The final part of the 2014 Trek report.
It was a very short hike from Head of Dean to Miranda. As you enter Miranda, you have a beautiful view of Baldy Mountain.
Great spot for a photo op. Baldy as our background. We will be there tomorrow.
The cabin at Miranda.
They gave us a great camp site. Close to everything.
A little downtime before supper.
They have an interesting game called “Mountainball”. Like baseball except 5 bases, 3 teams and one out. If you say baseball, you are out.
They also have 50 ca. black powder rifles. Always fun! They teach you how to load and shoot.
You can shoot your own targets, card, bandanas, whatever you want. Just don’t shoot something you will need.
No showers or laundry, but there is always laundry in a bag. It works.
A scenic view on the way to Baldy.
Another great view.
Along the trail is an old mining cabin and a great plateau.
The final assault up Baldy. Steep and lots of small stones.
It really is that steep, and you slide.
Almost there. You are above the treeline and above some of the clouds.
Everybody gets groups photos after making it to the top. An amazing view. We were almost at cloud level this day.
Panorama from the top of Baldy. You could see for miles this day.
Looking over at one side.
The hike down was almost worse than the hike up. Those small rocks slide even easier going down.
The hiking poles were a lot of help on the way down.
On the way to Baldy Town, we came upon a small stream.
The next morning our camp was completely fogged in. I’m not sure if anyone climbed Baldy that day. If you can’t see the top, you cannot climb as it’s not safe. The day before we climbed, crews got rained and hailed on at the top and on the way down.
For the hike from Miranda to Ponil, we had a burro. You had to go through training on taking care of the burro.
Group photo with our burro full packed. It could only carry your food, none of your gear unfortunately. An everything had to fit inside 2 small packs on its sides.
Hiking with our burro. Caleb leads the burro.
More hiking with Jesse leading this time. Everyone had a chance to lead the burro. Some did better than others.
In 2003 was a fire up by Ponil. Over 35,000 acres burned. It was so hot that the sap became like a wax layer on top of the soil. This has made it very difficult for anything to start growing again.
At Ponil, it was time to unload the burro.
At Ponil, we had a Chuckwagon supper and breakfast. Hot pancakes and sausage was a great breakfast.
Next to the cantina is the trading post and in the back is a museum. Worth checking out.
It was a beautiful hike to Indian Springs. Lots of rock cliffs and valleys.
Looking down on Indian Springs. It was a steep, rocky trail down to the camp.
We did our service project there. Some of the scouts broke up rocks that were in the way of a new trail.
Others repaired holes and ruts in the new trail.
Getting ready for supper at Indian Springs. Hard to believe tomorrow we get off the trail.
Near the camp, they have writings carved into the rocks by Indians that used to inhabit this area. They have been able to decode most of the drawings.
No photo set would be complete without an official “Redroof”.
We made it back! The sign everyone loves to see!
The closing ceremony is much better than the opening one in my opinion. But the two are good bookends to the trek.
The day we were leaving, we went into Cimmaron to site see. You have to stop at the Gallery. They have a great ice cream shop inside. Malts all around.
Lunch was at the St. James Hotel. Really cool place to visit. The hotel ahs a historic wing with pictures of famous people who stayed there. Each room has a plaque as to who died or was shot in each room. The dining room still has bullet holes in the ceiling and walls!
It was an amazing trek. 114.7 miles for the trek. 166 miles total walked. We saw an amazing amount of Philmont and saw lots of variation in scenery.
It is always a great time and something to be treasured.
As always, attitude is everything. With the right attitude, even difficult days can be fun.
