By Christian Coffman

NATCHEZ — Climbing a mountain is an image often used as a metaphor for reaching one’s goals, experiencing new things and overcoming obstacles.

For the scouts of Natchez’s Boy Scout Troop 158, a recent trek across the Sangre de Cristo Mountains proved to be just that.

The boys began at Philmont Scout Ranch near Cimmaron, N.M. o, with their scout masters.

Owned by the Boy Scouts of America, Philmont offers a one-of-a-kind hiking and camping experience through the rugged New Mexico wilderness.

The scouts hiked for 11 days through paths that reached elevations of more than 12,000 feet.

The troop arrived on June 12 and came off the mountain on June 25.

Assistant scout masters Dr. Ed Daly and Forrest Johnson said the trails ranged in difficulty.

“The trek that our group went was the most strenuous,” Johnson said. Daly and Johnson said they attended only to make sure the boys did not get hurt.

“The way the trip’s set up, it’s designed for the boys to take up leadership,” Johnson said. “It’s really about letting them run the show.”

The scouts’ jobs included everything necessary to survive the trek, including knowing where to get water and how to treat it and where to set up camp when not at a staffed camp.

Daly said that along the 100-miles hike the troop scaled across six mountain peaks, the scouts did well despite a couple of challenging days which pushed them to the brink.

“Each of them had a different job each day, whether it was dealing with bear bags or sanitizing the water,” Daly said. “By the end (we were) a well-oiled machine.”

On day four, Daly said they went on the highest point of the whole trek.

“We did 12 to 15 miles with about a 3,500 (elevation increase) in one day,” Daly said. “That’s really more difficult than the distance.”

Daly said the scouts started training for the trek in January, practicing in different state parks.

“We would also put our packs on and hike up and down Silver Street and Roth Hill,” Daly said.

The boys also practiced different scouting activities between camping stations, including rock climbing, mountain biking, fly-fishing and gold prospecting.

The troop saw many sights and had many memorable experiences.

“The mountains were the most beautiful things I’ve ever seen in my life,” scout Hunter Voss said. “It was a once-in-a-lifetime trip.”

Johnson said Hunter’s late grandfather, Freddy Voss, was one of the area’s original scoutmasters and went to Philmont 16 times.

“Hunter called his grandmother on the summit of Mount Baldy, the highest peak,” Johnson said.

Scout Jack Russ said a trail was carved through 10 feet of snow on Mount Baldy.

Scout Ethan Huff said when the troop reached the peak it was tough to brace against the wind.

“We got to the summit, and the wind just hit you,” Huff said “It was fast wind, and cold, so I was glad I brought my wind breaker. I believe we could see Colorado, multiple towns and patches of lights.”

Scout Griffin Hootsell said the trek was tough but well worth the experience, and he would go back again.

Hootsell said the troop hiked up the Tooth of Time on the last day, a sheer rock face.

“You could see where we started,” Hootsell said.

The scouts said that many days on the trip were trying.

“We had to walk with a burro for two days, and he wasn’t the nicest or most enthusiastic,” scout Hayes Daly said. “It started crying.”

Scout Will Vaughan said one of the biggest challenges was the food.

“At first it was OK, but after about seven days of eating packaged food … granola bars and beef jerky … you were ready to eat (normal food),” Vaughan said.

Many boys in the troop lost significant weight as a result of the trek: Griffin lost 15 to 20 pounds and Daly lost 6 pounds.

“We’ve been working with them since January, and I couldn’t be more proud of them,” Johnson said.