During late July, a crew of teenage Scouts and their leaders, including local Scoutmaster Randal Hawkins and son, Tanner, went on a life changing summer trek through the Sangre de Cristo Mountains at the Philmont Scout Ranch near Cimarron, New Mexico. Philmont covers 214 square miles of vast wilderness with trails that climb from 6,500 feet to as high as 12,441 feet. Philmont Scout Ranch is the Boy Scouts of America’s premier high adventure camp and the largest youth camp in the world serving nearly one million participants since 1938.

During their trek, local Boy Scout Troop #55 joined with other Scouts from Early, Abilene and Breckenridge, Texas, to hike over 67 miles in a 10 day period. The whole group of Scouts and their advisors carried everything they needed to survive during the trek on their backs while hiking from camp to camp. They participated in backcountry programs along the way including rock climbing, mountain biking, fly-fishing, and gold prospecting. The trek included a conservation project where the Scouts learned and participated in the upkeep of Philmont’s ecosystem. Along the way, the Scouts endured challenges including backpacking in bear and mountain lion territory, steep climbs, and weather that included hot days and cold nights.

"They may meet only one other group of Scouts on the trail in an entire day of hiking, and even in the most crowded destinations, each Scout group camps in isolation, out of sight and sound of all other groups," according to Scoutmaster Hawkins. "We were very blessed with this opportunity and arrived back home safely. With this trip, we garnered insight into what makes this such an important Scouting pilgrimage."