PHILMONT EXPEDITION 714- C1 2007 Trek 16
                        

                                                                                                                      PHILMONT JOURNAL
                                                                                                                               by Danny Burke
 

Introduction:
The following is the journal of my fourth trek to Philmont. After my 3rd trek I said I
would never do another trek at Philmont. I should know better then to say never. I
approached this trek as if I would only be an advisor for the practice hikes and other
Philmont training events. I did not see myself returning to Philmont even though I threw my name in as an Alternate. I was so far down the list there was absolutely no way I would get back to Philmont, or so I thought, until I received a phone call from Tom Schech, our Lead Advisor, just 2 days before I left on my family vacation. He told me a slot had opened up and it was mine if I wanted it. I gave it some thought, talked with the family about it, especially my son Cody who would not be going with us, and my good friend and Philmont mentor Steve Unger. I decided to give it one more try, I really  wanted to climb the Tooth of Time one more time.

Crew 714 C1
Adults:
Randal Bagwell
Danny Burke
Toby Lovett
Matt Menger
Len Prisco

Youth:
Nathan Nash ~ Crew Leader
Austin Eubanks
Andrew Kocurek ~ Chaplin
Brock Lovett
John Menger
Nathan Prisco
Nick Prisco
Tommy Richardson

Our sister crew was also from our Troop

Crew 714 C2
Adults:
Charlie Dierker
Jim Gensheimer
Jim Sager
Tom Schech

Youth:
Tony Schech ~ Crew Leader
John Boyd
John Dierker
Brett Ferguson
Chase Gensheimer
John Neidigk
Mark Neidigk
John Sager

July 12th Thursday ~ Fort Worth to Cimarron

Got up at 4:50 and started to get ready for another trek at Philmont, I never dreamed I
would be returning for a 4th trek, but the chips fell that way. I have some reservations,
but I'm going to give it a try, I just hope my feet hold up and I won't have to endure to
much pain. Wendy took me to the Scout Hut at 5:30 and Cody met us there with his
new puppy Jerry Lee, unfortunately he has to work and won't be going with me this
time. The parking lot was  a bustle of activity, with everyone pretty much already there,
it was the first time I hadn't had to be there first so I already felt out of place. We
loaded the trailer, said our goodbyes and were on the road by 6:10. We rolled up Hwy
287 to the Jolly Truck Stop for breakfast once again. Steve Unger met us there for
breakfast, this will be the first Philmont trek since 1991 that Steve will not make with
us. It was good to see Yoda, and it felt like old times as we all wondered in and sat
down for breakfast, I ordered my usual, the Western Omelette. We sat and talked
about the upcoming trek and of course relived some of our previous treks. After
breakfast we loaded up the cars, I told Steve to come on and go with us, I could see in
his eyes how much he wanted to, but we both knew not this time. Back on the road
Randal noticed Charlie's right rear tire looked bad, we radioed them and asked if they
were feeling any unusual vibrations, the answer was yes. We pulled all the vehicles
over just outside Oklaunion, Texas and checked the tire. Sure enough he had a bad
belt that had evidently just let go, we changed the tire and put on the spare while the
boys jumped out and had the first of many light sabre fights. We loaded the boys back
up and drove on up the highway, stopping in Childress at the Walmart for some
supplies and a bathroom break. We stopped in Amarillo for gas and lunch at the Pilot
truck stop, I made a quick phone call home and then back on the road. We stopped in
Clayton, New Mexico for gas and then started the final leg to Cimarron. We ran into a
huge thunderstorm outside Gladstone where it rained really hard, at times making it
hard to see the road. We ran out of the rain just as we were about into Springer. Just
outside Springer we made another stop at the Shell station just off of I 25 for a
bathroom break, I went in the gift shop to pick up a gift for Wendy that she had seen
when we passed threw here a couple of weeks earlier on our family vacation. We
arrived at the Ponil campground and RV park at 6:30 MST after a long day. We set up  
camp up top again this year instead of down by the creek as in years past, while the
boys had another huge light sabre battle between the 2 crews the adults started
supper, cheeseburgers and hot dogs. As the days light started to fade I called home
and went to bed around 10:00 just as the rain started to fall. Seems like there is
nothing better then listening to rain falling on your tent and I had no trouble falling
asleep.

July 13th Friday ~ Layover Ponil Campground

Woke up early, around 5:45, the rain had stopped, it rained most of the night, luckily
my new tent doesn't leak. Got up and took a shower, then back to camp where I spent
a little journal time. We left camp around 8:00 and drove into Cimarron to Heck's for
breakfast. This year they had a breakfast buffet, all you can eat for 6.99, what a deal.
Eggs, bacon, sausage, pancakes, hash browns, biscuits and gravy, I definitely had all I
could eat. A much better deal then I had last trek. We all tipped our hats to the St.
James Hotel as we drove past on the drive out to Philmont. Went to the museum and
got our tour time for the Villa, at the museum we ran into Glenn Cunningham who is
working at the museum this year. Glenn had portrayed Waite Phillips at Hunting Lodge
in 2001. We talked with him for a while outside then went inside for a great history
lesson of the ranch and the years preceding the ranch. Glenn definitely makes the
museum worth seeing. He told us his wife Linda (who had portrayed Genevieve Phillips
at Hunting Lodge in 2001) was working at the Villa, could we be so lucky to get her for
our tour guide there? We had time to go to the Waite Phillips museum before our Villa
tour so we went there first. We ran into Linda there and she told us Glenn had called
her and she had traded tours with another guide so she would be our official Villa tour
guide. Talk about getting the "A" team today. During the tour Charlie played the Marine
Corps Hymn on the piano in the living room, I didn't know he played the piano. I think
everyone enjoyed the tour and Linda definitely made it worthwhile with her knowledge
of the Villa. We left the Villa and went to the Trading Post, I bought some souvenirs
and a new pack cover and a new rain jacket. Back to Ponil for some shakedown and
journal time. The boys played with their light sabres, a brief rain shower sent us to the
pavilion. It certainly cooled us off which was nice. Randal got the fire started and he
and Charlie cooked up the steaks, man did I eat way to much. After dinner we set
around the campfire and talked about tomorrow and the upcoming trek. I called home
then headed off to bed, I'm really tired tonight. Philmont tomorrow....am I really ready
for this??????

July 14th Saturday ~ Day 1 Base Camp

Rolled out of bed at 6:00, slept better last night, a little cooler. Broke camp in a little
less then an hour, Nathan and Tony our crew leaders were really happy with that quick
time. We have some newbie stragglers but they will learn how to break camp. Ate
breakfast and then spoke with the Advisors camped next to us who are from Salt Lake
City, Utah, they are 714M1, I think they said. We left Ponil and drove to Philmont,
parked the cars in the 1 hour parking and checked in at the Welcome Center.
Gathered under the Welcome Center and waited for our ranger. Finally our ranger
came out and called our number, his name is Matt McGroarty from Las Vegas, Nevada
seems like a really nice guy, he has done 3 treks here including a Rayado trek. We
started our check in process. Registration, Logistics, Services, Photos, Medical
(wonder if they are gonna tow our cars). At medical while Matt Mc was going over
some first aid with us he informed us that he has a medical condition, he is a
non-clotting hemophiliac. Looks like Matt M and I might have our hands full if there is a
problem, I sure hope not. Medical check went smoothly this year no problems in our
crew at all, my B/P was 132/78 a little high for me, but not to bad considering the
elevation. Called home and talked to Wendy, found out Cassie was sick with a sore
throat and fever. After talking to Wendy for a while I called Cody to see how his day
was going at work. After lunch we went back to our tents (my tent is F-55) and did
shakedown. Shakedown went pretty fast, especially for me as I had pretty much pared
down my pack before I arrived. I have my own tent in Base Camp which is pretty cool
as I can spread out, it may not be so bad to be the odd man. During shakedown we
had a slight rain shower which cooled things off pretty good. After shakedown we were
finished for the day so we had the rest of the afternoon to ourselves. I got all my food
packages and stripped them down, I'll be carrying food for Matt Mc and myself the
first couple of days, seems like I have a lot of food cuz there is absolutely no room in
my pack. We will be leaving Base Camp with 4 days of food, never carried that much
food out from Base Camp, my pack sure seems heavy, I'll find out tomorrow what it
weighs. I'm in my tent now writing in my journal, heading up to supper soon, good,
getting hungry. Supper was pretty good Salsbury steak, mashed potatoes and green
beans with apple cobbler for desert. After supper went to the advisor meeting, then to
chapel service. During chapel the deer were grazing in the clover directly behind the
large wooden cross, off to the east a rainbow, while it thundered heavily to the
southeast. What a way to enjoy His creation. When Chapel ended I went back to my
tent and called Wendy before we went to opening campfire, I really wasn't looking
forward to opening campfire, but I went anyway. What a great surprise, they changed
up the show a little, it wasn't the same as the last 3 treks. They still told the Philmont
story but with a better sound system and better actors (except the guy who played
Waite Phillips, a little weak I thought) and to top it all off Matt Mc had saved us great
seats up front. After campfire I went back to my tent, called Wendy and Cassie, then
got my overnight bag ready, then decided to turn in. Hit the trail tomorrow, I sure hope
I can do this one more time.

July 15th Sunday ~ Day 2  Lovers Leap Turnaround to Lovers Leap Camp

Got up around 5:00, went up and got a shower, semi bummed up, found out I had left
my I-Pod on all night. Wondered where that music I heard was coming from during the
night, thought the rangers were having an all night party. Came back to my tent after
my shower and got everything ready to go in my pack, then finished writing yesterdays
journal. Walked my travel bag up to Randal's car then back to my tent for breakfast.
After breakfast I made my phone calls home to Wendy, Cassie, and Cody then we
vacated our tents and went to the Welcome Center for our 9:30 bus. Sure seems like a
lot of crews at the Welcome Center today, don't remember it ever being this crowded.
I went back to Randal's car and got my phone, called Wendy one more time. I'm really,
really nervous about this trek not sure I can do it, needed to hear her voice just one
more time before I hit the trail. Back at the Welcome Center everybody weighed their
packs, Len, Brock, and Austin had the heaviest weighing in at 58 lbs. Matt M was the
lightest at 38 lbs with no food. We redistributed gear to lighten up the loads for those
troopers. My pack weighed in at 48 lbs with 2 full water bottles (1 1/2 qt) and 4 days
of food. I'm okay with that weight as this is the lightest I've ever left Base Camp and
that weight will definitely go down. Waited on our bus, it soon arrived but Matt Mc was
no where to be found, we loaded our packs with another crew this time, as our sister
crew got on another bus with another crew, thats a first, we usually ride out with our
sister crew. We waited for Matt Mc, the bus driver was starting to get a little bit
cheesed but finally Matt Mc showed, he had gone to Administration to get some
paperwork. We drove out to Lovers Leap Turnaround with usual silly jokes and tour
guide tips from our Rangers. We unloaded the packs and found a shady spot where
we could do our map training, then went to the Red Roof Inn and all piled inside for
training. Finally it was time to hit the trail, very warm today but the views of the Tooth
are spectacular. I can already feel little twinges in my feet, sure hope thats not a bad
sign, they don't generally start hurting until around day 6. We reached Lovers Leap just
in time to see a really nice sized black bear across the canyon. He was walking on the
mountain side right below us and seemed to be trailing a crew that was walking on the
road with their ranger. They didn't seem to concerned about the bear, they knew he
was there. What a way to start a trek out, a bear on day 1. C2 was already there
ahead of us so Charlie finally after 4 previous treks got to see a bear. We watched the
bear for a while until we lost him in the trees. We took some crew photos, then broke
out lunch and ate there on the leap. With the threat of rain we left for camp, hiked on
down to Lovers Leap camp and set up in site #12. Matt Mc watched while we set up
the dining fly, he had never seen such a large fly at Philmont but liked the idea of being
able to get underneath it during a storm. He talked to us about our smellables and bear bags, then we went down to the bear lines and hung the bear bags. Back to camp
where we set up our tents, then the crew went to get water. I stayed in camp while
they went for water to write in my journal and take some photos. Its very warm today
and the flies are relentless. Been setting here watching a thunderstorm building to the
north listening to the rumble of distant thunder. The GPS worked well today it shows
we did 4.18 miles. The crew returned from water and first aid training to the rumble of
thunder, but only a small shower. We had 4 nosebleeds in the crew today,
unbelievable,Matt Mc had said his Hemophilia wasn't contagious, I'm beginning to
wonder. Supper took a little longer then it should have, Austin and John had some
problems with turkey bags, its like they have no clue to what to do, but the Homestyle
Chicken wasn't half bad. After supper some more Ranger training, sump and
sterilization techniques, will this ever end? As the daylight started to fade we finished a
long but eventful day with Thorns and Roses. Everyone was pretty tired, we headed to
our tents, I wrote in my journal a little while then climbed in my sleeping bag and drifted off to sleep.

July 16th Monday ~ Day 3 Lovers Leap Camp to Crater Lake

Woke up this morning at 5:35 thought we had overslept, but wasn't sure as I had reset
my watch. I sat in my tent until 6:00 then decided to get up and get my clothes from
under the fly and get dressed. At 6:15 Nathan rolled out of his tent, thank goodness we
weren't late, my atomic watch had reset to CDT. We broke camp in an hour & 5
minutes, good time for an inexperienced crew, and we did get out ahead of C2. Had a
minor medical emergency on the trail, Brock had a mild asthma attack so we stopped
for a few minutes. Breakfast was pretty good today, just as we started to eat C2
caught up to us, our troopers held up their light sabres in an arch across the trail for C2
to pass under. After breakfast I hiked up to the ridge above us for a great view of the
Grizzly Tooth. We loaded up and headed on down the trail, Nate had another
nosebleed on the trail so we stopped to get that under control. We made Crater Lake
about 9:00, made a pack line and joined C2 on the porch. The staff here is awesome,
during the porch talk Jack (from Flower Mound) asked Nathan and Tony if they wanted
the official Crater Lake stamp on both copies of their Life forms, when they said yes,
he dropped their Life forms on the ground, jumped in the air and stamped them with his boots. What a laugh. We signed up for spar poles at 1:00, finished our porch talk and then Jack walked both crews down the 4 wheel drive road to our campsites. We got
site #13, we set up camp in the meadow below C2. Not to bad of a camp except for
the flies again. After lunch we buttoned up camp and went to the spar poles. Both
crews had the same climbing times so we got to climb together along with a crew from
Oregon that was passing through. They were on Day 9 or 10 and they looked pretty
grizzled, we will look like that I'm pretty sure. All the troopers climbed and they all
kissed Carrie Beaner, 4 of the adults climbed - Jim G, Jim S, Toby and Randal, I
bowed out this trek, besides it looked a lot harder then it did back in '03, Randal
confirmed it. On the way back to camp the troopers loaded up all the canteens with
water. I had a slight big toe problem, been having some pain while I'm walking, part of
the reason I didn't climb the spar poles. When we got back to camp I pulled off my
boots and had a look see, looked like a little infection along side the nail. I sterilized my
knife and slid it along and under the nail and popped a pus pocket, then cleaned it out,
put on some Neo-Sporin, I felt almost instant relief. Hopefully no more problems with
that. The troopers played Spades while I wrote in my journal and most of the other
advisors napped. For supper we had Fettucini, it was way to dry, so I added some
more water, a little garlic powder, black pepper & salt. It was semi bearable, so I hit
the M & M's. At 7:00 the advisors all went to the Staff cabin for advisor coffee. I talked
with some advisors from a Michigan crew about their trek. They had no clue where
they were going when I asked them where they were headed in the morning, they said
they didn't know, would have to ask their crew leader in the morning and then check
the book...what book?, sheesh I feel sorry for them. Sitting next to me was a staffer
who was visiting Crater Lake for the day from French Henry where she was the Camp
Director. She was going to LSU for Graduate studies, I told her she needed to speak
Tom. I knew she looked familiar but I could not place where I had seen her before, she
left with Moose the CD from Crater Lake to look for a lost crew that was way overdue.
I asked Tom if he had gotten a chance to speak with her, and he reminded me who
she was. Her name was Ashley, she had been the Camp Director at Fish Camp in
2005. When she and Moose returned minus the lost crew we had a chance to talk, she
remembered giving me the pound cake and cherries for Cameron's 16th birthday. After
advisors coffee we went to campfire, and oh what a campfire. Dom, Doc, Big E (in the
pinkish shirt) and of course Bear, put on one of the very best if not the very best
campfires I've seen in 4 treks. We sang with them to "Fire on the Mountain", "Colfax
County Jail". Bear and Big E had us laughing so hard at times my sides hurt. The show
was supposed to last an hour but was still going at 9:30 when Moose and Jack
returned from another search for the lost crew that was about 9 hours overdue. The
Crater Boys sang another song for us and at Moose's request we ended the campfire
then. We all headed back to our respective campsites wondering about the lost crew
which still had their Ranger with them, it sure seemed strange they were lost with their
Ranger. Hope everything is okay with them. The stars back in the meadow at camp
were great. We saw 4 satellites, could make out the Milky Way with no problem, you
just got to love these clear New Mexico skies at night. We did Thorns and Roses and
our devotional, headed to bed about 11:00 pm. Tomorrow morning the Troopers have
decided to get up for sunrise at the campfire ring.

July 17th Tuesday ~ Day 4 Crater Lake to Black Mountain

Woke up again an hour early, finally figured out what I was doing wrong with my
watch. Anyways went back to sleep and Nathan woke me up at the appropriate time.
We quickly got dressed and went up to the campfire ring. The sunrise took a while as
we got there at about 5:30. Sunrise wasn't until 5:54, we were ready to go but Matt
Mc wanted to do our Wilderness Pledge here, it seemed like time was dragging by and
we were all ready to get on the trail. As we left the campfire ring there was a deer
grazing on the trail right beside it. We stopped and took several pictures of it, she
didn't seem to mind us to much. We got to camp about 6:50, broke camp said our
goodbyes to Matt Mc and were on the trail at 7:30, this is gonna put us hiking in the
heat I'm afraid. We stopped at Miners Park for breakfast, where I told the troopers
about stopping and smelling the Ponderosa pines, did they smell like vanilla or
butterscotch? At first they didn't believe me, must be some kind of weird joke by Mr.
Burke, but finally curiosity set in and they all stopped to smell the trees. We hiked up
the North fork of Urracca creek, 52 stream crossings, but the late start and the warmth
of the day made it almost unbearable. Saw some flowers on the trail today, some I
have never seen before, they are absolutely beautiful, can't wait to find out what kind
of flower they are. We stopped for lunch along the creek when Nick had a nosebleed,
he was able to get it stopped, so we finished lunch. As we were getting ready to leave
Brock had a nosebleed, so we waited a little longer to get that under control. This is
really baffling, have never had this kind of problem with nosebleeds, must be the warm
dry weather. We criss-crossed and waded the creek that seemed to be loaded with
trout. After 7 hours on the trail we made it to Black Mountain. We went up to the tent
for our official swearing in of the regiment, and our porch talk. They have changed
program up here since the last time I was here, its no longer mountain living, we are
now in the army, and I am a Private, I don't think so, I ain't gettin busted back from
Lieutenant to Private. We set up camp next to the creek in site #6, after I set up my
tent I went down to the creek, which is right behind my tent, and stuck my tired, hot
feet in that icy cold water. That felt so good, I washed my hands, my face and I
decided to dunk my head in the stream, talk about rejuvenation. One of the staffers
came to our camp to have his hand looked at by Matt, he had accidentally stabbed
himself with a screw driver a couple of days earlier. It looked pretty swollen and he
possibly had some infection but he would probably be okay until tomorrow when he
would go back to Base Camp for his rest days. The boys went up to do some work at
the forge while Randal, Len and I stayed at camp and fended off mini bears. Charlie
and Tom came down to visit while I worked on my journal. (Note from this morning, I
think the lost crew got in late last night as there was a crew camped in a site beside us
at Crater Lake that weren't there when we went back to camp after campfire) The flies
are really bad here too, and to top it off these little buggers bite. The thunder was
rolling as the crew came back to start supper. We have a doe grazing in and around us
in camp this evening. The troopers fixed Mac and Cheese for supper, its amazing how
good this meal always seems to be and I don't particularly like Mac and Cheese. After
supper we did Thorns and Roses and our devotional. Matt and Toby went up for
Advisors coffee and the boys went up for evening program. Len, Randal and I stayed
in camp and talked and watched the deer grazing nearby. This is a nice peaceful
campsite, with the stream nearby. The boys returned about 8:30 and most of us went
to our tents as it had been a really long hot day on the trail. I crawled in my tent and
fell asleep almost immediately listening to the rushing water of the creek.

 

*The flowers I saw on the trail today were wood lilies, really pretty.

July 18th Wednesday ~ Day 5 Black Mountain to Beaubien

Got up at 5:30, wow that 9 hours of sleep really felt good, I didn't realize how really
tired I had been. We packed up camp and were on our way by 6:30, right on time. We
started the slow steady climb up over the saddle to Beaubien, the aspens and the
pines are really thick through this part of the trail. Did I ever mention I like uphill? Been
having a little foot pain on and off sure hope it doesn't get any worse, maybe the lighter pack and my weight loss will help. We stopped at the 4 wheel drive road for breakfast, had another minor medical emergency, Nick sliced his finger opening his trail mix with his knife, Matt and I jumped into action. Don't these boys know I'm on vacation? While we were eating a Cavalcade crew rode through. Matt, Toby and I had to move for them, it was a good thing too, as the last horse through decided to take a dump right where we had been setting. We finished breakfast, hoisted our packs and headed down the trail to Beaubien. After a little ways I could start to feel my toes on this downhill, not really looking forward to the long downhill from Mt. Phillips to 'Cito. We stopped 3 or 4 times for crews coming uphill from Beaubien, funny thing, hadn't seen a soul while we were climbing up the saddle, but now everyone was up and on the trail. Sure glad we get up early. Our crew once again raised their light sabres in an arch for the other crews to pass under, the other crews seemed to enjoy this as most of them had positive reactions to this. As we reached the outskirts of Beaubien I stopped a couple of times for photos of some Columbines. I absolutely love this mountain flower, especially when its nestled in among some aspen. We made the staff cabin at 9:35 and put our packs in a pack line, did our porch talk, dropped off our trash, signed up for Cons at 11:00. During the porch talk Austin took a liking to the young lady (Julia) who was doing the porch talk. The Camp Director acted a fool though as he kept
interrupting her from inside of the cabin yelling out at her when she made a mistake. I
really wanted to tell him to either get out here and do the talk or shut the heck up and
let her finish it. Guess I was just getting tired and was ready to get to camp. We were
assigned campsite #21, next to C2 who were already in camp. We quickly set up the
dining fly and got the bear bags up. Even though we ate at 7:40 on the trail we decided
to eat lunch at 10:30, as Cons would last until 2:00. We joined C2 and another crew
and went to Cons which is right across the trail from our camp site. There is a huge
wall of cut firewood from all the tree clearing this summer, that stretches from our
campsite all the way back to the chuck wagon dinner area. This years project was
clearing trees in the camp. Charlie asked about the leaning tree that was over his tent
in 2003, it had already been cut down. We listened to Miguel tell us about the hows
and whys of tree clearing, it was an interesting talk, although we were in the sun and it
was getting pretty hot. After the safety portion of the talk we got our equipment and
went to work clearing and cutting a large aspen tree that was already felled. It was
hard work, as this tree was about 10 to 12 inches in diameter and we were using bow
saws on it every 18 inches. While we worked it started to thunder and lightning, then
the rain came and then came the hail. We were wearing hard hats and had our rain
gear with us, so we kept on working. The ground was practically covered in pea sized
hail stones, but we kept on cutting until the entire tree had been cut up and the wood
stacked. The time went by fast and soon our time was up and we had our Cons done
for another trek. YES!!! Back at camp the rain had let up enough for us to put up our
tents. Just as we got our tents up the thunder started to roll again. After we set up
camp Nathan, Nick, Andrew, John and Toby joined some troopers from C2 for a food
run to Phillips Junction. As they left Brock, Tommy, Nate, and Austin went for water.
The thunder continued to roll and the rain started again, so I went to my tent for some
rest and journal time. In my tent now, still thundering but the rain has stopped for now.
I have decided I won't side hike Trail Peak tomorrow, gonna save my feet for that long
down hill coming up. Feel like I haven't done much for program this trek, but I really am
enjoying the backpacking and the scenery. Probably going to be sore tomorrow from
all the sawing we did. Wow that was a long peel of thunder, raining again. Tommy and
Brock are in their tent next to me, having of all things, a pillow fight. Funny thing just
happened, as I was writing I guess I started to fall asleep so my writing started going
down the page in a trail. Didn't realize I was so sleepy. Nate woke me up calling
Tommy to help him start supper. I got up and climbed out of my tent, the rain had
certainly dropped the temperature so I broke out my warm weather clothes. We
decided to start a campfire, since we were able to have one this year. It was really
nice to have a campfire, never had one here at Philmont before. I strolled over to C2's
camp, talked with Charlie and Jim S, when the food crew returned I went back to our
camp with them. We enjoyed the fire and stories of the days we've already done.
While supper hydrated we did our Thorns and Roses and our devotional. Andrew is
really doing a good job he isn't just reading the devotional, he interjects his own
thoughts which makes it a little more special. Not feeling very good this evening, usually happens about this time every trip. As usual not really enjoying the food but eating only because I know I have to. Have not been hungry at all this trek, probably because I have been having some constipation problems, with a little hope, this to shall pass. Supper was okay - Beef stir fry with Ramon Noodles. Ate 1 helping of it and then
Randal and I went up for Advisors coffee. I had some hot chocolate and a couple of
cookies while we sat on the porch and talked, what a great camp and setting in this
beautiful meadow. At 8:00 we headed down for campfire, they didn't have the fire lit
yet so our boys assisted with Austin finally getting it started. The wood was all wet so
they had a hard time getting it lit. It went downhill from there. The first song they sang
was "Colfax County Jail" but most of them didn't know the words and the person
playing the guitar was playing the tune to "Fire on the Mountain", which they also
played using the same chords, but again didn't know all the words. Come on how long
have they been doing this? Pretty much all summer I imagine, you sure couldn't tell.
Julia played "Danny Boy" on the fiddle which I really enjoyed but that was by far the
highlite of the evening. Instead of having a great campfire show the staff asked for
skits from the audience. So we got to see a couple of really crummy skits, after Jimmy
(one of the staffers) had told the crowd to shut up for about the 5th time we all had
enough and got up and walked out. The boys were all disappointed too, they had been
looking forward to this campfire as they had heard us talk about how good it always
has been. It was absolutely the worst campfire I have ever experienced in Scouting. I
told the troopers their campfire they did at Summer Camp was 10x better then this
one. We made our way back to camp and most of us went to bed. Looking forward to
the layover tomorrow.

July 19th Thursday ~ Day 6 Layover at Beaubien - Side Hike Trail Peak

Woke up at 6:15, nice to sleep in, got up and went to the Red Roof Inn, then back to
my tent to work on my journal. Everyone was up at 7:30, the bear bags were dropped
and we started getting ready to side hike Trail Peak. I decided to go ahead and go, as
I didn't want to stay in camp all day alone. Everyone seemed happy that I was going
along, myself included. We left about 8:15 and hiked for about an hour before we
stopped for breakfast. Matt had an apple that we split with me, man that was good.
We finished up breakfast and hiked on. Along the trail just before we reached the
meadow you could see the glint of the B-24 wing in the morning sun, high up on the
mountain, I pointed it out to the troopers. There was a collective sigh from all of those
who have not been to the wing before, I guess they didn't realize how far we were
going to have to go to get there. We made the long climb up the new trail and reached
the B-24 wing at about 10:30, C2 was there too, they had passed us along the trail
while we were eating breakfast. We took crew and individual photos. The wing seems
to have slid downhill some since I was here last. Its quite a tragic thought to know 9
young men lost their lives here serving our country, it still humbles me. Before we
continued to the summit Toby and Nick had a surprise for us. They had bought each of
us a Toblerone bar at PJ and gave us our bar here on the mountain side, very tasty.
Climbed on up to the summit, the lady bugs were swarming, there were more here
then last time. I've never seen so many lady bugs in one place. We looked down and
could see Base Camp to the east, Baldy and the Spanish Peaks in Colorado to the
north and the ski runs of Angel Fire to the west. The thunder clouds were already
starting to build so we decided to head back down the trail. Nate had another
nosebleed and this time it was a little harder to control. After we got his nosebleed
stopped we started the long hike back down to camp. I stopped every now and then
and took wildflower photos. We made it back to camp about 2:30, it had been a long
but fun day. We dropped the bear bags and divided up the food bags, all 77 of them.
At 3:00 I went up and took a shower, wow did that feel good. It is truly unbelievable
how human you feel after your first shower in a few days. All showered now and clean
clothes on, I went back to camp and stripped all the unwanted food out of my bags
and definitely lowered their weight. Way to many boxes of crackers and Gatorade and
other foods we or I'm not going to eat. At 5:00 we went up for the Chuckwagon dinner,
finally some real food. It was pretty good but the peach cobbler was basically warmed
cake batter with some peaches in it. I'm not sure the cooks have ever used Dutch
Ovens before. The staff here at Beaubien in my opinion is the worst I have ever seen.
Very disappointed in their lack of enthusiasm for anything they do. There is definitely a
problem here, and I think it might have something to do with a small mutiny against
their Camp Director, the same guy who acted the fool during our porch talk. Some of
the boys have decided to go back and try campfire tonight in hopes that it will be
better. I told them it had to be better because it durn sure couldn't have been any
worse. We did our Thorns and Roses and our devotional then the adults went to their
tents. Thunderstorms have been rumbling all around camp and as I am writing in my
tent its raining quite hard outside. Going to close for now - more thunder- and listen to
the rain and thunder outside on my tent. Tomorrow is almost all up, as we go to Wild
Horse. Our side hike today was only 10.4 miles.

July 20th Friday ~ Day 7 Beaubien to Wild Horse

Woke up about 5:00, stayed in my tent until 5:30, then we started packing up. We
decided to sleep in later today as we need to hit PJ at 8:00 to get some Micro-Pur.
They had told us in Base Camp that all staff camps had Micro-Pur, but Beaubien said
they did not, and we will need more to finish the trek. It rained pretty hard last night
with loud crashes of thunder, so having to pack up everything wet today. We rolled out
of camp at 7:15 and hiked down to PJ. We got there about 8:15 and stopped for
breakfast, and our Micro-Pur. I went over to the commissary and bought a post card
and stamp, then wrote a post card home to the family, and mailed it at PJ. I finished
breakfast, filled up with water stood and talked with Charlie and Tom while the rest of
the crew filled their water bottles. After everyone got their water bottles filled we put
our packs on and left for Crooked Creek. With all the rain last night the usually small
streams were running pretty good, making some of them a little difficult to cross. Using
either rocks or logs or just wading, glad my boots are waterproof and I had my gaiters
on. At one trail split the troopers stopped and looked at their map, as they should, then
discussed which trail to take. I hung back and told Randal, Matt, Toby and Len to wait.
Sure enough just as we had done in 2003 the troopers decided on the wrong trail, they
unbuckled their packs and crossed the log bridge and headed on up the trail. We
advisors waited and watched until Austin finally turned around and looked back and
called to Nathan. As they came back across the creek, Nathan came over to me and
we talked about this same spot and taking the wrong trail in '03. He said it was a 50/50
chance and again he had taken the wrong trail (Nathan, Len and I did this same trek in
2003). Not a problem, it had been corrected earlier this time. We made Crooked
Creek in pretty good time and stopped for program. We took the cabin tour, our guide
was called Giggles. The boys were allowed to chased the chickens, John, Nate and
Austin all caught one. We all went over and made candles with the help of Molly. Nate
made his candle out of his carved Mother Mary he was wearing around his neck, pretty
cool. The staff was the best I've seen in 3 treks here. Molly learned all our names in a
matter of minutes and knew which dad was with which son, I confused her though
when I told her my son wasn't with me. Randal and I tried to trade them out of a
couple of potatoes and some onions, but to no avail. Fried potatoes and onions sure
would be tasty on the trail, maybe a small trout or two and for dessert some wild
strawberries like we had seen on the trail. We left Crooked Creek, as we hiked out of
camp Nathan looked back over his shoulder to say something to the Camp Director
who had just recently graduated from TCU where Nathan is going to school, anyway,
Nathan took a tumble down the hill. He wasn't injured just mostly embarrassed, we all
laughed. As we hiked through the aspens I could see the sky really starting to darken
up ahead of us, I called for a stop and had everyone put on their pack covers and rain
gear. Good thing we stopped because very shortly after we did, it started to rain and
rain really hard. Lightning was striking close by and the thunder was really loud. Just as
we passed 10,000 ft, Brock had another asthma attack. We got his pack off, but it
didn't help and he could not get his breath. We decided Toby, Randal and Matt would
take him back down the trail to the 4 wheel drive road where we had passed a
Philmont Suburban that was parked there. Randal and Matt dropped their packs and
carried Brock's pack down while Toby helped Brock down. Len and I took the rest of
the crew on up to get camp set up. We made it to the top quickly, I stopped by C2's  
camp - they were just setting up - to let them know what had happened. I also ran into
the Phil Staff that belonged to the Suburban down on the 4 wheel drive road. I told
them of the situation with Brock, and that we had taken him back down to their vehicle
with his dad and 2 other adults one of which was a PA. They hurried on down the trail.
We went on across the meadow quickly as it was still lightning and set up camp in
campsite #9 where we had camped in 2005. My feet were really starting to hurt, really
glad we are here, arrived in camp at 1:30. The rain was letting up as we got the dining
fly up.  We all huddled under the dining fly and ate a quick lunch. Brock had Tommy's
lunch in his pack so I gave Tommy my lunch and ate a Hooah bar and some left over
Trail Mix and an apple I had picked up at PJ. When we finished lunch I sent Nick and
Nate along with Tony and John S from C2 to pick up Randal and Matt's packs. Tom
had come by during lunch and volunteered their help. It was raining hard when we
finished lunch and with our tents being mostly mesh I had the boys put up the tents one at a time under the dining fly and then put them where they wanted them. Some of the boys were getting cold as we were all wet, so I had them doing Jumping Jacks to get the blood flowing and the body warmed up. It looked like a gym class at school but at least we were warm. We had the tents up and the bear bags hung when Randal, Matt, Nick and Nate returned. While the boys purified the water Randal, Matt, Len and I got a fire started, it was not easy since everything was wet. We tried everything from
Randal's flare to my magnesium slivers, to candle wax and cracker box cardboard. We
got as big a fire going as we could, fortunately the rain stopped and the sun came out.
With the sun and fire we were able to dry most everything out. I put on my long
sleeved shirt, fleece pullover and gloves since it was damp and chilly still. Almost forgot,
the Suburban we saw at the 4 wheel drive road was a medical crew that was up here
evacuating another scout from another crew with an asthma attack. Brock and Toby
went down to Base Camp and will probably rejoin us at 'Cito day after tomorrow. We
did Thorns and Roses while supper hydrated. We had Mexican Rice with beans and
flour tortillas for supper. I thought the tortillas were the best, I really do not like the
suppers here and fortunately we only have 3 more after tonight. After supper and clean up we did our devotional and gathered around the campfire to stay warm and watch the fire die down. We decided to go to our tents about 7:30, I caught up on my journal. Some of the boys are still up, but most everyone is asleep. It was another memory making Philmont day today, tomorrow  we climb Mt. Phillips, I sure hope my feet hold up. Very tired tonight, its almost 8:00 and I'm going to bed.   

July 21st Saturday ~ Day 8 Wild Horse to Mt. Phillips

Rolled out of camp at 6:30 and were hiking at a good pace when C2 came blowing by.
To me they looked like they were moving to fast and Charlie and Tom looked like they
were hurting, I might be wrong but glad I'm not in a crew that wants to fly like those
guys. We got into Clear Creek at 8:15, the staff wasn't up yet so we ate breakfast, as
we finished eating one of the staffers came up and gave us our porch talk. The crew
signed up for 9:00 at the black powder range. Charlie, Randal and I stayed at the
cabin with the packs. We enjoyed the sunshine as it was so cool we had worn our
jackets since Wild Horse. Both crews got to shoot then came back down and we filled
up all our water bottles and water bladders. We left Clear Creek at 10:50 as the
thunder clouds were building. We stopped for lunch about 11:30 as the sky darkened
and got more threatening. After lunch everyone went into their rain gear since it looked
more and more like it was going to rain. Looks like we won't get into camp again
before the rain starts. Just as we crossed 11,000 ft in elevation we could see and hear
the hail coming at us. I looked at Randal and he at me, we both knew we were gonna
get wet and real fast. We kept up a slow and steady pace as we continued on up the
trail in the hail. Thank goodness it was only pea sized so it didn't hurt to much when it
hit you. Soon the ground was almost covered in hail as we continued onward and
upward. The hail stopped and then it was all rain so now we would really get wet. The
rain finally eased up some but it was still thundering and lightning on both sides of us as we continued the climb up. The sun broke out for a while and we took a packs off
break. My feet were starting to hurt so that break was much needed, we were at
11,300 feet. We took about a 20 minute break while Randal repaired Matt's pack, the
sunshine was really nice, I almost completely dried out. The clouds came back as did
the rain, as we geared up and started up again. Lightning was flashing over our heads
but we kept on going since there is no place to stop for shelter. Finally the summit was in view and I had reached the top of Mt. Phillips for the 3rd time. Seems like each time it gets a little bit harder. We made the summit at 2:15 after 3:30 hours on the trail from
Clear Creek. I scouted out our campsite we've used the last 2 treks, it was open and
C2 had taken the one next to it. Randal called the boys down off the summit since there was still lightning in the area. There was a break in the rain so we were able to set up camp without getting to wet. I went to my tent to put on my cold weather clothes and get off my feet, my toes were really starting to hurt. I wrote in my journal for a while, the sun has come out again, I might go up to the summit in a few. Had to change the batteries in my GPS as the ones I put in are about out of juice. Just stepped out of the tent for a few minutes as the sun was out, thought I'd dry some stuff out. Opened the tent and hung my rain jacket, handkerchief, hat, and GPS case in the sun to dry. Then went up to the summit for a couple of pictures. Talked with a couple of advisors  from sister crews, 1 crew was from Colleyville, Texas and the other was from Qatar.
Decided to head back to camp when the rain and hail started again as I had left my
tent fly open. Matt had closed it for me, thanks Matt. I'm in my tent now and its really
hailing (pea size) hard. The boys have been trying to get a fire started but I think the
hail sent them under the dining fly. Sounds like its letting up but the temperature has
sure dropped now, so much for drying things out. The ground is covered in hailstones
again. I broke out my sleeping bag and crawled inside as it got pretty cool in my tent.
Wow that bolt of lightning was close and the thunder rolled almost immediately. We are going to eat lunch for dinner tonight at 5:00 and then do Thorns and Roses. I don't
know if I already wrote this, but I saw a cougar track on the trail up Mt. Phillips today,
pretty eerie. It was on the trail right as I crossed over a fallen log, wondered if he was
watching us as we climbed in the hail and rain. Fixing to get out of my sleeping bag and
put on my boots again to go eat, back in a few. Ate supper around the campfire, then
did Thorns and Roses, after supper we went up to the summit for crew and individual
photos and to enjoy the view into the valley. Back to my tent at 7:00 and everyone is
also going to bed. Its still light outside but getting colder. My sleeping bag (which I'm
already in) is gonna be nice and warm tonight. Think I'm gonna lay here for a few and
contemplate tomorrow. Tomorrow is the day I have dreaded the most and I'm pretty
sure I'm going to experience some serious foot pain. Hope the rain stays away
tomorrow it sure would be nice to get our stuff dried out. Feeling pretty tired so will
close for now. The view across the valley below is well worth all the work and pain it is
to get here. See you tomorrow, all downhill!!!    

July 22nd Sunday ~ Day 9 Mt. Phillips to Cimarroncito

Woke up at 5:15, feel pretty good after a good nights sleep. Yesterday's climb with full
pack really took it out of me. It was cool this morning, but not as cool as it was
yesterday at Wild Horse. I quickly dressed and got my sleeping bag along with my
other gear, as I stepped out of my tent the sun was just coming over the trees. I took
my tent down, my fly is still soaked, sure hope we get no rain or hail today. Not really
crazy about packing a wet tent and fly just more weight to carry. The troopers did
good getting camp taken down we were out of camp at 6:30. We hiked back to the
summit to look out over the valley one more time. The entire Eagle Nest valley was
covered in clouds surrounded by mountains and we were standing above the clouds. It
was a beautiful and very peaceful sight. I would have liked to stay longer after the hard
climb, rain, hail and lightning but we have a long day ahead of us. We started down the
trail to Cyphers mine, the views off the top of Mt. Phillips are awesome and after
yesterdays storms the blue sky was crystal clear. I pointed out Trail Peak to the
troopers, we had stood on the airplane wing there just 3 days ago, it sure seemed far
away. We stopped for breakfast at Comanche peak. As a couple of crews passed us
we talked to them, they were from Keller, Texas. Both crews were heading to Clear
Creek over Mt. Phillips. Another crew from Evergreen, Colorado passed us, they had
side hiked Mt. Phillips for sunrise. The boys raised their light sabres for the crew from
Colorado to pass under. We finished breakfast and geared up and hiked on, passing
Thunder Ridge, what a fantastic view. You can see Base Camp in the distance, it
seems so far away. We didn't stay long as another crew was their eating breakfast.
We hiked on down the trail through the switchbacks, my feet hurt some, but not like
last time. I'd get shards of pain but then it would go away. We reached Cyphers Mine
about 11:15, I was sure glad to get there as I was having some more foot pain. The
crew took the 11:45 mine tour so we ate a quick lunch. Randal, Len, Matt and I sat on
the porch and talked with an advisor from Abilene, Texas. C2 came back from the mine
tour and ate their lunch. Both crews were ready to go at the same time, but we let C2
go first as they hike faster then we do. As we passed the Adirondack shacks I stopped
and I kissed the rock I cooled my aching feet on last trek. I sure hoped I wouldn't need
that rock latter. We hiked down the North fork trail across the 54 stream crossings.
The aspens and wildflowers make this trail a must see trail. We stopped at Hunting
Lodge, which was good because my feet were really hurting. We all took off our boots
which added to the smell of the skunk living under the lodge. I started the tour but it
hurt to much to stand up so I went back out on the porch and sat and just enjoyed the
scenery. A ROCS crew passed while we were there, I saw the young man who we
called Montenegro at Apache Springs in 2005 who had been our Cons advisor when
Cody and I and the crew rolled that boulder down the mountainside. When the crew
finished the tour they came back out on the porch, and we all put our boots back on.
We filled with water and then started the last leg of our hike up the trail to
Cimarroncito. Thank goodness some uphill for a change. We reached the staff cabin    
at 4:15. Our porch talk was done in front of the climbing gym since 2 other crews were in at the same time. As usual "Cito is really crowded today, we were assigned site #24 a
pretty nice site, but way the heck out. Seems like we hiked another 2 miles to camp
but I know it wasn't, just seemed like it. Finally after 10 hours on the trail we were in
camp and done with the day I had dreaded the most since I found out I was going on
this trek. We all were slap worn out, Andrew fell asleep while he was putting up his
tent. We set up camp and dried everything out in the sunshine. While supper cooked
we decided to do Thorns and Roses, for supper we ate Beef Stroganhoff, it was pretty
good I actually had seconds which is very rare for me. Randal fixed coffee for he and
Matt, first they have had on the trail other then at advisors coffee. We 4 advisors sat
and enjoyed the evening while the boys built weapons of destruction to attack C2 with.
Austin went up to try his hand at the climb on the outdoor climbing wall. He almost
made it all the way around but fell off before the end. Nick went to cheer him on, while
the rest of the troopers attacked C2. The staff came and checked our camp for our
bear precautions, we passed with no problems. We asked about Toby and Brock since
they should have met us here, but no word on them, maybe tomorrow. At 8:30 I called
it quits, I'm very tired and very sore. Really looking forward to our layover tomorrow so
I can finish this trek.

July 23rd Monday ~ Day 10 Cimarroncito - Layover  

Woke up around 1:30 this morning, I must have been really tired when I went to bed as
I was laying on top of my sleeping bag with one leg in my sleep shorts and one leg still
out. I evidently fell asleep while changing into my sleep clothes. Put my shorts all the
way on and fell back to sleep. Slept in until 6:00, that felt really good, wrote in my
journal and got it all caught up. Legs are really stiff and tired today, looking forward to
recuperating today. I can't believe I'm doing this again, but this trek is almost done and
my goal is to once again stand on the Tooth since I couldn't last trek. Starting to get a
little homesick, missing Wendy and the kids. I never dreamed I'd be doing this without
Cody. Everyone got up around 8:00, the boys dropped the bear bags and we ate
breakfast. At 9:00 Matt, Randal and I went up for a shower. Wow did that feel good,
just standing under the hot water. While walking back to camp from the shower Tom
stopped us and asked if we would set in on John B's Life Scout Board of Review,
which we did. What a setting for a BOR under the ponderosa pines here at 'Cito. John
passed but not after a thorough board. Board members were Randal, Charlie, Tom,
Matt and myself. We went back to camp when our crew returned from climbing. We
ate lunch around noon, then Nathan, Austin, Nate and Tommy left for Ute Gulch to pick
up food. The rest of the crew played cards while the advisors sat and enjoyed the
layover. Thunder clouds have been building all day, sure hope it doesn't rain. Its 3:50
now, I'm in my tent and its raining pretty hard outside. I kept telling Randal it wasn't
going to rain but it certainly did and is right now. I like the rain but we had just gotten
everything dried out, really do not want to carry any wet gear tomorrow. The Ute Gulch
crew has not returned, getting a little worried about them. Also no word on Toby and
Brock, hope all is well with Brock, I'm wondering if they decided to not rejoin us on the
trail. Here comes another hard rain shower and BIG thunder. The rain has let up and
the food crew just returned from Ute Gulch, its 4:00, they took a wrong turn and found
out when they hit Webster Park camp, just a small 2 mile detour. While supper was
hydrating we watched a small spike deer graze in our campsite. We did our Thorns
and Roses and had our devotional. Supper was okay - Chicken and Rice, mashed
potatoes, I ate it but am completely tired of this nasty, bland food. I want a double
cheeseburger with jalapenos!!!!!!! Very antsy this evening, the boys are starting to pick
at one another, I'm afraid this layover is the cause. Way to much idle time. We needed
the layover but it would have been nice to have cut tomorrows hike in half, I know its
gonna be a very tough day. Raining again so I'm back in my tent writing in my journal. I
am not looking forward to carrying wet gear tomorrow but it looks like we will. We
have decided to get up at 5:00 tomorrow, makes for an early rise, but I am ready to
go, now! The crew is going up to the flag ceremony then sign up for the indoor climbing
wall. For dessert tonight I had half of a Toblerone bar, that was so good!!!! Just a
gentle rain shower out there now, it sure has rained this trek. Went to sleep            
about 8:30, woke up at 9:00 when Matt returned with news that Brock and Toby had
left Base Camp. I hope Brock is okay, but I must say I am not surprised.

July 24th Tuesday ~ Day 11 Cimarroncito to Tooth Ridge Camp  

Rolled out of bed at 5:00 and on the trail at 6:00. The boys had decided we would side
hike Hidden Valley today. What a beautiful valley, and this year it was loaded with
deer. C2 came behind us and saw some wild turkeys. We stopped for breakfast at
Window rock another great Philmont vista. We enjoyed the view as the sun was rising
and pretty much had the place to ourselves, except for the mini bears. After breakfast
and some photos we trucked on down to Clark's Fork at a pretty good clip. We
stopped for water at Clark's Fork, filled all of our bottles and our water bladders. Sat
through another useless porch talk, like the Clark's Fork staff is coming up to us at
Tooth Ridge Camp. The trail to Shaefer's pass seemed like a tougher climb this time
then I remembered. Maybe I was just more tired what with the 4 mile side hike to
Hidden Valley. As we neared the pass off to the side of the trail I heard a snort, I
looked up and all I saw was a tan color. Thought for sure it was a cougar, if it had
been I was pretty sure I was a goner, but luckily it was only a deer. When we made
the pass I wasn't feeling well at all, I'm pretty sure I had passed the point of total
exhaustion. I have not been eating right the last couple of days and I think its catching
up with me. C2 was at the pass and we all decided to stop for lunch. After about 45
minutes I felt good enough to eat, but all I wanted was a couple bites of chocolate
(Toblerone bar) and some granola. We took about an hour break then started up the
trail to Tooth Ridge. It was hot, dry, and dusty crossing this rocky trail. Seems like it
gets harder each time I do it. My feet were hurting on and off and I felt really woozy. It
took us almost 3 hours to get to the Tooth. Rolled my left ankle again crossing this
rocky trail, 4 times across this trail and 3 times I've rolled an ankle, you'd think I'd learn
to watch where I'm going. The boys had their packs off thinking we were going to climb
the Tooth, but we needed to get to camp. We would go into camp, set up, fix dinner
then climb the Tooth. We made it to Tooth Ridge Camp at 4:00 after 14.4 miles and
another 10 hours on the trail. I was absolutely exhausted, I pretty much collapsed by
my pack for a few minutes. After a rest I decided to put up my tent, that was a very
difficult task. Every time I bent over to drive in a stake when I stood back up I nearly
fell over. If that ponderosa pine hadn't been there I know I would have fallen over. I got
my tent up, put my sleeping bag inside, then decided I better eat something. I broke
out my extra breakfast and forced myself to eat my Pop Tarts, Gorp, and half of a
blueberry Cliff bar. I was feeling better so I decided to go up on the Tooth with the
troopers. Randal, Matt and the boys headed up with me lagging behind in the rear, Len
decided to stay in camp. I finally realized how tired I was when I almost stepped on a
rattlesnake on the trail. I heard a scraping sound beside me, thats when I saw it, right
beside my right foot. Scared me silly, thats two things on the trail today I did not see
right off, I'm usually way more aware of my surroundings then this. I climbed about half way up the Tooth and decided that was far enough. Randal went on to the top with the boys, Matt climbed back down to me after he turned his ankle and we decided to stay right there and enjoy the view. We heard and saw a couple of eagles overhead while we sat there and looked out over the New Mexico plains. Matt and I climbed back
down and walked back to camp, Charlie and Tom were there talking with Len, so we
sat and talked until Randal and the boys came back down. We talked until about 8:30,
I got up and went to my tent for bed. I am way past the point of exhaustion.

July 25th Wednesday ~ Day 12 Tooth Ridge Camp to Base Camp

Woke up at 3:00 wide awake and ready to go, dozed off and on until 4:00 when the
crew next to us got loud trying to get their bear bags down. Talk about inconsiderate,
they were way to loud. We got up at 5:30 and made our way up to the ridge to watch
the sunrise, C2 had decided to watch sunrise from the Tooth. As always it is a
beautiful sight, and a good time to reflect on the past 2 weeks and thank the good Lord
for allowing me this opportunity to be here. We made our way back to camp, broke
camp and then ate breakfast. We had our packs on and walked out of camp at 6:50,
we had decided last night that since C2 was going up on the Tooth for sunrise we
would not hike back into Base Camp together as we have always done. The troopers
kept up a good pace, we made a couple water stops and stops for photos, we arrived
at the We All Made It sign at 9:10. I challenged the troopers to a packs on push up
contest. I did 20, not sure any of the troopers did any more then 10. Where was that
energy yesterday? We took crew and individual photos, then hiked through the gate
and on in to start our check in process. I kept looking back for C2 but they still were
not visible on the ridge. While Randal and Nathan did our check in process we waited
over by Services. C2 arrived and we gave our high fives for another successful
Philmont trek. Randal and Nathan finished our check in procedure, and we got our tent
assignments (I'm in tent A-67). I dropped my pack went up to Randal's truck and got
my overnight bag and went for a shower. Unless you have done this you have no idea
how good a shower feels, even though I had a shower 2 days ago. I got back to my
tent from getting cleaned up called Wendy and the kids, talked to them for a while.
After phone calls home I went to the Snack Bar and got a double cheeseburger, some
potato chips and a Pepsi. That was good, I wanted a Klondike bar, but they don't sell
them anymore. Ate the first real food I've had since we left, got done eating my snack
then went to the Trading Post and bought myself a t-shirt. (I've got to stay out of that
place). Went back to my tent, then down for lunch. We had pizza in the dining hall, it
was pretty good. After lunch I spent most of the afternoon at the Advisors lounge
charging my phone. Cody called me when he got off work and I talked to him while he
drove home. He asked all about the trek, I sure missed him being here with me.          
At 5:00 I got my class A shirt on, then went up to supper at 5:45. After supper Randal,
Matt and I went back and hung out at the Advisors Lounge. At 8:00 we went out in the
field by our tents and did our final Thorns and Roses. Randal and Nathan handed out
our Philmont Arrowhead (my 4th) and our Duty to God patches (my 2nd). We then
went down to file in for closing campfire. While we filed in I talked with Mark Anderson
the Philmont Program Director, I told him about the great times we've had here and
hoped he would keep up the great work his staff does out here. He me asked about
Steve Unger, and wondered where he was this trek. I told him Steve wasn't able to
make it this year. Both crews sat together and what a great closing campfire it always
is. Great songs, stories, skits and of course the mini bear attack, which always gets
the trekkers laughing. After campfire I went back to my tent at 10:30 and called
Wendy, then I went to bed, getting up at 5:00 tomorrow. The crew that my tent is next
to are pretty noisy right outside my tent, they better be careful, if they are to noisy to
long, I will not be quiet in the morning, as I am getting up way before them. I almost
forgot, Toby and Brock rejoined us today at Base Camp. The medical office would not
let Brock back on the trail so they had to leave Base Camp. They drove to
Albuquerque and spent some time with friends and then drove back to join us, its good
to have the crew complete once again.                

July 26th Thursday ~ Philmont to Fort Worth  

Woke up at 4:30, started getting my gear packed up in my tent. Everyone was up by
5:00 and the vehicles were packed by 5:30, we all met at the Dining Hall for breakfast
at 5:45. A quick breakfast of cereal, fruit, danish and a donut. We were on the road by
6:15, a quick gas stop in Springer and we were back on our way. We stopped for
lunch in Amarillo, where I finally got my much longed for Klondike bar (What would you
do, for a Klondike Bar? I'd hike the trails of Philmont!), then on down the road. We
listened to Randal's I-Pod all the way, he must have 4000 songs on that thing pretty
cool. Another gas stop in Vernon and we continued our final leg. As we passed Wichita
Falls phone calls home were made to let moms and dads know when to meet us. We
arrived back at the Scout Hut at 5:30 and another Troop 50 Philmont trek was in the
books. Cody and Cassie were there to greet me, it was sure good to see them. I
gathered up my pack and most of my gear, (still need to get my stove) I'll get that
another day, it was time for me to go home. Its still hard to believe I went on yet
another trek, its most definitely the hardest one I've done yet. Even though I did the
same trek in 2003 it sure seemed harder this time. Our total mileage on the trail
according to my GPS was 76.3 miles. We had a lot of rain and lots of hail including
during our Cons work at Beaubien and of course the 4 different hailstorms we had
while climbing Mt. Phillips and in camp on Mt. Phillips. An unusual amount of
nosebleeds which fortunately we got under control. Saw the usual animals while on the
trail ~ deer, turkeys, eagles, bear, rattlesnake, and of course the ever present mini
bears. I won't say this will be my last trek like I did on my last trek. But I know I don't want to do another trek without my son.