Exp. 617-R in the news

    

     Since our return from Philmont, the story of our trek has been featured by several news organizations in the Auburn area. The article, written by Saugahatchee District Communications Chairman Michael Tullier with input from several crew members, was featured in print this week by the Opelika-Auburn News and The Auburn Villager. The article also appeared online on the WANI 1400 and the Saugahatchee District websites. Links to the article are available on our expedition webpage, including a PDF version as well. Our thanks to Michael and the District leadership for their support of the trip and in promoting Scouting overall. I should think a multi-page spread in Boy's Life or Scouting magazine will be the next step in our fifteen minutes of fame!

Home again

        We arrived home safely Saturday evening from Philmont and Jimmy and Jake Camp drove in from New Mexico with our gear on Sunday evening. The washing machines are churning away in a vain attempt to make our clothes clean again. All of my photos from the trip have been added to the online photo album along with captions. More photos are sure to be added later.

        My thanks to all of the parents and others who supported this trip. It would not have been possible without your help and perserverance. Special thanks to Jimmy Camp for hauling our gear across the country and back. Most importantly, my thanks to Brian Moore, who served as my co-advisor and hiked every step of our 85 miles across Philmont. Such dedication is admirable.

        I also want to thank the scouts who made this a great trip. Each one contributed greatly as part of the team. They worked hard and kept it fun. They should be proud of what they accomplished. I know I am proud of them. In future years, I hope they will return as participants, staff members, or advisors. Philmont embodies all of the great aspects and values of scouting. The best parts of Philmont are now a part of us.  

Homeward Bound

Mr. Camp met us at Philmont this morning and we loaded all of our gear for home. After breakfast, we loaded up in the van and after an unscheduled stop in Cimarron, it was on to Denver. We are now at the airport and the boys are out scouting for food. Based on what they have been buying to eat, I don't think their skinny jeans will fit for long.

We all made it!

We have made it back to base camp. The bus picked us up at the Ponil Turnaround at about 12:45. After our arrival at base camp we checked in, cleaned up, turned in our gear, and hit the trading post. We are now getting ready to attend the closing campfire.

Last Full Measure

I am beginning to despair of ever finding a signal so that I can send out these posts. They may come as a flood once we are off the trail.

This morning we left Cottonwood, which the boys had dubbed the Valley of Death due to the heat. We passed through Indian Writings (which has the only active archeological site on Philmont property) and headed up over Hart Peak, a mere 7,900 feet of elevation. We arrived at Ponil just after lunch. Ponil was the site of the original base camp in 1938 when the property was called the Philturn Rocky Mountain Scout Camp (the name was changed back to Philmont in 1941). It is appropriate that we finish our 75th anniversary hike here.

Ponil is one of the largest staff camps and it has quite a few activities. Our first stop was the cantina for some cold root beer. There is also a commissary and general store, calf roping, shooting, horseshoes, branding, and horse rides. Most everyone now has a hat or boot emblazoned with the Philmont brands. We also shot replica Colt, single action pistols at the range. Everyone had the opportunity to fire five rounds at a variety of targets. For supper we had a chuck wagon dinner of beef stew and biscuits. The last event was the cantina show, which featured a variety of songs played on guitars, mandolin, piano, upright bass, and even a trumpet. After the show ended, several of us stayed around while the staff continued to jam and even dance. Unfortunately, they did not know Sweet Home Alabama.

Tomorrow morning on our last day, we will be riding horses in the morning after a pancake breakfast at the chuck wagon. After that, we will hike down to the Ponil Turnaround to catch what the boys have called the "freedom bus" back to base camp.

Staffed camps

Since we crossed over the Cimarron River into the north country, we have camped in a series of staffed camps. This has afforded us access to purified water, trash bins, better latrines (although that is subjective), and more program time. We have not yet seen any showers, however. With the continued lack of rain, everything and everyone is covered with dirt. Some of the boys are almost unrecognizable as the scouts they used to be. Parents should be prepared for laundry that may take industrial strength machines to handle.

We stayed for two nights at Miranda, home of the mountain fur trappers and the fabled Mountain Man Rendezvous "Y". We shot .50 caliber black powder rifles, threw tomahawks, and played mountainball with the staff. Mountainball may best be described as a form of baseball. The boys enjoyed it because it had no rules. On the same day we hiked over Baldy Mountain, we stopped at French Henry for gold panning (unfortunately, we came up empty) and a tour of the old Aztec Mine. There are over thirty miles of mine tunnels in the mountains around Baldy that date back to the beginning of the twentieth century.

Today we are in Pueblano, home of the Continental Tie & Lumber Company. We have climbed spar poles (pictured), cut railroad ties with hand tools, and played loggerball; which seems curiously like mountainball but the staff here has assured us that they do not cheat. Tonight, we have a company meeting to attend that includes music and skits for our entertainment.

Tomorrow, we will hike over Wilson's Mesa to Dan Beard Camp.

Top of the world, Ma!

6/23 - This morning we made it to the top of Baldy Mountain - elevation 12,441 feet. The hike covered 4.7 miles and 3500 feet of elevation change. It took us four and a half hours to get here. I hope that we can make it off the mountain as well.

Dry as dust

This morning we headed from Upper Bench four miles down to the Cimarron River. This is the first flowing water we have seen since the first day. It has not rained since we were in Base Camp on Monday. The drought conditions have dried up most streams and many springs. There is also quite a bit of dust blowing around. It has made for a dirty existence. Our campsite tonight will be our first with reliable water.

As we came over the ridge from Upper Bench, we caught sight of Baldy Mountain for the first time. We stopped for pictures before continuing our hike. The mountain looks formidable even from a distance.

Further down the trail, I ran afoul of some loose rocks and lost my balance. The simple header turned into a double backflip with a triple axle. I was able to shield the contents of my pack from damage by cleverly positioning my body between the pack and a large pointy rock. I expected such a performance to be met with all tens or at least a round of applause. However, I was disappointed when the guys simply ignored my cries and continued along the trail, either distracted by their song about a yellow, cartoon sponge man or believing the sound to be the victim of an ax murderer. Brian did turn, perhaps in hopes of marking my body for future retrieval. He contented himself in offering me a hand up from my turtle-like position. I ran my hands across my anatomy but found nothing wet nor squishy, so we continued down the trail. The boys eventually stopped to wait, wondering where the old timers had tottered off to. They seemed unimpressed with the story, yawning and rolling their eyes before turning to the trail once more. With only a Tylenol for sympathy, I shrugged my shoulders and continued on.
(I realize that some may doubt the veracity of this story and I do admit to some slight embellishment. In truth, I was not hurt by the fall. At least not physically.)

Today is Davis' birthday. He turned 14 while we were canoeing at Northern Tier in 2009. Now he turns 18 on the trail at Philmont. We have a cheesecake mix for dinner tonight to celebrate his right to vote.

Greetings from Upper Bench

Tonight we are in Upper Bench campsite. This morning, Ranger Dan departed our company and left us to our own devices. He left us with all the knowledge we need to survive, I hope.

After hitting the trail this morning, we stopped by Cimarroncito where we enjoyed climbing on the rock walls. Next, it was on to Ute Gulch commissary to draw our next few days of food. We were surprised to be offered fresh fruit and milk to have with our lunch today. We were also able to fill our water bottles with clean smelling water. The past two springs we have used have had a heavy sulphur content. The boys developed a name for the sulphur water, which I shall not repeat here.

Back on our way after lunch we became temporarily, geographically embarrassed, when we turned down a trail that was not actually a trail. After backtracking, we found the correct route and made it to our campsite. Our mileage for today was 10.4 miles. We were all dragging by the time we made camp but a good supper took care of that. The boys are now out exploring the area. I wish I had all that energy.

Everything is going well and everyone is working well together. We have not had any problems with altitude sickness. The only complaints have been some chafing and a few nosebleeds from the elevation and the dry air. I had thought today that several of the boys were showing heavy beard growth but that turned out to be a thick coat of dirt. We have been in back to back dry campsites and all of our water has been for drinking and cooking. Strangely, the guys don't seem to mind. I have been making sure that they brush their teeth, however.

Window on the world

We made it to our start camp yesterday and learned all of the important procedures for camping at Philmont. Ranger Dan taught us to hang bear bags, cook, and wash dishes. All the boys are working together and having a great time.

This morning we hiked through an area that I passed when I was here in 1982. I took photo that should match one I took on the earlier trip. We stopped at Hunting Lodge for a tour and are now on top of Window Rock for lunch. The boys are having a lunch with a view.

On our way

We shipped out about 10:30 and are now ready to hike. The photo is of our latrine orientation to teach us the correct way to... Well you can figure out the rest.

Trail Bound

It was a long day yesterday but this morning we are set to move out on the trail. The scouts are ready and hopefully the adults are as well. Cell coverage is very spotty but I will attempt to get blog posts out when I can. We will not be able to post photos in the online gallery until after we come off the trail.

After packing up our campsite gear yesterday morning, we arrived at Philmont at 9:45 and met our ranger, Dan Brennan. He led us through the check-in and will be with us the first couple of days on the trail. One of the stops was to the registrar, where I was informed that we still owed $5600. A terse call to Ben Schulz followed, which once again highlighted what the scout executive referred to as "poor customer service" from the council. That may be a bit of an understatement.

We drew all of our equipment and food, attended outdoor religious services, and participated in the entertaining opening campfire in the evening. We also received a new itinerary due to the fire burning south of the property. The southern section of the property is closed until the fire is contained. We are now on Itinerary 18, which covers most of the activities we wanted to do. We are still set to climb Baldy Mountain but will be unable to cross the Tooth of Time. The boys are happy with the new route.

Everything is ready to go and we are eager to hit the trail. Hopefully, I will have more to send soon.

New Mexico Bound

        Following another night at the Golden Eagle Campground, we enjoyed a pancake breakfast before packing up our gear and heading for New Mexico. We did make one stop just outside our campground for photos with the world's largest Hercules beetle before moving on.

Pancakes on the griddle

A sci-fi moment

        As befits a democratic society, the scouts were asked what they wished to see this afternoon. Their choices included visiting museums and historical sites in Cimarron or hiking around an extinct volcano. Unsurprisingly, they unanimously chose the volcano, no matter how hard I tried to convince them of the value of historical tourism. The volcano we visited was the Capulin Volcano National Monument in northeastern New Mexico. The mountain is a cone volcano with a trail around the rim of the crater and another that descends into the crater itself. The mountain rises 1,300 feet above the plain and offers spectacular views of the surrounding area.

Andrew, Robert, and Joe balance on the rim of the crater

        Next, it was on to Cimarron, New Mexico, the home of Philmont Scout Ranch. Our campground for the evening is only five miles from base camp. After setting up our tents, we drove through the town (one has to be careful not to blink or you would miss seeing the town entirely) and past the main gate of Philmont. Our main purpose was to find a store in which we could buy food for dinner. However, in a weak moment, I allowed the boys to talk me into pizza on the patio at the St. James Hotel. The pizza was good but it may have blown our food budget. While at the hotel, we ran into another Philmont crew. They were members of Troop 15 out of Rome, Georgia.

Pizza on the patio

        Tomorrow morning, we check in at Philmont around 10:00 am. We have been told that due to the fire burning south of the ranch, all southern itineraries are being modified to avoid the fire. Since we are supposed to start in the north country and move to the south next week, it is unknown whether we will be able to complete our original itinerary. We will find out more tomorrow. Another concern of mine is that Cimarron does not seem to have any Verizon coverage. Others in the crew with T-Mobile and AT&T have good service but those of us with Verizon are out of luck. This could be a problem for my future blog posts. I am using the campground Wi-Fi for this post but there is no way to know if I will be able to make any posts from the trail without phone coverage. I should know more about that tomorrow as well. The boys are playing Frisbee with another crew from Bartlesville, Oklahoma. Hopefully, they will settle down soon.

        More photos from the day are available here.

Pike's Peak or Bust!

        After a restful night, the day dawned clear and bright. We had intended to sleep in this morning but most everyone was up by 7:00 am. After breakfast, we loaded into the van and headed to Manitou Springs, the home of the Pike's Peak Cog Railway. Founded in 1889, the cog railway is a system that uses a cog to engage a rack that is part of the track. This allows a train to climb a much steeper grade than a regular train, which can only climb about a 9% slope. The steepest part of the trip up Pike's Peak is about a 25% grade.



The cog and rack system

        We made the trip to the 14,110 foot summit in about an hour and a half. The temperature up there was a brisk 44 degrees. Snow was piled up in places on the ground and a few snowballs were thrown. Many of the guys were interested in the famous, high-altitude donuts that are sold at the Summit House. We were able to get them to stand still long enough for a few photos but that was about it. After an all too brief thirty minute visit, it was back to the train for the trip down the mountain. The trip up and back gave us wonderful views of the mountain, the countryside, and a view that allowed us to see all the way to Kansas. 

 

 

 

 

Gathered at the summit

 

The view from the train

          After the descent to Manitou Springs, the boys made sandwiches for lunch before heading out to explore the town. Manitou Springs is similar to Gatlinburg in both look and the types of stores. We also took the time to taste the spring water that made the town famous. One of these springs had a high content of iron salts. Most who sampled it agreed that it tasted like liquid nails.

 

Tasting the water at Iron Springs Geyser

 

        Our next stop was in the Garden of the Gods, which is a city park in Colorado Springs. The geology of the park is quite fascinating, with huge, red sandstone formations that rise from the ground in unusual shapes. One of these formations is a 700 ton boulder balanced on end. The scouts made an effort to push it over without success. In another part of the park, we hiked among the formations and observed a group of baby falcons making their first attempts to fly while their mother kept watch from a nearby rock. The scouts were more fascinated by a climber who was attempting to scale one of the rock faces. They seemed ready to observe her for hours but I insisted that we move on. They were also ready to try some rock climbing of their own but we managed to suppress that as well.

 

Balanced on Balanced Rock

Captivated by the climber

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

        As we headed back to the campsite, we made another Walmart run to get our dinner and breakfast supplies. After a dinner of pasta and chicken, everyone is now preparing for bed. Tomorrow we move onward to New Mexico.

 

             More photos from the day are available here.

 

 

 

USAFA

In front of the Cadet Chapel

        This afternoon we made a visit to the United States Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs. At the visitors center, we learned that 29% of cadets have been involved in scouting. That information is listed along with the percentage of cadets who have earned athletic letters, been valedictorians, or served as SGA or class presidents.

        We received a guided tour of the cadet chapel at the academy. With seventeen spires resembling airplane wings, the chapel is over ten stories tall. It contains a Protestant chapel, which can seat 1,200, a Catholic chapel that seats 500, and a Jewish synagogue with 100 seats. Along with a multi-faith room, there also a Buddhist meditation room. As with the spires, the building's architecture is full of symbolism.

The Academy grounds with rain in the distance

        After waiting out a thunderstorm, which helped to contain some of the wildfires we could see in the distance, we made a quick trip to Walmart for food supplies. We then met Jimmy and Jake Camp at the Golden Eagle Campground. After dinner and clean-up the scouts were off to explore the area. Despite the early morning, they still seemed full of energy. In the campground, we found another Philmont crew, from Louisville, Kentucky, who are scheduled to arrive on Monday as well. After a game of frisbee, all are now headed to bed. Another day awaits on the morn.

        More photos are available on the online photo gallery.

On our way...

Just off the bus at the Atlanta Airport

        After a very early start just after 3:00 this morning, we had an uneventful flight out of Atlanta. Our thanks to Ben Farrow and Rob Stanford for shuttling everyone to the airport. We have arrived safely in Denver and stopped for lunch enroute to Colorado Springs. Our destination for the afternoon is the U.S. Air Force Academy for a tour.

 

Exploring the seatback magazines

 

Hiking on the Pinhoti

The scouts of Exp. 617-R at the Cheaha Trailhead Arch

      
        This past weekend, Exp. 617-R took to the mountains (or at least what passes for mountains in Alabama) to hike part of the Pinhoti Trail system. The 335 trail is a national recreation trail that stretches from east central Alabama into northwest Georgia and serves as a connector trail to the much longer, and better known, Appalachian Trail. Part of the Pinhoti stretches across Cheaha Mountain in the Talladega National Forest. We were originally set to hike a loop trail of the Pinhoti in the same area but heavy rains in May damaged part of the trail, which closed a section we were to hike. Instead, we began our hike at the Cheaha trailhead, just below the state park, and made a loop down the Pihoti and back up the Cave Creek Trail. We arrived in the early evening on Friday and hiked about three-quarters of a mile to the first campsite on the ridge. The site had a nice view off the mountain overlooking Oxford and Anniston. We were able to watch the sunset as we set up camp and prepared dinner.

Sunset from our campsite

        
        On Saturday morning, after breakfast, we packed up and made our way down the trail along the ridge of the mountain. The highest point we crossed was Hernandez Peak, which at 2344 ft is the second highest point in the state. At McDill Point, we came upon the wreckage of an airplane that had crashed into the mountain in 1972. We also found a geocache in the vicinity of the crash site.

The remains of a Mooney M20C aircraft

Examining the geocache

        
        As we continued our hike down the ridgeline, it became apparent that we were unlikely to encounter a  significant water source for several miles. Following our lunch break, we took a connector trail over to the Cave Creek Trail and followed it down to the creek. Utilizing both of our pump filters and the gravity filter, we refreshed our dwindling water supply and quenched our thirst at the same time.

Making a pit stop at Cave Creek

       
        Since we were closer to the trailhead than we intended to be at that point, we continued past our starting point and back up to the Pinhoti Trail along the ridge. The scouts made the decision (by voice vote) to camp in the same spot we had occupied on Friday night. After pitching our tents and waiting out a passing thunderstorm, we enjoyed a dinner of chicken and pasta with Alfredo sauce.

Setting up camp

        
        Following breakfast, we gathered at the overlook for a devotional given by our chaplain's aide, Joseph. The group also engaged in an assessment of the weekend to see where our strengths lay, what we had learned from the experience, and what we still needed to do in preparation for Philmont. The scouts all saw the weekend as a positive experience and a good test of our ability to work together as a team.

Joseph inspires us with his devotional message

       
        We broke camp and hiked back down to the trailhead to meet Ms. Burkhalter, who was kind enough to drive part of the crew up to Cheaha and back. Our total mileage for the hike was just over twelve and a half miles, with eleven of them hiked on Saturday. With our training at an end, the big test awaits. Next stop - Philmont Scout Ranch!

                    Click here for more photos from the weekend.

Training Still

        Last evening we took on some medical training as part of our Philmont preparation. Several members of our contingent participated in an American Heart Association Heartsaver course taught by the Auburn Fire Department. This results in certification in CPR and the use of an automatic external defibrillator (AED).

Andrew and Dakota ready the AED while Cameron gives breaths.

     
        The training included video instruction as well as hands on training using various scenarios. Although the scouts did well with the training, it was noted that we would be unlikely to find an AED affixed to a convenient tree in the backcountry at Philmont. Our thanks to Chief Datnoff and Firefighter Kemp for conducting the training. 

        Today we made our last hike at Chewacla before our big weekend training on the Pinhoti Trail. The scouts wanted to hike around the lake and eat lunch at the waterfall while they viewed nature. Unfortunately, there was not much to be seen on a Wednesday morning. 

        The trip back involved a steep climb up the side of the hill and then back down. We also made a creek crossing with somewhat mixed results. However, we all made it back to the parking area and are ready for the next adventure this weekend. More photos are found in the online photo gallery.

Hiking Together

        

EXP 617-R

        The entire crew came together on Memorial Day weekend for a hike and training at Chewacla State Park. We started with a brief map and compass class. Crew Leader Davis explained magnetic declination, the difference between true north and magnetic north. The variation in Auburn is 3 degrees 51 minutes west but at Philmont the difference is 8 degrees 21 minutes east. Thus knowing the figures and being able to correctly orient the map is critical. It was noted that as an added benefit, a map and compass do not require batteries. 

Map training

        With Cameron in the lead, setting the pace, we began another hike that took us around the back side of the park next to the quarry fence line. We stopped for lunch at the two mile mark and also trained in the use of our new gravity water filter. The system filtered about four liters of creek water while we ate our lunch.

Lunch by the creek.

The gravity filter at work.

       

        After lunch we continued along to the dam then circled back around for another loop of the same area. By the time we returned to our starting point, we had covered 5.57 miles at an average speed of 2.6 mph. Looks like the entire crew is in good shape. More photos are available here.

        After a CPR class on Tuesday, we will return to Chewacla on Wednesday for another hike. Next weekend will involve a bigger test as we backpack on the Pinhoti Trail over three days and two nights. 

Training at Chewacla State Park

       On Sunday afternoon, the scouts of Expedition 617-R intensified their preparation for the upcoming Philmont trek. With just a month left to go before our arrival at the scout ranch, most of the members of the contingent came out for a short hike around Chewacla to test out their backpack loads. Setting a pretty good pace, the group circled around to the far side of the lake before taking a break at the waterfall. After returning to the trail, the crew even uncovered a geocache near the upper parking lot before heading back towards the starting point. According to the GPS, the hike covered 4.04 miles with an average speed of 2.7 miles per hour. The hike proved to be a good measure of our fitness for the upcoming adventure. More photos are available in the online photo gallery.