Philmont--Day 1

In the summer of 2005, I trekked across northeastern New Mexico in the Philmont Boy Scout Ranch. Here is a bit of history behind the ranch: Philmont land was first donated to the Boy Scouts of America in 1938 from Waite Phillips who was a wealthy oil magnate and wilderness enthusiast who amassed much of the land from grants in the 1920s. Since then, the ranch has amassed about 127,000 acres of beautiful wilderness. Scouts travel in groups of 7-10 people and cover between 50 and 100 miles. I was apart of Trek 630H1 and hiked itinerary 3. We (Me, Danny Lutz, and J.C. Francis) traveled with a group of scouts from Troop 874 because our troop, 753, did not "win" a spot at Philmont. I will find a map and trace my route as soon as I can. I know it has been two years since then, but during the trek Danny Lutz (good friend and fellow Eagle Scout) and I kept a little journal of our daily adventures. So, here is the 10 day journal with all the details. I will differentiate Danny and myself with different colors.

Day 1, June 29

Got to the church a little before 8 AM (CST). Waited for everyone to arrive, then we loaded up and headed out. Danny, J.C. Francis, and I rode in a van so we were able to bring a TV and some DVD's along with us. Today, we watched Pulp Fiction and Old School About an hour or so (approx.) a tire on the trailer blew out. Luckily we had a spare, so the adult leaders quickly changed it and we were on our way. We stopped at a highway rest stop to eat lunch at about 12 PM (CST). At about 30 minutes after 4 PM (CST), we arrived in Amarillo and found Boy Scout Troop 80's "troop hut." The hut was a large room that serviced as a meeting room for the troop and they rented it out to other scout troops on their way to Philmont, because Scouting rules do not permit more than a certain amount of travel hours in a day. We ate dinner at Cici's pizza and then returned back to the "hut" where a fencing meeting was taking place. Since we had free time to kill, we watched the people fencing, played Foosball, air hockey, pool, and cards until about 10 PM (CST). Lights out was at about 10:30 PM (CST), so we all got ready for bed but most of us didn't get to sleep until after 11:30 PM (CST). That's all for today, bye for now.

More tomorrow. Thanks for reading.

-Jamie