[Philmont]: Shaefers Pass

As mentioned in my previous email RE: Clarks Fork to Black Mountain, we just
back from Philmont yesterday, having completed Trek 30. This was my 8th
time to Philmont (2 treks as a youth, 4 summers on staff, and this was the
2nd trek as an advisor) but this was the hardest trek I think I've done.
This was also with a provisional crew, so there were some additional crew
development challenges. But all in all, it was a great time, as it always
is. The highlight for me was going through Cypher's Mine, where I got to
see a good friend of mine whom I hadn't seen in 4 years (I was his Ranger
when he took a mountain trek in 1999 and he and I worked at Philmont
together in 2000).

I'll try to post some more information later, but I have a quick question
for the list: has anyone else had experience (particularly this season) with
overcrowding at Shaefers Pass Camp? We arrived there at about 6:00 (after a
long, long day from Red Hills) and found that we were the 3rd crew to arrive
after all the campsites had already been filled. Very frustrating, because
we ended up camping in a small corner of the meadow (near the trail up to
the peak), which was not level at all. I was extremely upset, because I'm
sure some of the crews there (that had actual campsites) were *supposed* to
be camping at either Upper Clarks Fork, Ponderosa Park, or North Fork Urraca
but they wanted to push a little further so they could have a shorter hike
on their last day. I don't blame them for wanting to do that, but they
really screwed over our crew and two other crews who were legitimately
scheduled to camp at Shafers Pass. Just wondering if anyone else has
experienced the same thing...

And finally, for anyone getting ready to head out, be prepared for some wet
conditions. The lady at the Art Gallery in Cimarron told me that their
yearly average was 12-13 inches and that they already had over 15 inches
this year. This was before the storms that prompted Flash Flood Warnings
moved through on Saturday afternoon and evening. We were a 706 crew and our
first 8 days or so were dry, with the exception of one night at Ewells Park.
When we got to Red Hills on our second to last night, we had a violent storm
complete with small hail and a lightning strike with 1/8 mile of our camp -
the scariest moment I've ever experienced (and Red Hills is in a valley
under a stand of even-sized trees - I guess there is no 100% safe place in a
storm!).

Brian Gannon

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Received on Mon Jul 19 12:18:42 2004