Journal of Trek 11 at Philmont Scout Ranch of the NSO Crew 624-E4
June 22, 2000 to July 8, 2000
June 22
We left Greenville at 4:11 PM from the Haywood Mall Overflow Parking Lot. We headed north on Hwy 25 to I-40. The first of many videotapes we watched was the BSA "Youth Protection Tape".
For lunch we ate ham & cheese sandwiches, chicken salad sandwiches, pimento cheese sandwiches, and barbecue sandwiches with a soft drink. The first movie was "Armageddon" which started at the Tennessee state line. We stopped at the first Tennessee Welcome Center on I-40. We crossed the Mississippi River at Memphis, TN at about 12:00 midnight then stopped at a truck stop just inside Arkansas.
June 23
We stopped at a Cracker Barrel Restaurant near Russellville, Ark. for breakfast at 6:00 AM CST. At 11:00 AM CST we stopped in Oklahoma City, OK for lunch. Our crew chose to eat at a SubWay. It was the first time one scout had eaten at a SubWay. After lunch we stopped by the memorial for the bombing victims of the Federal Building bombing. At 5:00 PM MST we stopped at a New Mexico weigh station and were detained for about 15 minutes as the proper permits were checked.
At 10:30 PM we arrived at McDill Air Force Base in Albuquerque, NM to stay for the night. Our accommodations were a gymnasium that had been closed up all day, baking in the sun. It was very, very hot. I slept near a door in front of a fan blowing inward from the outside and slept very well.
June 24
We arose at 5:00 and left at 6:00. The mess hall we were planning to eat at did not open until 8:30 on Saturdays so we had to find another place to eat. We rode back and forth across Albuquerque hunting a restaurant. We finally ate at Burger King. There we discovered that the closing mechanism for the bus door had broken. We went on somehow. We left Albuquerque at 8:00 AM. On the way to Philmont we all eagerly watched the mountains to the east to try to recognize Mt. Baldy and Mt. Phillips. When they came into view the excitement level skyrocketed. We finally arrived at Philmont at 11:35 AM MST.
A scout and I went to the Welcome Center and got our orientation materials. We ate lunch in the dining hall and had chili on a bun, mixed vegetables, and butterscotch pudding. Some of the scouts thought the pudding was cheese and asked for it to be put on top of the mixed vegetables. Right after lunch, we met our Ranger from Kemper, Texas. He was a 23 year old rising senior at Texas A&M in Chemical Engineering. He took us to our tents in the Incoming Section of tent city.
We toured the camp, got our medical checks, and confirmed our itinerary in the logistics building. For supper we had spaghetti and salad. One scout told us that he had never eaten spaghetti. (Webmaster’s note – the same scout that had never eaten at SubWay!).
We had a campfire program at 8:30. It was the story of Philmont’s history. Our accommodations were walled, canvas tents with beds and foam mattresses. The temperatures were fairly cool once the sun set. We had a rain shower around 9:30 but it stopped and it was breezy all night. We were in bed about 10:15. Slept well.
June 25
I drank so much water the day before that I got up twice during the night to go to the bathroom. The last time was at 4:40 AM. I tried to go back to sleep but to no avail. I finally got up at 5:15 to shower. The hot shower felt great. Breakfast was at 6:45. We had eggs, sausage, and cereal.
Our contingent and crew photos were scheduled for 7:30. We had to be out of our tents by 8:30 so arriving crews could use them. The place is extremely well organized with everything scheduled. We picked up our crew gear from 8:30 to 10:00 (tents, dining fly, Polar Pure, cooking pots, and bear bags). There was some waiting to get it then we had to hang it up and inspect it for damage before we left. Otherwise, we were responsible for any damages when it was turned in. Tent damage would cost $210. That was a real motivation to care for the equipment.
After getting our gear, our ranger had us to go through our packs and take out things we would not need. I took out my first aid kit, Polar Pure, soap and several other incidentals (about 2 pounds). He said we would not need many flashlights because there was nothing to do after dark but go to bed. That proved to be true.
For lunch at 11:30 we had macaroni and barbecue. We tried to schedule a Villa Philmonte tour but there was not one available.
We weighed our packs at the welcome center. Mine weighed 43 pounds on the hanging scales. The crew’s packs mostly weighed 38 to 45 pounds. One scout’s weighed 50 pounds.
The weather was very dry and cool in the shade but hot in the sun.
We left the welcome center on a school bus at 3:00 and unloaded at the Zastrow Turnaround about 15 minutes later. There, our ranger gave a talk covering map reading, first aid, trail etiquette and safety. We began with everyone getting in a circle and giving a toast to our trek and swigging water. We hit the trail to the Rayado River Camp at about 4:00.
At our very first trail intersection after studying the map, we took the wrong fork. After letting us go about 100 yards our ranger dropped his pack and ran to stop the lead man. After reviewing the map again we got ourselves corrected and were again on our way. Our ranger showed us how to cross creeks and bridges (one at a time and unbuckled in case we fell in). We hiked about 1 1/2 miles to Rayado River camp and stayed in sites 5 & 6. It took a lonng time to get set up. Our ranger showed how to set up the dining fly, tents, and cooked supper. Mmmmmmm! The dining fly was set up low to the ground and angled to the wind for protection. We finished clean up about 8:45. It was getting dark fast. At this point there is no altitude sickness from anyone, one scout has had a couple of nosebleeds however. We put all of our smellables in the bear bag. This included all food and personal items like toothpaste and Chap Stick that had attractive smells. We sat around the campsite and everyone told a good thing about the day and then something to work on. Our ranger complemented our crew as being the most balanced he had worked with. We were in bed about 10:00. The temperature was a lot warmer than the previous night at base camp. I had a typical first night’s sleep, not much relaxation.
June 26
My alarm went off at 5:45 and I was up and out at 6:00 to wake up our crew leader. The weather was overcast. He was still in his tent at 6:30. It is just cool enough for the fleece shirt. We ate breakfast and broke camp at 9:00. The temperature was 60 degrees.
We took a short side hike to Abreu and bought root beer at the cantina. When our ranger helped us trim our weight, one scout left his cup behind so all he had to drink root beer from was his bowl. We toured the adobe homestead. The scouts enjoyed trying to pet the goats and chickens.
For lunch we had squeezable jalapeno cheese on crackers and a beef stick along the trail. We hiked uphill a long, long time and began to question where we were on the map, but we kept on going. We finally entered a huge, beautiful meadow with about 100 cows. The cattle were branded with the Philmont brand. I saw a roadrunner about 30 yards away. We thought of filling our canteens with water from the creek flowing through the meadow but it was very polluted with cow manure. We decided to go on to the next campsite and see if we could find a better water source. The trail led south and went almost straight up a hill about 520 feet vertical. There were aspen trees everywhere with scarring about 6 feet off the ground. Bears marking their territory had scratched every aspen.
Our next camp was Lookout Meadow. We arrived about 5:00. It was another high meadow with no trees. There was a manmade pond in the middle of about 50 acres. Water in the pond looked little better than the stream below but it was our only choice so we triple purified it for supper. We put double the iodine treatment and then boiled it before using any. We saw elk or deer droppings all around.
The weather got windy and it started getting cold quickly. As supper was cooking it began to thunder and lightning and rain. We moved to the dining fly out of the rain. Our ranger told us it is safer to be dispersed out in the rain so we filled our cups/bowls and wandered around in the trees and rain as we ate. The storm was brief then it cleared off. We cleaned up supper and rehung the bear bag for the night. Our ranger provided a pound cake and a package of chocolate chip cookies for desert. Our ranger told us he would be leaving us on our own in the morning. His job was to shepherd us for two days and make sure we knew the basics of backcountry backpacking then put us on our own. Since he had a day off after he left us and had not been to Fish Camp he was going to go on to Fish Camp ahead of us for a visit. He would then hike back to base camp to pick up his next crew.
We walked across the meadow to a hillside for our evening chapel service. There we had our Thorns and Roses and Buds and Seeds session. The weather was pretty chilly. When the service was over it was dark and we all went to bed.
June 27
It rained lightly four times during the night. I awoke at 5:40 and woke our crew leader. This morning we got out of camp by 8:30. As we were leaving camp we saw two deer about 100 yards away. We had one of the hardest climbs yet to the top of Lookout Peak. On the way we passed a tree that lightning had struck the night before during our storm. It was about 300 yards from our campsite. It had exploded and thrown bark everywhere. At the top of Lookout Peak there were beautiful views. At the peak there was a capped 4" pipe container with various notes from previous hikers. We then descended 1,400 feet to Fish Camp and arrived around 10:15. Along the way we passed several spectacular overlooks. We saw fresh bear scratchings and antler rubs and a partial skeleton of a deer. At one major trail intersection someone had arranged rocks in the trail to read "Gone Fishin" with a big arrow of limbs pointing toward Fish Camp.
When we checked in to Fish Camp we were assigned our campsite. We were then given a tour of Waite Phillips Fish Camp Cabin. We then learned how to tie flies to fish with. We were all seated around a large workbench with fly tying supplies and mounts. Afterwards we learned how to cast a fly rod. Then we had more squeezables for lunch. We then set up our dining fly and tents. A scout was appointed the official dining fly man as he does a good job seeing that it is done quickly and correctly.
After lunch, while the scouts were fishing, I washed my dirty clothes in our cooking pots and hung them on tree limbs to dry. My co-advisor also washed some of his and did the same. Two scouts caught fish and released them as required by Philmont policy. It was great excitement. One scout saw a mule deer doe and the hunt was on to get a close picture. One scout climbed the bank straight on like a commando while another sneaked around the flank. Two other scouts also stalked the willing prey. One said he got within about 7 feet of the doe and got good photos. Another scout said he had a headache and slept all afternoon.
Several scouts played horseshoes at the camp cabin. The other advisor and I played a couple of games.
The cabin area had 3 sets of solar panels to generate electricity. One ran the pump, one ran the refrigerator, and one ran the lights in the fly tying room. After supper the other advisor and I went and talked with the staff about how they work and Rayado. The camp director was from Atlanta and lived in the other advisor’s old neighborhood. He knew some of her family. (When we finished our trek, we found out that boys from the other crews who had gone to Fish Camp had the hots for "Nancy").
June 28
I awoke at 5:30 for the early hike to Phillips Junction so we could start our 3-hour conservation project at 8:00. Our project consisted of helping to construct a new trail from Phillips Junction to Fish Camp. Some of us moved dirt from an excavation to the trail. Others picked up rocks for the trail base. Others broke big rocks into small ones for the trail base. Others hauled logs out of the forest to use a trail forms. It began to rain just as we finished at 11:00. We ate lunch under the PJ porch. Lunch was chicken salad spreadable, beef jerky, fruit leather, and a nutrigrain bar. We picked up 2 days’ supply of food and left PJ at about 11:50 hiking toward Apache Springs.
About 1 1/2 hours into the hike the sky got cloudy and a thunderstorm blew in. There was lots of lightning and lots of pea-sized hail. Luckily we had descended from the mountaintop away from the lightning strikes. We all got wet and dirty. While it was hailing a scout was leading the crew and walked on out into a meadow. I yelled for him to come back under the trees, but it was so noisy with hail falling that he couldn’t hear. He went on about 50 yards before realizing he was alone. He looked around and hustled on back with us. Two scouts got into a dispute along the trail. One was stepping on the other’s heels and trekking poles and he turned and yelled at him.
At Apache Springs there was a meadow with a corral and 2 teepees. Programs at Apache Springs were archery, astronomy, and Jicarilla Apache life. The astronomy had been moved to Apache Springs from the North Country because the north was so dry they had closed it and sent all staff south.
We changed into warm dry clothes. When we left Fish Camp, a scout left his crew hat hanging on a tree branch. Someone from E2 fond it and returned it to him at Apache Springs. As we were cooking supper, clouds began to descend and limited visibility to 100 yards. Snowflakes began to fall briefly.
My co-advisor and I went to the advisors coffee break at 7:15. We met an advisor of a crew from California that was on our same trek but 1 day ahead of us in schedule. Since we had forgotten to buy fuel at PJ we asked him if we could have their extra fuel since they would be back at PJ tomorrow. They agreed readily. When we went to get the fuel we had a nice conversation with the crew’s 3 advisors. One of the California advisors said we could wash clothes in a tub at the staff cabin. Another of the advisors is a patch trader who knew a friend of mine in Easley. They asked us to dispose of a roll of wet toilet paper. We agreed. On the way back to our campsite we stopped by 624-E2’s camp. The scouts were all sitting around the fire ring talking. We asked them to give the wet toilet paper as a gift from E4 to our expedition advisor. They laughed and agreed. We went to bed around 9:00 except five scouts. They played Commando in the meadow until around 11:00 PM.
June 29
We slept in this morning until 7:00. The boys crawled out of their beds over a 1 ½ hour period. I walked down to the meadow before anyone else was up and saw fresh bear scratches on aspens. One scratch was about 7 ½ feet high. That was a very big bear. Everyone went to the staff cabin to wash clothes around 10:00. It took 2 hours for everyone to wash their clothes using the washtub and scrubbing board. We came back and hung out the clothes to dry on tree branches.
We went to the staff cabin for an Apache teepee tour and archery. The teepee tour was very interesting. Samples of items used by the Jicarilla Apache were shown. There was a leather hackey sack, peace pipes, lacrosse racket, human scalps, tomahawks, and buffalo hides.
As we waited to wash clothes and waited for the programs, the scouts had a game where they stood on top of 2 stumps and tried to knock each other off with a medicine ball. While we were waiting for archery, it began to storm and hail again. The astronomy was canceled because the telescopes were taking back to the North Country. They had had enough rain to allow that part of the camp to reopen and they were getting set back up.
While waiting, I washed my hair in the staff shower. Part of the crew went back to camp at 4:30. The rest stayed at the staff cabin to shoot archery. Each archer was given 2 arrows. Along a trail were foam, life sized animals to shoot. The boys had fun. Supper was the best yet. The Tabasco I brought has proven to be a culinary hit. Everyone crowds around for a couple of shots in their bowls. McCrea takes 4 shots per bowl. We were in bed at dark.
June 30
Up at 5:30
We packed up and had a quick breakfast so we could hike out of camp by 7:00. At Buck Creek four scouts went on one trail to PJ for our food pickup, to get toilet paper, and to buy fuel. The rest of us went directly to Porcupine Camp to wait. While waiting at Porcupine we discovered that a scout had one of the two fuel bottles that were supposed to be being filled at PJ. So he and three other scouts had to make a special trip to PJ to get that fuel bottle filled.
When the original quartet returned they had only picked up 1 roll of toilet paper to last 12 people 4 days, so the rest of us went to PJ to get additional toilet paper.
Resupplied, we hiked on to Clear Creek. We ate lunch along the trail and arrived at Clear Creek at 2:30 and set up camp.
A huge tree had fallen on one of the latrines in our campsite.
We took a tour of a beaver trapper’s cabin. He told and showed us many of the things a trapper used in his everyday life; traps, plews, pelts, tobacco, whiskey, cloth, hides, ribbon, and clothing. We then threw hawks at targets. One scout got both hawks to stick in the target his first attempt. Everyone got pretty good. If someone missed the target and threw the hawk into the marsh behind the targets he had to yell "I’m sorry Monty, I will never throw a hawk into your marsh again." Monty was a monster who lived in the marsh and did not like for hawks to be thrown into his home.
We had spaghetti for supper. Everyone wanted more. Afterwards the scouts fixed a huge blueberry cobbler (16 servings). The stove could not be turned down low enough to cook the cake batter so it was just stirred in. It resembled a warm pudding but it was very good.
My co advisor and I went to the advisors’ coffee at 7:30. The short climb to the staff cabin left us panting for breath at this altitude of 9,600 feet.
We met a crew on the trail today that had been camped on Mt. Phillips the night before and had experienced rain, hail, and 3 inches of snow.
In bed at dark around 9:00.
July 1
Up at 8:00.
We shot black powder muzzleloaders at 10:00. Several scouts put targets to get shot. These targets included a crew T-shirt, a bandanna, a shoe, and my crew hat. Everything was hit. My hat has a hole in the brim from a ricochet.
We ate our supper meal for lunch so we would not have to cook on Mt. Phillips since it is a dry camp.
The hike up Mt. Phillips was very tough with a 1,400 feet climb. At the top we got lots of photos showing beautiful scenery. We ate our lunch meal for supper facing the vista. We all assembled to watch the sunset that was beautiful.
In bed at 9:00.
July 2
We got up at 3:20 AM to see the stars. The Big Dipper was on the western horizon. The Milky Way was clearly visible running SW – NE. My co advisor found a satellite. We saw several shooting stars. We were back in bed at 4:00.
I planned to get up at 5:30 for sunrise but no one got up before 7:00. We ate breakfast on the west face of Mt. Phillips. We had a chapel service there also. We found a memorial plaque for a 14-year-old Life Scout near the top.
We got on the trail to Cypher’s Mine. Past Comanche Peak the crew got divided. One part of our crew was separated from the lead bunch. The part of the crew I was with went back to Comanche Peak to search for the rest of the crew. At the intersection of the Big Red trail we met a female Rayado crew who said they had not seen anyone all morning. At Comanche Peak one scout said he was positive he had seen them there.
Our search crew returned and sent another search crew all the way back to the Red Hills Camp Trail intersection. They returned at 10:45 without the lost party. We decided that since they had food, water, map, and a compass our best choice would be to go on to Cypher’s mine and report them lost. About 30 minutes toward Cypher’s we met a Rayado ranger. As I described our situation we saw the lost crew hiking on a road below us. They had followed some trail markings that misled them. They had hiked cross-country until they came to Red Hills Camp. Their detour caused them an extra 1-½ hours of hiking. We had a good laugh about the adventure.
We arrived at Cypher’s Mine at 12:08 and scheduled a mine tour at 2:30 and a forge tour at 5:00. We ate lunch and cleaned up. We are staying in a large Adirondack with a concrete floor. It was about 12’ X 18’.
On our mine tour we were all given hard hats and led a couple of hundred feet into the mineshaft and given a tour and told the story of miners. To get out we all turned our lights out and felt our way back out. When we came out of the mine it was raining. We ran for our shelter and sat around for 1 ½ hours waiting for it to stop raining. It stopped at 4:30 and the boys went panning for gold. There was a crew ahead of them so we did not get to pan. We went instead to the forge.
At the forge the scouts took turns turning the blower (squirrel) and hammering hot iron into a twisted "J".
We had an advisors’ break at 7:30.
At 8:00 we had a tough man contest where a representative of each crew told a story about how tough he was. The winner told of how he was from Missouri, "The Show Me State." He had to show how tough he was so he lit a breadstick and smoked it like a cigarette. He then told of how other tough men had talked about killing a bear but he had killed one and was wearing it on his back. With that he took his shirt off and showed his very hairy back. Everyone howled.
We then went to the "Stomp." Everyone in camp crowded into a cabin where 5 musicians entertained with 3 guitars, 1 banjo, and a washboard. It was a great foot stomping time. It lasted 2 fun hours. We were in bed at 10:00.
July 3
I got up at 6:00. We got out of camp at 8:30 behind our sister crew from Texas. They were on the same trek and schedule as we were. We passed them near the end of the hike. Near the end, we came to Hunting Lodge. It was a staffed cabin but no one was there. We looked in the windows then discovered a spigot. Several of us rinsed off or washed our hair there.
We hiked to Cimarroncito and checked in. We went rock climbing and rappelling at 3:00. Everyone got to climb and rappel once. The scouts then spent some time on a wooden climbing wall. The object was to climb all the way around the wall, down one side, around the end, and back up the other side to the other end. The hand and toe holes got progressively smaller. No one from our group made it past 2/3 of the way around.
Right after lunch I took a hot, long shower and was much refreshed. At 7:30 we had an advisors’ break. The boys had a baseball game using a duct tape ball and mattock handle.
Two scouts asked me to wake them at 5:00 AM so they could take a shower. Shortly after we went to bed we heard coyotes singing in the distance
July 4
I woke at 5:00 to wake the two showerers. They both started to get up but went back to sleep.
We left camp at 7:30 and made it to Clark’s Fork at 8:30. We had an orientation talk and immediately went to the branding station. Everyone had been looking forward to getting their gear branded. We all branded our boots and hats.
We then tried to lasso cow horns and played horseshoes. Since it was so dry, both activities got us very dirty.
We left Clark’s Fork at 11:15 for Ponderosa Park. We set up camp at a site we thought was Ponderosa Park but it was actually Upper Clark’s Fork. We ate lunch there.
Several of us hiked on up the trail and found that we were indeed not in Ponderosa. We had a divided crew on whether to move on to Ponderosa or stay at Upper Clark’s Fork. We moved.
We hiked back down to Clark’s Fork for a Chuck wagon dinner that consisted of canned beef stew, canned peaches, and Ritz crackers. We had plenty to eat but were expecting something more than canned food. We then hiked back to Ponderosa Park for our last night on the trek.
The scouts were very eager to get up very early for the hike in the last day. They wanted to get up at 4:00 AM. We convinced them it would be too dark and to set their alarms for 5:00 AM.
July 5
The first two scouts were up about 5:00 AM. As I lay in my tent I could hear the sounds of other crews getting their bear bags down and pack up for an early start. Our crew packed its quickest and we were on the trail at 7:00. We hiked to Sheaffers Pass and took a short, steep side hike to Sheaffers Peak.
On the way to the Tooth of Time we got separated from the back half of the crew again. One scout and I hung back and waited for them to arrive. While we were waiting we heard a lone scout yelling for his crew. We called for him to come to us. He had gotten separated from his crew and disoriented. He was panicky, crying, and hyperventilating. We had him sit down with us, drink some water, and look at our map. We assured him that we knew where we were and would help him find his crew. Shortly afterwards the rest of our crew arrived and we took him on to the Tooth of Time staging area where everyone dropped their packs for the side hike to the Tooth of Time.
The lost scout’s crew had already left the area leaving his pack behind. I found an advisor from his council contingent who said he would take the scout on down with their crew.
We climbed the Tooth. It was a very tough climb of boulders to the top. Everyone made it and ate lunch there. After enjoying the view we headed to base camp. The last 3 miles were very dry. It was the first desert conditions we had encountered. About 1/2 mile from the end one scout got overheated. He ran out of water and was vomiting. My co advisor poured some water over his head and had him drink water slowly. He recovered and walked the rest of the way.
Upon arrival at base camp our crew leader and I went to the Welcome Center to begin the Check Out Process. We wend to the bus and got fresh clothes and took a shower. My son and I went to wash clothes and call home. Supper was at 5:30. I drank about 64 ounces of fluids and urinated very little.
We had a closing campfire at 8:30 for the homebound crews.
We were in bed at 10:30.
July 6
We were up at 5:30 for a shower. We left at 8:45 for a brief stop in Cimarron to shop for souvenirs. Several of us bought root beers.
We left there and stopped for one last picture at a roadside marker about Philmont. We then drove straight through to Dodge City, Kansas. There we ate supper at Casey’s Cowtown Cafe. It is the same steak house that my son and I had eaten at on our other trip through Dodge City in 1998. We arrived at McConnell Air Force Base in Wichita, Kansas at 12:55 AM.
July 7
We got up at 5:15 for a shower. We had breakfast in the base mess hall. A retired Colonel gave a long talk about the old days of flying while the boys wanted to eat. After breakfast we drove on to St. Louis, Missouri. We arrived there about 5:30. We went in the Arch Museum and watched a movie about the construction of the arch. Then our crew ate supper at a McDonalds that was floating on a barge in the Mississippi River. We then went back to the museum. While there we learned that the bus would delay leaving to give everyone a chance to go up into the top of the arch. We bought tickets and went up. From the top we could see the St. Louis Cardinals playing baseball in their stadium.
We left St. Louis and drove on into the night to Murray, Kentucky. There we slept the rest of the night in the gym of the First United Methodist Church. We got up the next morning and toured the National Scouting Museum. We then got on the road again for the last leg back home. We arrived back in Greenville about 8:30.