Philmont 2016 - Day 11 - August 13, 2016

Today is the day ... we will be hiking to the top of Mt. Baldy, elevation 12,441 feet! The elevation gain from our "base camp" will be approximately 3,500 feet over a distance of about 4 miles ... that's pretty steep!!!

On our way back down from Mt. Baldy, we will be taking a detour through the Baldy Town camp, for our final food resupply of the trek. We had been given some advice before our trip to bring one or two empty packs with us on the hike so that we could use them to carry our supplies from Baldy Town back to Miranda. As it turned out, this was very good advice!

The first rule for hiking Mt. Baldy is to start the hike VERY early in the morning. Early afternoon storms are very common, and the last place you would want to be during a thunderstorm is on the top of a mountain well above treeline!!!

We woke up very early, well before dawn and everyone got ready to go. We had decided that we would hike to the top as a "super-crew". This was something we all wanted to do together, so we decided to bend the rules a little. It was dark and rather cool and damp when we set out. Everyone had a headlamp on so that we could see where we were going and we were all wearing jackets, hats and some of us even had gloves on.

As daylight broke, it didn't take long to warm up, as the trail had a pretty steady pitch to it right from the start.

Along the way, we encountered some reminders of the area's history as a mining concern. It was hard to imagine people moving this kind of material up the slopes of this mountain!

We hiked for a while and then took a break for breakfast. Everyone was already feeling the combined effects of waking up early, hiking up a steep mountain, and elevation!!!

We eventually reached the tree line and things really opened up. At the same time, the pitch became steeper and the side of the mountain became a giant scree field. In some spots, it seemed that for every step forward, you slide a half step backwards!!!

Finally, the summit was within reach. Just a little further and all the effort would pay off!!!

The views from the summit were ... in a word ... incredible.

We all marveled at the world spread out before us. High fives, hugs and pats on the back were exchanged. It was a moment I will never forget. It was the culmination of approximately 18 months of planning & preparation, and in that moment, it was all worth it.

It was incredibly cold and windy at the summit ... much more so that I had expected. It was a good thing we all had our warm clothing with us. There were some little "shelters" that people had made by piling up the rocks. The boys took the opportunity to lie down, get out of the wind and have a bite to eat.

After a little while, we all gathered up and took a group photo. Once again ... a moment I'll never forget.

We hung around on the summit for a while, but then we noticed some storm clouds forming to the West. It was time to get moving and head down to lower ground.

We got back below the tree line just as the rain started. It was hard to believe how quickly the storm moved in. We continued down the mountain on our way to Baldy Town camp for our final resupply stop. The rain started to get heavier and the next thing we knew, we were being pelted by hail stones. It was a REALLY good thing we got off the summit when we did!!!

We arrived at Baldy Town and picked up our supplies for the remainder of our trek. We hung out on the porch for a while, trying to stay out of the rain as much as we could. One of the staff members here was the twin sister of a staff member at the Seally Canyon camp. We had been told to expect this, and of course, when we showed up, we all called her by her sister's name ... just as we had been told to do!

The rain finally let up a bit and we headed out to get back to Miranda for the night. When we arrived, it was still raining lightly so we all kind of huddled under the rain fly for a while. Everyone was spent!!! The rain finally stopped and we made dinner. We decided that we would make a campfire to celebrate today's accomplishment. The one down side to making a fire at Philmont is that you're required to pack your ashes out of the camp and disperse them along the trail. This is rather annoying, so this was to be our first fire of the trek.

We hung out for a while watching the fire and talking and then it was time to go to bed. Tomorrow would be our last full day & night in the back country. We would be hiking from Miranda to, of all places, Santa Claus Camp!!! Would there be any presents waiting for us there?

Philmont 2016 - Day 10 - August 12, 2016

Today's hike is a seven mile walk from Elkhorn Camp to Miranda Camp, one of the "base stations" for day hikes to the top of Mt. Baldy. We'll be saying goodbye to our burro Harold when we arrive at Miranda.

I was up very early, and I couldn't resist the urge to walk back to the top of the ridge to watch the sunrise. I wasn't disappointed.

 As the sun rose above the top of the ridge, the early morning light washed over Mt. Baldy. If all goes according to plan, tomorrow, we'll be standing on the Summit!

We packed up our camp and ate breakfast. Next, we had to get Harold from the pen, and reload his saddle and the gear he'd be carrying for us. The boys did a fantastic job of getting him loaded up once again. I was really impressed with how easily they had learned everything they needed to know to get him loaded up.

The trail started out as a jeep road that ran along the top of the ridge. It was very easy going, and with the exception of a somewhat obstinate burro who insisted on stopping to eat grass every few minutes, we reached the mid-point of our hike at the Head of Dean Camp. We took a short break, making sure to give Harold a chance to drink some water. We then continued on to Miranda. At this point, the trail became much more difficult, as it wound its way down the mountain by a series of narrow switchbacks. The views of the surrounding areas were beautiful, but Harold was not amused!!!

When we reached Miranda, it was time to say goodbye to Harold. We dropped him off in the pen, and then continued to the camp cabin. As we arrived, it started to rain pretty heavily. Fortunately, it didn't last long, and we were able to go down and shoot the black powder rifles, one of the program features at Miranda.

The staff at Miranda were a little crazy, and a lot of fun ... kind of like the guys back at Metcalf Station at the beginning of our trek. Being close to the end of the Summer, they were obviously suffering from a little "cabin fever" or something! They taught us how to load the rifles, including pouring in the powder & the ball, and packing it down. Then we got to shoot the rifles. Black powder rifles go "BOOM"!!!!!

Next, it was time to set up camp and make dinner. We would be waking up VERY early the following morning for our hike to the top of Mt. Baldy, so everyone turned in early to get a good night's sleep.

Philmont 2016 - Day 9 - August 11, 2016

The big day … burro packing! Today we would be given a burro to take with us on our hike. The burro would stay with us overnight, and then we'd take him with us to our next camp. The hike today is only about 5 miles, however, we would be climbing approximately 1500 feet in elevation.

We weren't in a hurry to get up this morning, because we had to under go “burro training” before we could leave Ponil Camp. We woke up and got packed up, and then ate a leisurely breakfast.

After breakfast, we headed down to the corral to get our burro and get trained. When we got there, a couple of the ranch hands were messing around trying to rope each other. Once they successfully roped their opponent, they would try to pull him down into the mud and the … well … you know … it's a burro corral!!! It was VERY entertaining!

Next, they let the boys into the corral to go and find a burro that they liked.

Once they found their burro, it was time to learn how to properly pack our gear onto the burro. The boys did a really good job of it … they picked up the procedure very quickly. They also had to give their burro a name … may I introduce Harold … Harold the Burro!

The boys had wanted to take a second burro, but mean old me told them to stick with just one … I figured one would be more than enough trouble!!! We got our gear loaded up and hit the trail.

We were hiking along a dirt road on our way to Elkhorn Camp. Elkhorn is a trail camp … there would be no staff members there and no program activities. Once we arrived at the camp, we would have to unload Harold, put him in the pen, and give him some water and hay. There would be too much else to do.

The trail had a slight grade to it, but it wasn't too bad. We needed to make a left turn at some point, at which time we would have to head straight up the side of a mountain to Elkhorn Camp, which was located at the top. Once again, Mt. Baldy loomed off in the distance.

We had some minor navigation problems and initially walked past the turn. We quickly realized our mistake and turned back. We found the turn and then started the climb. It was very steep, rocky & dusty, and we had to guide Harold up with us … he wasn't really in the mood!

We finally reached the top and found Elkhorn Camp. The top of the mountain was essentially a ridge line. The camp was slightly down hill on the other side of the ridge we had just climbed. The views from the top of the ridge were just fantastic. We could see all the way back to the Tooth of Time.

We got Harold into the pen and gave him his food & water. After that, we set up camp and everyone took a well deserved rest. A little while later, our sister crew showed up with their burro, Burrito. After dinner, we decided to walk back up to the top of the ridge. The boys found some rocks to climb around on while we watched the sunset. It was absolutely beautiful.

It was a beautiful, clear night, and fortunately for us, the Perseid meteor shower was scheduled to put on a great show that night. We brought our chairs back to the top of the ridge and we sat there for at least an hour watching an incredible show of meteor trails. I've never seen anything like it.

Tomorrow we'd be hiking with Harold from Elkhorn Camp to Miranda Camp. Miranda is one of the camps that serves as a “base” for day hikes to the top of Mt. Baldy.

Philmont 2016 - Day 8 - August 10, 2016

We will hike from Camp Dan Beard to Ponil Camp today. It's about a six mile hike. We're all pretty tired from yesterday's long hike, so it will be interesting to see how we hold up. Before we leave camp, however, the boys are going to participate in some challenge activities. The main program at Dan Beard is a series of challenges that the crews have to complete. We had arrived too late in the day yesterday to do anything, so the plan was to do some of these first thing in the morning, and then continue on our way.

One of the challenges the boys faced was a climb over a wall onto a platform. The wall was probably about 12 feet high. They had to figure out how to get everyone on top, using whatever means they could think of. It took a little while, but eventually, they all made it to the top.

After they finished the challenge events, it was time to hit the trail. There were several incentives for us to get to Ponil. First, there were showers at Ponil!!! This would be our first opportunity to take a shower since leaving base camp five days earlier! Second, dinner tonight was a “chuck wagon dinner”, prepared by the Ponil camp staff, with some help from a couple of our crew members. Third, there was a trading post at Ponil, and we had been told that the root beer was really good.

Most of the hiking we had done to this point followed dry river beds and lake beds or crossed large meadows and cattle grazing fields. The trail from Dan Beard was a much more difficult trail, and was more like the trails we were used to hiking in Harriman State Park, with lots of rocks along the trail, and a lot of “ups and downs” as we hiked along one side of the canyon.

It was slow going, but we eventually made it through the canyon and onto easier terrain.

When we arrived at Ponil, we ate lunch and then got ready for our program activity. When we had met with the logistics staff at base camp at the start of our trip, we had to choose between horse back riding and shooting at Ponil. The staff needed to know in advance which we wanted to do, so that they would be prepared accordingly. The boys had chosen the shooting activity. We each had the opportunity to shoot a rifle, a pistol and a shotgun. I'm not really into shooting, but it was fun.

After we finished shooting, we set up our camp and waited for our scheduled time to use the showers.

It felt really good to have a hot shower. After the shower, it was time for us to go down for the chuck wagon dinner. It was beef stew and corn bread, with peach cobbler for dessert. I'm not sure if it would have tasted as good under normal circumstances, but after eating “Phil-food” for the past five nights, it sure did taste good then!!!

After dinner, the Ponil staff put on a cantina show. We all drank some root beer and watched the show.

It was actually a really good show. After the show ended, the staff said they were going to take a short break and then put on an “after show”. Some of the boys decided to head back to our camp site, but some of us decided to stay. The after show was even better than the main show! Afterwards, we headed back to our camp site to get some sleep.

The next day would be an exciting one … one of the program features of our itinerary included “burro packing”. It is what it sounds like … we would be given a burro (or two), that we could pack with some of our gear, and then we would take the burro with us to our next camp.

Philmont 2016 - Day 7 - August 9, 2016

Today's hike is the longest of the trip, approximately 14 miles, and will take us from Whiteman Vega to Camp Dan Beard. Most of this hike will be in the Valle Vidal, after which, we'll cross back onto Philmont property. It's going to be a long day!

We woke up early, and packed up our camp. It was another beautiful morning.

We had been talking with the camp staff at Whiteman Vega the night before, and they had suggested that rather than following the trek plan on our itinerary, that we back-track the way we had come the day before and return to Ring Place, where we would then be able to reconnect with the trail we were supposed to take. It would save us about four miles of hiking, and according to them, there really wasn't much to see by following the original plan, so we didn't need to be told twice!!!

When we arrived at Ring Place, we met up with our sister crew who had arrived there a little earlier. Even though we weren't supposed to, we decided that we would finish today's hike together. Everyone was pretty excited to have the opportunity to spend the day together.

We had been hiking along a dry river bed through a canyon, that I would later find out was Seally Canyon. At one point, we were only about a mile West of the camp we had stayed at two nights ago!

Despite cutting the extra miles out of the hike, it was still a long day in the hot sun. After about three and a half hours of hiking, we found a nice shady spot to take a break, near an old cemetary.

Jim worked with the “navi-guessers” from each crew to plan the remainder of our route. We were still in the Valle Vidal, so there were no trail markers. Map and compass navigation were still required.

The next section of the hike required us to climb up and over a wooded mountain. We started the climb, making slow steady progress towards the top.

When we reached the top, Jim sat down with the boys for another navigation check. If our navigation was correct, as we came down the other side of the mountain and emerged from the woods, we should see an old windmill in front of us. Jim asked the boys if they thought we were on course or not. The navi-guessers double and triple checked the map and their compasses and thought we were o.k., but a little doubt was starting to creep in. We came down the other side of the mountain and emerged from the woods. Right there in front of us …

… was the old windmill!!! It turned out, Jim was just messing with the boys!!! We were in an area known as Beatty Lakes, an area of dry lake beds. The scenery here was breathtaking. It seemed as always, Mt. Baldy loomed in the distance.

We crossed the lake bed and decided to take another break to eat lunch. Josh & Ben had gone off ahead to find a spot to stop. A minute or two later, they both came walking back towards us, at a hurried pace. It turned out, they had found a nice shady spot near some trees. As they went to put their packs down, right in front of them was a huge rattlesnack!!!

We found another spot to stop and ate lunch. After lunch we continued hiking towards Dan Beard. As we approached the camp, we decided that we'd come into the camp as two separate crews so that we didn't upset the staff members there. We sent our sister crew on ahead and we waited about 10 minutes before we continued.

When we arrived at the camp, rain was starting to move in. We were all hanging out on the porch of the staff cabin when the weather started getting pretty rough. A lightning strike hit the ridge line at the top of the ridge above the cabin. This was the closest I had ever been to a lightning strike, and it was MORE than close enough!!!

Fortunately, the weather moved through pretty quickly. We got our camp set up and made dinner. After dinner, the boys played some volleyball with the camp staff.

Jim and I took the opportunity to do some “trail laundry”. Tomorrow's hike would be a fairly short one, only about five miles. It had been another great day!

We had reached the halfway point of our trip!