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.