Chris Elton '01

I first heard of the Philmont Scout Ranch from my brother, Norman, who made the trip in 1998. Since then, I had been waiting for a good chance for me to go for a challenging 10-day backpacking trek in the mountains of New Mexico Mr. Tayloe got up in homeroom to offer his scholarship to anybody interested in doing an extra-curricular, yet educational program. I quickly signed up for it and a few months later found out that I had been accepted.
Training for Philmont consisted of a lot of hiking around the area with a 40-pound backpack on. Most of this took place at either the Noland trail at the Mariners Museum or walking around the moat at Fort Monroe.

One of my favorite highlights of the trek was climbing Mount Baldy, a 12,500 ft mountain (which was kind of hard being acclimated to about 10 ft above sea level). After struggling to the top (towards the end I could barely get in 5 steps without stopping for breath), the view that we saw was incredible.

I learned a lot from Philmont, especially teamwork and a sense of self-respect. I pushed myself harder than I have for a long time. I am proud that I was able to make it. Now, facing a challenge, if I don't back down but instead keeping on taking more and more steps, I will overcome whatever lies ahead of me. I think that this is why I now look back and enjoy Philmont, and am sincerely thankful for Mr. Tayloe's scholarship for helping to make this a reality.