Philmont Scout Ranch: A Transformative Wilderness Experience

Categories: Adventure

Essay, Pages 3 (551 words)

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The 2 weeks I spent at Philmont Scout Reservation was an experience that I will remember for the rest of my life. The wide-open plains pushed against the scaling mountains provided the perfect location for exploring the state of Arizona with absolutely nothing but a backpack complete of equipment. Whether it is due to the fact that of the sensational views, the peace and calmness of seclusion, or the sense of wonderment you get when exploring nature, I wish to return to Philmont Scout Ranch.

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It isn't often that you find a place where you quickly feel comfortable, and when I first saw the limitless mountains behind base camp I understood that the next two weeks of my life were going to be invested in God's Nation. As soon as we had been acclimated to the elevation and examined our gear we started our adventure treking into the brush about a mile from base camp. Each day on the path would be spent backpacking around eight to twelve miles, removing camp, setting it up, and cooking.

My task every day was to start a fire so our aching bodies might heat up prior to crawling in our sleeping bags to get away the chill of the frosty mountaintop nights.

Every day brought new adventures and a brand-new set of challenges. Early in the trip we had a couple of days of light travel, just six or two miles of walking on even ground. However as the 13 days on the path progressed the tracks got steeper and the air thinner.

I remember raising the Tooth of Time peak the day prior to we returned to base camp with a fifty something pound backpack thinking, "How numerous more stones do I need to navigate over prior to we reach the top?" Once we arrived every day, slinging our backpacks off and the sensation of triumph deserved the discomfort and battle.

My Team and I were lucky to have actually come when we did since prior to our arrival there had actually been a two-week long downpour that made everything green and blossoming. The consistent down puts softened the ground which relived the tension of our feet and the fire restriction which was in location the entire summertime was lifted 2 days prior to we went on the path. Old log cabins, kept the very same for years, were snug against the tracks, each with their own group of settlers that had a history to tell about how they got there. Each drag of air I took was filled with aromas of butterscotch and chocolate from the ponderosa pine trees.

One minute it could be sunny and ten minutes latter three inches of hail transforms the summer paradise into a winter wonderland. Every day midafternoon you could bet on hearing the rumbles of thunder and seeing the illuminating flashes of lighting. From wide-open expanses of grass to the aspen covered hills, Philmont Scout Ranch is my little piece of heaven on earth. This environment devoid of the presence of man fills me with a primordial sense of belonging has become a part of me. After having what God’s country is like for myself I now understand the saying “I can’t wait to go back to Philmont. ”