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When morning came, July 1, we packed up things, checked out of the state park, and resumed our trip westward. Close to noon, we were again rolling down Highway 21, and the vista of the Tooth of Time, centerpiece on the eastern face of Philmont, greeted us. We would be at Base Camp's front gate of the ranch in a matter of minutes.
Our first day in Base Camp was very much like it was last year. The day was half-gone, but we still had time to do most of the necessary things -- Tent City check-in, logistics planning, medical checks, Villa Philmonte tour, locker acquisition, equipment checkout and inspection, and visits to the Trading Post.
We had a bit more of our own equipment to inspect this time. We had brought our own tents -- nice large green ones with outer rain covers -- a significant improvement over the ones Philmont issues. However, in a futile attempt to make them more water resistant, we had sprayed the bottoms of them with Scotch Guard or some similar chemical. This had the effect of making the bottoms -- which already had some kind of coating -- very sticky. No matter how long we let them air out, they remained tacky and smelled a bit like gasoline. This had been done a few months prior, and some of the smell had faded, and enough dust and sand had stuck to the tent floors so as to make them a bit less sticky. In any event, they were quite functional.
My scoutmaster, Mr Max, and my Methodist minister, Claus, came along as our adult advisors. All of the scouts -- Derek, Karl, the brothers John and Steve, Kevin, Matt, and myself -- were from my own troop. One of the benefits of having a contingency made up of folks from the same troop is that you already know how to get along with one another... and how to annoy one another.
Claus was scheduled to stay with us for three days, after which my father would arrive to take his place. Greg -- also from our troop -- met us when we arrived. He would be our Ranger this time rather than a member of the trek. His future fiancée, Cheryl, was there too, at work in Base Camp. I had not seen either of them for several months.
First order was getting our crew photo made. It is traditionally taken with the Tooth of Time in the background. Therefore, the ideal time for the photo is about 10 a.m. And, even in non-ideal situations, it really must be done before the sun is much past its zenith -- before it begins to drift into the background of the picture. This day, it would not matter. The sky was overcast (which would make for a rather dim photo. The print would, of course, be ready for us at the end of the trek.
 Group Logistics Photo Back: Steven, Kevin, John, Karl, Matt Front: Derek, Adv Claus, Crew Leader Bud, Ranger Greg, Adv/SM Mr Max. Click HERE for the big picture. |
In the picture, you cannot really tell that Greg is our Ranger. He is not wearing the standard Ranger's green polo shirt. This was, I guess, because he was also part of our troop, and therefore wished to wear our numbers. That's me in the centre, with (as Patrick of Photo Services notes) a rather gratuitious display of Wrangler patches. You'll note that Derek, Greg, and I are wearing the Philmont Arrowhead patches, a reminder that we have been here before. Mr Max, our scoutmaster, typically seen in a the crushable yellow felt camp hat is seen here brandishing Matt's red version of the same, showing off our troop designation, 28. Also note the bandanas which everyone is wearing. We decided that this would be our little sign of group cohesion rather than wearing same-colour T-shirts.
The photographer took the standard two shots, hoping to catch our best smiles. Unlike last year's picture, this one was taken just behind the Photo Services building, with Tent City in the background (and with a wider bench, which permitted a closer camera angle). As soon as it was taken, it was then time for lunch. The dining hall experience was the same as last year's, and therefore, I will not repeat myself here.
After lunch in the dining hall, everyone milled around the park area in front of the Trading Post while waiting to go through the medical re-checks. The thick metal cables that are used as fences seemed to some of us as an ideal place to sit (there were no waiting tables at that time).
| TENT CITY |
Greg got our crew to our assigned locations in Tent City.
Meanwhile, Mr Max and I met with our itinerary planner, Suzanne,
in the Logistics Centre, and went over our route.
Itinerary #10a
was similar in stress rating to last year's
#13a.
It took us through 61 miles of the South Country, and promised us at least two locations with showers (as it would turn out, we would even have better luck than this). No Mt Baldy this time. I really had wanted to do that trip again. But, there is value in new things too.
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South Country:
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We spent remainder of the day doing the usual things -- equipment checkout (see last year's description of this process), locker storage (uniforms, radios, towels, and non-essentials would not go along with us on the trek), Trading Post, Dining Hall, etc. Equipment checkout was a little easier this year, since we had our own tents. However, that still left food, stove fuel ("white gas"), bear bags, bear ropes, cook ware, cleaning utensils, and most importantly, the precious all-purpose paper (APP). As before, we had brought our own set of Peak-1 stoves. I obtained the Crew Leader's American flag, as was customary for each trek.
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Soon, evening came, and we ate dinner in the Dining Hall, our last
real evening meal for two weeks. Afterwards, the guys played frisbee
in the evening before it was time to go to the opening campfire across
the highway (for a description, see last
year's account). Most of us made phone calls to home, because, except for
post cards, this would be the last chance we'd get to communicate
with home for two weeks. It seemed a good deal hotter
than even last year, and I was glad when the sun went down. Even so,
I was looking forward to the cooler climate of the back country
that we would begin to see in the next two days.
| DAY 2: UTE SPRINGS |  |
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