Kevin Wunder, Stoughton Wisconsin

Preparation:

I trained fairly religiously from November through April, and did my best training in February, March and April. In May I developed some bad blisters on a training hike, and that was a setback. Most of my training was indoors, including wearing my pack on the treadmill, some strength training, and yoga once/week for a few months. Later I did some training hikes. In retrospect I wish I’d done the hikes starting in November or earlier.

As a crew, we didn’t do much to train together or practice any skills. On the trail we had a bit of friction a few times; I’m not sure we’d have uncovered that through more training. The Scouts worked together well and we didn’t have any issues there.

The biggest lesson I learned was that I should have been regularly hiking in hilly terrain for the last year, and not relying on walking uphill on my treadmill. My lower legs (knees down to feet) were sore every day at Philmont.

Arrival:

Once we arrived we were told to park up close, grab sunscreen and water bottles, and proceed to the shelter. Ideally we would have been told “grab anything you might need for the next 3-4 hours, and plan to stand out in the hot sun for much of this time. Adults bring your photo ID.” Several of us had to make a few trips to the car to get the items we might have grabbed if the message were just a little different. Not a huge deal, just some minor inconvenience.

Upon arrival you may also notice that some fraction of the staff are wearing Chacos, which are ok as long as you wear socks underneath. (I mostly wore my boots around camp as I didn’t find my Crocs sufficient.) Again, not a huge deal, just irritating as I’d heard open toe sandals are prohibited.

Lessons learned are (duh) be prepared, and proactively ask the questions. “When will I be back to the car?” “How long will we be outside before lunch?” “Do you allow sandals?”

Gear I Took & Used:

Upon the advice of a friend, I brought an umbrella from Gossamer Gear. It was light, and came with a clip and a bungee to attach to my pack strap. I brought an extra bungee, and the clip plus two bungees worked perfectly. Once my umbrella inverted during a (very) strong wind but otherwise it worked great. I found that it channeled the breeze around my head and kept me cool. One day I made the transition from sun to rain to sun shower without skipping a beat while others struggled with rain gear. 100% recommend.

The second item I brought that I’d never used before was disposable compressed cotton towels from Amazon. Each weighs 9g so for about the weight of 4oz of water I had a clean cloth to wipe myself down with every night before bed. Not a smellable either as there’s no soap or scent, just water. About 2 oz of water in a ziplock was enough to help me feel clean and get some of the dirt/sunscreen off.

Most of my gear is reliable, quality gear that I’ve used for years. I slept solo in my Big Agnes FlyCreek UL; in retrospect I wish I’d treated the fly with water repellent before going as I had some misting inside during a heavy rain but the dampness wasn’t a big deal.

I did use a new sleeping quilt, which was fantastic. Looking back, I probably overthought this as my ~30 year old summer bag (Marmot Arroyo) would have been warm enough.

My rechargeable headlamp worked great; I never needed to charge it.

I took a solid (3 layer GoreTex) rain shell and my lighter weight (cycling) rain pants. Both worked great when the weather got cold and wet.

I took a thin synthetic puffy (Nanopuff) which is warmer and more compressible than a fleece. I wore it a few times, including Baldy summit and during a cold rain. It was indispensable.

I took long underwear bottoms which I mostly slept in. I did wear these the day we summited Baldy.

I took a fleece hat and used it frequently. I only used my gloves once but was glad I had them.

Gear I took but didn’t use:

I could have taken one less shirt.

I also took clean socks for sleeping and never used them, opting to sleep barefoot instead.

I wore a single pair of thin nylon pants the entire trip. I brought a pair of shorts but didn’t wear them on the trail.

Gear I wouldn’t take again:

Not sure I’d take my towel, as the availability of showers was overstated. (Either they didn’t work or the timing was wrong.) I could have used a bandanna instead.

Gear I wished I had:

The only thing I wanted for was a working lighter. I brought a piezoelectric disposable lighter - tested at home - but it didn’t reliably work at Philmont. (Of course back at home it works fine). (Yeah, there were matches but I wasn’t carrying them, so I did not have a complete ten essentials).

Overall:

I don’t have a lot of lessons to share. I’ve enjoyed being outdoors my entire adult life so not much of the experience was entirely new to me.

The biggest lesson I learned was to train more than you think you need to, and especially prep for walking on rough, rocky trails.

Secondly, most of the friction we encountered had to do with expectations of how the slowest and fastest of the group find the right balance. We didn’t have this issue with daypacks hiking at (near) sea level on the rolling hills of the Midwest. It didn’t appear until we had full packs, at elevation in the mountains.

Finally, be prepared for a little bit of fixed mindset over how things are done in accordance with “the Philmont method.” I’ve been doing these types of outdoor activities for a long time, and understand that there’s more than one valid way to hang a bear line or a dining fly. I’m not saying anything I learned or saw was wrong, just that the Philmont method is a subset of all the valid ways to accomplish any given task.

I had a fantastic time and learned a lot. What more could anyone ask?

Specific Notes on Foot Care and First Aid:

During one of my training hikes I developed bad blood filled blisters under four of my toenails, and eventually lost the nails. After that experience I was (obviously) very concerned about how bad things would get at Philmont.

I purchased the book “Fixing Your Feet” and implemented the recommendations that I could. I also asked a lot of questions in my NOLS WFA class.

Based on the book, WFA and some online resources, I purchased a number of different foot care products for Philmont.

As luck would have it, I didn’t get a single blister at Philmont, but almost everyone else on my crew did.

Here’s a little info on the products I/my crew ended up using.

Liner socks and socks - I used REI Coolmax and Merino wool liners, along with DarnTough Coolmax and Merino hiking socks. I think the combo of Coolmax liners with Merino socks was my favorite but not by much. If you do laundry know that the Merino socks take longer to dry than their Coolmax analogues.

In the distant past I always used liner socks, but for about the last decade or two, I moved away from them. After this trek, I’ll probably keep using them for any hike over five miles or if I’m carrying a load. The minor inconvenience trumps blisters any day.

Dr Fredericks Original Soft Toe Protectors - these are soft little tubes you wear over your toes. Other crew members found them helpful for blisters on their toes. Probably 9/10 recommend.

Dr Fredericks Better Blister Bandages - These hydrocolloid bandages were the first thing in my first aid kit to get used up. They provide a moist and cushioned environment to promote healing. 10/10 recommend.

KT Tape, Blister prevention tape, 3.5” precut strips. Some crew members used this on their heels to prevent hot spots from turning into blisters. It seemed effective but not as popular as the other products.

Body Glide Anti Blister Stick. I used this once on a training hike, and didn’t need it at Philmont. I’ll keep it in my kit for future use but unsure of how effective it really is.

One item I didn’t buy but wish I did was Tincture of Benzoin, used to make bandages and tape stick better. I was worried about it being in a glass bottle but in retrospect was overthinking that. I haven’t used this but based on my WFA class it would have helped bandages and tape stick to sweaty feet.

In the end, eight of ten folks on the crew ended up with blisters.

One suggestion is make sure you are wearing clean(ish) socks or liners every day. (Laundry is easily accomplished with a gallon ziplock back, a few drops of CampSuds or similar, and a little water).

Treat any hot spots promptly. Don’t fall into the trap of “I don’t want to slow the group down” because you will be moving a lot slower if the hot spots turn to blisters.

I’d also suggest putting all the foot care products in a separate quart ziplock in the crew first aid kit, so all the products are easily accessible in a single module. Also suggest putting safety pins, a lighter, toenail clippers and bandages/tape in this kit.