EXOTERIC - Information Worth Sharing: ex·o·ter·ic
-adj
1. Not confined to an inner circle of disciples or initiates.
2. Comprehensible to or suited to the public; popular.
3. Of or relating to the outside; external.

I will be leaving tomorrow for the Philmont Scout Ranch in Cimarron, New Mexico. My son's Boy Scout Troop is going to be doing a 10 day backpacking trek in the Rocky Mountains. We will be doing a "Challenging" trek, which will cover 59 miles in 10 days. A map of our itinerary is here. Each day we hike to a different camp. Some nights we will be camped on the trail by ourselves. Some camps are staffed and have fun activities for the scouts to participate in, such as fishing, rock climbing, rifle shooting, homesteading and Indian Life.

We have been very busy this year (and last year) getting ready for this ultimate Scouting adventure. Our troop will be driving out to New Mexico, so it will take us 2 days to get there. Our first night on the trip out will be camping in Oak Creek Canyon near Flagstaff, Arizona. The second night will be at a campground near Philmont in New Mexico. We arrive at Philmont on Sunday and start our trek on Monday.

I'm really looking forward to this adventure. I'll be off the grid for the next 2 weeks. This will be our last real scouting event, since Alex starts college 2 weeks after we return. Hopefully, when I return I won't be too totally swamped with work to post some blog entries and photos about our experience.