Our Philmont Scouting Adventure -- Day One

Arriving at Philmont. Ready to hike.

Oh my! Two blog posts in one day! It has been a long, long time since I have blogged. Our "relaxing" summer has not been so relaxing, and we have been traveling everywhere it seems. But since our travel to Philmont Ranch in New Mexico was such a wonderful week packed with lots of fun and inspiration, I knew that I had to blog about it. Unfortunately, I couldn't do it while I was there because of some sort of block on the blogger website. But I took good notes and wrote a few entries to add later. My plan is to (hopefully) put an entry on the blog each day until I get caught up. It'll get on here ... eventually. So here goes ...

The Philmont Boy Scout Ranch does not like Blogger, so I am having a hard time blogging about our great experience here this week. I'll have to content myself with just making a word document for now, and I'll upload it to blogger when I get home at the end of the week.

Today we arrived at Philmont Scout Ranch in New Mexico for the LDS Priesthood leadership training encampment (or whatever this week is called). Herman is here to receive training from the Young Men general presidency regarding scouting and the Church. As a bonus the whole family gets to come with him and participate in lots of neat activities.

Right off the bat Laney, Savannah, and Spencer headed to their groups to prepare to leave on a Mountain Trek of somewhere between 40 and 50 miles. They have to carry all of their food and equipment with them, so they aren't allowed to bring much. They are wearing one outfit and bring one to change into at some point. They have some items in case it gets cold or rainy. The rest are essentials for eating and sleeping. It ends up weighing about fifty pounds all together. Craziness! I would have never signed them up for such a thing, but Herman did this trek with his stake when he graduated from high school, and it was one of the choice experiences of his life. He wanted our kids to have the same sort of experience, so he signed them up. I'm not sure we knew what to expect with this, so the big kids were a bit nervous about things, but once we arrived they jumped right in and showed some token Blau enthusiasm, even in the face of uncertainty.

Making sure that they have all their gear for the hike.

It was so funny to see the difference between the ways the girls and boys prepared. As soon as Laney and Savannah arrived, they were put in their group and immediately dumped their stuff to make sure that they had everything they needed and nothing extra. They got to packing it all so that they would be ready to go right off the bat. On the other hand, when we went to check on Spencer we found his group throwing frisbees on the lawn. They weren't concerned at all with getting their gear ready. I guess with their experience camping with scouts they are used to throwing things together without stressing too much. It'll be interesting to see if their different methods of preparation translate into different experiences on the trail.

The way the young men prepared for their hike. Frisbee!

When we arrived at camp we were greeted by David L. Beck, the General Young Men's president of the Church, and Sister Steven, from the primary general presidency. As the youth were preparing for their hikes I saw several members of these various presidencies wandering through the lawn, talking to the youth, and introducing themselves. At one point I saw Laney speaking with Sister Esplin, a counselor in the primary presidency. After she left, Laney told us that she had asked Laney to serve as the youth chaplain for her trek group. Each of the eight hiking groups had one member chosen to do this. I think that Laney is a great choice for this, not only because she has a strong testimony, but because she is enthusiastic and positive and knows how to encourage those who are struggling.

Sister Esplin talking with Laney.

Laney had to leave for several minutes before the big group send-off so that she could get some training for her new role on the hike. Once that training was completed David L. Beck gathered all the hiking groups together so that he could speak to them before they left. Then he introduced the youth who would be the youth chaplains and had them stand at the front of the group. The coolest thing that happened next was that he asked Laney to talk to the groups about how they would react if difficult things happened on the hike. Their response to any trial was going to be: I'm excited. I'm excited. I'm excited. Laney led the group in this cheer a couple of times before handing the microphone back to President Beck.

Laney leading the group as President Beck watches.

As I watched Laney lead the youth in this way I couldn't help but feel so proud of the confident and poised young woman that she has become. It is often hard for me to imagine just how a girl like her came from a girl like me. She is so mature and ready for adulthood. I have no worries about her leaving home and making her own decisions in the next few months.

But I wasn't just proud of Laney. Spencer and Savannah were also facing a very difficult week of hiking, and both of them approached things with enthusiasm. As we walked among the youth preparing for the hike I loved watching them interact with their groups. They are going to be helpful to those around them because of their ability to find something good to focus on, even in the midst of difficulties. I can't wait to hear about their experiences.

Spencer after unloading his pack into the bus
taking them to base camp.

Spencer is going to be super excited to be in the group he has. One of his guides is a guy who returned from a mission to Quebec. Spencer, for some reason, has great dreams of serving his mission in Quebec, so I think he will find a new hero by the end of this trip. Herman already tried to set Laney up with the guy. He never misses an opportunity to set up a date for the girls. These poor guys who have never met him before don't quite know how to handle him, I think.

After the older kids left for their week long hike, the rest of us busied ourselves in unpacking the cars. We are staying in two yurts, tents which are erected on permanent foundations. They aren't so bad. They have electricity and wooden floors. The shower houses are absolutely wonderful with private  bathrooms so that you don't have to share a shower room with fifteen other people. Very, very nice.

The weather at Philmont is really nice. It can get a little warm at times, but since there is no humidity it never feels too horrible. At one point it got almost chilly when a few sprinkles fell, but within an hour the rain had passed and it got warm again. The nights are pretty chilly too, but it isn't unbearable, and since we came prepared we didn't have any problems.

The only big thing that we did today was an opening ceremony. It was okay ... nothing fabulous. They did talk a lot about the history of the Church and scouting, and that was neat to hear about. This was mainly a day to get our feet underneath us. Sunday will be a day of rest and worship, and we'll really get down to the nitty gritty on Monday. It will be an exciting week. I can't wait to see what is in store for us.

Herman handing out last second pieces of advice to Laney
and Savannah as they head for their hike.