6-11-O2

What made our crew and trek so special? I think it was the amount of trust we gained in each other. We had four family members in our crew: Mr. Meadows; Trent, his son; Adrian, and Mr. Meadow's nephew were all advisors and Skip, Trent's brother was crew leader. Trent said something the day his dad returned to base camp that really touched me as well as the rest of the crew. He commended Skip for doing a good job and said "Skip, dad would not have left you alone out here with a 23 year old and a 19 year old unless he trusted you to take care of the crew. He thinks very highly of you, and the rest of you also." Thorns and Roses that night lasted a long time.

Looking back, knowing what I know now, I would have said something along the lines of: "Here we are at Thunder Ridge. Three hours ago we were all sitting in a circle here arguing... no discussing what our plan of action would be. Our average crew age is now 16 and a half. Tomorrow we have a hike. It will be a long one. I have looked at the map and we are hiking from one side of Philmont to the other, literally. We are hiking over 4 mountains, all above 10000 feet. We are hiking over 20 miles, and it is almost all dry. The last spring we have from here to Base Camp is at Red Hills. We have a very long hike ahead of us, and we have every odd going against us: age, distance, elevation change, water. There is nowhere to go if we fail. Base Camp won't find out until 2 nights from now if we get lost, or decide to stop. We are alone out there. We were just at the last staff camp for miles. This gives us all the more reason to go and show the world what 9 teenagers can do. At home I have a quote on my wall that talks about how Philmont is more than a series of backcountry camps; that it is camaraderie. Well here is the camaraderie, served with a side of danger and an appetizer of fun. Tomorrow we are going to go on one of the hardest hikes of our lives, stuck at the end of a very long trek with many hardships. Not only are we on the hardest trek offered at Philmont, we are on the hardest trek and Mother Nature made it even harder. Tomorrow we are going to hike and we are going to prevail. We will end up in Shaefer's Pass hot, tired, and sweaty, but we will have made it. Just think of the stories we will be able to tell."

We did prevail, and it made us stronger. Our trek was full of troubles but we all came out closer because of it. It was one of the best 2 weeks of my life, and when asked if I would go back to Philmont even though so many people go hurt, I say "Of Course!"

On a side note, it is now a popularly believed superstition in our troop and venturing crew not to use trekking poles on the first day of a trek. It turns out that everyone who was sent back to base camp used trekking poles on the first day. It was not just an age issue either, because Daniel was only 17. Trent started using his trekking poles on the 3rd day, and he was fine.