There is a lot better gear available today at a much better price point. I'm a bit of a gear hound but remember you did just fine at Philmont with what you had in 89, he'll be fine with whatever you send him with.

I'll share, although there are a lot of posters here with much more experience than I have.

I've only been once. I believe it was 2006, the summer before I started high school. Most of our crew was the same age. I was the crew leader.

I was in decent shape playing football/basketball in school. There were two kids that weren't, and we ended up distributing a lot of their gear amongst the rest of the crew to lighten their packs. One of our scoutmasters (the dad of the two kids that had issues, believe it or not) struggled quite a bit himself. He is a pilot, and I remember him huffing and puffing up a trail and saying, "If I was flying, they'd make me wear an oxygen mask at this altitude." I will say, that was the closest thing to a complaint that I heard out of him.

I see a lot of posts about non-Gor-tex footwear. I remember it raining heavy every single afternoon (late July) and getting caught on the trail in one bad storm and hiking in a lot of mud. Personally, I would suggest waterproof footwear. I had a pair of Merrells at the time. I would wear my Asolo Fugitives if I were to go back today. Go somewhere like REI where you can try on a lot of footwear. I'm a huge fan of Darn Tough socks.

As I mentioned earlier, it rained a ton. I would also recommend a good set of rain gear and pack cover.

I don't remember a whole lot about the food, other than there was a lot of it. I think I actually gained weight from the seemingly endless supply of lara bars and banana chips. We had dehydrated rice and beans the first night. Our guide kept messing up the ratios of water vs. food (possibly intentionally), until we'd prepared it all. We were all almost sick by the time we got it all down.

It was an awesome trip and a great experience. It was the highlight of my scouting career, and pushing 20 years later, I'd say is one of my most formative leadership experiences that has helped set me up for success later in life.

Just following up…
The trip was amazing. We all made it, and I can't wait to go back. The weather was picture perfect. It was hot on some days, but we're from Texas. It rained on some days, but we're from Texas. We definitely did not experience the Philmont monsoon season, I have heard about. I'm just so proud of all of the boys. We had several young guys, and they were complete troopers. We had a few of us old guys, and we were complete poopers, but we got it done.
I always regretted not being able to go when I was a scout.
I vowed to go with my sons one day in 1989.
That arrowhead on my shirt was 35 years overdue.
Thank you all for your advice.
It was just the best experience.
Thank you, Jesus!