Philmont Trek Part II

Day 4

The wind this morning is fierce. I woke up and the wind was whipping my rain fly. I was afraid, despite the stakes, my fly might blow away. Packing up the tent was a challenge, but G3 helped me which I appreciated. The view from our site is spectacular. We can see the hills in the distance, but more amazing are the clouds—light and fluffy—sitting in the valley. It looks like a frozen ocean, the waves in various stages of breaking.

The sun is out this morning and it is lovely after the rain last night. While we ate breakfast, we laid out our wet clothes and packs and they mostly dried. Unless it rains again we should be completely dry by the time we reach camp.

Last night, G3 zipped his pant legs off and hung them from a tree to dry. This morning, he couldn’t find them. The wind blew them away. Luckily, they were found by another scout off in the bushes.

Even though we had an early wake up, 5:30, we didn’t get moving until 8:40. The trail at the start was extremely muddy and slippery. It was like sloshing through clay. G3 continues to allow Tall P to use his trekking pole and Tall P is appreciative. After about eighty minutes on the trail we turned onto a steep road. The climb was harder on some of us than others. The views along the way continue to be gorgeous.

With about a mile and a half to camp, the trail became more intense, the incline insanely steep. Short P had a great deal of difficulty, and out front, leading the crew, he maintained an incredibly slow pace. He also stopped multiple times. There was a spell where I was concerned he might not make it up to the ridge. But he eventually did.

We arrived at Uracca Camp at 1:30. Five hours of hiking to go five miles. That is a is a super slow speed of one mile an hour. When we got to camp, I was famished. For dinner last night, I ate only a couple of bags of honey mustard pretzels. I simply could not get the chili mac with beef down. It was awful. This morning for breakfast, I was excited to eat an apple—fresh fruit, yum—and a poptart—I was too hungry to complain. Since I wasn’t the only one who was hungry, we ate lunch before setting up camp. Cheese dip and crackers never tasted so good. I traded a scout an energy bar that I dislike for a cheese dip that he didn’t like. If I were to have the dip at home, I am confident I would have hated it. But I was desperate. I was especially desperate for protein, having rejected most of the protein rich food. So desperate was I that I ate three sticks of pork jerky. Yep, those of you who really know me, know how big of a deal that was.

While taking one of our many stops on the trail, G3 and I were fantasizing about real food. He asked if he could please have a cheesesteak and ice cream from As you Like It when we get home. I am totally in agreement with him about ice cream. I promised him both. But whereas he wants a cheesesteak, I would love Korean food.

It has been a very hot day. That, combined with the fact that I can’t sleep well at night, means I am feeling sleepy. I wish I could sleep. The campsites have been extremely comfortable. Almost every night I have set my tent up on a bed of pine needles. And still I wake up and can’t fall back to sleep.

Tonight, we are staying in a staff camp. After setting up our tent, T, his son N, and I took a short half a mile hike up to Inspiration Point. I asked G3 if he wanted to came but he said no. I was a little disappointed. We have seen many amazing views but the view from Inspiration Point was the most incredible. Out in the distance we could see the Tooth of Time and down below the sweeping valley. In the middle of the valley was Base Camp, the only structures in sight. We sat on a rock looking out at the view and had a pleasant conversation about politics and education. N was engaging, well informed, and eager to share his opinion. I am often impressed by kids, even teenagers, who are willing to have a conversation with an adult.

Dinner was spicy tuna and cheese-it’s. I ate it, G3 rejected the tuna.  G3 did save me an orange since he knows how much I like fruit. That small gesture made me happy.

One of the programs at the staff camp is an evening campfire show. I’m not sure I’ve ever been so bored. It was a Fourth of July theme, and the show completely bastardized the American Revolution. It was terrible. When it ended, they did their usual campfire show. It too was horrible. I was legitimately in pain through the duration of it. No one in our crew liked it.

Day 5

I have a cold. Apparently, I can’t trek in the rain and not get sick. I got a cold and then a cough last summer after it poured our last day in Pukaskwa. And now I am sick again after the rain two days ago. However, last night was my best night of sleep. Every time  I woke up I fell back to sleep relatively easily. The lack of sleep and physical activity must have taken its toll on me.

Despite waking up at 5:30, we got a much later start than T and I hoped to get. By the time we all packed up, ate breakfast, and filled up on water—we were heading to a dry camp—it was 8:00. The sky was clear and the sun hot when we hit the trail. For the first two miles, we cut through the valley with absolutely no shade. The heat baked the earth and those of us on it. It was grueling. The Tooth of Time, our destination for the day, was in view the entire time.

Another mile-ish was completely downhill—a treacherous descent littered with loose rocks and slippery clay like mud. At least there was a tad bit of shade.

We stopped along the way to do a rope course and rock climbing wall. I made my way up to the top of the easiest rock wall. My forearms were spent, but I was pretty excited that I did it. Belaying down was fun, but my feet hit the ground a bit hard, I lost my balance, and fell on my back. On my way down, my phone flew out of my pocket and when it slammed on the gravel the screen protector shattered. I tried a harder wall but I just could get a strong enough grip to get more than half way.

G3 and J attempted a much harder wall. I don’t think either of them got to the top but I was impressed with how high they did get. The other scouts all tried different walls and seemed to enjoy the program.

Next, they headed up to the ropes course which it appears they enjoyed even more. I opted not to do it because the last thing I wanted to do was hurt my ankle more before heading to the ridge of Tooth of Time. Just as we were prepping to head back onto the trail it started to rain. We decided to hang out for a while under the pavilion to stay dry and to hopefully wait out the rain.

The rain lasted all of five minutes and then we were on our way, but we took a wrong turn and ended up adding  a mile to our hike. Once we landed back on the trail we started to climb almost immediately. We were going for about half a mile or three quarters of a mile before we reached Stockade Camp. We weren’t staying there, but we decided to stop for lunch. Many of our fuel tanks were on low, including mine. To minimize the weight we need to carry up to the ridge, we decided to eat dinner for lunch. That way we could use some of our water to rehydrate the food. We had yellow curry with chicken and rice. I must be hallucinating, or just extremely hungry, because it tasted really good. So good, that when G3 couldn’t finish his I was more than happy to finish it.

From where we stopped, we still had about a mile to go along with one thousand feet of elevation to gain. However, once lunch was done, we noticed storm clouds gathering off in the distance. The wind picked up, threatening more rain. Therefore, we set up the emergency shelter and decided to wait out the storm or wait to see if it would pass.

Wow! That was an exhilarating climb, and probably the most fun part of our trek. It was a half a mile straight up a semi-rock scramble. It was intense. The scouts didn’t want to keep stopping to wait for the slow adults, so T and I told them to go at their own pace, but to wait for us at the top. Like the scouts, I find continuous stopping more difficult than a continuous slow and steady pace. G3 was super impressed that I was the fifth person in the crew to reach the ridge. As I dropped my pack he said, “I expected you to be one of the first adults, but I didn’t expect you to be the fifth person to get here.” He then made sure I drank a half a liter of water filled with electrolytes. Had T not stayed behind to make sure the Ps survived the climb, he’d have arrived with me or ahead of me. One scout, T, asked me, “How did you make that look so easy?” It wasn’t easy. I was definitely breathing hard and my ankle is in agony.

It never rained harder than a light drizzle. The storm circled past us. In total, today, we hiked 8.5 miles. Tooth Ridge Camp, where we are spending the night has a gorgeous view of the valley. While the scouts made dinner the advisors sat on a rock staring at the view. This week flew by. I can’t believe it’s our last night. We ate dinner around a fire and did “Thorns and Roses” as we do every night. It’s a time for the crew to unpack their day and discuss what went well and what could be improved. G3’s rose was, “I’m really proud of my mom climbing up today. She did much better than I expected her to.”

Before bed, G3 came over to my tent to talk. It was only a few minutes, but it made me happy that he took time to sit with me. He is really excited about hiking to the top of the Tooth of Time tomorrow morning.

Day 6

We woke up at 4:00 and left the campsite with just our day packs to hike to the top of the Tooth of Time to watch the sun rise.

We left early to ensure that the entire crew would have time to reach the summit. It was six tenths of a mile from the summit and a good bit of it was a rock scramble, which, as always, I enjoyed. There must be 40 or 50 people up here this morning sitting on the rocks waiting for the sun to rise. One guy from another crew is playing a ukulele. The view is arguably the best we’ve seen. The mountain range is to our left (Northwest), the valley is below, and the sky off on the horizon is pink. The wind is steady and the air is cold. I’m glad Kati talked me into getting this fleece and without a winter hat I’d be shivering.

The sunrise was pretty. The scramble up to the top coupled with the sunrise was by far the highlight of our trek. When we got back to camp, we ate breakfast—oatmeal—and then took down our tents and packed up. We headed out at 8:30, however, it took us a bit of time to locate the correct trail. Once we did, it was closer to 9:00. The trek down the mountain felt eternal. It was six miles of switchback after switchback in the blazing heat with no shade as we made our way down the Tooth of Time. But we kept a steady, faster than usual pace, and arrived at base camp just before noon.

Upon arrival, the scouts had to wash their tents. Unlike adults who are expected to bring their own, the scouts borrow from the ranch. Once the tents were clean, we ate lunch. It was awful, but at least it wasn’t trail food.  With a full stomach, I was finally able to take a shower. It never felt so good to wash my hair.

Late this afternoon, we took a tour of Villa Philamonte, the house in which Waite Phillips lived when he resided on the ranch. I am sure you are not surprised to hear that I found a way to do something historical while on this excursion with the scouts. Since some of the scouts were also interested in the tour, I called this morning from our campsite to make a reservation. Our tour guide was good, very animated and engaging which is important when giving tours to teenagers.

Waite Phillips was born in Iowa and he had a twin named Wiate. That is not a typo. They have the same letters in their name, their parents just switched the second and third letters. When they were sixteen, they left home and traveled throughout the United States. Sadly, three years later, Wiate died from an appendicitis. He got to the hospital in time and had surgery, but then the resulting infection killed him.

Following his twin’s death, Waite’s older brothers told him they would pay for college and then give him a job in the family oil company, but he would have to start at the bottom like everyone else. He completed college in only three months. Impressive. Unfortunately, the tour guide could not tell me which college he graduated from.

Working with his brothers in Tulsa, he stated out digging oil wells and eventually worked his way up in the company. Not content with his brothers being on charge, he separated from them and started his own oil company. He eventually sold it for $25 million ($450 million in today’s money). This money he invested in property. The house on his ranch here in New Mexico cost him $10 million to build in 1927.

It was in 1938 that he contacted the Boy Scouts and asked them if they would be interested in his ranch. They initially said no, until representatives from the national council came out to see it. Originally, he gifted 36,000 acres which is now the northern part of Philmont. Three years later, in 1941, he gifted the southern portion of the ranch—91,000–acres to the scouts.

While on the tour, the guide asked if anyone played the piano. Tall P raised his hand and was invited to play the piano that was original to the house. I had no idea he could play.

This evening, T, who is in the military, gifted each of us a military coin. He explained the coin’s significance and how coins are a tradition in the military.

We ended the day with the closing campfire at base camp. It was a cute show. All the treks that came in today were recognized. We received a plaque that says, “We all made it,” and watched a video of scouts going to camp sixty plus years ago. The staff sang, and we ended the show singing the Philmont hymn.

And tomorrow it’s all over. Eighteen months of planning, practicing, and team building and it’s over in a snap.