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710 Day 10 - Crater Lake Camp
Morning came at New Abreu, and with it came a chance to get clean. New Abreu did offer showers. I think that by that time, we were managing to get a shower about once every two days (and I don't mean the rain). This was a marked improvement over the previous year. When morning came, it was a chance to recover from the chill of the rain. After a breakfast eaten in the hopes that every few minutes would make our tents a little drier, we broke camp, rolling up half-wet gear, and hit the trail.
With equipment somewhat dried out, we left New Abreu for Crater Lake Camp. We had started out heading due north, and when we got to Stone Wall Pass (a trail crossroads on the western edge of Urraca Mesa), we took a left onto the intersecting trail. (Actually, we were not quite sure of the intersection, and went a little way north, past it, before returning to take the branch west.) The new trail led directly west towards Bear Caves Camp. On the way, we were afforded several very nice views of the Tooth of Time. I and my dad both took a picture of this (see his photo and mine).
As appealing as the view was, it reminded me that in just a few days we would be on top of that landmark, and our trek would be ending. It also reminded me of a task I had yet to do. But, more on that in its time.
The crew shuffled on up the trail until we reached Crater Lake Camp. The centre of camp is a cabin that sits at the base of the hill, just west of Crater Lake itself. To the east of the lake is a clearing with "spar poles" placed throughout. Crater Lake offers spar pole climbing, the Continental Tie and Lumber Company programme. Now, I had done this last year (1983) at Pueblano, in North Country, where the same activity is offered. Philmont is a big place, after all, and a single trek does not usually cover both North and South Countries. So, to afford everyone equal opportunity, usually more than one camp will offer a given activity.
It seems a tradition that each camp, or at least each group of staffers, has its favourite yell which they tell the climbers to proclaim when they reach the top. Here at Crater Lake, it was "Daylight on the Swamp!" I remained loyal to Pueblano, and yelled "Viva El Salizar!" as I had been taught the year before. I think they just thought I was weird.
We happened to meet my old Ranger, Dennis Depenbusch here. I was
a bit dismayed when I realised that he did not have the slightest
idea who I or any of the others from a year ago were. Let's see,
processing at least two treks every week (if not more),
four weeks a month, and at least two months out of the summer,
makes for more than 16 treks a year with all the faces that go with
them. I guess I should not expect Rangers to remember everyone.
Oh well.
After the events, we returned to camp to get supper ready.
While the others were getting it ready, I took another picture of the
Tooth of Time which could be seen from here.
It was good to wind down for the
day. This had been another long hike. We ended up camping at the edge
of a field. There was not a lot here, down away from the cabins
and programme areas. I was glad to find that my sleeping bag fully
dried out from the rains we had had in the past two days.
An unexpected thing happened this evening. It seems that Crater Lake is the place to run into Rangers. Greg, our Ranger for the first few days, caught up with us today bearing gifts: Real cheese -- several pounds of sliced American. This is a rarity considering that everything we've had in almost that past two weeks has been reconstituted from a powdered mix. I don't know how he managed to pack it in seeing as there is no refrigeration. I suspect he managed to acquire it via Cheryl's connections at Base Camp food services. How else? At the Advisor's Coffee held at the staff cabin, Mr Max had obtained a dutch oven. In it, we managed to work the cheese and the chili stew. It was quite a surprise meal. And, it was good to see Greg after several days on our own. (We wouldn't tell him about me losing the itinerary sheet earlier...)
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As I described in last year's journal, spar pole climbing is
essentially what you see telephone repairmen doing when they
walk up poles. Two-inch spikes strapped onto your boots are
gouged into the sides of a standing tree or pole. They are sturdy
enough to support your entire weight provided you angle your boots
enought to initially get good depth. A loose strap belt is wrapped
around your waist and the pole. As you walk up the pole, you
inch the belt up the pole as well. All along, you are safe-guarded
by a belay line that runs from your safety harness up through a
pulley at the top of the pole, and then back down to the ground
where it is held by your belayman. This really cannot be
adequately described without a picture. So, here is a
