Eight boys and three leaders from Boy Scout Troop 76 of Old Town completed an 85-mile backpacking trip July 24-Aug. 9 on the Philmont Scout Ranch in Cimarron, N.M. Philmont is a Scouting high adventure base in the Rocky Mountains offering more than 200 square miles of wilderness and mountain hiking trails. The boys and their leaders spent 10 days hiking distances of two miles to 16 miles a day carrying on their backs everything they needed to survive.
Leaders and Scouts taking the adventure trip were Andy Sheaff, Nathan Edwards, Ben Segee, Jimmy Campbell, James Campbell, Ryan Gilman, Taylor Ploch, Robbie Bickford, Chris Gilman, Kai Hermansen and Mark Emery.
Every day was different, they reported. Some days they were in thick aspen forests and other days they were on dry and rocky terrain. Along the trail, the boys participated in a variety of activities ranging from trail building and conservation to rock climbing and black powder rifle shooting.
One of the highlights of the trek was a challenging climb up Baldy Mountain, the highest point on the ranch with an elevation of 12,441 feet.
The boys will receive the Boy Scout 50-Miler hiking award at their next Court of Honor. They intend to continue hiking together in the future. Already they talking about a backpacking trip next year on the Matagamon Maine High Adventure Base.
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