5. Training

The first ethic of Leave No Trace is Plan Ahead and Prepare. The simplest way to describe this is: Know what you are getting yourself into. A trek at Philmont is a 11 day challenge, both mentally and physically. Make sure you prepare yourself by making sure you are within Philmont’s Height/Weight regulations. If you exceed you will be sent home.

At Philmont you will be hiking between 3-10 miles a day between 6,500 – 12,441 feet above sea level. You will be carrying a backpack that weighs 25% to 30% of your body weight with daily with elevation changes ranging from 500 feet a day to 1,500 feet a day.

Your crew should develop a training regiment starting near the end of January and continuing until your trek. The best training regiments include day hikes every weekend and one backpacking trip every month. If you don’t have any mountains nearby, go to the park to hike. Make sure you are increasing the weight of your pack as time goes on. For day hikes, use water. That way if you carry too much you can drink some of your weight or water a tree/grass/dirt with it.

Training hikes are the best opportunity to test your gear. Some things to pay attention to are: Gear not fitting comfortably, clothing irritating skin, or something that is not working as you thought it would. If you have gear issues, don’t be afraid to return the item and get something that works better.

Make sure you get the boots that you are planning on taking to Philmont early. Wearing them on every training hike you can. A well broken in, comfortable pair of boots is essential for a successful Philmont Trek.

We’ve discussed the physical importance of training hikes. Most crews don’t realize the teamwork that develops during training hikes. If the crew does not know each other well,  encourage scouts to interact with those whom they may not know well. Ask the scouts who is interested in a leadership position in the crew and let each scout take a turn as Crew Leader. This will let the scout and the crew decide if it is a good fit. Once everyone gets a chance at being crew leader, hold a crew election. It is imperative that the crew leader is elected and not appointed. The crew must have confidence in their Crew Leader’s ability to lead or you will risk leadership problems while on the trail. There is no excuse, do not appoint the crew leader.

It’s inevitable that there will be at least one member of your crew who always has something planned no matter how far in advance you tell them. The best solution to this is to establish a time and day each week  that works for everyone. For example: Every Saturday at 6:00 am we will meet at the 40th street trail head and hike Piestewa Peak until 9:00 am. If someone slows the crew down at Philmont and they did not attend any of the training hikes, it is inevitable that they will get voted off of the island. Make sure everybody knows the importance of making the training hikes.

The physical shape your crew is, specifically how fast you hike, will help you greatly in March when you begin Itinerary Planning.