Sparta’s Philmont crew heading to New Mexico

In a little over two weeks, Philmont Crew 724-V4 will be departing for a 12 day backpacking trip in the mountains of New Mexico.

Philmont, is a Scouts BSA owned property that sends crews through their ranch to different activities. Multiple types of treks are available, such as hiking by foot or travelling by horse. Crew 724-V4 has chosen to backpack on foot for 12 days to several different activities and hiking the Tooth of Time, a famous mountain in the Philmont world.

The crew has been preparing for almost two years for this trek as they were originally scheduled to go in June of 2020. However, when COVID hit, Philmont closed its doors to incoming crews and the crew was forced to postpone. Despite the hardships that COVID brought to crew 724-V4 they managed to push through.

Although COVID stopped the crew from going to Philmont in 2020 it did not stop them from continuing to prepare. The adult leaders of the crew have been preparing the girls for Philmont, with training hikes and different lessons on backpacking, such as packing your pack or cooking on the trail. For the past, several months they have been hiking once a month with packs while increasing the weight of the pack and the distance. Most recently they hiked a hearty 13 miles with 40 to 50-pound packs. Although the training has been tough, they know that they will be fully prepared for the journey in which they are about to embark. Furthermore, back in May, the crew attended Watchu Weekend, a weekend that fully simulates Philmont and holds training sessions for the crews to make sure they are fully prepared before leaving for the trail.

The crew is made up of eight girls and 4 adults. Among the eight girls, five of them are a part of the inaugural class of female Eagle scouts, meaning that they are some of the first girls to obtain the rank of eagle after Scouts BSA’s historic decision to let girls in scouting. Another one of the girls and the crew leader of the crew, Katie, is a Summit award holder, the highest rank possible for a Venturer to earn. The girls in the crew are extremely excited to start this journey and leave soon.

The girls also plan to film their adventure while on the trail and to journal their experiences to share with the rest of the world once they return. The girls will experience many different activities such as horseback riding, fly tying and fishing, rock climbing, rappelling, and more. Ever itinerary is different but itinerary 13 was the perfect one for this crew, despite the fact that there are no showers, something that no girl is looking forward to.

Overall, the girls cannot wait to embark on this journey, especially one that has now been in the making for almost two years. They know that although it will be hard, they will form memories and experiences that will last them a lifetime, something that can help push them through the hardpoints and make them stronger.