Note - From here through mid-Monday, July 10th, this diary primarily covers Crew 3.

[From the Philmanac - Six Mile Gate is so named because it is located 6 miles from U.S. Rt 64.  It is located on the border between Philmont and the WS Ranch (Vermejo Park.)  Six Mile Gate was used as a trail camp in the early 1970's, but is now just a drop-off point for crews going to the Anasazi or McBride Canyon Starting Camps (and also a pick up point for some itineraries ending at Indian Writings or Ponil.)]

[From the Philmanac - Indian Writings is located in the North Ponil Canyon, about 4 miles north of 6 Mile Gate.  It is named for the Anasazi Indian Petroglyphs which exist in this area.  The Indians left this area around 1300 A.D.  This was the main site of the 1941 Philturn Archaeological Expedition that explored and catalogued the unique artifacts in the area.  At the primary dig, a pit house, slab house and a burial site were meticulously excavated.  Indian Writings is one of the oldest camps in Philmont, and was first opened in 1939 as part of the original Philturn Rocky Mountain Scout Camp.  In its early years, Indian Writings was called "Scribblin's" (after the petroglyphs.)  Today, the program features archaeological digging under staff supervision, plus petroglyph tours and a museum tour.]

[From the Philmanac - Ponil was the original base camp for the Philturn Rocky Mountain Scout Camp (the forerunner to Philmont), and was run as such during the summers from 1939 to 1941.  Ponil was named after the "Apache Plume," a knee-high bushy plant which has 5 points - just as five canyons converge at this point (South Ponil, Horse, Cedar, and both ends of Middle Ponil.)  Not surprisingly, this site was initially referred to as "Five Points."  The traditional program at Ponil has been Horseback Riding and Western Lore.  The camp was also the site of Philmont's original Rock Climbing Program, from 1967 to 1971, and is currently the host to a Commissary, a Trading Post and a Cantina, the latter of which was started in 1977.  A Chuckwagon Dinner was also started at Ponil in 1990, and a Flyfishing program added in 1996.  Campfire programs or Cantina shows have been featured some years.  Ponil has more cabins than any other camp at Philmont, about a dozen in all - some of which date back to the Philturn period.  Numerous historical artifacts and pictures of the early days of Ponil and nearby camps are located in the Trading Post, which doubles as a museum.]

[From the Philmanac - Sioux has been used as a starting camp since 1979, when it replaced Four Mile Camp.  It is a satellite camp of nearby Ponil, and is a relatively short hike from the Ponil Turnaround.  Lower Sioux is located alongside Middle Ponil Creek, while Upper Sioux is a couple of hundred feet up the side of the southern side ridge.]

Up at 5:40 - but I had already been awakened an hour earlier by several Crews departing from homebound tent city.  One moron had let the lid on the dumpster next to my tent slam down around 2 am.  My chiding rebuke was answered with a muttered "sorry" as the miscreant fled towards the parking lot.  Got Chris and Brad up to wake the rest of the Crew, then finalized my pack and swept out the tent.  A beautiful morning, 56 degrees - "It's Perfect Again."  Off to the Dining Hall, where we linked up with Laura and "enjoyed" a dubious looking (and smelling) ham and eggs breakfast.  I passed in favor of drink mix and some fruit.  Well, as I always say, the Dining Hall fare makes you really appreciate the trail food....  Done quickly, and back to the tents.  Everyone finished packing their last carry-on luggage, swept out, then saddled up and headed to the vans (to drop off those last items.)  Then down to the Welcome Center to set up a pack line and hang out for a few last minutes.  I stayed behind for a few more minutes, filled out the Security Envelope information, frantically wrote some more diary `til 7:25 (finishing up June 28th), grabbed all my stuff and headed for the vans.  Dropped off my carry-on, then checked the windows and re-locked all 4 vehicles.  Linked up with Hank, and we headed down to the Security Hut to drop off the Security Envelope - but no, they take them at the Registration Desk now (not sure if that was new or if I'd forgotten how it was in `98, but OK.)  Hank ended up taking the envelope while I headed directly to the Welcome Center to take a few last "assembly" photos and check to see if all 3 Crews were on the same bus (we were supposed to be.)  Our bus and one other arrived at 7:50, the first buses of the day (and the only 8 am buses), and yes, all 3 of the  629-B Crews were together, heading for 6-Mile Gate.  Rob and Trent did the pack loading duties, and we all piled in for the drive out.  After playing "Tour Guide, Tour Guide, who's gonna be the Tour Guide?," Trent self-elected, with Rob and Laura chiming in on occasion.  All 3 were a little weak on the standard spiel, but then again I suppose that's obvious only to veterans (like me) who have been to 6-Mile Gate or the Ponil Turnaround a half-dozen times.  Rattled our way to the dropoff, finding one filthy, exhausted looking Crew in residence, clearly very much ready to go home.  [After they left, I told everyone "Don't you dare look like that when we hike into Basecamp!"]  Gave everyone the biannual 6-Mile Gate Barbed-Wire Fence Warning, so no-one tore any holes in their packs.  The Crews split up into discussion groups, and Laura started right in on hiking protocols.  Crew 2 left within 10 minutes for McBride Canyon; we left for Indian Writings about 5 minutes later, with Crew 1 a few minutes behind us.  Judging from the quick departures of all 3 Crews, Philmont has obviously instructed the Rangers not to do the usual endless teaching sessions after getting off the buses.  No complaints here!  Over the cattle guard steps in short order, and on the trail at last.  Left my troubles and cares hanging on the barbed-wire fence, which was a damn good place for them.  We hit North Ponil Creek a minute later - no beaver dams this year, and also no freshly downed trees; guess they've moved on, or became dinner for something a little higher up the food chain.  My favorite cactus was still present, looking a heck of a lot better than it did in `98.  Unfortunately, it wasn't quite in bloom - looked like it would be spectacular in about 4 or 5 days, though; sorry I missed it.  Got down to the Tyrannosaurus Rex footprint in less than 20 minutes, and dropped our packs for a look-see.  Excellent - they thoroughly weeded inside the fence this year, so everyone got a good view.  Matt wanted to climb the ridge to see if he could find the reverse imprint; I guaranteed him that a thousand archaeologists had already spent a couple of man-years looking (with no luck.)  Took a few photos and headed back down just in time to intercept Crew 1.  Spent a minute or two indoctrinating Rick and Clay on what they were seeing and how to explain it to the Crew, and we hit the trail.  Walked through Anasazi (another starter camp), no-one present, and again lost the thread of the main trail among the campsite trail maze.  Finally did a minor bushwhack down to the road (crossing the stream), and pushed on to Indian Writings.  Beautiful, deep blue sky, but getting hot quickly.  As we passed the kiva dig site, we stopped and reviewed the Staff Camp entry protocol, then continued on to the staff cabin, arriving 10:20 (Good time!)  Chris, Brad and Laura headed up to the cabin, and managed to get the "last" slot on the 11:00 am Petroglyph tour - good news for us, but not for Crew 1.  Well, if they get here in time, we'll see!  Since we still had about half an hour before the tour, we went ahead and snagged lunch.  The water at Indian Writings was nasty - bad tasting and giving an immediate bellyache; I certainly don't remember it being like this in years past!  It actually seems to be generating some kind of gas.  Between this and the revolting aftertaste from my eye drops (for the laser surgery), I'm thoroughly nauseated.  Hope the water at Ponil/Sioux is better, or it's gonna be a long couple of days.  Crew 1 arrived at 10:50; I ran over and told Rick and Eric to hustle on up and beg their way onto the 11:00 am tour - which they did, successfully - good deal.  They had to grab their canteens and go immediately, but that's a lot better than waiting `til 1:00 pm!  The tour got going just after 11:00; the "interpreter" was Drew Coffin - certainly an intriguing name for an archaeologist!  Laura, Rob and 1 other Ranger tagged along.  Of immediate note at the first stop, one of the other Crew's Scouts (all small and young) were clearly already done for - sitting off to the side where they couldn't see the glyphs, staring off into space, or doodling in the dirt, paying no attention to the tour.  "Eat your peas, boys."  [Hard to believe they all made the mandatory minimums; looked like a bunch of 12 and 13 year olds - gonna be a long trek, there, if they're looking like this on Day 2!]  Drew was a pretty decent guide, giving some basic history and trying to elicit guesses from the Scouts on what each petroglyph might mean.  Of course, Brad, Chris and Dan chimed in with "highly accurate" guesses, since they had been there before - but Drew managed to quell that too, with the exception of the "woman giving birth" comments made infamous during the 1998 tour.  I stepped in to put an end to that before they got too obnoxious.  Of real interest to me, Drew claimed that several glyphs that I had always been told were "Scout glyphs" were in fact actually Anasazi petroglyphs.  This included the "No Parking" circle with a slash, and "Electrical Outlet" double circle with 2 horizontal bars.  Not wanting to contradict him on the tour, we discussed this privately as we moved on to the next set of glyphs.  I think I'll hold off on accepting his word on it, though; if nothing else, they look too new (and shallow) to me!  Drew had also not heard the possible explanation that the person inside the pit house glyph might be a representation of the small female that had been excavated from under that same house, but he agreed that was certainly possible.  As we headed for the pit house, he pointed out the location of the Jicarilla Apache horse glyph, but the light was too poor to make it out from the road.  Something to examine more closely someday when I spend the night here.  With that, we did the pit house, then the slab house, then the ruins of the cabin, where Drew reminded me of something I had forgotten - that being, that one of the clues that the residents of this cabin had been forcibly evicted during the Colfax County Land Wars (in the late 1800's) was the fact that all the windows had been smashed inwards.  Finally, we reviewed a small stone oven, and looked over various artifacts from the railroad that had served the logging company in the late 1800's.  All in all, a good tour - and once again illustrating the amazing millennium-long history of this tiny little valley.  With that, we headed back to the staff cabin, tanked up on the nasty water, and hit the trail for Hart Peak.  Crew 1 stayed behind to eat lunch before leaving.  Tough uphill out of Indian Writings, aggravated by the mid-day sun beating hard on us - they don't call this "The Stairmaster" for nothing!  Laura quickly impressed with the Caterpillar technique, especially when we did the entire uphill section without a break (ah, another convert!)  20 Minutes of hard hiking, then the trail eased into switchbacks with a more reasonable grade.  Nice views behind us, under a deep blue sky with big fluffy white clouds - like a laser enhanced postcard.  The trail settled into a steady but gentle uphill, between 4 and 8 percent grades, and we just flew.  Only stop was for a decent sized rattlesnake, which was lying on the trail as we approached.  After giving the usual notice to Chris (nothing sounds like a rattlesnake!), it slithered off to the left, ending up under a log.  I got some decent pictures, and we moved on.  1 Hour and 20 minutes to the summit, great time (especially for our first day!)  Unusual views (different angles) of most of the higher peaks made it worth the sweat.  No signs of thunderstorms, so we took a packs-off break to water up and enjoy the view.  20 Minutes and we're off to Ponil, again a nice trail.  Some spots would have made decent campsites - if there was any water.  Into the camp, surprisingly semi-deserted; normally, this place is jumping in the afternoon.  Unfortunately, the water seemed cursed with the same affliction that was present at Indian Writings.  Hit the Cantina, where I bought one round of root beer and a candy bar for everyone, including Laura.  Only one other Crew was in the Cantina, plus 2 or 3 stray Scouts, hanging out.  Had a few sips of root beer myself, which was a bad mistake quickly announced by my guts, sigh.  Laura headed over to the Staff Cabin, and got permission from the Camp Director to come back for the Cantina Show (starting at 8 pm), even though that meant an after-dark return to Sioux.  Good deal there!  30 Minutes in all, and we hit the trail for Sioux, a flat 20 minute hike.  Took the campsite in the lower camp which was the closest to Ponil in order to make the night walk a bit easier.  The site map was a bit confusing in that it wasn't clear if we were actually in Sioux, or rather in the furthest Ponil campsite - but it hardly mattered, since we had all of lower Sioux to ourselves.  If there are any other 629/Trek 30 Crews, they must have gone ahead and pushed up to Upper Sioux.  Nice site, with a decent amount of grass, and not too many flies (the usual bane of camping near Ponil.)  I asked Laura to watch the Crew do camp setup on their own (showing her what they already knew); she agreed, and everyone went at it with a will, quickly yanking and sorting Crew gear, starting dinner, getting the bear-bags up, and setting up the tarp "lean-to" style in order to block off the wind (blowing a pretty good clip towards Ponil.)  Laura watched carefully, with just a few comments here and there; she told me later it was nice to have a properly trained Crew for a change.  [Why Thank You!]  The afternoon thunderstorm finally brewed up, but far down the valley to the east, no threat to us.  Dinner was macaroni and cheese and minestrone soup, plus the usual extras, not bad.  In contrast to the increasingly common practice, we cooked each item separately, so it was a decent meal.  Held off on the Hot Fruit Cobbler, however - too sweet, and everyone was already full anyway (or maybe saving room for Cantina candy bars!)  Spurred by David, the conversation somehow ended up on illicit drugs, and I spent some time educating everyone on this endlessly fascinating topic.  Crew 1 finally came on by around 5 pm, just as we were getting ready to clean up - still had another 20 minutes to Bent.  I ran over and asked if they needed our help, but Rick and (Ranger) Rob both said no, they'd be fine, so OK!  We went ahead and did KP, set up the tents, put up the bear-bags, and did a partial camp breakdown, including taking the tarp down.  Most of the Crew then headed up to a small overlook on the north side of the canyon, laughing and yelling down from the crest.  Chris was one of the first ones down, so I grabbed him, Hank, Brad, and Laura, and we held a brief PLC to discuss the day and the morrow.  Laura was pretty happy with the Crew, enthusiastic about our desire to maximize our trek, and had no real criticisms.  The rest of the Crew gathered around as we were finishing up, so we went right into a session of Roses, Thorns and Buds, which went reasonably well.  Warm gear for everyone and we headed off to Ponil around 7:30, arriving at the Cantina at 7:45.  Already crowded and "sweaty" inside; we ended up sitting on the floor at the very front, great seats, eh?  Most of Crew 1 joined us a few minutes later.  The show got started rather fitfully, with the staff finally fully assembled around 8:15 or so.  The usual array of songs and poems; one was a pretty interesting outlaw story with a refrain including "Jesse with the long hair hanging down."  I'll have to see if I can get that one when I get home.  They also did Country Roads and a few other standards, a piano instrumental, plus an original song, "The Burro" (a parody of the song "Meet Virginia.")  Very funny.  Ended with "Good Riddance" by Green Day ["I Hope You Have the Time of Your Life"] - a little hokey, but it worked, and many of the Scouts sang along.  When it was over, Eric asked permission to play the piano and wowed everyone with 3 dynamite instrumentals, really hot [#1 was "Firedance," #2 was an untitled original composition, and #3 was "Bumble Boogie."]  About half the crowd stuck around, enthralled, including a couple of young ladies who were just mesmerized.  Guys later ranked on Eric for not having the initiative to dedicate a song to the girls; they would have swooned.  We left together around 9:30, hiking back to Sioux.  Chilly now, but not ridiculous.  Crew 1 continued on to Bent, while most of Crew 3 took a few minutes to clean today's hiking clothes.  Bed by 10:15, with Steven and Matt yelling about a mini-bear attacking their tent, keeping us all up `til about 10:30.  Nice stars mixed with a few clouds, light breeze, 48 degrees.  Took a few Maalox before racking out, which helped a bit.  A great day, and a great start to the trek.  8 miles of backpacking (instead of 1 1/2), plus the Petroglyph Tour, Hart Peak, and the Ponil Cantina Show - not bad, not bad at all.  Tomorrow one of the most inspirational hikes Philmont has to offer - Wilson Mesa.