Leaving in a few weeks - any last minute tips and/or must haves for my pack?

Great gear is super expensive.
Good gear is fairly expensive. I hope it works.

Less gear is cheaper and easier to carry.

normaleagle05 said:

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Less gear is cheaper and easier to carry.

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I am sacrificing a bit of comfort at camp for less weight on the trail. Hopefully that strategy pays off.

If you haven't already broken in your boots, you better get on it.

Compression shorts & gold bond to avoid chafing.

Good socks.

Young Ranger Pro Sandy woukd have shunned all creature comforts on the trail, but old man Pro Sandy needs a few.

Used to sleep directly on the ground, now use a sleeping pad.

Used to sit on a rock, now use a crazy creek.

Used to just let chaffing happen as the few times it happened I'd recover quickly, now use body glide. For ursa's sake, recommend that over gold bond to limit the smellables you are putting out as powder will go everywhere.

Used to carry 4 or 5 books because something something weak mind strong back, now just take a compact bible. Duty to God, ensure your crew does it.

Used to hate my picture taken, now wish I was in some of those photos from the summers spent at Philmont. Your phone is probably your lightest camera, just leave it in airplane mode.

Take some stationary and stamps. Write some letters to your wife and make your son write his mama as your can mail from a few camps or just give to a staff member to drop off at the post office. Good exercise to do to focus your thoughts, a good momento from your hike, and you'll get some brownie points with the misses.

Good gear vs great gear, seems somethings it is a matter of spending hundreds to save ounces. I worked two summers using Philmont issued gear and had great summers. The key is in your head of being in the moment, turning off your work brain, and knowing that it is about the Scouts not you.

Enjoy!

IWGBTP!

One of the best places on earth. I've never camped anywhere like it. Please savor the opportunity to be there, even though it will be uncomfortable and difficult at times.

Get up, packed, eat light, and hit the trail early each day. It rains most every afternoon, and if you can get to your site with tents pitched before the rain hits you will have a wonderful trek. Napping in the rain after a brisk hike is awesome.

Stay together on the trail no matter what. You are as fast as your slowest member and that's okay.

If the camp offers a shower, take it, no matter how cold the water is. 50 deg water is rejuvenating!

I slept in compression socks. Never had any calf cramps or soreness.

I used Anti-Monkey Butt vs Gold Bond or glide products. I used Ex-Offico boxer briefs in 2014. Today, I would use Duluth ArmaChillo Extra Long Boxer Briefs. I had severe chaffing on a practice hike and walked bowlegged for 10 miles. That never happened again.

Lightweight = $
Waterproof = $
Breathable = $

Together they = $$$$

Enjoy!

Before you sit down on the ****ter, run a stick around the under side of the rim. Brown recluses like to build webs under there and consider scrotum meat a delicacy.

SockDePot said:

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gold bond

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body glide for this purpose. And don't forget to hit all potential chafing points.

Lots of great tips here I'll add a few in the not expensive and able to save you weight catagory.

a 1L Smar****er bottle weighs less than half of a nalgene, only costs $1.50 and I have several that are 3+ years old that have hundreds of trail miles on them. They fit a in the bottle pouches on most packs a lot easier as well.

Walmart brand crocs are $10 and make great camp shoes.

Window shrink film for your ground cloth. It's ultra light, sturdy enough for many philmont trips as long as you clear your tent site of sharp sticks and rocks, and cheap as well. Just need to trim it to the size of your tent floor.

Combining all three of those you can probably save 1.5-2 lbs out of your pack, depending on what you started with and total expense is less than $25.

If your on Facebook, there are many Philmont discussion forums, but you got a lot of great tips here. Just live in the moment and let your boy leaders lead.

are you a youth/young adult or an old geezer like me? That may affect my answers.

I worked there with prosandy back in the day but I wasn't as hardcore - I had a sleeping mat and opted for the comfort of a cotton polo over his freshly pressed class A.

For a sleeping pad, be sure you get one of the new generation types that are 3ish inches thick. Game changer if you are a side sleeper like me. I like the nemo astro ultralight as a good midpoint of price/weight/performance.

Don't overdo it on shoes. You'll be hiking good trails that aren't that steep for the most part with a not overly heavy pack. Most people without ankle problems are just fine in trail runners.

and remember- you're not lost if you don't care where you are.

TexasAggie73 said:

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let your boy leaders lead.

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This is the most important thing. Just sit back, relax, shake your head, and spend a few days following them around with as little influence on their decisions as possible.

ThunderCougarFalconBird said:

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SockDePot said:

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gold bond

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body glide for this purpose. And don't forget to hit all potential chafing points.

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Back when I was running a lot I switched from bodyglide to gold bond friction defense stick. It worked just as well, was cheaper, and didn't leave a waxy residue on my clothes like bodyglide did.

Lots of good advice in here. I went to Philmont twice as a youth and was a Wilderness Guide and Double H and a Ranger at Philmont. Here are 10 brief tips:

1) Body glide -> no goldbond, no baby powder. Yes it does dry things out (temporarily) but like other posters said, it gets everywhere and turns a lot of clothing (socks, boot, etc) into smellables.

2) Trail toes -> get a couple of little packages and store them in tiny ziplock bags. Different consistency, ingredients, etc than body glide but a big blister on Day 1 will make the next 11 miserable.

3) Protein shake at dinner -> you are going to use more muscle groups than you think on the daily. Bring a protein powder to take within 30-45 minutes after you get to your destination. At least 20-40 grams of protein every night for recovery. But this should be in addition to water and low-sugar electrolyte drinks the flush lactic acid.

4) Stretch at conclusion -> while you are consuming your protein shake (above), stretch.

5) Breakfast "twice" -> this is one thing I required of my crews and it produced results. Break camp and eat a snack-ish breakfast (granola bar, beef jerky, etc) and get on the trail. After 20 minutes or 1-2 miles, take a 20 minute break and a) stretch b) identify and treat hot spots - trail toes, body glide, etc c) adjust packs and 4) eat your second breakfast. Your biggest push of the day should come subsequent to that break.

6) Micro vs Macro -> yes, spend money on lighter and (potentially) better gear but DO NOT shave ounces or save money on your sleep system. If you have to buy a heavier and/or more expensive sleeping pad, then do it and don't second guess it. I don't give a **** what anyone on this planet says, the Thermarest Z-lite sucks. If you were fast-packing, peak-bagging or running an ultramarathon then sure, cut ounces as much as possible. Don't sacrifice your sleep - it is so important.

7) Raquetball -> Sleep and feet are two things you really have to focus on and take care of. Bring a racquetball to roll your feet on in the evening after you stretch and/or before bed. The last time I went backpacking, I actually took a very light foam roller and rolled-out my quads, hammys and calves in my tent at night. I was packing 53 pounds. Made a huge difference.

8) NEMO Fillo - you.are.welcome.

9) Gels - maltodextrin-based (i.e. as first ingredient) gel packets. Hammer, SIS and VFuel is what I recommend.

10) Look up, not down. Look through your eyes, not a lens. Yes, the iPhone is a great, convenient resource but don't just look at your feet or the trail. Don't obsess over photos or videos. Witness Philmont and those kids with your eyes. I am sure there will be plenty of people in your crew that will share pics and videos with you.

More as I thinks of it if desired. Happy to help.

Good rain gear. It seemed like it rained about 4pm every day. As someone mentioned above, try to have camp set up before then every day.

Don't get a stress fracture in your heel with two days' hiking left like I did.

Be in shape. Most of our crew (myself included) was going into their freshman year of high school, and a few really struggled. We had to take some of their gear and split it among the rest of us.

I was our crew leader when we went in 2006. I can't believe it's been that long.

Tamuag04 said:

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Look up, not down. Look through your eyes, not a lens. Yes, the iPhone is a great, convenient resource but don't just look at your feet or the trail. Don't obsess over photos or videos. Witness Philmont and those kids with your eyes. I am sure there will be plenty of people in your crew that will share pics and videos with you.

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This is so profound and true!! I love the way you phrased it.

I was 14 on my first trek (1984) and it was a miserable trip - lost, team got split up multiple times because our trek leader was a fast hiker but ineffective leader. I was so freaking angry one day, cussing under my breath with every step, and then literally by God's grace and almost an audible message from Him to literally look up - and I still remember the moment. It was a beautiful sight, and all my anger melted away instantly. I felt God's presence in a way that I have rarely experienced since. Was such a profound moment that I'm misty-eyed right now remembering it.

Philmont is special. "Look up, not down." Perfect.

Hoping that the fires are not to bad out that way. Cimmaron Canyon area was shut down last I heard.

There are plenty of places to stop for water. You don't need to carry more than about a liter. When I went, we had a father and son on our crew who were carrying so much water they didn't need to refill until day 4.

That same father and son had also bought out the sporting goods store and had every fancy trail gadget you can imagine. Leave that kind of stuff at home. Their packs were 50+ lbs each while the rest of the crew had packs weighing between 38 and 42 pounds. Guess who in our crew enjoyed Philmont the least.

Dr. Nefario said:

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There are plenty of places to stop for water. You don't need to carry more than about a liter. When I went, we had a father and son on our crew who were carrying so much water they didn't need to refill until day 4.

That same father and son had also bought out the sporting goods store and had every fancy trail gadget you can imagine. Leave that kind of stuff at home. Their packs were 50+ lbs each while the rest of the crew had packs weighing between 38 and 42 pounds. Guess who in our crew enjoyed Philmont the least.

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Be very careful with this and always know where your next water is coming from. There might be places where you can get away with 1L of water but not many and there are some days where you won't cross water till you get to the next base camp. I know the Philmont rule is 4L and agree for most that is overkill, but many show up with little backpacking experience and don't really know what their water intact should be.

Only luxury item - Lightweight camp chair that you can take a nap in without falling over.

Take care of your feet!

Pooh Ah said:

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Only luxury item - Lightweight camp chair that you can take a nap in without falling over.

Take care of your feet!

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I tried using a pad on one camp out. Never again. I'll sacrifice weight for comfort at camp!!

ccard257 said:

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TexasAggie73 said:

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let your boy leaders lead.

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This is the most important thing. Just sit back, relax, shake your head, and spend a few days following them around with as little influence on their decisions as possible.

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hardest thing to do as a leader but the best thing you can do for your boys. Be willing to walk an extra 2 miles because they took the wrong trail and let them figure it out

Been following official social media and disappointed to see almost everyone wearing masks. Hopefully it is not that way once the cameras are out down.

Dr. Nefario said:

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There are plenty of places to stop for water. You don't need to carry more than about a liter.

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This is a bad idea. Carry the 3-4 quarts.

If you are by yourself and can quickly refill, this might work. Trying to stop every hour for a crew to refill their water, then scramble for cooking water every night in camp is not a good plan.

CT'97 said:

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Dr. Nefario said:

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There are plenty of places to stop for water. You don't need to carry more than about a liter. When I went, we had a father and son on our crew who were carrying so much water they didn't need to refill until day 4.

That same father and son had also bought out the sporting goods store and had every fancy trail gadget you can imagine. Leave that kind of stuff at home. Their packs were 50+ lbs each while the rest of the crew had packs weighing between 38 and 42 pounds. Guess who in our crew enjoyed Philmont the least.

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Be very careful with this and always know where your next water is coming from. There might be places where you can get away with 1L of water but not many and there are some days where you won't cross water till you get to the next base camp. I know the Philmont rule is 4L and agree for most that is overkill, but many show up with little backpacking experience and don't really know what their water intact should be.

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Excellent point. My trip to Philmont was almost 50 years ago and our route had frequent water access and at every campsite. That was a long time ago though and not every route is going to have the same access to water.

Yeah damned leery about the water comment. I have had to help treat a lot of heat/dehydration issues out there. There are times and places that water is pretty easy to come by, and others that you could be in for a rough go.

Please, and the is a big please, follow your bear procedures very carefully. I am extremely concerned about the bear situation this summer. What I saw last summer greatly concerned me, and sets things up badly for this summer. I know there have already been issues even before most staff showed up.

I spent several season on staff in the late 90's/early 2000, principally as the Bear Researcher and Fire Rehab Team. I was back out there last summer for a week as one of the Visiting Forester teaching Forestry and fire ecology to almost 1000 scouts. I'll be back out there the last week of July.

They have had more covid issues this summer already, with just the staff showing up than all of last summer.

ursusguy said:

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Yeah damned leery about the water comment. I have had to help treat a lot of heat/dehydration issues out there. There are times and places that water is pretty easy to come by, and others that you could be in for a rough go.

Please, and the is a big please, follow your bear procedures very carefully. I am extremely concerned about the bear situation this summer. What I saw last summer greatly concerned me, and sets things up badly for this summer. I know there have already been issues even before most staff showed up.

I spent several season on staff in the late 90's/early 2000, principally as the Bear Researcher and Fire Rehab Team. I was back out there last summer for a week as one of the Visiting Forester teaching Forestry and fire ecology to almost 1000 scouts. I'll be back out there the last week of July.

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I am not the bear expert you are but I also have a lot of concern for the bear situation. Miners park was a known bear issue that we were told about at logistics meeting, heard about on the trail for other crews, and then the staff reiterated it on the porch talk. When we walked into our camp there was chunks of food on the sump screen, I found oatmeal packets laying around from that morning. I didn't let my crew set up till we did a complete sweep of the area and picked up a gallon bag full of trash and cleaned the screen. We had a bear through camp that night and obvious tracks and scat when we walked out the next morning.

So my question is, should we carry bear spray this year? Maybe some bears getting unpleasant encounters will make them more leery of hanging around camps?

So much has changed since my trek back in the day. I do a bit of backpacking now and have learned a lot I wish I knew back then.

- I am fully bought in on the Smart Water bottles vs Nalgeens or Camelbacks. I typically carry two of them and a 2L Cnoc Vecto dirty water bag. The Cnoc bag opens from the back so you can quickly scoop out of a creek or puddle while moving. I use a Sawyer Squeeze filter that can screw directly to the bag and roll it to filter into the bottles. You can also screw directly to the bottles and drink through the filter. This way gives you the flexibility to carry more water when you're going to need it but doesn't have to take up space and weight when you don't. Really great system.

- Sun hoody. I hike in a lightweight sun hoody and it has been a game changer. The sun out there can eat you up quick.

- 3 pairs of socks. Two for hiking, one for sleeping. I like a lighter weight low-cut Darn Tough for hiking and a thicker over-the-calf wool for sleeping.

- NON-waterproof boots or trail runners. I ditched gore-tex for boots when I realized it was making my feet sweat so much that all benefits were null. Dry socks on my feet, wet ones drying on my hip belt. Switch every time they get wet. Breathable boots dry really fast with a decent merino sock.

The staff, by my standards, was extremely lackadaisical with bear procedures. They were "seeing" that many bears, so complacency was kicking in. The camp I operated out of is historically bear central, and I think they had filled out 2 bear reports by mid summer......but I was able in a matter of a couple minutes find signs that bears were in fact wandering around camp (partial tracks, hair on telephone poles, slobber marks on windows, etc.). By the end of my week, I found 4 bears within 400 yards of camp, but they were actively avoiding people (note, this is extremely common and nothing to worry over.....I had a radio collared female who was rarely more than 100 yards from an inhabited campsite and she was rarely if ever seen). With covid knocking out the 2020 season, things sorta got reset with the bears of them getting used not many humans around. So when 2021 came around, the bears were not as habituated as they normally are and actively avoided people. After I left, bear sightings started slowly ticking up (expected) as the habituation process continued......note, with the number of bears and the number of people, habituation is going to happen, just can't get them also food conditioned (rewarded) also. I say all this to say staff and campers got really complacent last summer, mix in fires displacing bears from the south and general drought conditions (really no snow pack which is a huge indicator for bear problems) things could be interesting.

Bear spray is an interesting challenge. If it is discharged, it is a stong smellable, so you need to move campsites (it will attract other bears not directly sprayed and they will literally roll around in it). Normally I don't recommend crews carry it, but I may end up changing my opinion this summer........part of the challenge is the labeled 30 foot distance is more like 12. I watched an advisor, 20 years ago, freak out and try to spray a bear about 70 feet away (walking away). He didn't check the wind, completely missed the bear, but fogged 2 neighboring occupied campsite. Triggered some breathing issues in a kid, and I thought another adviser was going to to beat his a--. If you carry spray, just be smart about it.