Philmont Shakedown I

This past weekend the troop went on our first “real” shakedown (we did a hike in August), backpacking through Minister Creek in Allegheny National Forest¹. It was probably one of my favorite campouts we’ve done: it was a true shakedown in that we were trying our gear, testing our fitness levels, and learning some techniques for hiking with a group. Minister Creek is a roughly six mile loop, so the first day we did three miles with our packs and then a three mile out-and-back along the Finger Lakes Trail, and the final three (including the view above) Sunday morning.

My Gear

This certainly was a good test of my gear. I didn’t necessarily want to be comfortable, I wanted to see if what I had would work: due to other obligations we drove down Saturday morning, which meant I was only spending one night on the trail. Even if things went very poorly, it would only be one night! Which is good, because the night was cold, and I couldn’t really get comfortable enough to sleep well until I put on my jacket and hat. Some of that was because my sleeping pad was, shall we say, Not Great, but I also thought about taking long wool base layers for sleeping and did not. Guess what I’ll be bringing next time!

My pack was a REI Flash 65 I bought on eBay. I love it! It’s also completely falling apart after only a little use. The top seam is almost completely ripped off, even after I applied a bunch of repair tape. I gave up on repairing it (because there are rips in a few other places) and picked up an Osprey Atmos AG 65 on Prime Day²: it’s heavier than I’d like, but part of the weight seems to be things that will keep it together better. Maybe I just cranked down the straps too much or something! (though I did see reviews talking about the durability of the Flash 65)

For a sleeping pad I decided to go with the Klymit Static V I have instead of getting a foam pad. I like the idea of something that can’t develop a leak on the trail, but I tried the Thermarest Z Lite Sol I got for my son and did not think I’d be comfortable enough at night. His review was that he was warm and comfortable, though! The Static V I have is a few years old and leaks. I gave it one last try! Never again. I’ll need to go with something inflatable, but I’m not sure what.

I’m a well known hammock lover, but I won’t be able to use one on the trail at Philmont. To practice I picked up a REI Trailmade 2. It was nice! I’m still very pro-hammock but this was undeniably easier to set up and take down, also requiring less space in my pack. I’m not saying you should never hammock while backpacking, but I think – at least with my gear – it becomes a harder sell.

My sleeping bags are all no name brands I got from Amazon years ago, so I knew I’d need something else for Philmont because they’re too bulky. I read about using a blanket/quilt instead, and realized that the Onewind top quilt I have would probably work! Despite being cold I think it did its job, so I think it was a keeper.

Finally, another potentially questionable choice I made was to not bring a chair and use a foam sit pad instead. The other adults commented that after this weekend they’d definitely be accepting the extra weight, but I was surprisingly comfortable! I did have to occasionally shift how I was sitting (on a log, in front of the log, standing, etc) but I still plan on foregoing my chair. Maybe I’ll regret that when we’re doing 10 mile days instead of 3 mile ones. That’s a question for future shakedowns.

Train them, trust them, let them lead

Due to a few unrelated factors (including a global pandemic!) there was a dearth of older youth leadership in my troop when my son crossed over. He and his peers have done a great job of stepping up, but we haven’t been able to be as youth led as we’d like. Because of this (and because I’m naturally a bit of a control hog), it can be hard to step back and let the scouts take charge. First at NYLT in August and now at the shakedown, though, I’ve been really impressed and proud at how well the youth are able to step up and take charge. Some highlights:

Instead of saying “is everybody ready?” after a break (where “no"s can be drowned out by “yes"es), say “is anyone not ready?” This way one person speaking up can be heard. This is standard Philmont stuff, but they took to it immediately.

We’re one troop: there shouldn’t be a “fast” group and a “slow” group (this could make sense in a larger setting with different ability levels, but not a Philmont crew!). If someone needs more frequent breaks or a slower pace, have them lead! This change had us move more slowly but also take fewer breaks, meaning our pace was faster.

It had taken us three hours to hike half of the loop on Saturday. Many of us wanted to get home in time for the Buffalo Bills game at 1: Saturday evening we decided as a group to wake up at 6 so that we could reach the trailhead by 10:30 for the 2.5 hour drive home. Privately I was unconvinced that we could get out in time, and we did leave 20 minutes later than we had intended, but as a first try it was great! Everyone woke up and got moving, and we made great time on our way back. I even had time to take a shower before watching the Bills/Titans game, which went great and I will not be taking any further questions.