Hey, Hyattsville, MD! Grab everyone, and I mean everyone, and let’s hit the trails of Philmont Scout Ranch. Or maybe the town of Culpepper, VA, or Georgetown University’s undergrads. Let’s go, staggered over the summer. Those two towns and Georgetown each have around 20,000 residents/students. (US Census for 2023) Twenty thousand is the predicted number of Scouts and Scouters who will hit the 315 miles of trails, 220 square miles, at Philmont this summer. Many people are making a (potentially) significant impact on the environment.
How do we reduce the “considerable impact”? Have the Philmont Rangers, your guides for the start of your trek, trained as Leave No Trace Trainers (Level 1). They can assist the hiking crews in limiting their negative impact on the area and its wild inhabitants—the best way to keep the area wild for the next year and generations to come.
Philmont hosted sixteen Level 2 and Level 3 Instructors the weekend of June 7-9. We delivered a Level 1(Trainer) course to a group of Philmont Rangers. I was fortunate to be one of those instructors.
Our participants were primarily first-year Rangers, and my group came from all over the United States—from Florida to Washington State and one from our own NCAC. All had a variety of hiking backgrounds and insights. All were former Philmont crew participants and had beautiful memories of the area and their trek. Each was vested in keeping Philmont wild and available for future generations.
We were based at the Camping Headquarters area, where crews begin their Philmont adventure. This is quite a change from the June weather/humidity and lack of elevation here in the DMV.
During the two-plus days of the course, the Rangers learned how to use the Leave No Trace Principles and related activities to help perpetuate the wild adventure that is Philmont for years to come. One of the best aspects of the course was learning from one another and getting insight into the different ways of teaching and influencing the Principles of Leave No Trace.
This was a pilot program, and we plan to return next year to continue integrating Leave No Trace into the Ranger training. Maybe we’ll see you at base camp as you start your trek.
— Carol Brown
