July 9, 2003
Scouts tackle rugged trip out West
Troop 27 spends 13-days hiking Philmount Scout Ranch in New Mexico
By Carol South
Herald contributing writer
"We put 14 boys on the bus and took 14 young men off of it."
Last month, 14 area Boy Scouts from Troop 27 traveled to the Philmont Scout Ranch in New Mexico. There the Scouts, ages 14-17 put all their scouting, leadership and survival skills to the test during a rugged 13-day hike in the New Mexico wilderness. Accompanied by seven adults but led by their peers, the Scouts hiked up the 12,441-foot summit of Mt. Baldy. There, two of the members received the coveted Eagle Scout badges in a solemn ceremony that left no dry eyes.
Troop leader Dave Bathje said the total experience transformed all his Scouts in less than two weeks.
"It has been a journey to watch the 18 months of getting ready and then to see it all coalesce," said Bathje, the leader of Troop 27 for five years and an Eagle Scout. "They made lifelong relationships, this is something they are going to remember all their lives."
Steve Zimmerman has been a Scout for four years, joining Troop 27 to make friends after his family relocated to the area. For the tenth grader student at Traverse City West High School, the trip defined the word awesome.
"Baldy was the best part of it, you could see for miles and miles with snowcapped mountains in the distance," said Zimmerman, who plans to become an Eagle Scout. "Hiking was the most challenging, it was really steep but once you got up there you had all the power in the world because you had hiked up this huge mountain."
"I would definitely go again, even if we could leave tomorrow," he added.
The Scouts left for New Mexico on a chartered bus to Chicago's Union Station early on Friday, June 13. They traveled with Scout troops from Charlevoix and Reed City, the other members of the Scenic Trails Boy Scouts Council who were going to Philmont. Mark Ewing, district executive of the Scenic Trails Boy Scout Council, made all the travel and financial arrangements for the trip, a complicated logistical challenge, Bathje noted.
"His help was just invaluable to making this happen," he said. "He even built in spending money for the boys so they would have something left over to buy things at the trading post."
A 24-hour train trip brought them to New Mexico, where they headed for the Philmont Scout Ranch. After two days of getting oriented, checking gear and learning ten simple rules (including number six: Don't die), they began their hike.
Troop 27 split into two teams and went their separate ways, each led by a youth leader called a crew chief. Each team had an adult advisor as well as a few other adults accompanying them. However, Bathje noted that advisor meant advisor.
"The adults just sit back and keep them from doing something really stupid," said Bathje, who challenged his troop two years ago to the Philmont trip. "We do out best to keep our mouths shut and the biggest reward was to see the boys grow into that role."
Living their motto of 'Be Prepared,' Bathje had led his team on practice camping trips before Philmont, including a three-day, twelve-mile hike on the Manistee Trail. By the time they hit the trail in Philmont, the Scouts were a well-trained team.
"They got to use every scouting skill," Bathje said. "It was grueling, some days were absolutely grueling."
The Scouts raised their own money for the trip and assembled their own personal gear, which included 23 pounds of clothes, personal items and a sleeping bag. Another 37 pounds per pack was for food, water, crew gear such as cooking utensils and tents, which they loaded up at Philmont.
The Scouts rotated duties of cooking, morning camp breakdown and evening camp set up. In addition, a designated camp chaplain among the boys led the prayers before meals. During their hike, the Scouts also completed a conservation project of planting seedling in an area swept by forest fires last year.
"It was definitely a once in a lifetime experience," noted Jon Zywicki, who has been scouting for five years and was a crew leader on the trip. "I received my Eagle Scout badge on the mountain and that was really something else."