Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire Philmont Scout Camp Death of 13yr old Scout

My boy scout troop had a crew hiking Philmont last week....all are well. There are 1-2 deaths at Philmont every summer mostly adults from heart attacks.

When I did the Philmont adventure back in the 60s it was emphasized about staying out of the gullies and arroyos because of flash floods. I've even seen this safety guide line in the Sunday cartoon 'Mark Trail' Somebody was not paying attention.
May the lord help the family.

Jim

Prayers to the family and friends.

Prayers for the lost Scout and his family. My oldest boy heads there in four weeks. So, this really hits home. From what I've heard, this crew was at a staffed camp with three adults and a Ranger when they got hit with 9"+ of rain in less than 1.5 hours. When you head outdoors, it's hard to prepare for every eventuality. Anyone who thinks they can hasn't spent enough time outdoors.

Years ago when my boys where in the Scouts, I became a Scoutmaster.
When they grew up and left, so did I. I always wondered about lawsuits and did not like the vague and hazy answers I got when I asked.
I once grabbed a little guy's shirt collar just as he was sliding over the edge of a cliff. He was hunched over and frozen in fear, doing nothing to stop his slide. Gives you something to think about.

Amen,

Mother Nature gives, and she also takes away.

Greg

I'm gonna give props to ANYONE who takes parties of youths out into the woods nowadays. So many things that can happen and so much liability you take on. And I deal with high school kids, thirteen year olds are a whole 'nother order of magnitude.

The gist I'm getting is that this was on the scale of a freak accident, so unusually high was that flood. I feel for the bereaved family, but just as much for the adults in charge

Birdwatcher

My role has been to supervise about 90-mile white water rafting trips. Early on the boys will toe the line. With a little time and experience behind them, however, they want to start testing the waters. The biggest hassle though is controlling the accompanying adults that egg them on. Last trip was the first time we ever flipped a raft when against orders a group ventured ahead. Fortunately a sprained wrist was the only injury.

A lifetime experience for most of the kids as they'll never repeat it as adults. At my age though, I'm having second thoughts about taking on those risks and will likely call it quits.

I can not imagine the feelings one endures at the loss of a child.

DoubleH;
Good morning to you sir, I trust this finds you and yours well.

I wanted to say I agree with your post in that my thoughts and prayers are with the family and friends left behind.

As a fellow father it's tough to read about events such as this and I can scarcely imagine the burden on the boys' parents and leaders now.

I'm trusting that your son has a grand time however and will have experiences that will make for a lifetime of wonderful memories for him.

Dwayne

Thanks, Dwayne. My only regret is that after doing all the work of planning this for his Troop work is preventing me from tagging along...

This boy was lost due to an act of God, nothing else.

Just wait, this evening will bring out the liberal blissninnies on the MSM braying about shutting down scout camps.

Damn right, they'd be SO very much safer in those parades out in SanFranFreako, wouldn't they ?

I archery hunted the adjoining ranch for elk which abuts the west side of the Philmont.

Well, THAT being the case, you just better haul ass up there with tar and feathers and a rope,.....and go after those event coordinators, hadn't you.

....in a word,.....Pitiful

GTC

Hey, what a great idea. Maybe I'll do that in a few years.

So Gregg, you disagree with my assertion that grown scout leaders and instructors should be held responsible if they were aware of nearby rainstorms and left kids to sleep by a creek or in the bottom of a canyon?

I'm sure if it it had been your son you'd be satisfied with saying, "Well, chitt happens".

I've done several treks through Philmont, as have my father and brother. We've also spent a lot of time camping in and around that area. It can be a dangerous place, but I can see how something like this could happen. Kids and adults from all over the world go out there to hike. Once the guide leaves you're on your own. Judgement calls about where to walk, how close to an edge to get, where to sleep, etc. are different among people. This is a very unfortunate case, but I don't know that negligence is the proper term.

Don't put words in my mouth, Mister.

You can barely formulate coherent or intelligent words of your own.

...and lets PARK the vituperation and show a little respect for the solemn nature of this particular thread, shall we ?

Apologies to all and sundry to all for my losing it with this mouthy jackwagon.

GTC

GTC

From reading through the thread, it appears there was also a "Ranger" on hand?

Presumably a regular employee with experience in the area?

Some questions are, did that nine inches of rain in two hours fall down upon THEM? If not did they have any way of suspecting rains of that magnitude were occurring?.

Nine inches of rain in two hours is a LOT, I'm not sure I myself have ever witnessed that much in that short a period of time, and I've been in East and Central Texas thirty years.

Birdwatcher

The three weeks I spent at Philmont at age 14 were one of the defining events of my life. We were out of touch with anyone (no cell phones in those days) for several days straight, living off of what we carried on our backs. I don't think any of us city kids could ever have a finer adventure, or become a finer young man as a result. It saddens me that someone else could meet death in such a manner in such an otherwise beautiful place, a place that embodies all that is good about the Great West.