[Philmont] Just back from Itinerary 33

Just arrived home from hiking Itinerary 33 here are some key points for
anyone about to leave for this trek.

Burro pick up is at Ponil on day 2 one trail at 9am an takes 2 hours to
learn how to pack and unpack and such. We did not get on the trail untill
11:45

Cons is at Pueblano the day of Burro pick up last time is 2:00pm which we
did not make so had to do it 8am the next morning, the project site is
actually at Pueblano Ruins 2 miles from Pueblano
After cons you haveto return t Pueblano to pack the burro and continue to
Ewells Park first time for a lot of back tracking to be done.We also missed
out on all the other program at Pueblano other than the campfire which was
great don't miss it, our crew rates it higher than the Stomp. (Stomp is not
as good as it was in '96)

We hiked to Ewell's setup camp before taking to Burro to Miranda arriving
about 6:00 to late for blackpowder. Longest day due to Cons. Ewell's has no
reliable water. Conserve what you will need to get to Baldy Town.

We did the loop over Baldy taking the South side up and North side down. The
North side is very steep and rocky between Cooper Park and the peak. The
itineray guide has South side up as well as down. So going down te north
side adds 5 miles to the hike. If yu get an early start andget back to Baldy
Town early enough yu may have a chance to sign up to take showers, other
than that you first showers will be at Clarks Fork. Make sure you crew takes
all their water bottles to Baldy Town to be filled before and after the hike
to the peak.

Get an early start for Santa Claus to get to Head of Dean to sign up for
Challenge Events.

Deer Lake Mesa is down as the dry camp but had plenty of water in the well
to be treated.

The hike from Deer Lake Mesa to Ute Gulch to pick up food is easy mostly
downhill. From there we hiked to Aspen Springs And took Hidden Valley to
Window Rock. Great view from Window Rock. From Catherdral Rock area below
Window Rock they have a demonstration forest with a nice covered picnic area
you could eat lunch under, also 4 to 5 signs talking about forestry
practices. Clark's Fork has branding which we did on day 1 on trail at Ponil
which does the two well known brand plus the Chase Ranch Heart brand. Horse
rides were already booked with all the crews that are spending their last
night on trail there. First time we were able to take showers on trail they
are warm and well earned. No sign-ups just make sure there are no one you
shouldn't be showering with in the shower with you. chuck wagon was good as
always and the campfire program was short and poor after the great one at
Pueblano.

Clark's Fork to Cypher's Mine shortest day other the the first. Make sure
you stop for the tour of the Hunting Lodge on your way. After over hearing
the proch talk of a Mountain Man crew before our porch talk being told there
were no more Mine Slots open for the day, another advisor and myself was
very disappointed in how the programs were being ran. Micheal became our
favorite staff member by having a slot for us on the Mine tour and
Blacksmithing. The mine tour got running behind so when we got out of the
tour we were late for our 2:45 blacksmithing so they doubled us up with
another crew at 3.

Cypher's to Red Hill is all up hill to the trail junction just after
Comanche Peak where we dropped our packs to side hike up Phillips, Make sure
you take rain gear we got chased down the mountain by a thunder storm and
rain. From there it is all down hill the Red Hills.

Red Hills to Big Red is up a ravine where the hail form the storm the
previous day had collected and remained. This could be a dangerous course up
in a heavy rain. From Big Red To Commanche Pass is down hill but make sure
you watch for the stone trail markers, Our crew go going down a game trail
to far down the mt. The climb up Black is steep and when you get to a flat
spot there is even a steeper climb to go. The peak is right there at the
trail junction and is the habitat of thousands of Lady Bugs. The hike from
Black to Shafer's Pass is long and up and down. Just about all of our crew
used all of their water without making the grape drink for breakfast or the
Gatorade for Lunch other then the gatorade I made in one of my bottles which
came in handy when as we were hiking into camp one of the boys started
suffering from dehydration where after having him drink the gatordae and
being at camp he was able to recover quickly. There was a 3 hour line at the
Spring at Shafer's Pass, Some crews couldn't be considerate and fill a
bucket and do their filtering away from the sping but choose to place their
pot under the spring and pump right there. REMEMBER a Scout is considerate
in the outdoors.

Shafer's Pass is the second shortest hike back into base camp via the Tooth.
Don't pass up Shafer's Peak it is a easy short jolt the the top from the
junction at the top of the ridge. Has a great view for sunrise. it took us
approx. 5 hours to get to base camp. Just watch out for the tree the trail
passes at the junction I got a good scratch in the skull from it which lead
me to having to hike into base camp with a head bandage. Which the story is
a bear was blocking the trail to the Tooth where I wrestled it into submital
and threw over the tooth.

I Wanna Go Back To Philmont

Brain Mendoza
1996, 1998, 2005, Lead Advisor- 2007

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Received on Sun Jul 22 14:53:29 2007