Re: [Philmont]: Alone time

Taken from my journal

July 5, 1986

Got up early to a quick breakfast of juice and cocoa. We loaded up our
raingear, warm clothes and shower gear for the hike into Baldy Town. At Baldy Town
we will pick up another commisssary load and take our second set of hot
showers since heading out on the trail (on June 28). We took the trail from
Miranda to Ute Meadows Camp. It was a long and wet hike along a jeep trail. Again
we met other crews who were still eating breakfast as we passed through Ute
Meadows camp. I had been told by the rangers that it was wise to climb Baldy in
the early morning before the afternoon weather became unpredictable. As we
walkded, we could see Baldy in front of us, its top hidden from view because of
clouds. Hopefully, the clouds would be gone by the time we got to the top.
We finally arrived at Balldy Town and made an appointment for a crew shower
for the afternoon when we returned.

All day long, beginning with late last night, the wind has been blowing very
hard. I hope we won't have the same hard winds on top of Baldy. We began our
climb up Baldy at 10:00 am. We had been told that most crews take at leadst
three hours to climb to the top of Baldy. The first half hour was an easy
trail with lots of switchbacks. After that, the next hour and ten minutes,
became a personal war. As we climbed, we saw the ruins of many miners' cabins and
gold mine that were the reason for the existence of Baldy Town.

Once above the tree line, the climb was especially difficult. There was
nothing up here except loose rock and a very steep trail. The air even felt
thinner, making us stop and catch a breath before taking another step forward. You
couldn't stop because the temptation was too great just to go back down,
Finally pne hour and forty minutes on the trail, we made it to the top. The wind
was gusting very hard and the temperature was down in the 30s. We had
started the hike in t-shirts and shorts and now were wearing all our warm clothes.
We rested behind stone shlters that had been built as protection from the wind
and had a snack of cheese torpedoes and creackers as well as time for a group
picture.

Cooper Wright
Associate Advisor, Crew 1519
Co-author of the Philmont Advisor's Guide

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Received on Sun Jan 29 13:45:02 2006