2024 St. George Trek applications available soon

By Fr. Mike Santangelo

The 2024 St. George Trek will soon be taking applications for participants. Please see the NCCS website nccs-bsa.org for further details.

The St. George Trek is a unique, once in a lifetime opportunity for Scouts to explore their vocation in relation to God’s call. Set in the beautiful back country of Philmont the St George Trek combines a retreat experience with a Philmont Trek. The crews that make up the Trek have priests and seminarians, or women religious, as Advisors. The members of the crews come from across the US.

Participants for the St George Trek are selected by their local Arch/Diocesan Catholic Committee on Scouting. They should be open to exploring a potential priestly or religious vocation. They should be known to the local committee in some way. Local committees should help the participants they nominate prepare for a trek in Philmont’s back country.

Previous crews have taken advantage of the beauty of Philmont to have Mass on top of the Tooth of Time or in some of the beautiful meadows. They’ve participated in various back country programs ranging from shooting sports to rock climbing, spar pole climbing to panning for gold.

Our crews have a full Philmont experience with the added dimension of our retreat program as well. For an “insider” view of the Trek read the letter on this page from a Scout’s father to Fr. Ross Chamberland, one of the NCCS Chaplains at Philmont last summer.

Father Ross,

My son David and I met you when we were at Philmont Scout Ranch this past summer. We completed a ten-day trek between June 13th and June 23. I wanted to thank you and share some of our experiences with you.

My son was the Chaplain’s Aide for our crew and we both attended the Mass you said at Base Camp the day before we went on the trail. This was a wonderful Mass. It helped give us both the spiritual strength we would need on the trail.

After that Mass you heard my confession. This confession was very special to me. Aside from the confession being heard in such a beautiful setting and seeing deer walk right past us. I felt a strong connection to the Lord. After telling you my sins and struggles, you and I had a discussion about them. During that discussion you gave me an understanding of my struggles and sins and how to make positive changes. Thank you for helping me have such a meaningful confession.

My son and I also attended a Sunday Mass you said at Beaubien. Your Mass on the trail was very special to both of us. During that Mass you sat with all of us attending and for the homily we had a discussion as a group rather than just listening. My son has since said that was the best Mass of his life. I have to agree with him. At that point we had been on the trail for seven days and had endured many obstacles and challenges. Connecting with God is such a special place and your message at Mass helped us appreciate the challenges and struggles we had faced and would face before completing our Trek.

David attends Jesuit High School in New Orleans, Louisiana. He is a very special boy, loves the Lord, and as his school teaches, he is a man for others. He was leading me and our crew nightly as Chaplain’s Aide which was very special to me and made me very proud. Our nightly prayers, discussions, and Thorns and Roses were great.

I can only imagine the number of people you met in one summer at Philmont. I did not think you would remember our names, but thought you might recognize our faces. One attached picture is of my son David leading in prayer one evening at Crooked Creek camp site. My son was dirty and tired, but happy to lead us in prayer. He made me so proud throughout the entire trek. The other picture is of my son and I hiking the trail at Tooth Ridge. It was our second to last day. This day was one of our longest and hardest days on the trail. It also rained on us all day, but we were both happy to be together and on the trail, It is my favorite picture of the entire trek.

I have heard it said Philmont Scout Ranch was a special place. We both know what a special place Philmont Scout Ranch is. My spiritual connection to the Lord strengthened, and I found a calm peace while at Philmont that I have not had in years. My spiritual experience and peace there were very special. Meeting you, attending your Masses and confession helped make it so special. Thank you for being such a good priest and giving your time to people at Philmont Scout Ranch.

Sincerely,

Brian D. Karcher