RE: [Philmont]: Red Hills to Shaeffers Pass

Philmont will give you current water conditions when you go through trip planning. Crews that check in from their trek should do their scoutly duty and see if the water board in logistics can be updated from their experience. Info includes water yes/no , and if yes the number of quarts per minute.

Shaeffers, if memory serves me, is snow fed. It is more likely to flow earlier in the summer. That being said, a good hard rain can also get it gushing good. Unofficailly, the water is good enough to drink straight without purifying it. However the smart and responsible thing to do is to ALWAYS purify any water that is not already purified.

As to a route from Red Hills to Shaefers, well there's dozens of routes. It depends on which route your crew wants to take. The shortest, most challenging, most secenic, etc. If you choose to hump it over Bear and Black Mountain go ahead. Personally I was disapointed with the ROI (Return on Investment) for the amount of effort I put into going up those peaks. The view wasn't very spectacular. But if your crew likes bagging peaks that is the way to go, along with picking up Big Red earlier that day. Rangers have a hike they call Black Death. It starts with Big Red, then Bear, Black, Shaefer's, Tooth, and into base. All in one day. Me and a friend added Comanche and Phillips to it to create Super Black Death. I never did finish that hike ;) Ranger's have a liking to doing super long hikes when they come in from being with their crew.

My favorite hike on the ranch (on the trails) is the North Fork Urraca going from Black Mountain Camp to the Shaeffers pass trail intersection (North Fork Urraca camp). Be aware that this can be a little more dangerous and challenging trail than others. There are approx. 53 stream crossings in the distance between the two points. I enjoy stream crossings as they give me a break from the humdrum of normal hiking. The increase in the number of stream crossings may increase your chances at a turned ankle (not much but a little). But in the end you'll be good at crossing streams and your awareness of your balance will have increased. Not to mention it is a really pretty hike. The North Fork Urraca also has in my humble opinion the best tasting water on the ranch (it feeds basecamp). If Shaeffers is dry, taking this route will give you the advantage of taking water with you up to Shaeffers at the end of the day. You will also get to do the really cool program at Black Mountain if you haven't already done the program at Clear Creek.

When you start your day at Red Hills be aware that the trail South of the camp is closed (or it should be if it isn't). My map (probably an outdated one) shows one trail coming right out of Red Hills and another one a little bit more South. I took this more southern "trail" one time. It is basically just following a hollow up to a point just south of the peak for Big Red. I wouldn't recomend it to campers for hiking.

Jason
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Retired Ranger
-----Original Message-----
From: owner-philmont@troop47.com [mailto:owner-philmont@troop47.com]On Behalf Of Richard Andrews
Sent: Saturday, July 05, 2003 10:22 AM
To: Multiple recipients of list philmont
Subject: [Philmont]: Red Hills to Shaeffers Pass

Can anyone provide any helpful information on the trail from Red Hills to Shaeffers Pass, including water sources (or confirming the lack of same), trailheads that may be difficult to locate, etc.?

Also, does anyone have any information on the current availability of water at Shaeffers Pass?

Rick Andrews
ASM - Troop 60
Dalton, GA

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Received on Sat Jul 5 21:27:19 2003