We had an amazing time at Philmont this year. We had 2 crews that attended and both did the same trek together. It was fun to get into camp and meet up with our other crew. Sometimes we went the same direction, other times each took a different route. We hiked a total of about 105 miles over 10 days. We climbed multiple mountains including Commanche Peak, Big Red, Mount Phillips and Tooth of Time. As always, we had beautiful days, rainy days and got hailed on several times. Saw beautiful scenery, and met God in many places on the trail.

  We took the AMTRAK train to Raton again. Its a great way to travel. 

 

 Each night at Basecamp there are several church services. To qualify for the Duty to God award, you must attend at least one service, plus meeting several other requirements.
  
 

Our crew leader had a sheet that he had to keep with him at all times. This was teh sheet that we sign into and out of each staffed camp that we passed through. It is lovingly referred to as “Your Life”.

 

 
Your first night is the Campfire program. Each year it is different, but gives the scouts a flavor of the history of Philmont.

 It gets dark quickly during the opening campfire.

 
 

  Going over some last minute planning before getting to leave the next day.

 We took a group photo of both crews as well as a photo of each crew.

  
We take a yellow school bus to our drop off zone, then we are off for our adventure into the back country
   

  As soon as we are dropped off, our ranger goes over map reading and orienteering. In the back country, the ability to read a map is mandatory.  There are no street signs and sometimes you find unmarked trails.

 
Our first stop was at Zastro. The boys did more orienteering. Then off to Abreau. Great place for lunch. The Cantina has rootbeer. We had a short hike to our campsite at Old Abreau.

The first of many packlines.

 

Lauren finds a friend.

 
Hiking through some very pretty scenery.
 

 

We had a hike into the mountains. On the way to Crags, we stopped at Carson Meadows and did the Search and Rescue program.

Carson Meadows has a great meadow. Who would have thought?
 
  

Our scouts had a lot of fun with the Search and rescue program.  Even got to use a rope system for moving a basket.
 

 

 
  On the way to Crags, we hiked through the “Notch”  This area was dynamited to open it up.  Very narrow trail when wearing a pack, but very pretty.

We also stopped at FishCamp.  This may be one of the prettiest camps. Still original and really nice inside.  The boys got to tie flies and fly fish if they wanted.

More great views
 

 

We had some great bridges to cross, some rock crossings and some log crossings.

Every once in a while, we had flat ground to hike over.

Our next camp was Beaubien.  The son of one of our leaders was Assistant Director here. This is a really fun camp.  Lots to do there.

They had a really fun Cowboy campfire program.  They have 2 programs that alternate nightly. The first night was great weather and was done outside.

The second night it rained (OK, it poured) and the show was done in their Chuckwagon dinner area.  It worked.  By the time the show was over, so was the rain. 
 

The next day was a hike up Trail Peak.  There is a B-24 that crashed there and some parts still remain.  It is a very solemn site to see.
Looks like a good place to take a break.

 

The next day was Black Mountain camp.  WE had 2 beautiful campsites right next to our water source, the stream.

.The boys really enjoyed the staff

Maybe it was the Black Powder rifles.

Everyone got to shoot several times.  They taught you how to load.  You just had to bring your own target.  One of many uses for a bandana.

Lauren and I found a nice area by the stream.

They also have a Blacksmith program.  Every scout that wanted to, got to help and do something on teh “s” hook they made.

After a tough day, just laying around camp is relaxing.

 

Foot care is always important.  You need to be sure to bring moleskin and duct tape for blister care.

There are several type of latrines.  Some are wood like this, or plastic.

Some are higher end, “Red Roofs”, that are enclosed.

On the top of Big Red Mountain.

Just to prove we were there.

A couple of times we were able to have a campfire, and combine crews.  It was a lot of fun.  Sometimes, we did joint Leave no trace and Chaplains discussions.

 

The next day, we hiked up to Mount Phillips.  Its a great view.  We couldn’t stay up there too long, as bad weather was coming our way.

 

“Mini-bears” are everywhere.  If you’re not careful, they will steal your food.

We even got to hike while being hailed on.  It was big hail and hurt!

We also stayed at Cyphers Mine.  They have a fun mine tour, you can pan gold there in their stream.  At night they have a great program called “The Stomp”.  Don’t miss it!

We hiked by Hunting Lodge and stopped for a break and toured the house.

At Cimmarroncito, we were able to rock climb and rappel. 

Great rocks to climb and fun routes.

They were just as much fun to rappel.

We had to hike about 30 minutes to get to the site for our Conservation project.  We were creating new trail.  Maybe we will hike on this in future years.

On the way back, we hike through Hidden Valley and stopped at Window Rock.

What a view!

Back at camp, there were many wild turkeys that strolled through camp every day.  Did they know that no predator would be in camp?

The next day, we saw the demonstration forest, and stopped by the reservoir.

Our last night, was rainy and cold.  The campsites were very muddy at best.  One of the few times a fire did help warm you up.

Our last day, we hiked to the Tooth of Time, then into Basecamp

Yea, this really is part of the trail up to the tooth.  Most of it is boulder climbing.

One of our crews at the top of the Tooth.

The other crew

Yea, it really is that steep going up, and almost worse going back down.

On the way back to Basecamp, the clouds were threatening rain.  we were hoping we would get back before the rain.

One of our crews 

Both crews made it back before the rain.

The welcome sign gets covered with trashed shoes after treks.

Everyone went into Cimmaron on Saturday morning.  We had fun looking around town, having a great milkshake.  Then everyone had lunch at the St. James Hotel and Restaurant.  Their buffalo burger is a great choice.