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Scouts Reach New Heights

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By COURTNEY CAIRNS PASTOR

The Tampa Tribune

Published: July 16, 2008

WESTCHASE - It's a long way from the flat sidewalks of Westchase in a Florida summer to a mountainous camp where your water bottle can freeze overnight.

Six high school students from the Westchase and Citrus Park areas found that out last month when they embarked on a 12-day, 75-mile hike through the Sangre de Cristo Mountains in northern New Mexico.

The teens - who attend Alonso, Sickles and Jesuit high schools and Robinson High's International Baccalaureate program - took on the hike as the biggest mental and physical challenge they could meet as Boy Scouts. Philmont Scout Ranch encompasses more than 200 square miles in the mountain range, part of the Rockies, and includes 34 staffed camps and 55 trail camps.

Jason McDade, who will be a junior at Sickles this fall, served as his crew's leader and mapped an itinerary with help from the Philmont staff. Each group chooses among several possible camp stops after beginning at the same base.

Jason's crew hiked between 4 and 10 miles daily, stopping along the way at camps that offered activities ranging from rock climbing to candle making to burro racing. It peaked with a 14-hour climb past 3-foot snow drifts up Mount Phillips, which has an elevation of nearly 12,000 feet.

They carried global positioning system devices but navigated only with compasses and maps. If they brought iPods, they didn't last: There is no electricity. They purified water from streams and refreshed dehydrated dinners at night.

Everything they needed, they carried on their backs.

Neil Christy, who is entering 11th grade at Alonso, said his father, a former Scout, had talked about Philmont for years, though he had never gone.

"Everyone says you'll remember it forever," said Neil, 16. "I definitely think I will."

Members of Troop 46, the six went with their adviser, Joe McDade, Scout leader and father of Jason. They formed a crew with two other troops from the Gulf Ridge Council, the Boy Scout council that covers west central Florida.

The other troops drew from Plant City and Winter Haven.

McDade wrote after the trip that, at 45, he had never experienced anything close to Philmont.

"It was a long, hard adventure that required not only physical toughness but also mental toughness," he wrote. "It was like walking to Orlando uphill, over steep trails, with a mountain in the middle."

The troop sought the challenge after years of camping and merit badges. "The regular little camps don't do it for them anymore," McDade said later.

McDade and five of the boys branched out last summer with another adventure camp closer to home. The Florida Sea Base Out Island Adventure put them on a remote island in the Keys for a week. They paddled there, stayed in tents and fished and snorkeled.

Sea Base requires a high level of physical fitness and sets a maximum height-to-weight ratio. Philmont takes that to the next level with long days of hiking through steep, rocky terrain.

The crew trained the best it could, although their practice hikes took place on flat land at sea level. They rehearsed setting up camps but were still surprised when they arrived at Philmont.

They learned about bear bags and how to wrap food and anything scented that could attract bears and suspend it on cables between trees. They met with a ranger before departing, who urged them to shed anything unnecessary - even soap.

A bar of soap doesn't feel like a lot at first, Neil said, but weight adds up as the miles build.

The ranger suggested the crew divide a single bar of soap for their three showers. They minimized their clothing changes to two shirts and two pairs of shorts. But they had to carry three bottles of water each to prevent dehydration, and they divided food supplies, which had to last about four days between restocking stops.

Jimmy Sugrue, who will be a senior at Alonso, said he wasn't sure he wanted to go to Philmont at first. He assumed it was in the desert when he heard it was in New Mexico.

But the experience, especially learning to live on minimal supplies, appealed to him.

"I thought it was pretty cool carrying everything on your back," said Jimmy, 17. "There's a lot of stuff you can go without."

McDade, who has been a leader to three of the Scouts since they were in first grade, said he knew he needed to find more exciting activities for the boys to do as they got older. Neil said sticking with Scouts when others dropped out had paid off in friendships and the chance to try adventure camps, including Sea Base and Philmont.

But trips are winding down as many of the boys prepare to start Eagle Scout projects and complete their Scouting commitments. Jimmy said he wanted the prestige of becoming an Eagle Scout, but a couple of weeks after Philmont, it was sinking in that the activities he had enjoyed along the way would be ending.

"This could possibly be my last Scouting trip," he said.

The Philmont Crew

The group that completed Philmont last month included three troops: Troop 46 from Tampa, Troop 733 from Plant City and Troop 565 from Winter Haven.

Ten scouts participated, led by advisers Joe McDade of Troop 46 and Chris Campbell of Troop 733.

The Scouts:

TROOP 46: Neil Christy, Alonso; Patrick Giurintano, Jesuit; Ty Hall, Sickles; Jason McDade, Sickles; Ben Stein, Robinson; and Jimmy Sugrue, Alonso

TROOP 733: Ryan Campbell of Plant City

TROOP 565: Garrett Carter, Rudy DeLoach and Andrew Pickles of Winter Haven

Reporter Courtney Cairns Pastor can be reached at (813) 865-1503 or cpastor@tampatrib.com.

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