Ever since the resounding success of the National Advanced Youth Leadership Experience, which allows youth to hone their NYLT skills in an action packed adventure that teaches much more than Ranger skills, adults have been clamoring for a version of this course that they can attend. And here it is! The Philmont Leadership Challenge will allow Wood Badge (WB) trained adults to fully integrate the lessons learned “on the Hill” into their daily lives. Like our youth, you will live under the shadow of the Tooth of Time, and learn new skills based on Philmont Ranger Training. And, like the youth, you will discover this: True leadership is about helping others succeed.

There is no classroom work in this course! The Philmont Leadership Challenge (PLC) is built around a series of modules emphasizing advanced outdoor skills, including COPE, Wilderness First Aid, Advanced GPS use, and Search and Rescue Techniques. Your Wood Badge skills will come to life, as they are used in each and every module to master the challenges of the day. These skills move from an academic exercise to become a part of your day to day living, your day to day thinking, and of your very being. You live and practice Leave No Trace Principles, including a backpack trip into the pristine Lover’s Leap Meadow camp. The History of Leadership Training, Philmont and the old West come alive. But most importantly, we underscore ethical decision making and living a life of “servant leadership”. Our motto will be the same as for the boys, which is “Primus Inter Pares”, or First Among Equals. And we too, will learn and live the Patrol Leader Oath:

“I do hereby promise on my honor as a Scout that I will be a servant leader ‘primus inter pares,’ first among equals, helping my patrol grow and succeed for the good of the troop. As the sun dial measures the passage of time, so will my service be measured over time by my impact on others.”

Here are some words from our Youth who attended NAYLE:

“Nayle is a chance for scouts to feel their team develop. To understand the subtle and not so subtle conflicts that can arise, and to use their planning and communication skills to achieve success in one of the most beautiful places in the world, in a camp that has been dedicated to leadership training for a long time. And last but not least, to learn the value of ethics in a society that far too often takes such "philosophical" concerns as idealistic and impractical.”

“I was nearly brought to an emotional breakdown when I watched a troop of scouts give the patrol leaders oath on their own volition. That's the legacy that Nayle is leaving.”

Now – Change NAYLE to PLC and read it again. What will YOU say, after attending this important third step in the Adult Training Continuum? Sign up today, so you can find out in September!