It was going to be a busy day. When we arrive at camping headquarters, there will be a lot of work to do. All of the equipment we borrowed has to be cleaned and returned. We have to pick up our valuables that were left with security. We would also need to get our stoves & fuel bottles packed up and brought to the mail room to be shipped back home. Oh ... and of course, we would need to shower!!! We also wanted to make sure we would have time to visit the trading post, and there were a few other miscellaneous items that would have to be attended to. Unfortunately, we had a fairly late scheduled pick up time for the bus, which was going to make things a little difficult. We were hoping that if we arrived at our pickup location early, we could call camping headquarters to see if we could get an earlier pick up, so we woke up early, packed up our gear for the last time, and got ready to head out on the trail.
We decided that for our last hike, we would once again go out as a "super crew", with our sister crew. The first order of business was a group photo and father/son photo.
We hiked out at a fairly quick pace, and it was pretty obvious that everyone was looking forward to getting off the trail.
It was a beautiful morning, and the views along the trail were great as usual, with Mt. Baldy once again dominating the skyline.
The trail we were taking would ultimately take us through a tunnel that went under a main road. Rumor had it, that on the wall of the tunnel, there was a phone number for a local pizza shop that would deliver pizza to the road above the tunnel. We had promised the boys that if there was truth to the rumor, we would go for it. Unfortunately, things didn't work out as we had hoped ... no pizza!!!
We continued hiking and finally reached the last meadow we would have to cross. We were near the end of the road.
One last look at Mt. Baldy ...
And we had reached our pick up point.
When we arrived, there were two other crews already there waiting. As we walked in, the adult advisors approached us and asked what crew number we were. They were very excited when we told them who we were. They had the same scheduled pick up time as us and had arrived about an hour earlier. They had called camping headquarters to request an early pick up, but were told that they had to wait for two other crews to arrive who were scheduled to be picked up with them ... we were the two crews they had been waiting for! We got back on the phone with headquarters and told them that all four crews were ready to be picked up. They said they'd send a bus immediately!!! This was great news ... we would be arriving at camping headquarters a couple of hours earlier than we had expected.
The bus came and we loaded our packs and boarded the bus for the ride back. When arrived at headquarters, we had to check in with logistics, and then the work began. We got the gear we had stored in the lockers at headquarters before we left and then checked into our tents in the "homebound" tent city.
We got all of the work done, and everyone took a long hot shower. Since we had arrived so much earlier than planned, we had enough time to take a quick tour of the Villa Philmonte. Philmont Scout Ranch was donated to the BSA by the family of Waite Phillips, the original owner of the ranch. The Villa Philmonte was the home that he had built when he lived here. It is a beautiful place, and I strongly recommend taking the tour if you're ever at Philmont.
When we had arrived back, the boys had asked around to find out if our Ranger, Ben, was there or not. We had been told that he was acting as a "counselor" for some kids whose parents were taking classes at the Philmont Training Center, which is located in a section of the Villa Philmonte. When we walked over there, as luck would have it, he was in one of the courtyards behind the Villa. We went over to say hello and to thank him for all he had taught us. It was nice to be able to see him and let him know how successful our trek had been!
After the tour, it was time for dinner in the mess hall. For fun, when dinner was over, the staff invited those who were interested to participate in a friendly game of egg toss!!!
After dinner, it was time to attend the closing campfire. Unfortunately, shortly after it started, the weather started to get pretty rough and they had to end it early.
This was the final thought for us as we left the campfire amphitheater.
Tomorrow morning, we would be waking up early, eating breakfast, and then boarding the bus for the trip back to Denver Airport and our flight home. It was going to be another long day!!!
No comments:
Post a Comment