Looking Sharp: Patriots’ Path crews always look great! We are very proud of the way our Patriots’ Path contingents look and behave. And so are the folks we meet along the way to and from Philmont. Expect to get many compliments. All contingent members, youth and adult, will wear an official BSA shirt with Philmont/Patriots’ Path council patch, BSA pants, BSA belt, and BSA socks. Absolutely no substitute or look-alike pants or shirts from the Army-Navy store, the Gap, or wherever. For more details on what constitutes a complete official BSA uniform check out the “Uniform Fact Sheet” in your printed Crew Member Guide or the online version available on the Watchu Experience Web site (www.watchu.org).
Two complete official BSA uniforms are recommended. All members of the Patriots’ Path Philmont contingents must be in official BSA uniform (“class A”) for all Advisor Briefings, May’s Watchu Mountain Adventure, travelling, and much of the Colorado Tour. At specific times during the Colorado Tour as well as the first and last days at Philmont (in Base Camp) a BSA activity uniform (“class B”) is appropriate, with the official BSA shirt replaced by a Scouting T-shirt. If you can do that with one uniform, who will know how many you own? … except maybe the guy or gal next to you on the bus. Certainly it would be best to have at least two BSA uniform shirts. But it’s your choice, with the knowledge you must meet the Watchu/Patriots’ Path requirements listed above.
If you wear a Scouting T-shirt under your official uniform shirt, changing between class A and class B uniforms is simple – just take off and stow the uniform shirt. Three Scouting T-shirts are recommended – your Watchu contingent T-shirt, a moisture-wicking T-shirt such as the Watchu Mountain Outfitters Backcountry and Rafting shirt, and a third (maybe a custom crew-design on a moisture-wicking T-shirt? – AM Embroidery is a local supplier that can help you with some ideas). There are laundry facilities available in Colorado to wash the shirts from the first two days of the Colorado Tour so they will be clean for wearing on your Philmont trek.
The holiday season is a good time to resolve your crew’s uniform needs. A complete, super looking, official BSA uniform makes a great holiday gift.
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Briefing reminder: A photo of ALL 2015 crew advisors will be taken at the November Advisor Briefing and posted on Photos page of the Watchu Experience Web site – anyone NOT in uniform will stand out!
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Watchu Mountain Outfitters Trading Post: The Watchu Mountain Outfitters will be open for business at all Advisor Briefings as well as during May’s Watchu Mountain Adventure. A variety of merchandise will be available – check out the on-line Trading Post with the quick link on the Watchu Experience Web site (www.watchu.org). Orders placed by the January Briefing for 12 of any item are eligible for the Hikers’ Dozen discount – pay for 11 and get 1 free!
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Philmont books for the holidays: What better way to spend a winter evening than curled up with a book that transports you to summer in the glorious New Mexico mountains at Philmont? The Watchu Mountain Outfitters has two excellent choices. Return to the Summit of Scouting, by Watchu friend Bill Cass of Chester County (PA) Council, describes his years on staff and return years later with his son on a trek – it is a great read.
Philmanac, by Rock Rohrbacher, offers information on every camp at Philmont and is full of interesting “Phil facts.” Yes, each crew will receive this book for use in selecting a great trek, but a personal copy for your own use and notes would be a welcomed addition to your bookshelf.
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Watchu Grams and Alerts: All Watchu Grams are posted on the Watchu Experience Web site (www.watchu.org) and can be accessed from the Quick Links page, which brings together in one place the most frequently accessed items on the Web site. Note that Watchu Alerts and Reminders are not posted. During the upcoming holiday season the tempo of Watchu Grams will decrease, but after the first of the year it will return to a message or two per week. This is the time to bring all crew members together to work up an information distribution and sharing plan. Digesting all the information transmitted is not a one crew member job or responsibility – it is a crew responsibility. Each member of your crew should be brought into the learning process.
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Phil Fact: The distinctive white structure south of Camping Headquarters is the Casa del Gavilan (the House of the Hawk), a bed and breakfast inn that is the only privately owned property within the boundaries of Philmont Scout Ranch. Built in 1901 by Stanley McCormick as the headquarters of the Urraca Ranch, it and the ranch were sold in 1910 to George Webster, Jr., McCormick’s manager. Webster sold the building and forty acres to Jack and Gertrude Nairn in 1922. Their home was simply known as the “Nairn Place”; invited artists and writers from far and wide came to enjoy their elegant hospitality and to capture the majestic beauty that is New Mexico. Zane Grey centered his book Knights of the Range there, calling the vast panorama the “grandest view in all New Mexico.” Nairn was also one of the founders and “president for life” of the Maverick Club, which hosts Cimarron’s annual Fourth of July rodeo.
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Greenwood Canyon camp is a Scouting paradise,
Jack Nairn
Cimarron, New Mexico