Eight scouts and six adult leaders from Somers Troop 228 are back home after chalking up yet another successful adventure at the Philmont Scout Ranch in New Mexico.
Two crews enjoyed the “breathtaking” scenery on the 12-day trek in early August all while “building camaraderie” and practicing the Scouts’ “Leave No Trace” principles, according to Assistant Scoutmaster Scott Maoriello.
They also planted ponderosa pines as part of a conservation project
The ranch is located near Cimarron, part of the Sangre de Cristo (Spanish for “Blood of Christ”) range of the Rocky Mountains, so the Scouts were following “in the footsteps of early pioneers and trackers of the late 19th century,” he said.
Scouts and leaders pushed themselves to scale two well-known peaks: the Tooth of Time (9,003 feet) and Mount Baldy (12,441).
Travelers in the 1800s moving south on the trail knew that they were only nine days away from the city of Santa Fe -- the earliest European settlement west of the Mississippi River -- once they saw the iconic “Tooth of Time,” Maoriello noted.
Prior to the trek, the Scouts stayed in Colorado Springs while they acclimated to the “massive change” in elevation from Westchester County’s high point of 987 feet to Denver’s 5,280 feet above sea level.
While there, they visited the Red Rocks Amphitheater, The Garden of the Gods, and Pikes Peak and also went whitewater rafting on the Arkansas River.
They started preparing for the trip in 2024 by completing more than 10 hikes and practicing gear “shakedowns,” Maoriello said.
Crew leaders were Connor O’Reilly and Owen Higgins.
Scouts hiked close to 90 miles carrying 40-pound packs and another 40 miles without backpacks.
“They exhibited Scout skills, followed the Scout law, (and) tested their minds and bodies while making memories of a lifetime in one of the most beautiful places in the United States,” said Maoriello, enthusiastically quoting the Philmont Rangers: “Is anybody not ready? Hike On!”
Troop 228 is already planning its 2028 trip to Philmont.
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