<Gwen's Summer>

	How I spent my summer… Gwen Tullar Sophomore, Civil Engineering Duncanville, Texas I spent my summer in Philmont, near Cimarron, N.M., which is comprised of 137,493 acres or about 215 square miles of rugged mountain wilderness in the Sangre de Cristo range of the Rockies. The rough terrain dominates with an elevation ranging from 6,500 to 12,441 feet. More than 21,000 scouts hike this land in the two-month hiking season and that is all made possible by the 950 staff members. One of the most honorable departments, full of tradition, is the ranger department. As a ranger, I brought each crew through base camp check out of equipment and then spent the first two days with them on the trail. I taught bear and mountain lion safety procedures as well as developed leadership and team building skills. While traveling through the "backcountry," scouters trekked through the pristine wilderness of different sub-climates encountering everything from coniferous forests to alpine meadows. Only 1% of all boy scouts actually get to trek those lands, and the waiting list is two years long. As a staffer, there are over 2,000 applications for the ranch and over 500 requests for the ranger department alone. I had a great summer hiking over 400 miles of some of the most beautiful land in the country and felt honored to be chosen to guide the scouts through their challenging journeys.

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How I spent my summer…

Gwen Tullar

Sophomore, Civil Engineering

Duncanville, Texas

I spent my summer in Philmont, near Cimarron, N.M., which is comprised of 137,493 acres or about 215 square miles of rugged mountain wilderness in the Sangre de Cristo range of the Rockies. The rough terrain dominates with an elevation ranging from 6,500 to 12,441 feet. More than 21,000 scouts hike this land in the two-month hiking season and that is all made possible by the 950 staff members.

One of the most honorable departments, full of tradition, is the ranger department. As a ranger, I brought each crew through base camp check out of equipment and then spent the first two days with them on the trail. I taught bear and mountain lion safety procedures as well as developed leadership and team building skills. While traveling through the "backcountry," scouters trekked through the pristine wilderness of different sub-climates encountering everything from coniferous forests to alpine meadows.

Only 1% of all boy scouts actually get to trek those lands, and the waiting list is two years long. As a staffer, there are over 2,000 applications for the ranch and over 500 requests for the ranger department alone. I had a great summer hiking over 400 miles of some of the most beautiful land in the country and felt honored to be chosen to guide the scouts through their challenging journeys.