Just Figuring It Out

I have survived my first backcountry round of training. This trip was short, only 2 days, 2 nights. To those of you who are familiar with Philmont, we started at Cito Turnaround, spent our first night at Aspen Springs and our second night at Window Rock before returning to the same turnaround this morning. To those of you who are not familiar, this is a very cool place on the ranch and getting to camp at Window Rock is pretty unique. We spent a lot of time teaching all seven LNT principles with a partner and refreshing our memories on all other sorts of backpacking rules/etiquette. The hiking in and of itself was not too hard and it was a nice reintroduction to the backcounty.

Almost all of the other Environmental Educators have been on Philmont staff before and I am the youngest in the group. There is so much backcountry knowledge and just an overall abundance of environmental knowledge. I know that I can hold my own and that I have been selected for this position for a reason but it can be a bit intimidating. I am trying my best to absorb as much knowledge as possible so that I am able to full my position to the best of my ability. 

The person who I will be co-leading ROCS with is a third year returning staff member and has hiked every trail at Philmont. How epic is that? Not even remotely can I match her backpacking and Philmont knowledge, but I do my best to present a view of what ROCS has looked like and what we want it to look like. I'm sure our trek will be a hit because we both love coffee, both HATE spicy food (as discovered by the consumption of jambalaya last night and our mutual avoidance of Chalula), and we both love layering because we get cold easily. It's going to be a hoot.

I know that what lies ahead are crazy days at base camp, when the rest of the summer staff arrives and the quiet ambiance that surrounds me right now, will be disturbed with more staff members and eventually thousands of scouts. It will really be transformed. We also have more Conservation and Environmental Educator field training that I'm sure will be intense, as well as more training in base all without stop until June 9, our first day off. After that scouts will begin arriving and I will put into action what all this training taught us. Womens ROCS, which I assume will undoubtedly be the highlight of my summer, begins on June 30 and I am stoked.

I'm going to say this again, because the more the merrier; if any female aged 16-20 with any remote outdoor inclination, should really consider coming on ROCS this summer. It truly is an unforgettable experience. Email me for more information, rebecca.wiebke@gmail.com

Attn:

I have now been on the ranch for a bit more than 36 hours but in some ways it seems like an eternity.

Once arriving in Raton and eating lunch at the infamous St. James hotel in Cimarron, my entourage that had accompanied me dropped me off. I was sent on an busying scavenger hunt throughout base to get my uniform, picture taken, med recheck, and tent assignment among other things. I had thought that all of staff would be arriving that day but I was mistaken. The staff arrivals are scheduled all throughout the next few weeks so it really wasn't that busy. Once I got my things done there was really nothing structured for me to do. It was eerie.

But the lull didn't last long. This morning we were up early for breakfast followed by a full and I mean FULL day of training. I think that's how the next few weeks are going to be, chock full of information. We talked about everything from packing our packs to educational techniques and Leave No Trace principals. It was quite overwhelming. We got to spend the whole day with the other Environmental Educators so it was great to get a sense of who I'll be working with all summer.

Tomorrow we head out on our first training hike. It's a nice starter, only 2 days, 2 nights. We will be partner teaching our first lessons and practicing our Leave No Trace techniques. Everything is happening very quickly.

Let me end with a quick plea to any 16 to not yet 21 year old girl who doesn't have anything planned from June 30 to July 21 this summer. PLEASE consider coming to Philmont and participating in the ROCS trek. This is a 21 day experience that I'm co-leading with another super awesome and experienced Philmont employee.  You will learn basic backpacking skills as well as get to experience exciting lessons ranging from dendrology to fire ecology to range management. There are still spots as well as scholarships available! Please spread the word and email me at rebecca.wiebke@gmail.com if you or anyone you know is interested!
http://www.philmontscoutranch.org/rocs.aspx

Are we there yet?

Trains have always been my preferred mode of transportation when traveling. It may be slow, but it offers the freedom to get up and move around not offered by planes or cars. That being said, this cross country expedition has been my first encounter with trains in the US. I must say that I’ve been pleasantly surprised and we are riding in moderate comfort!

The train we are on, the Southwest Chief, is an Amtrak route that stretches from Chicago to Los Angeles. For our purposes, we drove about 4 hours from Zionsville to Galesburg, Illinois, the fourth stop after Chicago. We boarded around 6pm Central Time and we will be arriving in Raton, New Mexico around 11am Mountain Time. That’s approximately 18 hours of train travel. The seats are much larger and recline much farther than those on airplanes, I was ‘easily’ able to maneuver with my monstrous backpack and got an acceptable amount of good sleep last night. So I would conclude that train travel has been a success!

We traveled through Illinois, briefly dipped into Iowa, followed by Missouri, Kansas, and Colorado before arriving in New Mexico. The train stops are in the most obscure little places. So most (really all) of the scenery has been Midwest agriculture that transitioned into Southeast ranches.

Amtrak sees a lot of scouts. Raton is very close to Cimarron and Philmont. Lots of scouts prefer this method for many reasons. As soon as I got on, one of the workers on the train asked if that was where I was heading. And I’ve seen a couple other backpacks comparable in size to mine that I can only assume are going to Philmont as well.

I haven’t even gotten there yet but I think that I can officially say that the adventure has begun. 

(Sorry I'm a bit behind! Things are crazy here! I got here yesterday and all is well. I'm super busy and going out on my first of many training treks tomorrow. My first day off is June 9th so you may not here from me until then, we'll see)

So you’re home for the summer?

Welcome! This is the blog that I hope to keep updated all summer. I’ll post on Facebook whenever I write a new post, you can also subscribe with your email. Hopefully you enjoy it and bear with my inconsistent and dull writing.

Stated above is the question that I think I’ve been asked at least a dozen times in the just shy of two weeks that I’ve been home. Yes I am home for college, yes it is summer, but no I am not staying. I am going very very far away for a very very long time.

I’m going to New Mexico to work at Philmont Scout Ranch as an Environmental Educator in the backcountry. Wait what? Let me rewind and slow down.

Philmont Scout Ranch is near Cimarron, New Mexico. This working ranch doubles as a National High Adventure Base for the Boy Scouts of America. Boy Scouts? Hold on, I’ll get there, stay with me. Philmont covers over 140,000 acres of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains (part of the Rocky Mountains). Every summer over 20,000 scouts and adult leaders go on backpacking treks on the ranch and Philmont employs over 1,000 seasonal staff. Those are the basics. Crews of scouts and adults come from all over the country and go on treks.

The Boy Scouts of America (BSA) has a branch called Venture Scouting. Venture Scouting is largely unknown but is a coed option for scouts ages 16 to 21. I have been a Venture Scout since I was 16 and it has allowed me the opportunity to attend BSA events such as the National Boy Scout Jamboree and my own Philmont experience last summer.

My dad has been a Philmont fanatic for as long as I can remember. He went as a participant and followed that with several summers on staff in high school and college. Given that I had heard so much about this seemingly wonderful place, I knew I wanted to go at some point. Jesper and my dad were going with a group from the local troop in the summer of 2015. It was an all-boys group which is obviously the most common. And there was not a Venture (read coed) group going from Zionsville. When you want to go to Philmont but don’t have a group to go with, look no farther than individual treks! Individual treks are options where the group is formed at Philmont. The individual treks are typically longer and are a bit more specialized than regular treks. What do I mean by specialized? The trek that I went on was a 3 week all girls trek through the Conservation department at Philmont. It was called R.O.C.S. (Roving Outdoor Conservation School). I could write for days about that experience, but obviously delightful because I’m going back this summer to (among other things) co-lead that same trek!

So there are the nuts and bolts of where I am going and why I am going. It’s totally up my ally.

I’m leaving on Thursday which means that I’ve had a total of two weeks of summer vacation. I’m leaving before my brother and the rest of the high school finishes school. I won’t be here for graduation parties, the Indy 500, or lazy days by the pool. Leaving is of course bittersweet. This very well might be the most epic summer ever. But I can’t help but to see the distinct parallels between this new adventure and the beginning of college. Lots of young people going to a place where some know what’s going on and some, including myself, don’t. Just lots of unknowns. Of course college ended up being FANTASTIC and I am sure this will be. But it’s all new and a little bit scary.

Let’s do this.

Just a side note: the name of this blog comes from my favorite quote from my favorite movie, Stick It. “I don’t care if this is nuts and I don’t care if it hurts, I’m doing it. I’m going to climb this insanely high mountain. Watch me.”