“Is anybody not ready? Hike On.” I exclaimed countless times on my twelve day trek at Philmont Scout Ranch. My much older brother had ventured to Philmont with our dad fifteen years before my trip, so as you can imagine, I grew up hearing stories of the 137,000 acre paradise perched within the Sangre de Cristo mountains in New Mexico. Philmont is a twelve day strenuous backpacking experience and not for the faint of heart. Luckily for me, I was eligible at fourteen and my dad was healthy and willing at fifty-three, so he could have the same bonding experience with me as with my brother. Having my father there made me feel more secure and confident about the trip. This was also a healing experience for us as we lost my paternal grandfather
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In the eyes of the camp, the crew leader is in charge, not an adult chaperone, and they are treated as such by staff. Adding to the gravity of my responsibility, a youth lost his life in a flash flood several weeks prior which made me realize the obligation I had to make good decisions. Among our crew, we had people of different hiking ability, which created a rift between swift hikers who wanted to arrive sooner, and the slower backpackers who became self-conscious about their speed. This tension culminated on our 10th day, when the slower hikers left before the rest of the group. The strategy of getting a head start was not the problem in my eyes, but to not run it past the leader was inappropriate. I felt that this divisive action went against the best interests of the crew. When we rejoined, I challenged the adult who made the decision to leave early. Previously, he tried to convince me to wake up the crew sooner, which I promptly refused. After this incident he expressed my dad how disappointed he was in me. He thought this could manipulate my opinion, which I did not appreciate. This adult was used being in charge, so deferring to me, along with
In the eyes of the camp, the crew leader is in charge, not an adult chaperone, and they are treated as such by staff. Adding to the gravity of my responsibility, a youth lost his life in a flash flood several weeks prior which made me realize the obligation I had to make good decisions. Among our crew, we had people of different hiking ability, which created a rift between swift hikers who wanted to arrive sooner, and the slower backpackers who became self-conscious about their speed. This tension culminated on our 10th day, when the slower hikers left before the rest of the group. The strategy of getting a head start was not the problem in my eyes, but to not run it past the leader was inappropriate. I felt that this divisive action went against the best interests of the crew. When we rejoined, I challenged the adult who made the decision to leave early. Previously, he tried to convince me to wake up the crew sooner, which I promptly refused. After this incident he expressed my dad how disappointed he was in me. He thought this could manipulate my opinion, which I did not appreciate. This adult was used being in charge, so deferring to me, along with