The Philmont Files: Introduction

I've been an avid backpacker since middle school and an outdoorsman for even longer. I have spent countless weekends on the Appalachian Trail and loved every minute of it. With every trip comes a new story. Something about backpacking is addictive for me and I always feel better after a night or two away from civilization. It does me well to just forget about the stresses that plague me in the real world and just escape for a couple days. 

My backpacking career reached its climax the summer after my Freshman year in high school when I spent two weeks on a trip in the back country of New Mexico with ten other guys. This reserve in New Mexico is known as Philmont and it serves as a kind of Mecca for backpackers in boy scouts (yes I was a boy scout. I even got my eagle!). Backpacking trips always had an anti-depressant effect on me but this trip was much more than that and I believe that my trip to Philmont is one of the most important experiences of my life so far.

As you could probably imagine, a lot can happen in two weeks. I have so many memories that I could probably write a book on the experience but because this is a blog, I decided to break up all the stories into their own individual blog posts. So without further ado: the Philmont Files.

I climbed a tree

-Me, The Backpacker