Hi! I’m Neel Manekar, and last summer, I attended Philmont Scout Ranch, and served as the crew leader for my crew consisting of 7 scouts and 4 adults.

Philmont is one of the four High Adventure camps that Boy Scouts can attend. It is located in Cimarron, New Mexico. Philmont is said to be the most fun and challenging High Adventure camp of the four.

Before arriving at Philmont, your crew has to choose an itinerary, which is a very important decision. Depending on the itinerary your crew chooses, you will hike between 40 and 120 miles! Also, you can choose if you want to do a 7-day, 9-day, or 12-day itinerary. Last summer, when my crew and I went, we did a 9-day trek, consisting of 40-50 miles of hiking.

Not only do you get to hike many miles with your friends, but you also get to tons of fun activities! My crew and I did railroading, blacksmithing, muzzle-loading rifle shooting, atlatl darts, and more.

One of the highlights of our trek was summiting Baldy Mountain, which is 12,441 feet tall! Climbing to that peak was extremely difficult, but it was all worth it in the end. I remember that when some of my crew members and I were one step from summiting, I told them to wait for the others, so we could all summit the mountain together. Standing on Baldy’s peak, made you feel like you were on top of the world. You would feel the strong rush of the winds while seeing a gorgeous view.

In the end, I would absolutely recommend attending Philmont to anyone. It’s an incredible opportunity to gain leadership skills, and you get to experience once-in-a-lifetime views and take in memories that will last a lifetime.