Philmont Trek 1998 Travelog
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626 k5 is now back.
We returned on July 8th. I did post my recommendations that I had on trek #5 since that is the one that we just finished. When we arrived at Philmont it was dry and crews coming in were baked and told stories of running out of water. However, after our third day on the trail we had rain every afternoon. Your son should be having a great time. He should now be on day 4 on the trail. His crew
will be camping at Commanche Peak tonight which has breath taking view
of the mountains and Baldy. My best sunset pictures were taken at this
point. This morning they hiked out of Cypher's Mine camp (great program
and hot showers) over Thunder ridge into Commanche Peak camp. If they get
up early they will see a great sunrise over the valley and basecamp.
Tomorrow they will hike Mt Phillips (a little steep, but not long,
maybe a hour hike) This will be their highest elevation at 11,771 ft.
Another great photo opportunity (I took 15 rolls of film on our hike).
Then they will come down Mt Phillips and they will be glad they did not
have to climb up this side. This side is steeper, longer and the trail
has alot of loose rocks on it. They will hike into Clear Creek camp that
has a great program (the best staff in my opinion) There they will
enjoy axe throwing, black powder shooting, fur trapping presentation.
The crew that has our campsite the night before saw a bear in the
morning close to their camp. Here the staff will trade food for the
crew's trash. How good of food they get will determine how good of
traders they are. Our scouts got five packages of cubed steak and one
can of beef stew. (We ate like Kings that night).
The next day will be a short but a beautiful hike to Crooked Creek. There is a stream along the trail that has a alot of great photo shots along it. At Crooked Creek they will do homesteading. Milking a cow, putting up the chickens, etc.
On day 7 they will leave the Crooked Creek camp and hike about 1 1/2
hours to Phillips Junction to pick up their last four days supply of
food. Here if they are lucky the showers will be on and they can take
hot showers. (We were not so lucky). The crew will also be able to
buy snacks and film at the small store. If they pick up trash around
the camp, the Commissary staff will give the scouts a piece of fresh
fruit for the trash. (We got oranges). From there they will hike up
a nice trail uphill to Beaubien. This hike will also take about 1 1/2
hours. Once they arrive at Beaubien they will be invited on the cabin
porch as each camp does to have some gatorade and for the staff to
review their camp with the scouts. From there they will pitch their
tents. This is their stay over camp where they stay two nights.
During the next two days they can ride horses, brand their boots and
anything else (hats, belts, shirts, etc) play horseshoes. They also
can do a side hike to Trail Peak, where the wrecked B25 bomber is at.
This will take them a good four hours roundtrip, and this will be
their steepest hike. (They will be glad they did not have their
packs). There are also showers here also. But if the state fire ban
is still in place they will only have cold showers. Our advisors were
the only brave ones who took baths here. (BrRRRRRRRRR!)
On the second night they will have their chuck wagon dinner. This
consist of canned beef stew, saltines, canned peaches and hot
chocolate. It might not sound great but after eight days on the trail
its like a gourmet meal. Also we saw the most deer here.
Now day 9 is here. This morning the crew will hike to Bear Caves.
They will leave Beaubien and go down the meadow. Great view. They
will go up and the mountain and then down to Crater Lake camp. Before
getting to this camp they will have their first view of the Tooth of
Time since basecamp. What a sight! It will now start to sink in that
their adventure is now about over. Hiking on into Crater Camp the
crew will take part in the spar pole climbing and railroad tie
programs. Ask your scout who was their mule when they spar pole
climb. ( the mule is the individual who has their safety rope on as
they climb and lets them down after they get to the top). Also ask
they what did they yell from the top of the pole? From this camp the
crew will then hike on the Bear Caves. This is a trail camp that is
about 1 1/2 hour hike uphill. More great views of the Tooth of Time
and later in the day some great photo shots of sunset over the Tooth
Ridge.
Day 10 is now here (Our crew requested a itenary change and
we did not hike to Urracca, instead we went to Miners Park and did
the mountain climbing . From there we hiked to Shafer's Pass)
Day 11- Our crew got up at 2 am and hiked to the top of Shafer's Peak
to see the sunrise over the mountains. After eating breakfast we then
hiked the tooth ridge, Tooth of Time and them back into basecamp.
Your son's group will have two choices as they hike from Urracca to
basecamp. They can hike the meadow trail back to basecamp or they can
hike up the ridge to the Tooth of Time. Ask your son about the hike
to the top of the Tooth of Time. At a point the trail ends and they
have to scramble over boulders to get to the top. The view from the
top is also breathtaking! You can see the valley, basecamp, Mt
Phillips, and of course Mt Baldy.
I hope this gives some insight to Reggie about his son's adventures
this week!
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