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.