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Eagle scouts head to Philmont
Two from RH to work as rangers
Above the Clouds at Philmont 2009
Graham Garrett and Matthew Quinn of Richmond Hill sit perched above the clouds in 2009 at Philmont Scout Ranch in New Mexico. The two will work as rangers this summer at the ranch. - photo by Photo provided.

Richmond Hill Eagle Scouts Graham Garrett and Matthew Quinn have been selected to work as rangers this summer at Philmont Scout Ranch in Cimarron, N.M.
Hundreds of Scouts apply from all over the nation to be a Ranger at Philmont Scout Ranch, which is the Boy Scouts of America’s largest national high adventure base camp at 241 square miles in the Sangre de Cristo range of the Rocky Mountains in northern New Mexico.
A Ranger must be able to hike approximately 6-10 miles a day while carrying a backpack weighing 35-60 pounds.  
Their job will entail welcoming new crews to Philmont, seeing them through the camps administrative process and then preparing them for their two-week long hiking trek through the mountains. Each crew will hike 50-plus miles over a two-week period. Rangers have the responsibility to accompany the arriving crews on the trail for a specified period of time, coaching them in camping and hiking techniques, teaching them how to care for the land and most importantly teaching them safety and crew teamwork. Once confident their crew can function on the trail alone, the Rangers will leave their crew to continue their 50-plus-mile itinerary and then return to base camp to prepare another incoming crew.  
Philmont operates 34 staffed camps and 55 trail camps.  Its mountains range from 6,000 to 12,000 feet, and the camp usually hosts 27,000 participants in back-country hiking/camping and training conferences each year.
Graham and Matthew came up through the ranks of Scouting in Troop 400 and each went on to earn three Eagle palms past their rank of Eagle. They have both hiked more than 50 miles at Philmont, are BSA lifeguards, members of Order of the Arrow and earned countless awards the program had to offer.
Both Scouts decided to apply for positions at Philmont last August just after completing their summer’s work at the new Black Creek Scout Ranch in Sylvania. Graham and Matthew held staff positions during the camp’s inaugural summer; Graham in the position of nature director and Matthew holding a nature-instructor position.  While working at the camp, they lived in tents for five weeks with fellow staffers; at the close of camp each was presented with the Tomochichi 2012 Camp Staff Award.  
Graham is finishing his sophomore year at Berry College and is pursuing a degree in animal science. Matthew will graduate from Richmond Hill High School in May and attend the University of Georgia in the fall to pursue a geology/engineering course of study.

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