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731 - Day 4 Ute Meadows Camp

After departing Pueblano, we passed through Pueblano Ruins and Ewell's Park Camps. Unfortunately, I don't remember what we saw there, if anything. By this day, as a group we were beginning to find our pace. It was becoming obvious who hiked slowly, and who hiked quickly. As the Crew Leader, I had initially felt compelled to take the lead. I had always tended to walk more quickly than others, and so this and my pride went hand-in-hand. I think, though, as the trek progressed, I realised there was wisdom of being at the end of the line rather than its beginning. With no one at your heels, you can take time to look at a bigger picture. But, for most of the trek, I think I settled in at about third from the front.

One rule of the trail that I remember distinctly is that of "uphill right-of-way". You pass other treks frequently. Rule is, if you are doing so on a climb, the trek coming uphill gets to go first. This is important since many trails are narrow (and the hope is to keep them that way), and the up-ward-bound crew has the heavier burden.

Speaking of hills, we would be within clear (not so clear) view of Baldy Mountain today.

Hiking from Pueblano to Ute Meadows: Ewells Park area

Baldy Mountain is perhaps Philmont's second-most recognisable feature (the Tooth of Time being Philmont's signature feature). The chemical composition of the rock strata changes as you enter the western corner of North Country. Iron permeates the soil, and gives it a reddish hue. So, Baldy stands out as a ferrous beacon to all that the ubiquitous white porphyry of the Central and South Countries has competition. It is really a must that anyone going to Philmont hike Baldy on some trek or another. I was lucky that I got to do this on my first trek.

click for map

Ute Meadows Camp is near the base of Baldy Mountain, and is an unstaffed camp (a "trail camp"). Most of the day was spent hiking from Pueblano to Ute Meadows. However, although scheduled to stay there, we would have a change of plans.

Evening was approaching by the time we were near Ute Meadows, and, being a trail camp, we had a hard time actually locating it. Being an unstaffed trail camp, there were no no staff or buildings to locate, and no planned activities here. However, sadly, two members of our crew, whom I shall not name here, decided to entertain themselves by throwing rocks at deer. They were made aware of the fact that was surely a violation of the Wilderness Pledge, and was not to be repeated again.

UTE MEADOWS CAMP

This infuriated Greg, who reprimanded the two accordingly. Their behaviour would be repeated again with pine cones and humans a little later. Sigh.

Because we had known that there were no activies at this camp, and since we wanted to see the sunrise from Baldy the next morning, we decided we would alter our itinerary a bit. Greg, who had been on a Rayado crew earlier, knew that there was a small "cabin" somewhere along the trail half-way up Baldy. He thought it would be ideal if we could skip Ute Meadows and stay there for the night. This would give us the head start we would need to make it to the peak for sunrise. This plan was discussed with the ranger staff at one of the previous camps. Today, it is Philmont policy to not deviate from the planned itinerary, and this was true even then. However, I suppose that Greg's Rayado credentials helped him persuade the staff to acquiesce. And, so, we began to ascend Baldy as the sun was getting low in the sky.

Baldy: Baldy Camp and its Commissary
can be seen in the lower right corner.

Hiking in the dark is a big no-no, and so we wanted to reach the cabin before we lost daylight. However, by the time the sun was getting low in the horizon, we still had not found the cabin. It was getting cold and a bit windy, and a few in the crew were beginning to grumble and whine. Therefore, we stopped on the trail and set up camp in the fading dusk light on the incline. We slept as a group under the large brown dining fly rather than setting up individual tents. It was quicker, and there really was not an appropriate place to set up a camp. The wind was a bit irritating, and the dining fly provided no relief. But, we were not too cold in our mummy bags. Trying to sleep on a slope was, as most campers know, no fun. Our third day on the trail ended, literally, on the trail.

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