There was a request a couple days ago for reports on Trek 22. I was copied on the following from Neal Casey, the crew leader of 630L6 and who gave me an okay to forward to the List. (Selden - also permission for you to post on your pages!)
-- Al Thomson, Troop 236, Schooley's Mountain, NJ Treks 1999, 2001, 2003 Autumn Adventures 2000, 2002, 2004, 2006 I just got off trek 22 about a week ago, amazing time and a very well planned trek. Vaca Camp Not much to say about this camp, its for Ranger training and there is water out in the meadow. It needs to be purified so your Ranger will show you how to do it. If you have time you might even wanna walk the mile over to Harlan for the Burro Racing. Deer Lake Camp Technically not a dry camp because there is a lake there, but it is DISGUSTING! I was in logisitics before our trek and someone had just come in off of trek 22 and said that there filter got clogged after 3 pumps at Deer Lake. Fill up at Harlan because the water is purified there. When you get to the top of Deer Lake Mesa the trail/road splits, take the right one and head towards the lake. Take the second campsite to the right. There are some pretty awesome rock chairs and the bear bag and latrine are in good proximity. Deer Lake is a gorgeous campsite. Do your conservation on the way to Ute Springs!! Ask the staff at Harlan where it is and they'll point it out on your map. It's much easier than the one at Beaubien. Ute Springs There's a stream that goes right through these sites as well as a spring with a big steel drum that is sunk into the ground that the horses drink out of. We all took a bit of a sponge bath and had the chance to do some laundry. Bring 4 people with 4 empty packs up to Ute Gulch Commissary. Clifford runs the commissary there and is a real cool guy. He gave us a bunch of oranges and even some tortillas for our rice and beans. I suggest asking him to swap one of your dinners for a lunch....that means less water to bring up Phillips. There are 2 or 3 campsites with rock chairs, I don't remember the number but they are right along the stream. Lambert Mine Not a real great campsite by any means. Very rocky with no places to really set up a tent. The highlight of that night was hiking the mile and a half over to Cypher's Mine for the Stomp Program. There is also a "He-Man" Competition which is pretty cool too. Bring head lamps and water over to Cyphers. The trail is very wide but look for any areas that might give you trouble in the dark. Mt. Phillips - - - DRY Fill up as much water as you're going to need for the climb up Phillips. Luckily Trek 22 takes the easier route up to the top. When you get to the top I believe its Site 12 that has the rock chairs. Claim your campsite and set up a bear bag and then hike the couple hundred yards to the summitt. It's an excellent moral booster to finally reach that summitt half way through the trek. Try and catch the sunrise in the AM but if you here rain and its foggy out don't bother. Let the guys sleep in a little bit because it's a very short hike to Clear Creek and Porcupine from Phillips. Clear Creek - - - Awesome Program Rocky Mt. Fur Company and Black Powder were excellent programs. There is also purified water there so fill up whatever water you might need for the rest of the day. Bring some stuff to shoot up at the Black Powder program. Also if anyone asks where you came from say you stayed at "Clear Creek Mountain" This was the original name before the BSA changed it to Phillips in honor of Waite Phillips. Oh, and if anyone asks if Mr. Ashton sent you, always say yes. Don't be late for you assigned program time at Black Powder. That's the staff's biggest pet pieve. We skipped the program at Crooked Creek and went right on to Porcupine. Porcupine Another gorgeous campsite to stay at. Don't take the first campsite you see....walk down the trail you will cross the stream once, then walk a little farther and look for another stream crossing on the right...best campsite in Porcupine. Theres a great stream right next to the camp, a perfect stop to hang out and rest some weary feet. Beaubien Get to the commissary right when it opens at 8 because they tend to get very busy during the day. When you get to Beaubien just settle down and relax. Will, Ray, and Bucko will tell you the same thing. It's a camp to just hang out and enjoy. The staff there is amazing and are always looking for company on the porch. Try and sign up for the 8AM horse rides on your second day at Beaubien. The wranglers there are also great people, start talking to Lee and he'll talk with you the rest of the ride. Enjoy the chuckwagon dinner because it comes at a much needed point in the trek. Be nice to your crew leader because he serves you! There's also a Nalgene chugging contest before the campfire program each night, which reminds me...the campfire programs at Beaubien are amazing. There are two different ones so you won't see the same one twice during your layover. Sometimes the staff will even stay later and play some of their original music. Abreu Its a long hike from Beaubien to Abreu but there's a cold glass of root beer waiting there. We woke up early at Beaubien and went by way of Trail Peak and then down the backside. When you come off of trail peak you will go into a meadow and then onto a road. The trail is literally straight across NOT the one off to the right. We made the mistake of walking to the right and onto the other trail and ended up close to Bonito Canyon. either way its a good walk to Abreu. When camping at Abreu the staff is VERY serious about bears. They wanted me to wake up one of our sick crew members because she felt the tent was too isolated. It was about 10 feet from the closest tent. The cantina dinner is amazing and be sure to thank Gertrude and Brent. Definately do the Goat Milking, it's always a laugh and then enjoy some root beers at the Cantina. If you decide to leave goat milking early and go to get some root beer the magic word is "Goat Milk" Miner's Park Best climbing in Philmont. You can get there in a decent amount of time from Abreu. I think we were there are 11 and signed up for the 1PM climb. We had time to shower and eat lunch before going climbing. Ask whoever signs you in for the "Hilton Campsite" because its your last night. Site 24 is a very good site with water literally right next to you. Get a good head start the next morning on your way out. It's the last day of hiking and I gave my crew the philosophy of "you can sleep when you get home." We pushed ourselves very hard and at breakfast right before the climb into Schaefers Pass. Definately take the time to go to the Peak. Its an excellent view. Next is your climb along Tooth Ridge. Oh, one point I forgot to mention, fill up water at Miner's Park. Its a VERY LONG DRY HIKE to base camp. Enjoy your time at the top of the Tooth of Time. It's your last peak and its all downhill from there. I can't even describe the feelings you get when you're on that Tooth. Right before you get your packs on I suggest you have the Crew Leader say something along the lines of "it's all downhill from here but its about 5 miles. There are a lot of switchbacks and its going to be hot. We started this trek together and we're going to finish this trek together. Make sure the whole crew goes through the gate together. We passed a crew that actually left their advisors behind because they weren't hiking fast enough. Not cool. Thats pretty much it for what I can think of right now. I'm sure I'll remember more after I send this but in any event, enjoy your trek. Trek 22 is very well designed. You see the Tooth at various spots over the whole 10 days and then you finally summit it. It's amazing. Yours in Scouting, Neal Casey Crew Chief 630-L6 Hoorah! VCrew 17 Denville, NJ ------------------------------------------------------- Scouting E-mail Discussion Lists @ usscouts.org 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 ------------------------------------------------------- To Unsubscribe send text email to: To: listserv@troop47.com Subject: unsubscribe Body: unsubscribe philmont@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. -------------------------------------------------------Received on Wed Jul 19 08:36:45 2006
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