Re: [Philmont]: Trek 4

We went on Trek 4 at the end of June and through the first week of July.
Here is the report I posted upon our return.

Here's a report that covers several of the points made in earlier posts. I
apologize in advance for the length:

- Mosquitoes. Yes, they were abundant. We started at Lovers Leap, then
traveled to Urraca before we were hit with the biters at Bear Caves. They
stayed with us through Crater Lake, Beaubien (including our stop at Trail
Peak), Crooked Creek and Clear Creek, where they were so bad you had to be
careful breathing not to swallow some. We finally escaped them at the top of
Mt. Phillips, but that was only because the wind was blowing hard enough to
keep them at bay. They weren't bad at Cypher's Mine, Hunting Lodge, Cito,
Clark's Fork, Shaeffer's Pass and Tooth Ridge. Base Camp had no bug problem.
Our scouts either wore their raingear to battle the bugs or used the small
bottle of DEET we had. Some just toughed it out. I used DEET and I still
came home with bumps from bites all over my arms and legs. Reports from the
North were that the bugs weren't bad. Reports from the South were awful,
including Zastrow. If you have zip-off leg pants, be prepared to keep your
pant legs handy when you stop hiking. If you have a long-sleeved camp shirt,
bring it. It's worth the extra weight. We found out that the mosquitoes had
no problem penetrating Duofold or our zip-off pants. We often ate with one
hand and waved our bandanas like horse tails just to keep the little buggers
at bay. A trek from Minnesota joined us at a couple of camps and the advisor
said he didn't remember mosquitoes this bad even during a Minnesota summer.
Bring DEET and don't settle for just one bottle.
- Gatorade. We had some hard days (Trail Peak from the south with full
packs, as well as Mt. Phillips from Clear Creek and Tooth Ridge from Webster
Parks). We older guys found that the Gatorade made a difference on the long
days. There's plenty to be had in the swap boxes. Some of our Scouts
"mainlined" the stuff from the packages. I'm not that brave. All the sugar
in the Philmont meals plays havoc with my system, so I know the location of
every pilot/co-pilot, pilot/bombadier and red roof inn on our route.
- Cell phones. I had to listen to some guy at Clark's Fork discussing work
on a construction site on his cell phone as he wandered around camp during
program. Ugh!
- Rain. Evidently there was plenty of rain before we arrived (6/24). We had
only a slight shower at Beaubien. Pretty hot and dry the rest of the time.
- Water. We had plenty of access to water from spigots and springs, except
at Webster Parks. We had been told at Logistics that there was a spring at
Webster Parks. So had our sister crew from Pennsylvania. When we got there,
there was no water and from the looks of the tank, there hadn't been any
water there for years. Be advised.
- Mary at Cypher's Mine. Mary Hoss was terrific. She was blacksmith on our
visit and played "Olga" in the Stomp that night. Very funny and a tremendous
staffer. Ran into her equally affable sister, Kathleen, at Clark's Fork.
- Extra cord. Take at least 50-feet per two people. We used it for all kinds
of things (clotheslines, extra shoe strings, and a junior oops bag). At
Lovers on our first night, I stepped in some jerk's spit-out gum. I couldn't
believe it! Of all places, at Philmont! Anyway, my hiking boot just became a
smellable. So, I had to put it in one of those 2.5-gal Ziploc bags (great
bags, by the way) and run it up with the bear bags each night. I used my
extra cord and carbiner to run up the bag so I could get it early each
morning and not require the Bear Bag crew to have to deal with it. Philmont
doesn't want you to tie clotheslines to live trees, but there are enough big
rocks and dead trees to make clotheslines pretty easy.
- Urraca. The teambuilding program at Urraca was fun. We had Anna Hueffed as
our staffer and she was fun. Our entire crew enjoyed the experience. We
noticed that some crew advisers chose not to participate. That's a bad idea.
Get in there and have fun with the Scouts. Show them you are part of the
crew. As for the Urraca program, I couldn't agree more with the criticism
I've read. I had read about how entertaining the program was and was really
looking foward to it. It was a rambling, puerile presentation. The only
humorous parts where when the staff started "getting on" each other for
mistakes in the presentation. A little rehearsal goes a long way, folks, and
this group looked as if they hadn't had much. After the "stupid" part, the
staff tried to shift gears and tell scary ghost stories, for which Urraca is
famous. Didn't work. I left very disappointed.
- Stomp at Cypher's Mine. The flip side of the coin holds true at Cypher's.
What a staff! And what a show! From the moment we arrived until after that
night's Stomp, the staff stayed in character. Emily Sanderson met us when we
arrived and pointed out how we had all "signed a contract" at base camp to
become "muckers" at the mine. She stayed with it throughout her
presentation. If we had a question about, say, finding the signout sheet
when we left camp, she would say, "If you plan to skip out early in the
morning and break your contract, there's a sheet outside the door. Sign it
so we can tell the authorities when they come looking for you." Mark
Bullock, who led the mine tour, did a great job, and Camp Director PJ Parmar
taught those who were interested to pan for gold. That night at Stomp, we
got very lucky. PJ and Emily were scheduled for "days off" and weren't
expected to perform that night. But there was a snafu and they couldn't
leave. So we had the full staff on hand for the performance, including a
visiting staffer who contributed his mandolin to the festivities. The cabin
was packed, and a Venturing Crew with several women, added to the diversity
of the evening, making for a rocking show. Afterward, even the staff agreed
that it had been a very special night. We took to heart the advice from this
list to bring along some guitar strings for the staff. They were very
appreciative. This camp was truly one of the highlights of our trek.
- Clear Creek. The staff at this camp was very accommodating. John Schroeder
gave a terrific cabin tour about the life of Mountain Men. Our Scouts threw
tomahawks until their arms wore out. The Black Powder shooting was great,
but it was tough enjoying the event while fighting off the mosquitoes. John
has one of the best advisers' coffee sessions. He keeps coffee and water
going all day and all night, and unlike most of the other adviser coffees,
where you sit on a porch and don't always get everyone involved, John's
session is in a square around the campfire. He led a lively conversation
that touched on all kinds of topics. By the way, John's secret for Mountain
Man coffee is tabasco, cinnamon and a sock. Mmmm, good!
- Trail Peak. I disagree with the comment about seeing a "hunk of twisted
aluminum" not being worth the climb. We made the hike up the steep south
slope with full packs. It was awfully tough, but when we got to the
wreckage, our Scouts were fascinated. One, in particular, was touched by the
memorial at the site. The new switchback trail down to Beaubien is very
nice.
- Coffee filters. We took coffee filters to help filter the grit when we
filtered water with our water pumps. Glad we did. Even with the clear
streams, there was so much silt that it was difficult to get more than one
liter of water pumped before the pump clogged.
- Sunblock. You need it, as well as a good hat with enough of a brim to keep
you from burning your face, neck and ears.
- Sandals. Even the Rangers were wearing open-toed sandals. I even saw them
hiking in them (yes, they were wearing socks as well, but that doesn't offer
much in the way of protection).
- Medical Re-check. I lift weights and have worked out all my life, but I am
one of those who is very solid and have to fight to make the weight (6-1/245
and I didn't lose but 2 pounds by the end of the trek). I was never weighed
at medical re-check. I saw guys on the trail with their guts hanging so far
over their belts that you couldn't even see the belt. I'm not saying that
you should ignore the requirements or that you should go out to Philmont
thinking that they aren't going to weigh you, but I was very surprised to
see some of the folks on the trail who "passed" the physical requirements.

That's probably more than you cared to know or read about these topics, but
I was addressing several posts. If you have specific questions, contact me
directly. All in all, I'd go back on the trail tomorrow. Philmont is a very
special place and I always look over my left shoulder as I leave to make
sure I see the arrowhead because I want to come back.

BeaverBob
bob.vernon@sbcglobal.net

From: "Roger Stone" <krstone@dmv.com>
Reply-To: philmont@troop47.com
Date: Thu, 21 Aug 2003 16:18:02 -0400
To: Multiple recipients of list philmont <philmont@troop47.com>
Subject: [Philmont]: Trek 4

I went to Philmont in July and I took trek #4. Did anyone else take this
trek? And, if so, what are your thoughts on it? Once I get my journal typed
up I will post it
 
Josh
 

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Received on Thu Aug 21 22:45:15 2003