabins.

Conservation

The first Conservation staffers begin hiking and clearing the trails one month prior to the first participants' arrival. These groups of trail workers are affectionately known as "A-team. "

During the summer, the Conservation staff consists of conservationists that aide crews on their conservation project, GIS staff that works on maps, and work crews that maintain trails and campsites throughout the backcountry. These work crews carry their food & tools for more than one week and almost always have packs over sixty pounds.

The five divisions of the Conservation Department, each led by an Associate Director of Conservation (ADC), are Conservationists, GIS, Order of the Arrow Trail Crew (OATC), Roving Outdoor Conservation School (ROCS), and Work Crew.

Conservationists live in staff camps and lead conservation projects for treks passing through their camp. The GIS staff map trails, campsites, and other features of the Philmont Backcountry. OATC leads Order of the Arrow members on a two week experience - 1 week building trail and 1 week on a trek of the participants' design (not a standard pre-determined itinerary). ROCS leads both male and female crews on a 20 day experience that typically encompasses most of Philmont and the Valle Vidal, in which participants learn conservation techniques, hydrology, geology, land management practices, ecology, and other conservation-themed lessons. Finally, Work Crews are staff groups who are responsible for maintaining and sometimes creating campsites and trails.

Also see: Roving Outdoor Conservation School

Ranger Program

A ranger helping scouts on their first day at Philmont.
A ranger helping scouts on their first day at Philmont. The Roving Outdoor Conservation School is a twenty-one day special trek program at Philmont Scout Ranch in Cimarron New Mexico
"It was decided to call them Rangers. " - Jack Rhea

When Jack Rhea, former Assistant Chief Scout Executive of Operations for the Boy Scouts of America, became Director of Camping at Philmont, there was no Ranger program. The Boy Scouts of America ( BSA) is the largest youth organization in the United States with over five million But, as Philmont became more and more popular, he and his staff developed what they called the Ranger Program, which is now mostly responsible for teaching backpacking skills, first-aid skills, and developing the leadership of the crew leader. Rangers are responsible for ensuring that all participants know all required skills and procedures needed for backcountry treks. [6] They generally will also hike along with crews on the 10-day treks for the first two days in which they teach and observe the crew. The Ranger department is also responsible for maintaining a ready search-and-rescue team at all times for use on Philmont land or in surrounding areas. The Ranger department also consists of Mountain Trek Rangers that are responsible for taking out the week-long mountain treks associated with the Philmont Training Center. Ranger Trainers are at least second year Rangers that are responsible for training and supervising other Rangers.

The Ranger Department was started in 1957. During the summer of 2007, the Philmont Staff Association coordinated a 50th Anniversary Ranger Reunion at the ranch. Over 300 former Rangers attended this event.

Philmont Museum and Seton Memorial Library

Philmont is also home to the Philmont Museum and Visitor Center, which offers exhibits relating to the ranch's history, as well as the Ernest Thompson Seton Memorial Library, a research library containing Seton's personal collection and an extensive collection of volumes pertaining to western lore and the history of the area. Ernest Thompson Seton ( August 14 1860 - October 23 1946) was a Scots-Canadian (and naturalized U

Noteworthy Former staff

See also

References

Specific
  1. ^ 2006 BSA Year in Review. Double H High Adventure Base, located near Datil New Mexico, is the newest National High Adventure program of the Boy Scouts of America (BSA James P Fitch was a Scouting notable in the early history of the Boy Scouts of America and author of Songs Scouts Sing (September 1935 The Florida National High Adventure Sea Base is a High adventure program base run by the Boy Scouts of America (BSA in the Florida Keys. The Northern Tier National High Adventure Bases are a collection of high adventure bases run by the Boy Scouts of America (BSA in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness Outdoor education usually refers to organized Learning that takes place in the Outdoors. The Tooth of Time is an Igneous Intrusion of dacite porphyry formed in the Tertiary period of the Cenozoic era some 22-40 million The Wilderness Grace, also known as the "Worth Ranch Grace" and the " Philmont Grace" is the common name of a simple prayer recited before meals at many Boy Scouts of America. Retrieved on 2008-01-05. 2008 ( MMVIII) is the current year in accordance with the Gregorian calendar, a Leap year that started on Tuesday of the Common Events 1477 - Battle of Nancy: Charles the Bold is killed and Burgundy becomes part of France.
  2. ^ [http://esp.cr.usgs.gov/info/kt/footprint.html Online guide to the continental Cretaceous-Tertiary boundary in the Raton basin, Colorado and New Mexico
  3. ^ US Gazetteer files: 2000 and 1990. United States Census Bureau (2005-05-03). The United States Census Bureau (officially Bureau of the Census as defined in Title) is the government agency that is responsible for the United States Census Year 2005 ( MMV) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link displays full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Events 1491 - Kongo monarch Nkuwu Nzinga is baptised by Portuguese missionaries adopting the baptismal name of João Retrieved on 2008-01-31. 2008 ( MMVIII) is the current year in accordance with the Gregorian calendar, a Leap year that started on Tuesday of the Common Events 1504 - France cedes Naples to Aragon. 1606 - Gunpowder Plot: Guy Fawkes
  4. ^ About Philmont. Philmont Scout Ranch. Boy Scouts of America. Retrieved on 2006-08-31. Year 2006 ( MMVI) was a Common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. Events 1056 - Byzantine Empress Theodora becomes ill dying suddenly a few days later without children to succeed the Throne
  5. ^ Philmont Scout Ranch
  6. ^ Organize Your Crew
  7. ^ High Country - Philmont Staff Association - October 2007
  8. ^ Secretary Rumsfeld's Remarks at the White House Conference on Cooperative Conservation - U.S. Department of Defense News Transcript - August 29, 2005
  9. ^ Donald and Joyce Rumsfeld Marriage Profile at About.com
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