Eagle Scouts Return from High Adventure Trek in New Mexico
Eagle Scouts Daniel and Dusty Albertine have just returned from a 2-week, high adventure, backpacking trip at the 137,493 acre Philmont Scout Ranch in Cimaron, New Mexico, located in the Sangre de Cristo range of the Rockies. As members of Troop 53, Castleton, both leaders have participated in numerous outings with the troop, which helped prepare them for this trip.
The two Eagles participated in an Order of the Arrow (OA) Trek, in which they worked for one week on hiking trail maintenance and then continued on with one week of “trekking”, or exploring the vast wilderness, to complete their trip. Daniel and Dusty logged approximately 72 miles of backpacking and summited Philmont’s highest peak, Mt. Baldy at 12,441 feet.
In 2006, both Daniel and Dusty participated in an OA Trek to the Boundary Waters of Minnesota, spending one week repairing portage trails, then canoeing for a week, covering 132 miles by the end of two weeks.
Daniel (20) and Dusty (19) are both youth members of the Boy Scouts honor camper society, known as the Order of the Arrow, which members are elected, become candidates, and then must fulfill a weekend-long ordeal to become members. Daniel is a “Vigil” member and Dusty a “Brotherhood” member of Kittan Lodge 364, which serves the same area as the local BSA Twin Rivers Council, Inc.
After flying to New Mexico and traveling 4 hours by van to the BSA’s Philmont Scout Ranch, the brothers were put into a “crew” consisted of 9 OA members or “arrowmen”, along with two adult guides or “foreman”, also OA Members. They hiked out to their first location and stayed for one week, while getting down to the dirty business of trail repair.
That task completed, they took off exploring the vast Rocky Mountain area, along the way the two were treated to spectacular sunsets, scenic vistas, rainbows, and wildlife sightings, including bear, deer and small mammals.
The boys returned, bearded and well-tanned from two week’s exposure, with 1400 photos, 30 minutes of video and 9 new friends.
A future goal of Dusty’s is to try to complete an “OA Triple Crown” by attending an OA Trek at all three High Adventure Bases: New Mexico’s Philmont Scouting Ranch, Florida’s SeaBase and Minnesota’s Wilderness Trek.