Up at 4:45 - Clear skies with some thin clouds on the eastern horizon - probably the back side of last night's thunderstorm front.  54 degrees with a light breeze.  Did another quick packup, grabbed our biking and rafting clothes, and hit the road at 5:40.  Went to the Base McDonalds again - but had to wait `til 6:10 before they opened up.  [We definitely should have kept driving and hit someplace else along Rt. 24 West.]  Did the 5 by 5 meal ordering thing again, but this time we didn't allow anyone to take anything until all 5 meals in the subgroup had arrived; that worked a lot better than yesterday.  Also had the Adults (drivers) eat first.  Guys played with the Leggo's again.  Left at 6:45, seriously behind schedule.  Worse, I forgot my jacket, hat and camera in one of the booths; that's what clock-watching will do to you.  Out Rt. 24 and westward ho, climbing to Ute Pass.  [Informational Aside:  I always enjoy this drive for the dramatic changes in the flora as you gain elevation; after 8 trips, you look forward to certain things, and this is one for me.  There's 2 distinctly different sets of trees as you climb out of Colorado Springs; first is a very thick areas of Douglas Fir, Spruce, Aspen and Lodgepole Pines, which quickly thins out to (almost exclusively) Ponderosa Pines.  Once you crest the pass, you're treated to a spectacular view of a high plateau spreading in a 50 mile vista in all directions to the front, with views of the snow-capped Collegiate Range to the far west.]  As always, we stopped for a few photos and a bathroom break at the scenic overlook/Rest Stop at the crest.  Finally figured out that my camera was missing once I exited the van for a picture; arrgh!  Back on our way, we headed down into the valley (down being a relative term here; we're at 8,500 feet.)  Lots of cattle, plus one buffalo herd and 2 pronghorn antelope.  Also new, even larger "Visit Beautiful South Park" signs - I guess the town council has decided to try and solicit tourist dollars from all the TV-saturated idiots looking to save Kenny.  Heading down 24/285 into Buena Vista, we passed Wilderness Aware (our rafting outfitter) just before reaching the town - easy enough to get to later.  Finally pulled into Trailhead at 9:10 - very late!  Compounding this, they did not have the additional 6 bikes from Buffalo Joe's that they had promised - we had to split up and send a subgroup to go get them.  I was not happy, either with the situation or the morning manager's flippant attitude about his failure to fulfill his commitment.  Count to 10 again, Robert!  Decided not to do an aggravation dump, but I will remember this the next time we come to Buena Vista - that is, if we ever come back to Buena Vista again.  Did a quick division of the Crew - 20 guys who wanted to do the Whipple Trail and Midland Railroad Cut stayed, while 5 guys who preferred an easier morning headed down to Buffalo Joe's, with the intention of taking the river road out to the old railroad tunnels.  David B. decided to take a pass so he could finish up a critical paperwork project and get it mailed.  Everyone else got fitted with TREK bikes with special shocks and all the usual accoutrements.  Helmets and water bottles all around, plus repair kits, then a quick safety lecture (with the usual warning not to run over any cactus spikes), and we headed off to Riverbend Park and the Whipple Trail (9:50.)  Chris was the "lead dog."  Rick and I stuck with the Whipple Trail group, and we were soon gasping our way up the side of the hill.  At 8,500 feet elevation, this was to be expected - but it was truly embarrassing to have several locals jog up the trail faster than we were riding, passing us with cheery "Good Morning's!"  Ouch!  Finally reached the cut, and everyone headed south, down towards where the cut fades into a section of forest administered by the Bureau of Land Management.  Nice vista of the valley and the Collegiate Range to the west - amazing the enhanced perspective from just a few hundred feet up.  Slight uphill grade, with some sections being rather bumpy with "washboard" rutting, but a pleasant ride overall.  Quickly reached the BLM section; after some debate, Rick and I gave the guys their choice of where to go, so long as they got back to the top of the Whipple Trail by 11:10 (where we would try to get some pictures of them coming down.)  Some of the guys continued on to try and find a fabled mountain biking park, but most decided to head back and past the Whipple Trail to see how far they could get down the cut.  Rick and I held at the trailhead, and acted as the "signposts" for everyone to find it (surprisingly, it wasn't marked in any way.)  As the guys returned, I gave a "group leader" money for lunch, and we sent everyone off in groups of 4, with Rick grabbing photos as they sped down the initial slope.  Rick and I acted as Tail-End Charlies and First Aid/Rescue Squad, but despite the steepness of the downhill, we only had one wipe-out (Chris, who skinned an elbow, but not too badly.)  Hairy but fun trip down for Rick and I.  Back in Buena Vista, Panchos (our preferred lunch-stop) was overwhelmed with 40 members of the "Longhorn Leadership Camp" (maybe football???), so only 9 of us stuck around to eat there.  Everyone else went down to Pizza Hut (right next to Trailhead.)  Despite the crowd at Panchos, we got served within 30 minutes, delicious as usual.  Got back to Trailhead by 12:25, and did a quick check-in.  No cactus spikes or other damage, so we escaped without further financial damage. A decent time, but I really blew it by not getting us here a lot earlier.  Just before we left, we gave some sunscreen to another mountain biker who had ridden onto the lot - he was an Eagle Scout who was working with kids in a "nearby city" who had "serious" drug problems, as a kind of VISTA volunteer (or maybe some kind of missionary; he wasn't very clear.)  He had been to Philmont in the early 90's.  Off to Wilderness Aware, pulling into the parking lot at 12:45, right on time.  Everyone changed into swimming clothes, and applied sunscreen everywhere (the sun was quite intense at this point, with only a few clouds.)  I headed inside with all our paperwork; the front desk was highly impressed with our package, telling me that most groups end up having to fill out all their paperwork out in the parking lot, holding everyone else up.  After some discussion, I decided to go with wet-suits (at $5 per), because the water temperature was colder than usual.  [One person said 45 degrees; as it turned out, it was actually 56 degrees - but even that's cold enough to make it miserable if it became cloudy or rained.]  The wetsuits were black and grey "Farmer John" style, with blue velcro flaps at the shoulders - quite the fashion statement.  Unfortunately, also hotter than blazes while standing in the sun.  Everyone grabbed a lifevest and we headed off to one side of the parking lot for a quick orientation on what to do - and what not to do - in the raft, from Cristin (the head honcho for this trip.)  As it turned out, we were 3/4's of the afternoon group - one raft was taken by an individual family, and another couple joined our group; that was it.  [Later, we learned that the couple that joined us were Scouters, from Troop 202 in Dallas, Texas.  Their Troop was at Camp Alexander (the one we had passed on our way to 11 Mile Canyon), so I was able to quiz them a little on what they thought of the camp (they liked it a lot.)]  After some debate, we split the Crew into 4 rafting groups:  Raft # 1 was Charles, Matt G., Matt M., Stefan, Eric and Rick (with Flex); # 2 was Galen, Andy, Clay, David M., Kelsey, Clark, and Tim W. (with Craig); # 3 was Daniel He., Dan, Neal, Jay, Hank, Steven, and Chris (with Beaner); # 4 was David B., Daniel Ho., Brad, John, myself and the couple from Troop 202 (with Cristin); and # 5 was the other family.  Once the orientation was done, we piled onto the bus, and drove 10 minutes to the launching point (the same one we had used with American Sport Expeditions on our 3 previous visits), with Cristin giving a running commentary.  The Arkansas River looked lower than previous years - not a surprise in view of the lengthy drought in New Mexico, Colorado and Wyoming.  [Later, we learned it was flowing at 1200 cfu, about half of what we had in `98.]  Everyone divided into their rafting groups, and got a quick "how-to" lecture on paddling (emphasizing synchronicity) and how to wedge your feet in the crevices in order to help avoid getting "launched" while in the rapids.  I had my usual chat with each guide, asking them to maximize the experience for each group - right down the toughest part of each set of rapids (each said "no problem!")  Ready at last, and we slid the rafts down to the river on the double rails specifically designed for just that purpose.  Launched immediately, to a rousing Arkansas River Cheer.  The lower water meant a slower trip this year, and things were rather sedate for the first half-hour.  Finally, however, we got into the one-after-the-other succession of real rapids - Screen Door (aka Canyon Doors), Pinball, Zoom Flume, Egg-Beater, Big Drop, Staircase, Widowmaker, Raft Ripper, Seidel's Suckhole, and Twin Falls - wow!  Great fun, even if a bit "gentler" than the veterans had hoped for.  No one "launched" this year - not surprising in view of the reduced water flow; the toughest rapid was probably only Class3+.  [Photos: 1, 2]  Pulled into the takeout point at 4:00 - very crowded, with half a dozen buses and about 10 vans.  The Crew helped pull, empty and mount the rafts on the trailer, which got us on our way a lot sooner; everyone enjoyed flipping the rafts onto the trailer, especially the last 2, which had to be tossed quite a ways "up."  35 Minute ride back to Wilderness Aware; everyone got juice packs and crackers - a nice touch.  Once we were back in the parking lot, we also got small magnetic "diplomas" (refrigerator magnet-type advertisements), which the guys immediately mounted on the sides of the vans, plus I got a computer mouse pad, cool.  After stripping off the wetsuits, everyone headed inside to review the photos taken at "Zoom Flume" - we picked 4 winners, and David B. bought another for himself.  The guys also discovered free hot chocolate and candy on the side board, and made short work of both.  After tipping our 4 guides ($20/each), we left at 5:10 to go get gassed up.  Premium for both vans; we'll need it tomorrow.  Looking at the time, we decided to bag out on Royal Gorge, since (at best) we'd get there about a half-hour before it closed.  Rick called both Royal Gorge and K-Bob's Restaurant in Canon City and cancelled our reservations, then made new reservations for dinner at Western Sizzlin' in Colorado Springs.  Gone at 5:30.  Pretty easy trip back; we saw 2 more antelope on the way, both very close to the road.  About halfway to Colorado Springs, I again switched driving duties with Clay, since fatigue was starting to settle in on me again.  Pulled in at 7:15; everyone put their Crew T-Shirts back on and we headed in.  Great buffet.  We also ended up getting a $25 rebate from the manager, since we were a Scout group (so effectively, our drinks were free.)  Everyone stuffed themselves again, since this was our last mega-meal before Philmont.  Held our final Crew meeting as we polished off dessert - complete van cleanout tonight, our departure tomorrow morning, the presence of another Crew at the Day Care Center tonight, etc.  Some of the guys had gone overboard on lollipops and chocolate chips, and Rick called everyone to task for leaving half of them on the table as we started to leave - "Take what you want, but eat what you take!"  Back at the Base, we stopped at the McDonalds (just after they closed) to see if my stuff had been turned in; fortunately, it had, and I got my camera and jacket back - but forgot to ask about my hat, stupid!  Oh well....  At the Center, the other Crew (from Selma, Alabama) had arrived, and were gathered around the TV.  They got up and headed into the gym as we came in and started setting up.  Did the complete cleanout of the vans - the green one in particular was a disaster, with trash and gear everywhere.  Most of the guys were cooperative - but I had to break up several games of basketball and football in the gym, then forbid the use of the TV, before we got everything done.  Hank took the wet clothes from the rafting trip off to the Base laundromat to dry them out, while Rick went to pick up Tim A. at the airport.  I talked some with the Advisor (Tom Lang) from the Alabama Crew; he had implied (by prior emails to me) that he wanted to sit down and get some pointers and advice, but in reality we didn't talk very much.  They were on Trek 26 or 27, he wasn't positive (!!!).  Lights out at 10:05 tonight, enforced because of the early wakeup call.  I went into the gym and wrote diary `til 10:45, heading back out just as Tim A. and Rick returned.  The Alabama Crew played cards `til about midnight (or more accurately, that's when the lights in the gym were turned off.)  A good day, but bad time management on my part cost us.  More lessons learned....  Tomorrow Philmont; we're ready!