The National Jewish Committee on Scouting is sponsoring its third Jewish Focused Trek to the Philmont National Scout Ranch in New Mexico this summer.
Philmont includes 140,000 acres of backcountry with both staffed and wilderness camps in the Rocky Mountains near Cimarron, New Mexico. Staffed camps include panning for gold, muzzle loading rifle shooting, racing burros, archaeology, rock climbing and rappelling, and more.
The 12-person Jewish Focused Trek will include Sabbath observance, kosher food, daily prayer and Jewish learning. A rabbi will be among the crew. Arrival is Thursday, June 30, followed by Shabbat in base camp. The scouts will then set out for 12 days of backpacking on Sunday, July 3. Shabbat, a rest day, will be celebrated in the backcountry on July 8 and 9. Crews will return to basecamp Wednesday, July 13, and travel home the next day.
Dr. Norman Kahn, Central Region Co-chair of the NJCOS and Planning Committee Chair, NJCOS Jewish Focused Philmont Trek, says that a Jewish Trek offers a place for scouts to ask “big questions,” such as:
- If Philmont is “God’s country,” how does Judaism fit in?
- When seeing billions of stars, how does that link a person to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob as they shepherded their flocks under the same stars?
- When celebrating Shabbat on the trail, how should someone feel about their relationship with Judaism?
Both male and female scouts are eligible if they are 14 years old by the start of the trek and have earned at least the Scouting rank of First Class. For more information or to sign up, contact Kahn at or 913-991-2938.
