Philmont--Day 8

Day 8, July 6

Got up at 6 AM, tried to wake the others up and went to get the bear bags down. The sick crew member wasn't feeling good again when we got back so we let him get better. Ate breakfast and finally headed for Mount Baldy at 9:15 AM. The hike to Baldy Town was pretty easy and we made it in 45 minutes. We stopped for 10 minutes in Baldy Town and then started the hard part of the hike. The first part had a lot of switchbacks so it was pretty easy but the second part was just a bunch of slopes and it was extremely hard. The trail became even harder once we passed the timberline. This part of the trail was at least 60 degrees straight up and it was terribly taxing on all of us. We finally summited the top of Mount Baldy around 1:10 PM. Ate lunch up top and took a bunch of pictures. The view was far reaching and beautiful. There was snow too, took kind of long to get back. Jamie slipped in mud and a guy from the summit was hurt. We ate oranges and got the food from Baldy town commissary. There was no showers at Ute Meadows camp. Oh well.

The trail up to Mount Baldy

(if you click on it you can see people hiking up the trail)







More Pictures from Mt. Baldy:




















-Jamie

Philmont--Day 7

Day 7, July 5

We tried to wake up at 5:30 AM but we got up at 6 AM because I slept past my alarm. One of the crew members was sick so we waited for him to get better. As soon as he was feeling better we left with our sister crew and started to hike with them. Their burro, Elmer (like the glue--heh), was tight but they went fast. We eventually split up at the Well of Baldy Skyline camp and the other crew went to Miranda while we went to Ute Meadows. Gorgeous sights and rainclouds. Got to Ute Meadows acround 5:30 PM set up at campsite 2 (kinda bad but we made it work). The view from the latrine was gorgeous (ironic huh).

-Jamie

Philmont--Day 6

Day 6, July 4

Woke up around 5:30 AM to take nice hot shower but my shower head spewed water everywhere, so all of my clothes got wet, which really sucked because it was like 50-60 degrees outside. Ate the chuckwagon breakfast which was pretty good. Packed up gear/tents and picked up food, branded some stuff (like my wallet) and got some root beer. We were supposed to pick up a burro but we arrived to late so we had the choice o taking one or not--we chose not. We probably hiked 6 miles today, most of it uphill but we stopped too many times so it took longer. Got to Pueblano and the staffer tried to trick us into thinking it was another camp but he failed. Put tents up and ate dinner. Campfire was interesting but it got pretty cold, pretty fast. Star are awesome out here but so is sleep. Happy 4th of July, no fireworks for us.

-Jamie

Philmont--Day 5

Day 5, July 3

Woke up at 5:45 AM this morning, packed all the camp gear, got the bear bags down. Left Indian Writings at 7:17 AM and started on the trail to Hart's Peak (this was the highest point of the trek so far), Danny went fast for the first time, and it was a long hike. Ate breakfast on the trail and the peak was cool. We reached the 7,979 foot peak at 10:15 and saw Mt. Baldy, Little Castilla, Tooth of Time, and the Spanish Peaks off in the distance. We had to wait for about two hours for one of the crew members to get better because he became sick from the altitude, we think. It was cool to chill on the peak and hack up there. We made it to the next camp, Ponil, after about an hour (around 12:45 PM). WE got to our campsite and pulled out our lunches and walked to the Cantina and grabbed some root beer. Then we went to ride horses, which wasn't very good but oh well. Chuck wagon dinner was okay, we hacked and saw some girls our age. Got some more root beer and rinsed clothes. Now time for sleep.

The Ponil camp is a large trail camp in Philmont and is known for its large horse stables and it's Cantina which serves scouts root beer for $0.25 a cup. A $0.25 well spent, the root beer was great. The girls we saw were apart of a Girl Scout group hiking Philmont, yes girls can hike in a Boy Scout ranch.




-Jamie

Philmont--Day 4

To those of you who are intrigued by my adventures in New Mexico or for those of you that are just casual readers, I'm very sorry for being so slow at posting these things but here is day 4!

Day 4, July 2

Woke up at 6:45 AM (MST) this morning, packed, ate, and finally left camp at 9 (very slowly). The hike was short today, 45 minutes (without stops). Got to the Indian Writings camp and had a porch talk with the staff. Four our campsite, hung the food up in the bear bags and went to the Petroglyph tour. We saw Paotie Man and some other artifacts. Ate lunch, then went and did our conservation project. Straw was everywhere. Didn't play Anasazi ball, but drank sulfur water. Chicken and mashed potatoes for dinner. We get pound cake tomorrow!

The Indian Writings camp was our second stop on our trek and it had a bunch of artifacts and drawings from an old Indian camp that lived in the valley where the camp was. It was pretty neat and here are a few pictures:

Also here is some pictures of the beautiful scenery from the hike:





























-Jamie

Philmont--Day 3

Day 3, July 1

Another 5:30 AM (MST) wake up call. Got dressed in Class A uniforms and went to breakfast. We had our "shakedown" , cleaned out our tents, and put our packs atthe welcome center. Crew picture was next, then we "hacked" at the trading post. Talked at 6 gates, after car ride about Red Roof etc. Everyone bought hackeys! Danny led us on our first 2 miles. Went at a good pace saw rattlesnake. Yay, I'm tired. Spahgetti, corn, biscuits, and cookies for dinner. Attempted to put bear bag up--sucked royally. Purified water from a creek and it's not too bad. Campfire--"Thorns and Roses" and "Outdoor Stories". Time for bed.

Tent City and Red Roof Inns (AKA Bathrooms)

-Jamie

Philmont--Day 2

Day 2, June 30

5:30 AM (CST) wake up call this morning. Put our sleeping bags and maps up, got dressed and all that jazz. Ate donuts and raisins, with OJ for breakfast. We left Amarillo a little after 7 AM (CST) and reached the TX/NM border a few minutes after 9 AM (CST). Made a gas stop and got back on the road to Philmont. Made it to Philmont 15 minutes after 11 AM (MST). Unloaded the packs and me out Ranger, <--Cory.He's really tight, and talked to this girl Nicole at the Trading Post. Today was a hurry-up and wait day. The bathrooms are nice and because of the thin air, our skin should clear up? Danny got an awesome hat. We played a name game and called our mommies. Camp fire is tonight. We leave at 1 PM (MST) tomorrow. Danny is stupid and whipped still, even after Haley broke up with him. We picked up food and gear today; tomorrow will be the "shakedown." Dinner consisted of Chicken Fried Steak, mashed potatoes, a roll, corn and one of the best brownie's ever (according to Danny). Went to a Catholic Chapel service (saw people from different states, including New Jersey). Went to campfire, it was decent. Then we went to the "cantina" (snack bar) chilled and "hacked" (played hacky sack) for a while with Cory. Took shower, now going to bed.

-Jamie

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