I returned from Trek 24 very late on Sunday, June 27. Below is some
information for those of you waiting to leave.
I have included water information for each camp we passed through. Program
info begins
with >>>>.
After reading Mike Floyd's trek report I think we were both at the Hunting
Lodge at the same time. Wish I had known that.
This is a long e-mail. Find what's of interest to you, and take it slow and
steady.
Enjoy!
Earl Owens
Lead Crew Advisor 615-K-4
Dunwoody, GA
Here are the contents:
1) Miscellaneous Philmont Trek Notes
2) Trek 24 Last Day Proposal & Notes (this was part of our planning before
we left for Philmont and includes 1998 journal notes from Shaefers Pass to
Base Camp)
3) Trek 24 Specific Information (notes about Dean Cutoff, Rich Cabins,
Pueblano Ruins, Copper Park, Upper Dean Cow, Dean Cow, Harlan, Ute Springs,
and Clarks Fork - and points inbetween -- INCLUDES WATER NOTES)
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1) Miscellaneous Philmont Trek Notes:
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Check out "The Complete Guide to Philmont" at
http://www.troop764.org/Philmont/
New mailing address:
Philmont Scout Ranch
47 Caballo Road
Cimarron, NM 87714
We did Trek 24. What a great trip. This was my son's second trek. He thought
24 was much better than our last one. Except for a driving rain at Clarks
Fork on our last evening, we had everything go as well as possible. The
weather, our schedule, the program - it was all great. We had no major
illness or injury, and my Scouts were a joy. Our crew leader was the best
I've ever had on a high adventure trip (actually, best ever on any Scout
outing)! What a pleasure that was.
**** PLEASE TRY TO DO YOUR CONSERVATION PROJECT AT INDIAN WRITINGS OR
BETWEEN NEW DEAN & DEAN COW!!!! ****
Philmont received a $270,000 grant from New Mexico to assist with their
reforestation effort. The grant requires Philmont to reforest 1,000 acres by
the end of this summer. Only 275 acres were completed last year, so 725 must
be finished this year. We were given a choice of trail work at Pueblano or
reforestation work near New Dean. We chose the fire work. If you have a
choice, PLEASE choose to rebuild the forest.
We did not arrive at Philmont until 4:10pm, but by 1:00pm the next day we
were ready to hit the trail, though our bus was at 3:00pm. Try to arrive
early so you will be assigned an early bus. Had we gone out in the morning
we would have had time for program and the cantina at Ponil. Since your
first day involves Ranger training, you shouldn't plan anything without
first consulting with your Ranger.
We emphasized sharing and light packs before leaving home. Our heaviest pack
left the Welcome Center at 47 pounds (an adult) and our lightest was 27!!!
Average weight was 38.1 pounds. Nothing was left behind. It can be done, but
it requires planning and coordination.
On our first day we took the wrong trail from Ponil Turnaround to Dean
Cutoff. It's not as obvious as the map makes it seem. Just as Mike Floyd
wrote in his report, we ended up hiking through the Ponil corral. We got
some good trail tips from a staffer, so it was a blessing in disguise. The
next day we also hiked a mile the wrong way. It never happened again. This
is all part of the Philmont process. Adults - Please let it work. BOY LED!
At Ponil be sure to pay attention to Arkansas when he talks about bears. He
was the tentmate of R.J. "Lucky" Benz, who was attacked by a bear in 2001. I
met R.J. at the Tooth of Time Traders in 2002. One look at his scars will
tell you why people call him Lucky.
We took 10 turkey roasting bags and used only two of them. The first two
nights we had our Ranger, so we cooked the Philmont way. On the last 8
nights we had only two 1-pot meals. Another night was a chuckwagon dinner.
The remaining five nights we simply added boiling water to the 2-person
serving bags and let dinner cook that way. No muss, no fuss.
We had two breakfasts which required boiling water. Otherwise no breakfast
cooking. In the morning we would hike for an hour and eat on the trail. That
way we got a pack-off break and breakfast all at the same time.
Mosquitoes were not a huge problem. At Copper Park they were abundant. We
used very little repellant. We wore long pants, long sleeved shirts, gloves,
rain jackets with hoods pulled over our heads, and bandannas across our
faces. Only our eyes were exposed. Wasn't as bad as it sounds. We were there
two days. No big deal. We didn't have mosquitoes above the tree line at
Baldy Mountain. I heard they were also in the area around Miranda and Ute
Meadows, though we had no mosquitoes hiking from Baldy Town through Ewells
to Upper Dean Cow. Except for Copper Park we only saw an occasional rogue
mosquito elsewhere. We were told the area from Porcupine, Comanche, Clear
Creek and Phillips also had mosquitoes. It's likely you will encounter some,
but don't carry excessive repellant. Covering up with clothes was the best
solution.
Temperatures were about 10 degrees below normal. Daytime temperatures were
quite pleasant. Nights were chilly. A fleece jacket is desireable. In
addition to your daily hiking clothes, I also recommend a lightweight
longsleeve collared shirt (helps with sun & mosquitoes), duofold/coolmax
longsleeve pullover shirt, a toboggan pullover cap, lightweight gloves, and
long tights/leggings. This should keep you plenty warm. At night I often
slept in three shirts, and I have a 30 degree bag. It may be warmer when you
arrive, but be prepared. At Copper Park the nighttime temperature was below
30 degrees and in the morning we had ice in our platypus tubes.
We hiked Baldy up the north side and, despite its steepness, it is not a bad
hike. In fact, it is faster to hike both up and down the north side than the
south side. We were up from Copper Park in two hours. Other crews told me
going down is much faster. We were not wearing backpacks, which would make
this hike practically impossible. We came down the south side. It seemed
like the trail would never end. The south trail is filled with rocks and the
footing is not great. We had to get food at Baldy Town so we had no choice.
All of this downhill gave me hotspots on the tops of my toes.
One change I would have liked would have been to pick up only our dinner and
breakfast at Baldy Town, instead of four days of meals for our return to
Copper Park. It is a tough hike from Baldy Town to Copper Park. Since we had
to return to Baldy Town the next morning, we could have gotten the rest of
our meals then. Might be worth asking about.
There is a lot of water at Philmont. Thuderstorms with heavy rain occurred
everyday, but not always where we were. We could often see walls of water in
the distance. Some normally dry streams are flowing. The spring at Shaefers
Pass was filling bottles rather quickly. The grasslands are usually tan, but
not this year. Everything was green. The ranch is filled with wildflowers of
every color. The burned areas have the most beautiful flowers. The blooming
cacti were gorgeous - pink, orange, yellow, white, purple. I've never seen
Philmont like this.
BTW - Not one of our tents leaked!!! We used our own, not PhilTents.
I found rock chairs in many of the campsites. This was really nice at the
end of a hard day. Our crew built several for the enjoyment of others
following us.
If you read my entire report below you will find we night-hiked our last
day. Philmont does not allow night hiking, but we felt a mid-afternoon hike
along Tooth Ridge into Base Camp posed more of threat to the health, safety,
and welfare of the crew, than did night hiking. Every day we had afternoon
storms with lightning and felt we needed to be off the ridge by noon. One of
our adults was a risk management consultant who organizes nighttime search
and rescue missions, so we practiced night hiking beforehand. I would not
recommend hiking at night unless your crew is disciplined, trained,
well-equipped (extra lights and batteries), willing to walk at a much slower
pace than normal, and you know what lies ahead. Please don't flame me over
this. This decision was not made lightly. In hindsight I'm glad we did it.
I had a GPS with all of our camp coordinates. It was fun to play with, but
not essential. Most helpful was knowing the altitude. When going up "The
Wall" at French Henry, it was nice to know when we were near the top.
We found that even the more recent maps (2003) do not show trails as they
actually exist. For example, when hiking from Dean Cow to Harlan, on top of
the ridge we came to a 4-way intersection. The sectional map showed it as a
3-way. The 1998 wall map had the correct trails. Be sure your pathfinders
look at both the sectional and wall maps every evening when planning the
next day's route.
One writer to the list said Gatorade was scarce. Not on our trek. We had
more than enough with our meals and there was plenty in the swap boxes.
Speaking of swapboxes, I would recommend that you leave your extra snacks at
home. My son is a very picky eater and would only eat the macaroni & cheese
dinners. We were able to get him plenty. Also, there was lots of gorp,
blueberries & pineapple, and granola. I carried 5 extra PowerBars with me
and came home with 5 PowerBars. Our sister crew had a boy who was allergic
to all dairy products, so we traded food with them. Never a problem getting
something to eat. Everyone got plenty.
We also had plenty of toilet paper. Philmont doesn't want folks bringing
potentially bear smellable T.P., so don't bring your own (in the end it all
ends up smellable :-} ). The Philmont T.P. is NOT a smellable, so it can be
left under the dining fly during the night. In the past my crews sometimes
ran out, but we had plenty this year.
Another writer said his crew ran out of energy because they weren't getting
enough protein. Please note that carbohydrates provide the most efficient
energy. That's why PhilFood is loaded with carbs. Fat is a secondary source
of energy, but not a good one (marathoners "hit the wall" when they convert
from carb energy to fat energy). If you start burning protein you're in bad
shape, because your body has begun to cannibalize itself.
Some crews were issued two bear ropes and others three. Not sure if this was
intentional or an oversight. We lost one of our ropes, so we were glad we
started with three. We paid $3 for the lost bear rope. We had 6 bear bags
and needed every one of them. Don't leave any bags behind if you have a crew
of 12, as we did.
Speaking of bears, we were able to verify that Philmont bear researchers
actually do exist, and are not just a myth perpetuated by Rangers to scare
crews into following bear procedures. We met one of the two researchers at
Ewells Park. We have pictures of him with his mace and slingshot.
Also, take the talk about mountain lions seriously. You won't see mountain
lions like the bears, but they are there. We saw a turkey that had been
ripped apart by something. When walking through Dean Canyon I was imagining
just how many pairs of eyes were waiting for us to make a mistake. Follow
the buddy system. Lions will attack people who are alone. While we were at
Philmont a woman in California was attacked by one.
Adults - don't take yourselves too seriously. Once you get to Philmont the
boys should be in charge. Let the boys handle things, even if it's not how
you would do it. If you find yourself starting to say, "May I make a
suggestion?" DON'T! Bite your lip and find something soothing to look at.
The lead advisor and crew leader should talk behind the scenes, but always
let the crew leader lead. One stage of building a high performance team is
"Dissatisfaction". Let it happen. Trust the process.
DON'T COUNT ON ANYTHING BEING WHAT YOU WERE TOLD IT WOULD BE!!! Things
change everyday. The only constant is change. Expect the unexpected, and
then deal with it. Consider everything that happens to be part of the
Philmont experience. You'll laugh about it later. Trust me.
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Comments on the trail back into Base Camp from Tooth Ridge:
This relatively new trail is very well constructed. It is smooth and has a
gentle slope. It also goes through some beautiful ponderosa pine and passes
colorful flowering cacti. It would be great for a garden club tour. That's
what I liked.
What I didn't like is its length. In 1998 part of it was complete, and I
thought it was needlessly long then. Now it is about 2 miles longer. Each
switchback is way too long and tiresome. The drop is not nearly sufficient
for the length of each leg. The trail often goes uphill instead of down.
While it was designed to prevent erosion on the ridge its length could have
easily been cut in half and still accomplish that same goal. I feel this
trail exposes returning crews to sun, heat, and storms, while creating a
demoralizing effect, since it appears Base Camp is never getting any closer.
I'm not suggesting a trail like the old one, which went straight down the
side of the ridge, but I think something between the two would have been
better. Most crews hiking in over the Tooth have a long enough day without
adding unnecessary miles. Despite its gentle design this new trail is not
really Philmont hiker friendly.
With that said, I know the new trail will be with us for a long time. Too
much effort and time went into building it. If any future Philmont trail
builders are listening, please keep these comments in mind.
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2) Trek 24 Last Day Proposal & Notes (this was part of our planning before
we left for Philmont and includes 1998 journal notes from Shaefers Pass to
Base Camp):
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Philmont Trek 24
Last Day Proposal & Notes
The bus to Cimarron leaves Philmont at:
11:00am
1:30pm
3:30pm
It returns from Cimarron at:
1:45pm
3:45pm
6:45pm (changed from 6:00pm)
Villa Philmonte tours start every 30 minutes with the last one at 4:00pm.
The tours last about 60-70 minutes.
It looks like it would be best to tour the Villa before we go into
Cimmarron. There is little chance we can eat lunch, have everything turned
in, and get cleaned up in time to catch the 1:30pm bus to Cimarron. If we
schedule the Villa tour for 2:00pm that gives us an extra 1/2 hour and we
will still have plenty of time in Cimarron.
Our schedule the last day might look something like this (see 1998 journal
below for comments about the trail):
1:45am - Rise & Shine!
2:45am - Depart Clarks Fork (eat breakfast on Shaefers Peak)
4:45am - Arrive at Shaefers Pass (it will be slow going in the dark, as it
should be!)
5:20am - Arrive at Shaefers Peak
6:10am - Depart Shaefers Peak
7:30am - Arrive at the base of the Tooth of Time
9:00am - Depart from the base of the Tooth
11:30am - Arrive at Base Camp Services Building to turn in gear
(we might want to consider shortening our stop time at Shaefers Peak and the
Tooth of Time to buy us some extra time)
12:00 noon - eat trail lunch issued to us
12:20pm - pick up personal gear from lockers and security office, get mail,
pick up crew photos, mail stoves, go to tent city, stow our gear in tents,
and quickly clean up, etc.
1:35pm - meet at Welcome Center
1:40pm - walk to Villa Philmonte (pickup tickets at the Seton Museum)
2:00-3:15pm - Tour the Villa Philmonte
3:30pm - Leave on bus for Cimarron from Welcome Center
Eat dinner at Simple Simon's Pizza in Cimarron.
6:45pm - Return from Cimarron
7:00-7:30pm - Worship service
8:15pm - Gather for closing campfire behind Services
9:45pm - Crew leader and advisors complete feedback forms (take to Welcome
Center)
+++++++++++++
NOTE:
We hit all of the above time checks within 5 minutes, so they are very
realistic!
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(Seton Museum - Based on our schedule try to do this before we hit the
trail. We will be short on time the last day.)
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Here are the 1998 journal notes which cover the last 9.3? miles of our trek
on the last day. This should give you some idea of what to expect. To stay
on the same schedule would require us to leave Clarks Fork (our last camp)
at 3:15am (or 2:45am, if we eat breakfast on Shaefers Peak).
Trail Day 11 - Wednesday, July 1, 1998 (Shaefers Pass to Base Camp):
4:00am - We are up before the sun. My headlamp decides to die this morning
and I can't find my spare batteries. I found out later that several others
also had their lights die today. Ten nights on the trail must be the limit
for new batteries.
I heard that one group came through Shaefers from Clarks Fork at 3:45am.
They must have been up at 1:30am or sooner!
5:17am - Left camp. It is still dark, but light is not far off.
5:45am - We arrive at the side trail to Shaefers Peak. We drop our packs and
go the last few hundred yards to watch the sun come up. We hold a devotional
service and group prayer to express our thankfulness for having had this
wonderful experience.
We spend 32 minutes here enjoying nature and the vistas before us. It was so
awesome. The clouds are gone. It is crisp and cold and the sunrise was
beautiful. We can see Baldy Mountain, Window Rock, Cathedral Rock and many
other landmarks which have come to mean so much to us during our hike.
6:17am - We head toward the Tooth and after 30 minutes we find a majestic
outcrop of rock. We stop to climb around for ten minutes.
The trail from Shaefers Peak to shortly before the Tooth Trail was
incredibly difficult and slow going - one of the hardest I've ever hiked. It
wasn't steep, but the rocks made for treacherous footing and a fall could
have resulted in serious injury. Rob fell once but thankfully wasn't hurt.
As we continue on we keep getting glimpses of the Tooth, but it is another
30 minutes away.
7:42am - We arrive at the Tooth Trail (1 hour 25 minutes from Shaefers
Peak). We almost missed the trail because it is not marked, so keep your map
out! Sign says Shaefers Pass, nothing about the Tooth.
We ate and then climbed the Tooth. At first it was a real trail, but
eventually it became nothing but large rocks and boulders. We just climbed
straight up. It was a very tough climb. It took 13 minutes and 30 seconds to
reach the top.
Our sister crew, which had to spend the night at Miners Park, caught up to
us on the Tooth. They were hoofing it.
The skies were clear and the views from the top were some of the best yet. I
didn't want to leave because I knew the end was near.
Our descent took 15 minutes and our total time there was 1 hour 35 minutes.
I am glad that our crew has taken the time along the way to stop and smell
the roses. Afterall, Philmont is about the experience, not just covering the
distance as quickly as you can.
After leaving the Tooth, for about an hour, the trail is smooth, mostly
downhill and shaded, but the last long stretch into base camp is scrub oak
and fully exposed to the sun. For us it took 43 minutes to cover what
appeared to be a stone's throw to camp. The total time from the Tooth to
base camp was 1 hour 50 minutes. (NOTE: The time to Base Camp is now about
45 min. longer due to the length of the new trail.)
A new trail is being built from the ridge to base camp which seems longer
than the existing trail, but it should have a more gentle slope and will
help prevent trail erosion.
11:07am - We pass under the "Welcome - You Made It Sign" at base camp. Out
total time from Shaefers Pass with all of our stops is 5 hours 50 minutes.
I arrived at base camp with zero water - absolutely none. Others are also
empty or on their last few ounces, so it appears to have been a good
decision to carry extra water from Miners Park.
We made a pack line behind the services building so we could start our
processing. I had two cherry Cokes. They tasted great!
We went to lunch at 12:15pm. Even a corndog tastes good today. After eating
I walked to the Seaton Museum to make our crew's reservation to tour Villa
Philmonte. The Seaton Museum has some interesting pictures of Philmont in
the 1950's. It takes about 15-30 minutes to tour the museum.
3:00pm - All of our check-in stuff is finished, we've eaten, we're in our
tents, but best of all we are clean! Some of the crew were finished by
2:00pm, but I took my time. I also toured the Seaton Museum.
We head over to Villa Philmonte for a 4:00pm tour. The tour including the
house and the Waite Phillips Art Gallery (recently opened) takes one hour or
so.
5:00pm - We head to the dining hall. After eating everyone goes souvenir
shopping. Turns out we should have done our buying before our hike. It's
only July 1 and many items I planned to buy are out of stock and will not be
available the rest of the summer. Looks like an opportunity for improvement.
7:00-7:30pm - We attend the outdoor worship service.
8:15pm - All of the returning crews gather to go to the closing campfire.
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3) Trek 24 Specific Information (notes about Dean Cutoff, Rich Cabins,
Pueblano Ruins, Copper Park, Upper Dean Cow, Dean Cow, Harlan, Ute Springs,
and Clarks Fork - and points inbetween -- INCLUDES WATER NOTES)
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Philmont Trek 24 Notes
Crew 615-K-4
June 15-27, 2004
Distance: 69.2 miles Rating: Strenuous
Elevation Gain: 5,781 ft. Dry Camps: 0
Climbing Distance: 9.04 mi. Trail Camps: 6
Descending Distance: 9.19 mi. Staffed Camps: 4
Highest Elevation: 12,441 ft. Showers: 4
North and Central Sections (Rich Cabins is Valle Vidal)
Conservation Project: New Dean/Dean Cow (in Dean Canyon)
1) Ponil Turnaround to Dean Cutoff Camp (trail) - Wed., June 16:
Ranger training
Water (from South Ponil Creek)
>>>>Program at Ponil (Cantina [root beer], Campfire & Western Lore -
branding, roping)
(can only do program if you have morning bus to Ponil Turnaround)
>>>>Campfire in Ponil Cantina
Ponil has commissary, trading post (fuel), showers, water (treated from
spigot)
2.1 miles
2) Dean Cutoff to Rich Cabins Camp (staffed) - Thurs., June 17:
Hike through Ponil Camp
At Sioux be sure to leave road and hike on trail (do not follow trail up to
Sioux
Camp - turn right at the base of the hill - trail may be hidden)
Along the way find the trail to Wilson Mesa for tomorrow (old Stern Ranch
site)
(look for top of buried, brown, round water tank [3' across, about 18" out
of ground], red tape was on tree)
Commissary (food pickup), program, treated water (and from Middle Ponil
Creek)
>>>>Homesteading (tour the buildings, cow milking, chicken chasing, pig
slopping, work in garden), campfire (on porch)
Leave No Trace Camping
No bear cables or sumps
Route: Ponil, Sioux (t), Bent (t), old Stern Ranch (trail to Wilson Mesa-do
not hike back to the marked trail inside Philmont property)
Easy, beautiful hike most of the way - 6.6 miles
3) Rich Cabins to Pueblano Ruins Camp (trail) - Fri., June 18:
Ranger leaves in morning
Get an early start, eat lunch on Wilson Mesa at the pond (or take a long
break there-look for Cutter's gravesite)
Hike across Wilson Mesa (views of Baldy & Little Castilla Peaks)
water (from South Ponil Creek)
>>>>Program at Pueblano (Continental Tie & Lumber Co. - spar pole climbing,
caber tossing & rail tie building)
>>>>Philmont Story Campfire at Pueblano (come back in the evening - 1.1mi.
each way)
Camp near the meadow & bear cable, not at the first site
Pueblano has treated water (from spigot)
Look for ruins at Pueblano Ruins
Route: Stern Ranch, Wilson Mesa, Pueblano - tough hike to top of mesa - 5.7
miles
4) Pueblano Ruins to Copper Park Camp (trail) - Sat., June 19:
>>>>Program at French Henry (Gold panning, blacksmithing, museum & mine
tour [history & mine tour take about an hour])
French Henry water (from South Ponil Creek)
Copper Park water (spring water from spigot - not treated)
Beautiful meadow camp
Route: French Henry
All uphill today ("The Wall" from French Henry to Copper Park) - 4.2 miles
5) Copper Park to Baldy Peak to Baldy Town/Camp to Copper Park (trail) -
Sun., June 20:
>>>>Side hike Baldy - about 2 mi. to peak from north (2 hrs!)
(get an early start - very steep climb) (take food, warm clothes, sunscreen,
& water!!!)
(visit Deep Tunnel Mine along the way - if you can find it!)
Baldy Camp has commissary (food pickup), trading post (fuel),
hot solar showers, treated water (from spigot)
>>>>Program Mining Museum at Baldy Town
>>>>Program possible at Miranda?? (Mountain Man Rendezvous & Blackpowder -
2.1mi. each way)
Route: recommended - hike up north face of Baldy and down south, Baldy Camp,
Miranda (not likely)? - 6.2 miles roundtrip (excludes Miranda)
6) Copper Park to Upper Dean Cow Camp (trail) - Mon., June 21:
Long hike & program today - start early! Not a difficult hike.
Be sure to find the Baldy Skyline trail (don't walk on the 4WD road [fire
break])
>>>>Program at Head of Dean (Challenge Events) (play "Stump" ball,
volleyball, basketball)
Head of Dean has treated water (from spigot) / Upper Dean Cow can be dry
(but
there is a small pond and a solar-powered well with spigot at opposite ends
of the site)
(water must be treated!)
Look for bear tracks & other wildlife by the pond (particularly in the
evening)
Route: Baldy, Ewells Park(t), Baldy Skyline (t), Head of Dean - 8.4 miles
7) Upper Dean Cow to Dean Cow Camp (staffed) - Tues., June 22:
Not a difficult hike, mostly downhill, but not much shade. Hot!
Try to do program in morning (storms in afternoon will cancel program)
Program, hot showers, treated water (from spigot)
>>>>Rock Climbing & Environmental Awareness (evening nature program)
Be careful - you are in mountain lion country!
Route: Dean Canyon, New Dean (t), Dean Canyon - 6.6 miles
8) Dean Cow to Harlan Camp (staffed) - Wed., June 23:
Rough day today! Get a very early start! Pack lots of water!
Don't take water from the Cimarron River!
Stay on the nice OA Trail. Do not hike the 4WD road.
Program, treated water (from spigot)
>>>>12 gauge shotgun shooting & reloading, burro racing, fitness challenge
Route: very steep climb to Turkey Creek Canyon ridge (go straight, do not
turn at 4-way intersection - great place to eat will soon be on your right)
and then a very steep downhill to the 4WD in the canyon, go left to Hwy. 64
All uphill from Hwy. 64 (follow trail to the right & go under highway & then
left over river on bridge) to Harlan (not a bad grade, lots of switchbacks),
Vaca (t) - 8.1 miles
9) Harlan to Ute Springs Camp (trail) - Thurs., June 24:
Mostly downhill today (uphill out of camp and uphill after meadow for a
ways)
Trail will be very rocky, but eventually is very nice into Ute Springs)
Ute Springs is nothing special
Food pickup at Ute Gulch Commissary
Ute Gulch has commissary, trading post (fuel), treated water (from spigot)
Water (from creek or pipe from well)
>>>>Program possible at Cimarroncito (Rock Climbing & Environmental
Awareness)
(has indoor & outdoor climbing facilities and a climbing wall)
Cimarroncito has hot showers, treated water (from spigot)
Route: follow base of Deer Lake Mesa toward Sawmill Canyon - 5.6 miles
(mileage includes 2 mi. RT for food pickup)
10) Ute Springs to Clarks Fork Camp (staffed) - Fri., June 25:
Hike Hidden Valley (Window Rock) via Aspen Springs (treated water [from
spigot])
>>>>Program at Hunting Lodge (cabin tour), treated water (from spigot)
Clarks Fork: program, hot showers, treated water (from spigot)
>>>>Campfire & Western Lore - chuck wagon dinner, horseback rides,
branding, roping, horseshoes
Route: Aspen Springs (t), Hidden Valley, Window Rock, Hunting Lodge - 4.7
miles (slightly longer via Hidden Valley - but well worth it!)
11) Clarks Fork to Base Camp - Sat., June 26:
Hike in via Tooth Ridge and the Tooth of Time - toughest day of the trek!
Leave camp by 3:15am if you eat breakfast or leave by 2:45am if you wait to
eat at Shaefers Peak (recommended)
Good daylight is between 5-5:30am
All uphill from Clarks Fork to Shaefers Peak (very steep in places, but
trail is good)
Shaefers Peak to Tooth of Time is difficult footing (never hike this in the
dark)
Water at Shaefers is from a spring and is unreliable
At trail to Tooth sign says Shaefers Pass, nothing about the Tooth.
Good trail from ToT to Base Camp, but needlessly long and tiresome
No water until Base Camp (pack plenty!) (4-5 quarts/person should do it)
Verify trail to Shaefers Pass in the daylight! Take road past showers and
then trail to Shaefers (take bridge across creek) (do not take the trail
just to the right of the road)
Time to Base Camp from Clarks is about 7= - 9 hours depending on your crew
and sidehikes
Route: Upper Clarks Fork (t), Ponderosa Park (t), Shaefers Pass (t),
Shaefers
Peak, Tooth Ridge, Tooth of Time, Tooth Ridge Camp (t) - 11.0? miles
12) Base Camp
Takes about 2-3 hours to complete everything in Base Camp and get cleaned
up.
(t) = trail camp
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Received on Thu Jul 1 21:16:05 2004
This archive was generated by hypermail 2.1.8 : Wed Jul 26 2006 - 11:59:48 CDT