What if I told you your only source of a restroom was a toilet called the “Cheek-to-cheek-no-peek” where you would find a pile of sticks next to the toilet that were to be used to stick down the hole to get rid of the flies that would give you a rather abrupt surprise when you sat down to do your business?What if I told you that you were only allowed to use one square of toilet paper to clean yourself after you were done?It is so easy to make fun of Boy Scouts nowadays.People love making fun of those who master a knot that ninety percent of the population doesn't know even exists.It might seem nerdy.It might seem pointless, but such ideas as simple as knot tying and building fires go a long way when you put them to the test when they are needed.Anyone can make fun of a Boy Scout knowing how to tie a half-hitch, but when you need it to tie a tarp up above your cooking station by your camp site when it starts downpouring, it isn’t so easy to belittle anymore.

The nature of tying knots and building fires is not the only thing required of a Boy Scout, but it is the only thing that comes to mind when people make ignorant comments about it when they’ve never experienced it or aren’t willing to try it.If I were to tell them they are also required to move up a ranking system that behaves and operates like paramilitary groups in order to hold leadership positions that require you to take command of a group of boys through hikes and long day survival excursions, they might think twice about calling Boy Scouts something only meant for little kids (Yes, I have been told this many times).

As an Eagle Scout myself, I feel accomplished for surpassing 97% of those who participate in Boy Scouts.For those who do not know, statistically, only around 3 percent of Boy Scouts actually finish their time as a Boy Scout and obtain the rank of Eagle.You have until your 18^th birthday to do this. After this, you can no longer progress through the ranking system.The Boy Scout troop I was a part of was known to be the troop to produce the most amount of Eagle Scouts in our area.When you achieve the rank of Eagle, you must go through a review board, as you do every time you complete everything required for each rank as you move up.The board askes you about stuff you learned and some knowledge that you need to know by the scheduled date of the board.It is possible to fail your boards, in which case you do not get a promotion.The ranking system goes as follows; Boy Scout, tenderfoot, Second Class, First Class, Star, Life and then Eagle.The ranks Star and Life required that you to stay in that rank for a minimum of six months each.So just from those two ranks, you’re looking at a year minimum.It is not required for you to immediately move on to the next rank. So a lot of times, boys sometimes stop progressing and do not seek leadership positions in the troop.It becomes ultimately up to the Boy Scout to choose to go to the boards and move up the ranks.You also need to obtain at least 21 badges, including specific ones that are required.

Now that we understand what actually goes into becoming an Eagle, now let me explain how hiking trips are organized and what goes into them.Most troops go on one or two camping trips every couple of months.My troop was way more active, in that we went on one camping trip once a month, sometimes two in one month.These camping trips were mostly organized by the scouts and what they liked doing over the weekends.Everything from sledding camps, to catapult camps to trailing and tracking camps, to shelter camps where you had to create your own shelter from nature and camp out in it for two nights during the winter.Sometimes you earned badges for doing these tasks.These trips required minimal costs for the troop. These operated completely separate from some of the bigger trips that can be organized by the troop and that actually cost quite a bit. These four huge organizations are together known as High Adventure and are held together mostly by donations.They raise hundreds of thousands of dollars for charity as well.Most scouts only get to go to these events once while they are a scout because they are only offered once every couple of years since they can be so expensive.These include The Summit, Northern Tier, the Florida keys, and the Philmont Scout Ranch. The Summit is located in West Virginia and is the newest addition to the other three facilities managed by the National Council of the Boy Scouts of America.It is situated in the Appalachian Mountains.It holds enough space for 40,000 campers in the area as well as trails, rock climbing, shooting sports, zip lining and leadership programs. Northern Tier hosts programs associated with wilderness survival, canoeing, fishing and winter expeditions.Most scouts stay for about a week. The Florida Keys lets scouts scuba dive in and around the keys for seven days along with sailing, snorkeling, and kayaking.The Philmont Scout Ranch has rock climbing, horseback riding, back packing and shooting sport.As you can see, Boy Scouts offers many kinds of experiences

Out of these four, I was able to attend the Philmont Scout Ranch during the summer of 2014.There are over a hundred different treks you can go on.We had trek number 16, which was an eleven day sixty plus mile hike.We were given a certain amount of rationed food at base camp to start off, and we had to keep tabs of what we had before we got to the next trading post during our trek.Obviously for the sake of this article, I cannot go into complete depth of what I experienced on this trip, but I can tell you some of the highlights that will give you a good idea of what the trip entailed and some of the funny moments that made it all the worthwhile.

As you know, restrooms are very scarce in the middle of nowhere.Our only source were places called Red Roof Inns.They were pretty much holes in the ground with a roof.These were the “Cheek-to-cheek-no-peek” toilets.We had scarce toilet paper and showers were non-existent. The longest time I went without a shower was seven days.And when we finally had the chance to shower, it was not so special.The “shower” was a simple cold line of water that came from a shower head 6 feet up.The floor was soft mud and who knows what else.There was no place to hang up any clothing, so I had to hold an article of clothing while showering, set it down on a wooden stump and repeat.It was not a pleasant experience for me.

As far as what we hiked, we hiked as high up as 12,000 feet in elevation and as far as 16 miles in a day.Our only rests were when we got to trading posts or bathroom breaks.Most of the time, we would try and beat out the heat in the mornings, since it got as hot as 107 degrees with no humidity.Our worst hiking day was when we got caught in a two hour hail storm while we were hiking about 11,000 feet in elevation.One of my friends got hypothermia and we all got pelted with hail the size of miniature golf balls.This showed us how quickly the weather can change in such an arid environment.This experience showed me how insignificant we are to Mother Nature, and that being prepared for the inevitable is sometimes not enough.