Bill Penniston writes (off-list)...
seen several of your posts in a variety of sites, but wondering if you have
any experience with TREK 26, as shown in the 2002 TREKs book? We are
considering that trek for one of our crews in June 2003 and expect it has
remained intact since it is in the south. Thanks for any comments or
journal notes I might access.
Comments...
Well, I have nothing better to do tonight (right!) than to take out TREKS
and the Philmont map to take a virtual trek....
DAY 2 - RIMROCK PARK: Typical Ranger Training day. Easy, short hike
through Zastrow to a trail camp. Likely will have time to pop over to Abreu
and take the tour of the new, nineteenth century Mexican homestead. And to
visit the cantina for a root beer (even though you haven't earned it yet).
DAY 3 - URRACA: Up the backside of Urraca Mesa and over the top to camp.
Trail is exposed, so an early start is definitely advisable to avoid both
the sun and afternoon thunderstorms. Program is Challenge Events, a good
crew building exercise early in the trek. Make sure you check out
Inspiration Point - spectacular views of the Tooth from just outside of
camp, and a possibility for sunrise tomorrow morning. Campfire at Urraca is
centered on ghost stories about the mesa. In Logistics, our coordinator
highlighted the contour of the top of the mesa - it is shaped like a skull,
and one eye is allegedly the portal to the underworld where the Anasazi
Indians disappeared.
DAY 4 - MINERS PARK: Your Ranger will be leaving you and you are on your
own to Miners Park and the rock climbing and environmental awareness
programs there. Happens to be the only staffed camp in the South I have not
been through (something I hope to rectify this summer), so can't say much
more.
DAY 5 - BLACK MOUNTAIN: The trail from North Fork Urraca crosses the creek
48 times (our actual count last September, yours may vary). Program is
black powder rifle, blacksmithing, and mountain living. This is one of the
few camps that is not accessible by four wheel drive vehicles - everything
must be packed in.
DAY 6 - COMANCHE: A long day. You will pass through Beaubien, where the
program is Western Lore and you get another chance at it at Clarks Fork.
Continue on to Phillips Junction for your food pickup. You probably could
do your Conservation project there, but again, a better idea may be to wait
and do it another day. The program listed in TREKS is Homesteading at
Crooked Creek, which is about a half mile up a trail along that creek. The
highlight of that program for a lot of boys is rounding up the chickens and
other animals after dinner, which you will miss because your trail camp is
still several miles further away.
DAY 7 - COMANCHE PEAK: First, another chance at black powder rifles as well
as the Rocky Mountain Fur Co. program at Clear Creek. This is your last
source of water for the day, so you will be carrying extra over Mount
Phillips to your camp. Just beyond the camp is a spectacular viewpoint, and
another sunrise vantage.
DAY 8 - SAWMILL: Almost all downhill today, but also mostly four-wheel
drive roads, so get an early start (easy since you were up for sunrise! -
especially if you break camp and eat breakfast while waiting for the sun.)
Program is .30-06 rifle; your third chance to shoot.
DAY 9 - HUNTING LODGE: If you haven't already completed your Conservation
project, today may be your last chance at Cimarroncito. Program there is
rock climbing and environmental awareness, which you have done earlier, but
might do again. Getting to Hunting Lodge by way of Hidden Valley and Window
Rock is strongly recommended (or tomorrow, as the long way to Clarks Fork).
Understand that the evening program at Hunting Lodge is very good.
DAY 10 - CLARKS FORK: If you are scheduled for Horse Rides, whether that is
in the morning or afternoon will dictate your day. Can easily make the
morning ride from Hunting Lodge. If you have the afternoon, you could add a
couple miles to an otherwise very short day and do Hidden Valley and Window
Rock. Other program here is Western Lore (branding, horse shoes, lariats)
and the chuckwagon dinner in the new pavilion. Also, a Western themed
campfire.
DAY 11 - TOOTH RIDGE: A great camp for your last night on the trail. If
the spring at Shaefers Pass is flowing, you could get water there, but that
will take a fair amount of time, since in the best of times it is relatively
slow, and there usually are other crews trying to do the same thing. If it
isn't flowing, you will have to carry water from Clarks Fork. While there
is no program to get to this day, timing is still a concern. Tooth Ridge is
very exposed, and it is best to avoid the possibility of being caught there
during an afternoon thunderstorm. With a very early start, you could be at
the Tooth for lunch, but that makes a long day with limited water. You
could go back to the Tooth for sunrise tomorrow morning, or view the sunrise
from the rock formations at the camp. In either case, you want to be on
your way back to Camping Headquarters early - when you break out of the
trees the trail is all in the sun and you are down to your last water. The
new trail was laid out by a masochist (why does it go up when you are trying
to go down?) and seems endless, especially when you start heading out the
long switchback away from Base Camp. But eventually you'll have the photo
op at the "you made it" sign. Since you will be back long before lunch, you
should have time to tour the Villa Philmonte or take the bus into town in
the afternoon.
Only 56 miles per TREKS (though I figure at least four miles longer Day 11
and two Day 12). Even at 62, short for a Strenuous Trek. But a couple of
tough days, some real water management issues, and squeezing in your
Conservation project could be a trick.
- Al Thomson, Troop 236, Schooley's Mountain NJ
Advisor '99, '01, and '03
Autumn Adventure '00, '02 and '04(?)
B&B '02
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loyal, helpful, friendly, courteous, kind, obedient,
cheerful, thrifty, brave, clean and reverent.
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Received on Wed Mar 12 16:54:44 2003
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