Philmont Y2K Patch

The Pemmican Crew’s
Philmont Chronicles



June 19-July 2, 2000

Prepared by
Peter S.

Philmont name Crew Leader - Justin C.
Assistant Crew Leader - Matt P.
Pathfinder - Matt F.
Pathfinder - Brian D.
Cook - Austin I.
Cook - Eric R.
Medic - Jordan W.
Chronicler - Peter S.
Chaplain’s Aid - Bradley S.
Fire Chief - Brent H.

Advisor - Gary Wright
Advisor - Brid Igleheart
Philmont brand

Day 1: Atlanta - Colorado Springs

We arrived at the Dunwoody MARTA Station on July 19 at 6:15 am. We said our good-byes to our families and departed for the airport. When we reached Hartsfield Airport, we discovered that our 9:30 am flight was delayed until 12:15 pm. After five hours at Hartsfield, we were more than ready to leave, but we had one problem; Justin, Matt P., and Matt F. had decided to ride the airport train and nearly missed our plane with about five minutes to spare! We had a nice flight into Denver, Colorado, and upon arrival there, we promptly received our backpacks, ripped them open, and boarded our bus to the U.S. Air Force Academy visitor center. We managed to locate one of the cadets, who was a fellow Eagle Scout and a graduate of Westminster High School, and he gave us an impromptu tour of the beautiful chapel and grounds. We stopped on our way to the Garden of the Gods for a "photo-op". The garden is a group of beautiful rock formations. When we finally arrived at our hotel everyone was paired up for the night. Brent and I were the odd group and were paired off with two other guys, Drew and Jay Schroeder. It turned out to be fine and we made some new friends. We found out that Jay had sprained his ankle and might not be able to hike Philmont. Thankfully, his ankle was OK and he was able to hike. At 6:30 pm we departed for the Flying W Ranch, a real slice of Americana, where we sat at picnic tables and were fed a genuine "chuck wagon dinner" complete with leather-style meat, great mash potatoes, hot rolls, and all the lemonade we could consume! We were also treated to a yodeling - banjo band. At first, I was reluctant to give them a chance, but they "grew on me" and I actually enjoyed their songs. On the other hand, I along with the rest of our group, who were still on Atlanta time were "beat" and ready to head back to our hotel. We got into bed and caught the last few seconds of the NBA finals to find out the L.A. Lakers had won it!

Day 2: Colorado Springs - Philmont Base Camp

We woke at 6:15 am and enjoyed a great continental breakfast outside with a wonderful view of the Colorado Rockies. Before we boarded our bus the crew played an invigorating game of ultimate frisbee in the neighboring parking lot, and I was really surprised how quickly I became winded due to the high altitude. After about a three hour bus ride to Philmont, we arrived at base camp around 11:00 am and that is when it really hit me how great it was to be back at Philmont! At the pavilion we met our ranger, Craig Stieners, who seemed like a real nice guy. We got to know our new ranger over lunch at the Philmont cafeteria, he showed us our tent assignments, and we headed off for medical check. As we waited for our medical examination, Craig circled us around a shady tree and quizzed us on the right techniques for first aid. Later we played another fierce game of ultimate frisbee against another crew, and as usual, we killed them! After we relaxed for a while we were treated to another delightful Philmont-meal, Salisbury steak, yummy-yummy. I was again impressed with the chapel service conducted by the Philmont Staff. The view of the distant hills as the sun was slowly setting was truly an awesome sight. That evening, Chaplain John led the service, and we would later discover that he was a fantastic guitar player. Soon after the service we headed to the opening campfire. I do not know how others felt, but I was not very impressed with the campfire program. The narrator read poorly and the actors took too many "dramatic pauses" trying to remember their lines. Before hitting the pillow, we headed back down to the snack shop and ate vanilla chocolate swirls. I highly recommend them! Along with Matt P. and Matt F., I treated myself to a semi-scorching/freezing shower while a group of guys were having a head shaving party. We declined when asked if we wanted to join them. Our crew tightened down the tent flaps and settled in for a nice sleep, the last on a mattress for a long time.

Day 3: Philmont Base Camp - Lover’s Leap

We had a special treat since Craig woke up and had breakfast with us. This is something he rarely did. After waiting for what seemed an eternity for all the crews to have their pictures taken, we finally got ours taken last. After we took our class A’s off and put on our hiking clothes, we headed over to logistics and got our crew gear and four days worth of food. As we had done two years ago, we picked a shady spot and laid all our gear out next to our packs, decided what we did and didn’t need, and distributed the crew gear. We stopped at the lockers to unload all of our carry-on bags and headed to the pavilion to weigh our packs. Lunch this day was sloppy joes and chocolate pudding. Since we had time to spare, we headed over to the Philmont Museum and took the Villa Philmonte tour. We then made our final pack adjustments, filled up on water, and listened to Craig as he quizzed us on map symbols. A bus took us to Lover’s Leap Turnaround and there our two pathfinders gave us some map and compass lessons after which we were off to Lover’s Leap. Halfway there we took a pack-off break at the actual Lover’s Leap and snapped some photos. We had a little trouble finding a campsite, but it was a good learning experience. After we got all our crew gear laid out and the tarp up, we sat around and swapped jokes with Craig. Austin and Eric then cooked us a delicious meal. Craig showed us how to clean up after a hardy Philmont dinner and the science of compacting trash. After we set up our bear bags and had our first "Thorns and Roses" we settled down for a first night’s sleep on the trail.

Day 4: Lover’s Leap - Miner’s Park

We woke up at 6:30 am and the crew was treated to a hot oatmeal breakfast cooked by Eric and me. We hit the trail at 8:00 am and almost immediately came upon five or so deer, who could not of been more than five feet away peering back at us. It was a gorgeous day and we had an easy hike to Miner’s Park (M.P.), arriving there around 9:30 am. When we reached the staff cabin we were invited to sit on their porch to check in and find out about their rock-climbing program. Once we got into camp and unpacked, we ate lunch at 10:30 am since half our crew planned to leave at 11:00 am to go rock climbing. Justin, Brent, Jordan, and I followed later to watch, but our plans changed as we hiked up to the rock climbing area when a hailstorm hit. Brent was the first one to dive under a large, protruding rock and the rest of us soon followed. The hale storm lasted about ten minutes. We finished hiking to the rock climbing area and found the rest of our crew along with Craig and most of the M.P. staff relaxing in a huge overhanging cave below the rock wall. We got back to camp and discussed our route for the next day’s hike to Beaubien. We debated whether to take the trail that goes over Trail Peak to see the bomber that crashed there or go through Black Mt. Camp and on the way cross 53 streams. We would later pick the latter and were not disappointed. Craig later drew us into a circle and asked us why we came to Philmont and what we wanted to get out of the experience. Once we all had given our reasons for coming and what we wanted to get out of Philmont, Craig told us that having fun and joking around was great, but while we where here to find moments to be silent and listen to the sounds of Philmont. He gave us each a Leave-No-Trace card for us to sign later acknowledging that we will live up to that sacred pledge to never harm nature and to do our best to preserve it. We hung out for a while at camp, playing frisbee and playing our own version of baseball (hitting a water bottle with a stick). One of the staff members led us on a half-hour tour of the flowers in M.P. and told us about the different types and suggested that instead of staring at the back of a Kelty backpack, we should look at the nature through which we were hiking. For our dinner, cooked by yours truly and Eric, we were treated to Mr. Igleheart’s chipped beef and Craig’s pound cake, which he brought with canned peaches and cherries for being such a great crew. He also gave us each little Heinz pickle pins from Pittsburgh, PA. Eric took the infamous "Pemmican Bar Challenge," choking it down in a minute and nineteen seconds. Ending the day with "thorns and roses’, our main "thorn" was today was our last full day with Craig on the trail.

Day 5: Miner’s Park - Beaubien

We got up at 6:00 am and after saying our tearful good byes to Craig, we hit the trail towards Black Mt. Camp an hour later. We hiked along this beautiful trail, crossing a total of 53 streams. With the sun pouring through the swaying aspens covering the area and hiking next to a very beautiful steam, this was definitely one of the best trails we would hike the entire trip. We arrived at Black Mt. Camp at 11 am, made a pack line, and sat down to be greeted by the staff and get information on the program there; blacksmith and blackpowder rifle shooting. We jumped right into the blacksmith program, and Justin suggested we make a wind chime for the scout hut. Since it was almost lunchtime and most of us were hungry, some ate lunch while others helped with the wind chime. We packed up after lunch and headed out of Black Mt. We hiked along a moderate sloping trail until we came upon the cow pastures of Beaubien. Here we hiked on the magnificent trail built by yours truly and the rest of the Motley Crew back in ’98! After we arrived at Beaubien, Dana, one of the staff members, invited us up to the porch to drink some Gatorade. We got our campsite, and checked out the program of burning the Philmont cattle brand onto our boots. We got some well needed showers before we headed off to the Chuck Wagon Dinner, a welcome change to our usual dehydrated dinners and a luxury before we really "hit the trail." We stuffed ourselves with as much beef stew, canned peaches, Ritz crackers, and hot chocolate as we were able to consume. We were then treated to Beaubien’s campfire show lead by Cookie, one of the staffers, along with the rest of the Beaubien staff. The show was filled with humorous anecdotes, western songs, and poetry readings. Before hitting our sleeping bags, some of us played, as best we could, frisbee until we lost it in the trees; only to retrieve it early next morning.

Day 6: Beaubien - Comanche Peak

We woke at the early hour of 5:00 am, had a quick breakfast and headed out at 6:20 am! Passing by the cow pasture, we took some great shots of the nearby cows munching on some grass. It was another fabulous morning for hiking. The trail, steady at first, turned almost vertical at Bonita Peak. After a refreshing break on top of Bonita, we did a little ridge climbing to Big Red Peak. This was followed by some rocky down hill climbing, which I found required a lot more concentration skills than going up. At first, hiking up Comanche seemed manageable, but I soon found out that it just never ended. Encountering false peak after false peak, I along with most of the crew was worn out and ready for lunch. Since we knew we just couldn’t make it any longer without some nourishment, we broke for lunch just under Comanche Peak Camp. With Justin downing three jalapeño packets, and our entire crew fighting over a Ritz cracker or a beef jerky stick, it became quite an entertaining lunch. Once lunch was over it was a quick hike up to Comanche Peak Camp. We were low on water, and after everyone had set up camp, Mr. Igleheart, Austin, Matt F., Brian, and I armed with two one-gallon water jugs and fifteen or more water bottles took the semi-vertical trail to the closest stream (about two miles away). We had a tough climb back up the trail with all our newly pumped mountain fresh spring water, but we managed by loading the jugs on Matt and me. We met up with the rest of the crew at the base of Mt. Phillips for our side hike and stowed our water behind some bushes. The crew graciously thanked us for our service and we were off. It was a steady climb up Mt. Phillips, but this would prove to be a warm up compared to our assent up Baldy Mtn. After getting our group photo, gazing at the distant Baldy Mtn., which was only two short days away, and watching Mr. Igleheart toss the frisbee, we were off for the campsite and dinner. We were treated to another delicious meal by our chefs, Jordan and Eric, complete with a scrumptious banana crème pudding for dessert. As soon as dinner was over, everyone scattered to their nearby tents to hibernate for the night.

Day 7: Comanche Peak - Aspen Springs

Up by 6:00 am, we hit the trail by 7:30 am. Ten minutes into the hike, there was a great photo-op, and we stopped to take a picture of the beautiful mountains framing the distant horizon. It was a gradual descent from Comanche Peak at a nice pace. Arriving at Cypher’s Mine at 9:30 am, we connected with Bob who gave us a tour of the "Cypher’s Mine (C.M.)." This year’s mine tour (with an explosion in the mine) was much better than the one taken by the Motley Crew two years ago. When all the lights in the mine mysteriously went out, Justin, our fearless leader, lead us through the slippery, wet, rock maze. Nearly everyone, me included, hit their head on the last beam as we rushed toward the light. Thankfully, the wonderful helmets cushioned the blow. As we left Cypher’s Mine, we made a wrong turn somewhere, but with the help of Mr. Wright, Mr. Igleheart, Matt F., and Brian, we were soon on our way again toward the Hunting Lodge. Along the trail we stopped for lunch and since it was Sunday, Bradley led us in an uplifting worship service. During lunch we met a staffer on his way up to C.M. and the debate as to whether he was carrying a banjo or guitar case would last until the end of the trip. We arrived at the Hunting Lodge at exactly the same time as one of the Chaplain’s aids, who was driving up the two staffers impersonating Mr. Waite Phillips and his wife. They graciously gave us a tour of the historical structure. At the end of the tour, Mr. Waite Phillips gave our crew a whole box of cookies, which by day five on the trail looked mighty appetizing. Once we filled up our platypuses and water bottles at Cimarroncito, a little way up the trail from the Hunting Lodge, we were off to Aspen Springs. This was an easy hike. Once there, it was decided a group would be needed to hike to Ute Gulch to get the next food pick-up. It was a good hike to Ute and back. Along the way we had nice distant view of the Tooth of Time and of a bunch of wild turkeys scurrying up the trail. We got back to the campsite, unloaded all the food, and joined Mr. Igleheart on the gigantic rock formation where there was a grand view of the entire Tooth Ridge. It was so nice that after another splendid meal and even better bathroom breaks at one of our infamous "pilot to co-pilot" latrines, the two Matts and I scaled the rock face one more time to watch the sun go down. Then we quickly got into our sleeping bags, since tomorrow we would be waking up at the early hour of 4:30 am with a 14-mile hike ahead of us.

Day 8: Aspen Springs - Santa Claus

We woke up this morning at the extremely early hour of 4:30 am and hit the trail by 5:15 am. We hiked to Ute Gulch Commissary and then to Devil’s Washbasin. We reached the top of Devil’s Washbasin and had what was left of our breakfast. After hiking a little while, Matt P. had to stop due to blister problems. Mr. Igleheart came to the rescue using almost the entire role of duct tape on Matt’s feet with Jordan assisting as medic. We kept a steady pace for awhile on a flat trail. It was a great feeling to be going through a campsite at 8 am in the morning and seeing some crews just getting up as we were on our 3rd hour of hiking. Along the way, we ran into the crew that actually had itinerary 1 (wimps) and met a lot of crews from Ohio. After hiking for several hours, we took a break at a spot with a view of the Cimarron River, that we would be crossing down below before entering the high country of Philmont. The road running parallel to the river was where we hoped to flag down a car to snag some pizza, but that dream soon faded. On our descent to the river, we ran into our sister crew from Atlanta. After we chatted with them a little and talked to one of their advisors, Mr. Lindquist, about jamboree (another inside crew joke), we cruised to the river to take a nice break. Upon consuming large amounts of Mr. Igleheart’s trailmix and gallons of water, we embarked on our ascent up Santa Claus. Along the way we ran into an all-girl Rayado Crew (a crew who hikes for 22 days), who could probably put all our hiking skills to shame. Soon after that, we stopped for lunch along the trail. Lunch was another sumptuous affair of tuna fish and Ritz crackers, followed by a nice hour of relaxing and sharing bad jokes. Only a short distance from Santa Claus camp, about 2:00 pm, we ran into the Scarlet Nape’s ranger from their ‘98 trek, Allen Berne, who was a ranger for a Rayado Crew and who still had another 15 miles to go. We finally arrived at Santa Claus camp around 3:00 pm and just collapsed on the ground, too tired to set up tents. Since a rainstorm was approaching, we were forced to set up our tents and flee into them for shelter against another harsh, unforgiving Philmont afternoon shower. Later, the sun burst through the rain clouds, and we tossed the frisbee around before dinner. I would have to say that over the entire trek, I liked this dinner of beef stroganoff the best. It was fantastic; too bad Justin did not try any of it. We put up the bear bags. Bradley got a great shot of Justin as "Goat Boy." We hope to see it next year in the Dunwoody High School yearbook. With the sun still shinning, we retired for the evening!

Day 9: Santa Claus - Baldy Camp

5:00 am rolled around quickly. Unfortunately everything was wet from an all night rainstorm. We had a quick breakfast and headed all the way to Head of Dean, arriving there by 7:30 am. Due to the rain, our conservation project was canceled, but it was checked off as if we had done it. In the distance loomed Baldy Peak. After compacting all of our existing trash for the staff at Head of Dean and refueling our water bottles, we were on our way to Baldy. We made a wrong turn purposely since we had a lot of time for a short amount of hiking. We got back on the trail, ran into a group, and began talking to them. Out of the corner of his eye Mr. Igleheart spotted a hiking stick that looked very similar to his own that he had left back at base camp. He graciously thanked the Scout for returning it to him and gave him all the handfuls of g.o.r.p. he could fit in his mouth. We had beautiful views of Baldy Peak. As we got closer and closer to it, the sun seemed to burst through the cloud cover and it became a beautiful sunny day until that afternoon. We reached Baldy Camp at 12:30 pm, ate lunch, and we were luckily spared the jalapeño cheese due to the nearby trading post! So we filled up on skittles, snickers, etc. and sent a couple postcards home. To our dismay, it was a little bit of a hike to our campsite. When we got there we set up our tents and hung our various wet clothes along with our rain flies to dry. We picked a first group to shower up, while the second would stay to cover our stuff should it rain. After all of us took a nice shower and finished washing our clothes, it started to really pour. We ran as fast as we could to the commissary porch to pick up the food. But as it was pouring rain, we asked Kristi, staffer at the commissary, if we could stay inside the warm shelter. She agreed providing we would help sort the food for her and crush unused boxes. Once the rain subsided, we said good-bye to Kristi and headed back to our campsite. The second group went to take their showers. We owed them big time since they had set up all of our rain flies and had put all of our clothes into the tents. Still lightly raining and very cool, the cooks made dinner under our dinning fly as we waited anxiously in layers upon layers of clothes with our rain suits acting as our outer shell. With dinner and the most disgusting pudding I had ever tasted in my life (no offense to the cooks) completed, Brian and I cleaned up. We put up bear bags, said our "thorns and roses" and got into our sleeping bags. I, on the other hand, did not go to my tent; I went straight to the latrine, not the "pilot to co-pilot" but the brand new red roof inn all the way back at the commissary. It may have been a little out of the way, but it was worth it!

Day 10: Baldy Camp - Pueblano Camp

We woke up at 5:15 am and left camp at 6:15 am. Since we were side hiking up Baldy, we only had daypacks with some water, a jacket, and perhaps an apple. It was a very cold morning, so we all had on long pants, jackets, hats, etc. As we progressed up the mountain, we started shedding layers of clothing. It was great to be hiking at such an angle, because we really felt we were getting somewhere in a short amount of time. As we gained more and more altitude, we began to break out of the tree line and an incredible view opened up. Mr. Igleheart pointed out to us some old remnants of bits of rock and old mine shafts when the mountain was used for mining. Once we broke out of the tree line, we also broke through the cloud cover and it was a breath taking sight to see, with the morning sun and clouds forming shadows on the mountains far below. Ahead, we saw Baldy, a huge rounded top with two peaks, and no trees or anything to break your fall if you slipped! Justin was the first to reach the peak, I was right behind him. It was really interesting going up, because from far below the massive bald peak looked as if it was one solid rounded rock. In reality, it was made up of millions and millions of tiny, tiny rocks! I ran to the first closest peak and then ran over to the second one, which seemed higher. Then I unzipped my daypack and enjoyed a fantastic red delicious apple. I was glad to see everyone making their way up the trail, which was very steep with an immense drop off on either side. I must have used twenty pictures or more just on the peak itself. Every where I looked could have been a postcard. The meadow down below was on the ridge and a couple of thousand feet below us. It was so beautiful with the shadows rolling over it and the many other distant mountains all around. We got some great crew pictures of us and one in particular of Justin and me tossing the frisbee! Once everyone got their fill of Baldy and used up most of our rolls of film, we headed down. It was great on the knees going down because all those tiny, tiny rocks broken up by millions of years of the elements, acted as soft cushions as we plunged our boots into them. Before we began our final descent on Baldy, we stopped to walk around on the nearby field. It was like a postcard of an Irish landscape - a beautiful green meadow at 11,000 feet. We packed up camp, got some last minute items at the trading post, filled up on water, and headed for lunch at French Henry, which consisted of a log cabin with a stream flowing beside it. Apparently there was an attractive female staffer and a lot of the rangers hiked up to visit her on their day’s off. By the eighth day on the trail, the tuna salad and crackers were wearing a little thin, but we managed. We slid on our packs once again and headed for Pueblano Camp, but little did we know the experience that awaited us. The rain began softly at first and allowed us to get as rain proofed as possible before the heavy downpour hit us. You might think that it was a horrible experience, but as long as we were relatively dry, at least I was with my Gore-Tex boots (worth every penny), it was a great experience hiking in the rain for about two hours. We arrived at Pueblano Camp at 2:30 pm and were invited on to the porch to get out of the incessant rain. One of the staffers told us about the activities and introduced us to Ms. Bacon Sandwich, a bird who had fashioned a nest on an old animal bone that hung on the porch and who had just hatched some baby birds. We were escorted to our campsite and were even serenaded by some staffers hiding in the woods. Mr. Igleheart and Mr. Wright got a little mad at us since we selfishly went first to set up our tents before the dinning fly. Once the fly was up and all of our crew gear was stowed underneath, we quickly set up our tents and got our packs inside before another down pour hit. The sun finally came out, and we hung our dirty soaking wet clothes on the "fruit of the loom tree" since it bore our underwear and socks. Mr. Igleheart treated us to appetizers, hot chocolate and crackers. Eric and I cooked a great meal, mash potatoes with barbecue sauce on top and three-berry cobbler for dessert. We had a "thorns and roses" session before heading off to the stomp. Everyone, including myself, would agree that this stomp was the best one since it had everything from great music (the chaplain’s guitar was like poetry in motion) and the funniest tall tales I had ever heard in my life (the history of Philmont skit). It was a long one and when we finally hit our sleeping bags it was 10:00 pm, extremely late by Philmont time.

Day 11: Pueblano - Old Camp

We woke up at 6:30 am and got ready for our conservation project. We had breakfast, formed a pack line in front of the lodge, and threw around the frisbee for a little morning exercise to get the blood pumping. Kevin told us to pick up our hard hats and gloves, and then led us to our work site about a ½ mile up an ascending trail. We were given a brief lesson on trail building, the tools we were using, and were given a spot to work. Bradley, Justin, and I formed a three-man crew. Our first tree was easy. The second tree, however was a killer. After working on it for about an hour or so, we had severed most of the roots, but a couple still remained. Justin never really finished one, but came extremely close. Brent, a.k.a. Taz, along with Mr. Igleheart, worked hard on a number of trees. At the end of our conservation project, we had reason for being proud of ourselves. Since we were the first to show up and the last to leave, we had accomplished an incredible amount of work in two hours. We then had our lunch with the added entertainment of watching Mr. Igleheart, Austin, and Eric pole climb. This is an activity at Pueblano, which involves using sharp spurs attached to your boots and a lumberjack’s belt to climb a telephone pole. We arrived at Ponil at 2:00 pm and for two hours enjoyed all the root beer and candy that we could stomach in the shelter of another down pour. Some of our crew also enjoyed the fine red roof inns that Ponil had to offer. We were treated to our own lecture on horses and the ranching operations at Ponil by one of the staffers, who was all decked out in his cowboy attire. We finally decided it was time to get moving when the rain let up, so we packed our food and began our hike up the muddiest four wheel drive trail we had ever seen. Our boots must have weighed 10 lbs. with all the mud that was caked on them. Although it was a dirty trail, it made for a humorous hike and along the way we spotted a bear track. The latter was fresh too, since it had recently rained and it was imprinted in the newly formed mud. After finally ascending this seemingly never-ending river of mud, we reached some sort of a peak and began our descent on the windy trail that would hopefully lead us to Old Camp. We finally reached Old Camp, a wide-open field enclosed by a canyon on either side. Both Justin and I grabbed the gold (toilet paper at Philmont) and headed for the red roof inn. No matter how bad it got we didn’t succumb to "pilot to co-pilot." After that we both felt lighter than air. On Mr. Igleheart’s advice, we picked a new site under a clump of trees that was also right beside the stream. Mr. Igleheart, both Matts, and Brent hiked up a rock face next to our site. Dinner was another scrumptious meal since Jordan’s and Mr. Igleheart’s culinary minds were in charge. We ate by flashlight as we passed around the seasoner and we recalled memories of our trek since it would soon draw to a close (tear, tear...). We had an emotional "thorns and roses" and got some shuteye. This was our last hard day!

Day 12: Old Camp - Indian Writings

Having such an easy hike to Indian Writings (I.W.), we woke up around 7:40 am today; it felt like sleeping in until ten at home. Matt P. and Mr. Igleheart got up early and ran to Indian Writings and back. Matt F., Justin, Brian, and I hiked up the rock face next to our camp. It was a perfect little hike for our laid-back departure time. There was even a view (although far off) of the majestic Baldy Mtn. The most daring of us all, Matt F., actually climbed up the rock face. After a breakfast of hot oatmeal, beef jerky, power bar (if you could stomach it), we leisurely packed up and headed for Indian Writings around 11:30 am. We hiked along the four wheel drive road, the same one that had led us to Old Camp, framed with mountain lion cliff dwellings (that’s right) on either side. Along this hot, dusty trail we heard what we imagined to be coyote cubs howling, so we howled back. The only thing that topped the coyote howling session as we began to enter the Indian Writings Camp was a small water snake in the stream we crossed. As a result, we hiked pretty fast through it! Once there, we were invited up to the lodge where we met Christi, one of the staffers at I.W., who Matt P. and Mr. Igleheart had met earlier today on their run to I.W. and back. Mr. Igleheart, always wanting a challenge for The Pemmican Crew, asked if we could do a conservation project that would benefit the camp. Christi gave the suggestion that we arrange some of the rocks in the area to make a flowerbed and in return for the work the staff would provide us with a handsome reward. The crew agreed to get right on it after lunch. Our lunch felt all that much easier to consume since it would be our last on the trail. By this time the meals were getting a bit repetitive. Justin and I were the only two who did not feel up to the conservation project and just felt like relaxing in camp. While everyone else was gone, we busied ourselves preparing for the possibility of rain by securing everyone’s rain fly, setting them up, and playing some frisbee. Wanting to see how the rock wall/ flowerbed went, Justin and I made it just in time to take a picture with the I.W. staff and the newly constructed flowerbed. The rewards that the gracious staffers gave were three packs of hotdogs (mechanically separated, animal parts brand - only the best), buns, condiments, and baked beans. Once everyone got back, we enjoyed some more frisbee tossing on our little field, which happened to parallel this five-foot deep gorge with a small stream running through it at the bottom. On one such frisbee toss, both Matt P. and I were going for it and it landed right next to a three foot long rattler on the edge of the cliff! Immediately we sprang back as the rattler slowly slid down the small cliff, into the water, and into the protection of the tall grass on the embankment. We cooked the hotdogs and baked beans, which Justin and I both enjoyed, although not deserving of them, and thanked everyone for allowing us to eat the reward for which they had worked so hard. After our appetizer, we reluctantly took Mr. Igleheart’s advice and mixed in all our remaining packets of cheddar squeeze cheese into our macaroni and cheese dinner. To our surprise, it tasted great! We played a little more frisbee, and our crew got into a bit of a fight, but we worked it out and put it behind us. After advisor's coffee, Christi and the Camp Director gave us a tour of the Indian rock marks and their ancient dwellings (that have been recently excavated). After that interesting tour of the past under a gorgeous star lit sky, we went to sleep anticipating our next night’s sleep would be at tent city in Base Camp!

Day 13: Indian Writings - Base Camp

To put it mildly, we eagerly woke up at 5:00 am and were on the trail by 6:00 am. It was great to be up and hiking on the trail with the sun rising before us with Base Camp not that far off. We finally came upon the highly anticipated T-Rex Track, which by the way is the only undisputed one in the world. It seemed a little less then expected, due to all the hype we created in anticipation, but still it was an interesting thing to have seen. After mostly flat hiking, we reached the Six Mile Gate where we would await the arrival of the bus that would take us back to the civilized base camp and off the trail! We arrived at the Six Mile Gate at 7:45 am, and since the bus wouldn’t arrive till about 8:30 am, some of us entertained ourselves with taking a short hike up the canyon walls, while others tossed the frisbee around. When the bus did finally turn that corner we hugged each other and cheered with total euphoria! This probably did not make the new guys that were just about to hit the trail feel great, but we were going home! It was the funniest thing, once we had gotten all of our gear stowed onto the bus, we noticed through the windows that nearly everyone of the "new guys" had scattered around the adjacent hill to take a leak. What a Kodak moment! As we rode into Base Camp, we drove past the Tooth of Time as we sang some classic rock tunes (Bohemian Rhapsody - Queen, Born in the USA - The Boss, etc.). Once at base camp, we got our tent assignments, unloaded/returned our crew gear, and packed up our daypacks with our lunch and plenty of water for the Tooth side hike. We then rode the bus out to start our hike. The hike up the Tooth did not seem doable for many reasons since there was not a clear, safe trail to hike up. With falling rocks on the washed-out trail, it could have been very dangerous to others and ourselves. So after a valiant effort, we decided to abandon this idea and return to base camp while Mr. Igleheart and Austin decided to go for it. Without a bus to pick us up, we took the long walk back to base camp. Back at base camp, we had to find ways to pass the time since the Iglehearts had the keys to the locker. We finally did get into the lockers, got our clean clothes, and took a great, well-deserved hot shower. It was surprising, but very welcoming, to see the newly installed up-to-date showers and toilets. After getting cleaned up, we loaded our bus at 3:30 pm to Cimarron for some sightseeing and the world renowned Simple Simon’s Pizzeria. Mr. Igleheart, God bless him, called Simple Simon’s at base camp, so when the multitude of crews had to line up in this huge line, our pizza was already made and piping hot! We sat down to our very own picnic table and enjoyed the best pizza I had ever had in my life. Finishing second behind Justin, who polished off seven slices, I consumed five. We toasted our two great advisors: Mr. Igleheart and the man, who put this all together, Mr. Wright and gave Mr. Wright a small token of our appreciation (an REI gift certificate). Later we checked out the famous St. James’s Hotel where Jesse James was believed to have stayed. However, when we realized you had to pay to go inside, we got some pamphlets and waited outside for our bus back to base camp. We skipped dinner and lounged around until the religious services. There, Craig graced us with his presence. The closing campfire was a lot better than the opening, which they more than made fun of ("with me trusty Spanish blade"). Yours truly was in one of the skits, by accident, but in it nonetheless. Justin and Mr. Wright represented us well when they, along with all the other crew leaders and advisors, received our prestigious Philmont Badges which this year had red borders and Y2K inscriptions. Afterward, we hung out at the snack shop, enjoyed some more chocolate/vanilla swirls, called our parents back home, and hit our cots like a rock!

Day 14: Base Camp - Atlanta

We got up at 4:00 am, took showers, got packed, brought our stuff to the pavilion, and had breakfast. We left Philmont along with the rest of the Atlanta Area Council Contingent at 6:00 am in a new coach complete with complementary Backpacker Magazines for everyone. During our three hour bus ride to Colorado Springs, we had to endure the most horribly made film, "Ernest Goes to Africa," I drowned it out with my CD player. We arrived at the airport at 9:15 am, checked our packs, and soon discovered that our plane was delayed to Chicago due to bad weather until 12:00 noon, then 1:00, then 2:00, and finally at 2:40 pm, the plane left. Somehow we passed the time by using our vouchers, walking up and down the main straight away, and doing a final "thorns and roses." It was a great way to reflect on all that we had been through and how much we had accomplished. We finally lifted off at 3:00 pm and although Colorado was nice, it was getting a bit tiring looking at it from the same gate for six hours! Our plane was empty, so we could stretch out a little. I went to sleep after take off and just happened to wake up when lunch was being served. This would be my fourth meal of the day. It was a delicious McRib type sandwich, cheesecake, and fritos. We went from hot, dusty, arid Colorado to the humid, cloudy climate of Chicago. We pulled into our gate at 7:30 pm and were only five gates down from our departure gate to Atlanta. Although we were already close to our gate, we had little time to spare to make our connecting flight. It felt great to actually be in a rush. All was in order and we were safely seated on the plane that would take us home after a very long day! Fortunately for us, our plane seemed to jump ahead of some thirty planes in line for take off, and we were in the air before we knew it. My fifth meal of the day was a nice Delta deli arrangement.

We finally touched down on wonderful Atlanta soil at 10:40pm, with all our parents there to greet us. I was the first one off and got the first burst of welcome home cheers. It felt great! After going around to all the parents and getting our hugs and pictures, we made our way down to the baggage claim, found our packs, and said our finale good byes to the people with whom we had spent an arduous, but incredibly rewarding two weeks! And with that, the Philmont 2000, Pemmican Crew, Trek 33 came to a close!


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