Philmont feels different today.

There's an eerie calm to basecamp today. Showers not as crowded, paths not as blocked, plenty of food and easy to get in line for seconds if you want (which I rarely do!). It's the proverbial calm before the storm no doubt.

There are approximately 1100 seasonal employees for 2025, and it was only a few days that almost all of us were in basecamp (like during the All Staff Day on 5/29). Pretty chaotic. But the last few days are known as "scatter days", and this is when the backcountry staff head for the various camps at which they will spend their summer. We did get to see them in costume (most are period reenactors) and listen to their campfire music/songs/skits, and it's pretty impressive. Such dedication to providing a great experience for any scouts that travel to their respective camps. I remember some of these from my treks, and there are a few that I plan to visit when I get a chance, either with a crew or in my hikes back to basecamp.

Not the actual group, but similar!

The Conservation crews and the Wranglers have also scattered, though many of those folks were already hard at work getting the ranch ready for the influx of scouts. There are many other departments that have been working hard to get ready as well, but many of them get to stay put and help the experience from basecamp.

At last count, just a little over 18,000 participants are expected for 2025. Down from some recent highs, but still a very full summer!

The first of the early crews have arrived today (June 6), with an official start to their treks tomorrow. But there are only a very few of them, so they hardly fill the empty spaces just yet. Besides, they have their own areas away from staff, so not much overlap. Larger and larger numbers of crews will arrive in the coming days, with an average of about 35 crews arriving every day by early next week. After so many days of only seeing people in the official green staff shirt, it's exciting to see people in scout uniforms or t-shirts reflecting their trek!

So it feels different, but I guess it's a good kinda different. It means we're ready and it means that I should get a crew soon and get to do what I came all this way to do! It can't come soon enough!