Blue Sky And Philmont

Scout share western adventure

Area Boy Scouts recently enjoyed an expedition to Philmont Scout Ranch in Cimarron, New Mexico. From left, first row, areDylan Pilger, Mark Luksa, Tom Lynch, Scott Napkora. Second row, John Blat, Marcus Wagner, Matthew Reynolds, Ranger Dylan, Ranger Andrew, Jake Arnold, John Murray, Nick Egan. Third row, Christopher Tamanini, Nick Dennis, Tim Tamanini, Loran Napkora, Lenny Javick, Barry Wagner, Don Ide, Robbie Ide, Kyle Salaway, Michael Kiwak, Ryan Hoyt, Bill Reynolds and Aaron Napkora.

Upon arrival in Albuquerque, New Mexico, the contingent was met by Blue Sky Adventures and the Scouts toured the Atomic Museum in Los Alamos, visited Old Town Albuquerque, took a tram to Sandia Peak and hiked the dormant volcano spatter cones in Albuquerque. They also toured the Albuquerque History Museum, experienced whitewater rafting on the Rio Grande in Taos and completed a 10-day strenuous backpacking hike at Philmont Scout Ranch.

While at Philmont, the crews hiked the famous Tooth of Time and Mount Baldy Peak at 9,000 and 12,441 foot in elevation, respectively.

In preparation for the Philmont expedition, the Scouts also pre-hiked at Rickett’s Glen Falls trail, Mount Tammany at the Delaware Water Gap and took a 20 mile weekend backpacking hike in the Adirondacks at West Canada Lakes.

Simsbury Troop 175: Our Philmont Experience - Version 2

We just got back from eating at the country buffet. Luckily, it was all you can eat. That means you can eat all that you possibly can. That one took me a while to figure out. Anywho, at the country buffet I entertained myself by placing certain items of food on other peoples plates. My most famous instance of this was when I deposited a steaming pile of spinach on the plate of scout from a different troop. I believe he was upset with me.

After a good feeding session at the country buffet, we took a walk in the Garden of the Gods. What started out as a jolly stroll soon turned into a massacre by hail. Although there were no casualties on our side, it still felt as if we had been through a war. Luckily, we found shelter under the roof of a forlorn building right next to a parking lot, where we stayed until the hail subsided. It was fun watching fellow tourists have their hopes of a scenic hike ruined by balls of icy death flung from the sky.

We arrived at the university where we’d be staying the next few nights not very tired, because it was only 7. So, like any reasonable boy scout would do, we went to the rec center. It was awesome! They had a water-volleyball net, a hot tub that could seat over 40 people, a big pool, and a righteous waterslide! But, of course they had a not-so-fun lifeguard. The lifeguard wasn’t a happy camper and she also took her job a little bit too seriously. If I saw the pool, and began to walk at a slightly advanced pace, I would suddenly hear “NOOOOO RUNNNNNNNNIIIIIIIIIINNNGGGGGGGG!!!! GET OUT OF THE POOL AND TRY AGAIN.” It was fun to mess with her by breaking silly rules, such as: you must be on your back, facing forward whilst you go down the slide. After a night of shenanigans at the pool, we retired to our dorms and went to sleep, thus ending our first day of Blue Sky Adventures.

We arrived at Pikes Peak just in time for our ride up the mountain. Let me tell you that I was very surprised not to find any seatbelts on the train, as the type of speeds that we reached were pushing 7 mph. That’s right, 7 mph and they didn’t even have seatbelts. What a hoot. The view made it all worth it, and there were even donuts that can only be made at a certain elevation, which were delicious. Eventually, it was time to get back on the cogwheel, this time going even slower, and wind our way back down to the base of Pikes Peak. Next was rafting!

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