RE: [Philmont]: 714-C-2 Trek #18

Well done!
Uncle Cletus
Philmont 1998,1999,2006?

-----Original Message-----
From: owner-philmont@troop47.com [mailto:owner-philmont@troop47.com] On
Behalf Of Calvin H. Gray
Sent: Tuesday, August 16, 2005 10:29 PM
To: Multiple recipients of list philmont
Subject: [Philmont]: 714-C-2 Trek #18

This is a report prepared by Life Scout Wesley Perkins on Trek #18 as
completed by 2005 Expedition # 714-C-2. The crew had 8 youth and 4 adult
members.

YiS,

--
Calvin H. Gray
Scoutmaster, Troop 405
Associate Advisor, Venturing Crew 405
Georgetown, Texas
I used to be an Owl (WM-62-2-98 @ Philmont) http://www.troop405.org/
______________________________
July 14, Day 1 - We arrived in Philmont New Mexico. Before we actually
arrived at the scout ranch we stopped for breakfast and met up with the
Jennings at Heck's Restaurantin Cimarron. Once we arrived at the scout ranch
we got our ranger, Brian, and our row of tents (E19- E24). After putting our
things in our tents we followed Brian to the health lodge to conduct medical
rechecks. We then had a short break to go to the trading post and then on to
lunch. During lunch we got our crew motto that would stick with us the rest
of the trek, "Remember the Alamo." After lunch we had another short break
then we were off to get our crew supplies and food. While we were getting
these things we had a small shakedown to check whether we had the correct
stuff or not. After our shakedown we had a free tour of the Villa Philmonte
and only a few people went. At 5:00 we ate dinner and shortly after, there
was an advisors meeting then mass. There was an opening campfire at 8:30 and
it was a history lesson of New Mexico. When the crew returned from the
campfire most of us took showers then went to bed at about 10:30.
July 15, Day 2 - Woke up at 6:00 to get ready for breakfast. We had to eat
fairly fast because immediately after breakfast we had crew pictures. At
8:30 we had to clean then check out of our tents for the next crew coming
in. We got our lockers to put items that weren't going on the trail in, then
went to the bus pickup area to wait for our ride.
We got on the bus that takes us to Cito Turnaround at 9:57. When we arrived
at Cito Turnaround Brian refreshed us about compass skills. Then at 10:37 we
were on the trail. Our first day was easy because there was only about
150-200 ft of elevation gain and it was just over a mile long. We arrived at
Cathedral Rock Camp at 11:20. Brian taught us how to set up the Bear-Muda
triangle, and put up the dinning fly and bear bags.
We ate lunch then set up our tents. Once everything was where it should be
we decided to go on a day hike to window rock. On the way there Brian showed
us a Philmont ranger secret. He took us to some ice caves and most of us
went in. They were really cool but incredibly small. After the caves we
continued to Cimarroncito then around the hidden valley and up to window
rock. The view from window rock was incredible. We could see for miles. We
saw Cimarron, Villa Philmonte and even our camp for the day. We got back to
camp at 5:20 and started dinner. During dinner we heard some hilarious
stories from Mr. Jennings about his life. It started to rain during dinner
but not very hard. We did thorns and roses then went to bed at 9:00. It
rained very hard that night.
July 16, Day 3 - Everybody woke up at 5:45 (for the rest of the trek we woke
up this early). We ate breakfast then were on our way to Upper Sawmill camp.
We stopped at Cimarroncito staff camp and went to the rock climbing gym. It
was a lot of fun. We had to stop to get food for the next three days at Ute
Gultch Commissary. A couple of us stayed behind at a fork in the trail to
watch the packs while the rest of the crew went the extra mile to get food.
When they came back we ate lunch on a very large rock face that was along
the trail we were on. At 12:57 we were off again on our way to Upper
Sawmill. We took a very long "pack off" break at Lower Sawmill for no
apparent reason. We just all of a sudden stopped. We arrived at Upper
Sawmill camp at 3:15. After setting up the dinning fly and the rest of the
stuff we had ranger training with Brian about first aid. After that we set
up our tents, purified water, and started cooking dinner. After dinner Brian
surprised us with a pound cake and icing that he had packed with him the
whole time. After eating the pound cake and cleaning we did thorns and roses
then hung bear bags.
We all went to bed at about 10:15.
July 17, Day 4 - We started packing our personal things, the dinning fly,
and took down the bear bags, at 6:00. We ate breakfast then Brian had to
leave today. We departed camp at 7:30. Today was going to be our hardest. We
stopped at Sawmill staff camp at 8:30 to do 30.06 ammo reload and rifle
shooting. It was a lot of fun. We finished rifle shooting and walked back to
the camp to eat lunch and get going. We started walking again at 12:20
before we got rained on by a huge storm.
We got about 200 meters up a REALLY STEEP hill that was at the staff camp
and it started pouring and hailing. We had to get all our rain gear on while
it was raining. It was the worst storm on the whole trek. We had to fill up
water bottles in the rain at the top of the hill before we could go on. At
about 2:05 we took a pack off break and it wasn't raining as bad. We had
climbed 1000 feet already and were at 10,200 feet. Started hiking again at
2:40 and the rain stopped. We took a small break at 3:40 to get rain gear
off because it was getting hot. At 5:50 we reached our highest point on the
trip at 11,100 feet and it was a killer climb from 9000 feet at Upper
Sawmill. Now we had to start downhill. The downhill part was very slow
because it was so steep and very rocky. We arrived at Red Hills camp at 7:20
and it was very cold and damp. Most of us didn't want to cook dinner so we
ate a lunch instead and would cook that dinner for lunch the next day
because we had a very short hike. We did thorns and roses at 9:00 then went
to bed at 9:10. Everybody was tired.
July 18, Day 5 - Today was a short hike so we got to sleep in and most
people slept in until 6:45 and we let the tent dry out for while before
packing up. We ate breakfast at 7:45 and it started to warm up a little.
After packing everything up, we departed Red Hills at 9:28. The hike was
uneventful and easy on the very gradual downhill slope. We arrived at
11:45 and set up the camp then ate lunch. At 2:30 about half of us ran to
Phillips junction commissary which was 1.1 miles away to take showers and
get extra supplies. It was a lot of fun. We came back then just hung out for
a while. We ate dinner at 6:15 then four guys went to the homesteading
program at crooked creek while the rest of us stayed back because it was
pouring. While we were still at camp we hung bear bags and cleaned
everything up. So far it has rained everyday we have been out on the trail.
It rained and hailed until 7:40 but not as bad as yesterday. The guys from
Homesteading came back and we just sat around until 8:45 when we all went to
bed because there was nothing to do since it was so wet out.
July 19, Day 6 - Woke up at the normal time and noticed everything was wet.
We decided to dry it at the next camp. Ate breakfast and packed up then
departed camp at 7:40. We arrived at Phillips Junction Commissary at 8:02
again for food, supplies, and water. We departed Phillips Junction at 8:45
and arrived at Beaubien staff camp at 10:00. Some weird lady greeted us and
she was VERY RUDE. We got campsite number 23 and set up all of our things.
We ate lunch then departed for our Conservation project at 12:40. We arrived
at our conservation project on Bonita Peak at 2:45. During our conservation
project we had to build part of a trail. We all dug out and moved a HUGE
rock that was approximately 550 lbs. People had tried to move it before us
but nobody could. We also had to line up a whole bunch of other huge rocks
on the edge of the trail to allow water to run over them without eroding
them to much. At 5:10 Mr.
Ory, my dad, and I hiked up to the top of Bonita Peak while the rest of the
crew hiked back to the camp. It was a 20 degree slope then next 600 feet to
the top of Bonita Peak. After we hiked back down we arrived back at camp at
6:40. We ate dinner then advisors went to advisor coffee.
Scouts took showers at 8:00 and adults at 8:30 then we did thorns and roses
and hung the bear bags. We went to bed at 9:45.
July 20, Day 7 - Woke up and ate breakfast. We didn't have to pack up
because we would be staying at Beaubien for two days. We departed at 6:40
toward Trail Peak to see the crashed B-24 site. At 8:10 we saw the first
parts of the B-24 by the side of the trail. We left the trail and started
walking strait up the hill in the main direction of the wreckage. We found
lots of parts before we spotted the wings and main center section. We looked
at the part for a while and sat in a big open spot on the side of the hill.
We started back down at 9:50 and arrived back at camp at 11:15. We ate lunch
and played cards. At 1:00 we saw huge clouds and heard thunder. We decided
not to ride horses because of the threatening clouds. Then it starts to
hail. We didn't get any rain other than a few drops just hail. So we moved
to the chuck wagon to play cards. At 4:45 we went to our chuck wagon dinner.
The beef stew was great but the cobbler didn't have any flavor. After dinner
we randomly took showers at the times we were assigned then played cards. We
played cards a lot on this trip. We did thorns and roses, hung bear bags,
and then went to bed 9:07.
July 21, Day 8 - We woke up at 6:00 today and took everything down then
packed it up. We ate breakfast then departed Beaubien at 7:40. We arrived at
Phillips Junction again and got food for the remaining four days. Departed
Phillips junction at 9:15 and arrive at Fish Camp at 10:20. We toured Waite
Phillips lodge then ate lunch. There had been a bear reported near here the
past couple of days so we had to be careful where we ate. We did fly tying
at 12:00 then went fishing. It was incredibly boring so most of us stopped
early but we had to wait for about another two hours for the people who
enjoyed it. We left Fish Camp at 2:20 and arrived at Agua Fria camp at 3:20
and set everything up. At 5:10 we ate dinner then Mr. Adams taught us about
Karate and read Ghost stories about Philmont. Then we played cards and heard
more great Ghost stories about Urraca Mesa at 8:00. We hung the bear bags
then went to bed at 8:50. I noticed at this point that everyday we were on
the trail we must have gotten even more tired because we seemed to be going
to bed earlier each night.
July 22, Day 9 - We woke packed our things ate breakfast then departed Agua
Fria at 7:25. We stopped at Fish Camp to get water then started on the trail
up Webster Pass 8:10. With about an eighth of the way left on our trip up
Webster Pass we had a run challenge. All but three of us ran up a really
steep part of the trail that was about 100 meters long. It was a lot of fun!
We arrived at the summit of Webster Pass at 9:16 and took a pack off break.
We started back down Webster Pass at 9:35. We arrived at Crater Lake staff
camp at 11:20. We ate lunch then half of us went spar polling. Mr. Jennings
had to leave at 2:30 because he didn't have enough pain killers for his leg.
We also had to move our tents and dinning fly because they told us the wrong
dominions of our camp site and we had our tents a different camp site. We
ate dinner then played cards. At 8:00 we went to the camp fire program and
it was really good.
They had really funny stories and played lots of music. We got back to camp
and went to bed at 11:00. Because of the campfire we didn't go to bed even
earlier.
July 23, Day 10 - This day would be our longest hike but it was easy because
it was all downhill. We packed up our personal and crew things, ate
breakfast, and departed at 7:30. At 8:58 we took a "pack off" break at camp
Aguila. We arrived at Abreau staff camp at 10:50 and had root beer and
bought food at the trading post. We ate lunch then departed Abreau at 12:20.
We arrived at Zastrow staff camp at 12:55 and set up our camp. We took fire
to the lodge so Richard and Nick Benbow could make cobbler. We ate dinner at
5:00 then at 6:30 we went to the lodge for cobbler. Brian and I did the flag
retirement then we stayed at the lodge for games. At 8:30 we walked up to a
big circle for a rededication ceremony. After we walked back from the
ceremony we put the bear bags up then went to bed at 9:30.
July 24, Day 11 - The hike was very short this day but very steep up hill.
We woke up at 6:40 packed our things ate breakfast then started hiking to
Backache Springs at 9:07. After a grueling uphill hike we arrived at
Backache Springs at 10:38. When we got to our camp the view was incredible.
You could see so far in almost all direction because we were in a very large
field on top of a drop off. At 12:00 we ate lunch and watched the clear sky
turn into thunderstorms in the distance. They were growing very fast and
from everywhere. After lunch we set up camp.
It was VERY HOT in our campsite. At 12:55 the storms had grown so fast it
started to sprinkle where we were. We sat outside to watch the rain.
You could see it pouring just above us and everywhere else but it never
reached the ground where we were. At 4:40 we climbed a hill to a well to get
water for dinner and our trip tomorrow. We ate dinner did thorns and roses
then Mr. Adams told Philmont ghost stories. Mostly about Urraca Mesa. It was
really cool because our campsite was on a drop off on the side of Urraca
Mesa. Ate 8:45 we all went to bed.
July 25, Day 12 - This as our last day so we got up at 5:30. We ate
breakfast packed everything then left camp at 6:57. We arrived at Rayado
turn around at 8:30. From Backache we could see the turn around. We toured
the Kit Carson Home and waited for the bus. At 10:14 the bus picked us up
and we arrived back at base camp at 10:25. We got our tent assignments then
went to lunch in the mess hall. Most of us agreed that the trail food was a
lot better than the food at base camp. After lunch we took showers, did
laundry, and went to the trading post. A lot of people took naps. After all
that we went to dinner at 5:30. We had to fill out a Philmont critique form
after dinner. At 8:30 we had to go to the closing campfire. It wasn't nearly
as good as I thought it would be.
At 11:45 we all went to bed. We woke up at 6:00 and took showers. We had to
clear out our tent after we ate breakfast for the next crew. We waited at
the bus pickup for two hours before our bus came at 10:00.
That was it we were leaving Philmont. On the way out a lot of people looked
at the Arrow Head (on the back of the Tooth of Time). We stopped in Cimarron
to get lunch and tour the town then we left at 11:45. We arrived back at the
church at 1:10 on July 27. We all had fun and that was one of my favorite
camping trips.
-------------------------------------------------------
Scouting E-mail Discussion Lists @ usscouts.org Subscribe/Unsubscribe at
http://usscouts.org/lists/ Listserv Commands at
http://usscouts.org/lists/lc.asp
-------------------------------------------------------
Send listserv commands to: listserv@troop47.com
Send postings to:          philmont@troop47.com
List FAQ found at:         http://usscouts.org/lists/faq.asp
List Administrator:        philmont_owner@troop47.com
-------------------------------------------------------
As you gather around this virtual campfire with fellow Scouts and Scouters,
do your best to be trustworthy, loyal, helpful, friendly, courteous, kind,
obedient, cheerful, thrifty, brave, clean and reverent.
-------------------------------------------------------
 
-------------------------------------------------------
Scouting E-mail Discussion Lists @ usscouts.org
Subscribe/Unsubscribe at http://usscouts.org/lists/
Listserv Commands at http://usscouts.org/lists/lc.asp
-------------------------------------------------------
Send listserv commands to: listserv@troop47.com
Send postings to:          philmont@troop47.com
List FAQ found at:         http://usscouts.org/lists/faq.asp
List Administrator:        philmont_owner@troop47.com
-------------------------------------------------------
As you gather around this virtual campfire with fellow
Scouts and Scouters, do your best to be trustworthy,
loyal, helpful, friendly, courteous, kind, obedient,
cheerful, thrifty, brave, clean and reverent.
-------------------------------------------------------