[philmont] 618-B1 is home...

Adding a bit on top of Kirk's fine break down.

Our crew was 9 - 5 youth (3 male & 2 female) & 4 adults (3 male & 1 female).
This was by far the most "different" Philmont crew I have been a part of.
We had two father/son/daughter sets and one father/daughter set in the crew
so the crew was very much more family relationship oriented rather than
youth/mentor oriented. All youth males (and one advisor - me) are Eagle
Scouts. 7 of the 9 crew members were second time (or greater) trekkers.
Only 2 crew members were first time trekkers (our female advisor was a
first-timer and has already made plans to staff in cons next summer).

No particular order:

A Philmont trek takes 12 days. It seems at times during the trek it lasts a
lifetime and near the end seems it only took about 20 minutes to complete.
Enjoy EVERY second out there, because we don't get nearly enough of them.
Take pictures, take notes, make friends, watch a sunrise and sunset, help
someone you don't know out.

When we arrived, base camp was in chaos due to the late arrival of MANY
crews caused by the train problems brought on by the flooding of the
Mississippi river. Crews were a day or two late arriving and the Day 1
"marathon" was hectic due to overcrowding in all areas.

Base camp has a brand new health lodge. Medical rechecks were still being
done in the old building, but the new med lodge will be 100% complete and in
use by end of summer according to base camp staffers.

We had 5 days of rain on the trail. 1 day was very light (20 - 30 minutes
of light rain). 2 days were moderate (1 - 2 hours of rain/hail). 2 days
were heavy (2+ hours of rain/hail). Our day 11 was a hike from Cito to
Tooth Ridge. We arrived at Tooth Ridge at 10:20am under clear skies. By
noon, there was distant thunder. At 1:15pm, two different storm fronts
collided right over the ridge. Multiple funnel-like cloud formations were
witnessed by our crew and a crew from Littleton, CO. The rain and hail
began around 1:30pm. Our campsite got 3+ inches of hail and 3.5 hours of
steady to hard rain. The rain cleared around 5pm, gave us a nice evening,
then began again around 11pm and did not quit until 7am the next morning.

All streams we encountered were running very well. We had an all south
circuit. The springs at Crooked Creek and Wild Horse were both running very
well. We were told the spring at Schaeffer's Pass was dry, so we "camelled
up" at Clarks Fork and did not even visit the spring to verify the
information.

We were told in logistics that Mt. Phillips Camp might be closed when we
arrived there due to snow drifts. We camped there with no problem, but did
have a snow ball fight (and an awe-inspiring, tears in your eyes sunset).

Temperatures were all over the place. Base camp was stifling hot on Day 1.
We hike early, so most hiking was done in the cool of the morning, but some
afternoons at camp were pretty hot. Other days required every bit of
clothing to maintain some semblance of comfort. I'd recommend either a set
of long johns, or a nice fleece jacket & rain pants (that is my preference).
And always carry some sort of beanie (tuke, toboggan, etc.).

We met some wonderful people on the trail. We had a "sister" crew on our
itinerary (16) from Round Rock, TX. Those guys were just great, and we
spent many advisors coffees shooting the bull with them. We ran into a crew
from Littleton, CO many times on the trail. Their crew was made up of
mostly little guys, but they ALWAYS had a smile (and dirt) on their faces.
It was always a pleasure to see them. We also met a venture crew from Ohio
(don't remember the city). They were at a couple of camps with us and were
always smiling and pleasant. I did get to meet Kirk between Black Mountain
(BLACK MOUNTAIN! BLACK MOUNTAIN!) and Beaubien.

We did logistics first thing on our Day 1, but horse rides at Beaubien were
already booked for both days we were there (layover). Beaubien was
overcrowded (26 crews) and seemed understaffed (we saw 5 cabin staffers, 4
wranglers - always at the corral, and 3 cons guys - always at the job site).
It was probably the only (mildly) disappointing thing on our trek. Derrick
(from Katy, TX) and Amy were both staffers there and were great to us. Send
Derrick some Dr. Pepper. Beaubien was just too crowded. Seemed like a
state park atmosphere. Lots of trash on the ground around the cabin and
chuck wagon dinner area. Not the staffers fault. That is just a product of
overcrowding. Cons was tremendous at Beaubien. The Cons crew were very
knowledgeable and made the crews understand the work being done was
important to the preservation of Philmont.

Crater Lake was awesome. Probably our favorite camp and staff. The entire
staff were very friendly and went out of their ways to make sure everyone
was having fun. Bryce spent over 40 minutes with one of our crew members
just to make sure he got to the top of the spar pole. Send those boys baked
goods! For being just a little over a week into the season, the campfire
was incredible. They played for almost 2 hours, and kept us laughing the
entire time. Wedge told us all a story. You'll have to experience it for
yourself.

Cito was just as awesome. Nick (CD) was at Black Mountain in 2005 when I
went through. At Cito, he ran a great ship. Cito was just as busy as
Beaubien, but it never seemed as crowded or as busy. Nick, Zac (head Rock),
and other staffers were always out on the porch making sure everyone had a
great time. Rock Climbing program was superb. The Cito cook/dish washer is
a gentleman that has staffed 20 years. My hat is off to him (and I am
extremely jealous).

Black Mountain was excellent. The Union has taken over the hollow there and
if you show up , you are "enlisted" in their forces. The program (black
powder and blacksmithing) were great. Staff did a tremendous job of never
losing character. Evening program is NOT TO BE MISSED.

We stopped at Crooked Creek for program on the way to Wild Horse. Staffer
Heather has been there the last three times I've gone through there (she was
Josie in 2002 & 2005 and Molly in 2008). It is a neat thing to see familiar
faces there season after season.

We saw tons of deer and turkey, but no bear or cougar. B2 & B4 both had
multiple bear sightings, and B3 had a single bear sighting (all sightings
were in the north country). Another crew at Lovers Leap on our Day 2 did
see a bear in the next meadow over, and a lot of bear scat and digging were
visible/apparent at Wild Horse.

Philmont still has the best ice cream on earth. Sure it's just cheap soft
serve, but it is ice cream and it is at Philmont. Need I say more?

Cheap plug (no affiliation here - just love the stuff) - get the new Tobasco
Donkeys CD. Available either online at tobascodonkeys.com or at the Tooth
of Time Traders. Give a listen to track 21 - August Day. If you love
Philmont, this song will move you.

I could write more but will stop here. Happy trails. I want to go back.

Shane Hoffman

Advisor - Crew 445 - <http://www.crew445.org> www.crew445.org

Committee Member - Troop 445 - <http://www.troop445.org> www.troop445.org

Webmaster - www.philmontforum.com

"He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose" ~
Jim Elliot

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Received on Tue Jul 1 21:04:27 2008