By Kyler Krenzke
Scouting has taught me things about teamwork which I may not have learned outside of scouting. It has taught me that some things require a team and that an individual cannot complete everything on their own. Scouting has taught me that having teamwork is not a sign of weakness, but is more a sign of strength. When a team comes together to complete a task, everyone's best skills and traits are used which ends in a well-done final result which was done in a timely manner. This will help in Philmont because completing a Philmont trek alone would be near impossible. A team to back you up is a necessity. Carrying all of the equipment needed at Philmont is hard enough as it is with an entire crew supporting you.
Doing it alone would be even harder. During our time at Philmont, we will need to come together as a team and as a crew to equally distribute our gear amongst ourselves to carry it all. We could do this by switching off carrying the tent or food between your tent partner to make it fair and then distributing the rest of the crew gear such as water bladders, rope, bear bags and stove equipment equally between the whole crew. By doing this we ensure that we can fairly carry all of our equipment as a team.
Scouting has also taught me that the old saying that a chain is only as strong as its weakest link is very true and applies to many things. At Philmont, we are only able to hike as fast as our slowest member, only able to eat when the food is prepared, only able to leave when all of camp is taken down, and are only able to go to bed when everyone is ready. This means two things. For one thing, it means that since every team is only ever as prepared as its least prepared member, it makes it every team member's responsibility to be as prepared as they can. The crew should not need to suffer because of the laxity of a single crew member.
However, it also means that as a crew, if a crew member is falling behind a bit, the crew needs to recognize this and adjust accordingly. A team does not leave someone behind. A good team will collaborate and come to the aid of the person falling behind. If someone is falling behind on the trail and cannot keep up, a good idea would be for the crew to collectively take some of the weight out of that person's pack to lighten their load making it easier for them to hike. A team is a collective unit of individuals acting for the greatest good of the whole unit. No team member should be looking for personal glory or should seek to take advantage of the system by not preparing so that they do not need to have as much weight as the rest.
In the end, Philmont is a team experience. Without it, Philmont would not be the same. Having a team and the teamwork that comes with it is what makes Philmont what it is and causes the memories that come with it.
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