Senior scouts and leaders from Troop 400 of the Richmond Hill Presbyterian Church travelled to the Philmont Scout Ranch in Cimarron, N.M., during the first two weeks of July.
Alex Hollowell, Beau Corbin, Friedrich Sedlak, Graham Garrett, Matt Quinn and Sawyer Duckworth met the challenge of 50-pound packs, freeze-dried food and two weeks’ worth of 5- to 12-mile daily hikes at elevations from 6,500 to 11,700 feet.
The troop plans to do it all again in 2011 and will have its first fundraiser will be from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 7, in the form of a multi-family yard sale in the parking lot of Richmond Hill Presbyterian Church.
This year, the Scouts began their adventure with a whitewater rafting trip on the Arkansas River before heading to the 216-square-mile preserve set aside for the Boy Scouts in 1938.
In addition to hiking through pristine wilderness areas, the Scouts experienced mountain climbing, rappelling, black powder shooting, panning for gold, horseback riding, tomahawk throwing and even cow milking.
Philmont is known for its wide variety of wildlife and many Scouts saw their first bear, pronghorn antelope and mule deer in a wild setting.
When setting up camp each night, the Scouts were required to stow all of their “smellables” into bags and hoist them high into the trees to prevent attracting unwanted camp visitors.
The physically demanding trek affords personal growth experiences for Scouts and capitalizes on team leadership situations in remote locations.
Philmont has been called “Scouting paradise” and the scouts of Troop 400 would agree as they plan for another trek in July 2011.
Alex Hollowell, Beau Corbin, Friedrich Sedlak, Graham Garrett, Matt Quinn and Sawyer Duckworth met the challenge of 50-pound packs, freeze-dried food and two weeks’ worth of 5- to 12-mile daily hikes at elevations from 6,500 to 11,700 feet.
The troop plans to do it all again in 2011 and will have its first fundraiser will be from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 7, in the form of a multi-family yard sale in the parking lot of Richmond Hill Presbyterian Church.
This year, the Scouts began their adventure with a whitewater rafting trip on the Arkansas River before heading to the 216-square-mile preserve set aside for the Boy Scouts in 1938.
In addition to hiking through pristine wilderness areas, the Scouts experienced mountain climbing, rappelling, black powder shooting, panning for gold, horseback riding, tomahawk throwing and even cow milking.
Philmont is known for its wide variety of wildlife and many Scouts saw their first bear, pronghorn antelope and mule deer in a wild setting.
When setting up camp each night, the Scouts were required to stow all of their “smellables” into bags and hoist them high into the trees to prevent attracting unwanted camp visitors.
The physically demanding trek affords personal growth experiences for Scouts and capitalizes on team leadership situations in remote locations.
Philmont has been called “Scouting paradise” and the scouts of Troop 400 would agree as they plan for another trek in July 2011.