[From the Philmanac - Head of Dean derives its name by being located at the start of the Dean Canyon, which runs east all the way to Dean Cow Camp; the Canyon is named for Bob Dean, a one-time cattle foreman in the area.  Another Canyon that runs north down to Pueblano is called Doe Canyon.  Head of Dean is located midway between Baldy Skyline Camp and Upper Dean Cow Camp, and was first operated as a staff camp from 1971 to 1976; the original programs were Lumbering and Astronomy.  A flapjack breakfast was also featured from 1974 to 1976.  It returned to trail camp status from 1977 to 1982, and reopened in 1983 as a staff camp, with the program being the "Dean Challenge" (a COPE Course.)  This proved so popular that similar challenge courses were subsequently added to Urraca and Dan Beard Camps.  A new staff cabin was added to the camp in 1992.]

[From the Philmanac - Santa Claus is located in a pretty little meadow at the west end of Santa Claus Canyon; its name derives from the southwestern legend that Santa Claus comes out of a canyon rather than from the North Pole.  Santa Claus was a dry trail camp until 1991, when a solar powered well was drilled.  It became a staff camp in 1992, featuring the Mountain Technology program (a combination of Astronomy, Forestry, and Meterology.)  A new cabin was constructed in 1992.  However, continuous problems with the wells returned Santa Claus to trail camp status in 1997.]

[From the Philmanac - Visto Grande is Spanish for Magnificent View.  This camp was originally called Bench Camp, but it was changed in 1975 to avoid confusion with the nearby Upper Bench Camp.  In 1947, while stationed as a Ranger at Bench Camp, staff member John Westfall wrote the Philmont Hymn.  "Purple mountains rise, against an azure sky" represented the view at Visto Grande Camp as the sun set over Baldy Mountain.  There are still remains of an old cabin that was used in the early years at the camp.  The spring at Visto Grande is the water source.]

[From the Philmanac - Upper Bench is located on The Bench, a small mesa between U.S. Rt 64 and the much larger Deer Lake Mesa.  Upper Bench was first used as a trail camp in the late 60's.  There is a marshy area in the center of the Upper Bench meadow, and some beautiful campsites in the ponderosa to the west of the meadow.  Upper Bench is located between Visto Grande Camp (formerly called Bench Camp) and Deer Lake Mesa Camp.  It is a dry camp; the closest water is at either of these two camps.]

Up at 6:20, and quickly packed up and out.  48 degrees, broken overcast, slight breeze.  Got everyone else up at 6:30.  Everything was wet again, and the guys were moving slow and trying to shake off the stiffness of the combination of yesterday’s hard work and another chilly, damp morning.  Pushed for a 45 minute departure - extended because all the wet gear and laundry (still under the tarp) was gonna take some effort to sort out.  We actually finished at 7:23 - 8 minutes late, but we’re not in a screaming rush today anyway.  Did our stretching exercises, saddled up, and hit the trail (or rather, the road) at 7:30 - and ran right into Troop 51 again, pulling into camp from (I think) Ute Meadows.  They videotaped me for a minute (just for posterity), and we chatted about their day on Baldy - it had cleared up by the time they summited, so they lucked out on that.  Today they’re doing their conservation project here, then the Challenge Course at Head of Dean, then on to Santa Claus.  By this point, the Crew was already out of sight around a bend, so I took my leave and ran after them, catching up after about 150 yards (that will warm you up quick!)  Did a speed run to Head of Dean, arriving 8:05 - a little late.  The guys enjoyed piling up small rocks on Matt’s pack on the way, which he (eventually) figured out.  Dropped our packs in the trees, well away from the cabin and everyone else’s packlines.  Luke and Matt checked in, and we were all soon invited up for a quick porch talk - turned out the Challenge Courses started at 9:00, not 8:00, so we headed back over to our packs and had breakfast, watching the scene.  Lots of Crews pulling in or leaving, so pretty busy.  Finished up about 8:45, so everyone grabbed canteens, bandannas, rain gear, and the toilet kit.  We covered the pack line with the tarp, and headed over to the cabin for the Challenge Course (Thomas dumped off our compacted trash).  Our staffer was Kristina Tuck (daughter of Larry Tuck, a Scouter I know indirectly from the Philmont List-Server).  She was just getting over an injury, and pre-apologized for being a little slow.  We told her “Not a Problem”.  With that, we headed down to the old staff cabin to start the course (basically a teambuilding COPE-type series of events).  First up was a “Name Game”; each member of the Crew had to say his name and pantomime some favorite activity (“I’m Luke and I like to play the trumpet”, etc.) - easy enough, except that you had to then repeat everyone who had gone before you.  Sounds dumb but it was actually pretty good fun keeping track of all the activities and pantomime actions.  I was last, so had it hardest of all!  Event II was a silent and blindfolded conga-line walk, only Luke was left able to see, and Kristina led him over some varied terrain that forced cooperation between the guys.  We ended at Event III, the Mini-Bear Platform (what we used to call the “Beam Me Up Scotty” at the first couple of Projectorees); the entire Crew (or rather,12 of them, since I was taking all the photos) had to assemble on a tilted, 3 feet square platform, using only 8 points of contact, and sing all four verses of “I’m a Little Teapot” without falling off.  Just to make it even more interesting, Drew and Hugh were mute, and Neil was blindfolded.  Kristina gave them five minutes planning time, then began.  A lot tougher than I suspect they thought it would be - arranging 12 people on a 3 feet square board would already be tough, never mind the various handicaps and stipulations.  Well, they got it on the third try, taking about 10 minutes.  We then took a few minutes to self-evaluate (the real value of such exercises).  Then to Event IV - a Trust Fall off a large stump. [Photos: 1, 2, 3, 4]  This time, I went first, so I could continue taking pictures.  A short fall, but still fun - especially with the bigger guys like William!  Event V was a Spider Web Escape - very easy for the Crew, who (again) were very familiar with this one from the Projectorees. [Photos: 1, 2]  But Event VI was a tough one - the Human Knot.  The guys all crowded together and joined hands with people across the circle (a different person for each hand), and then had to untangle the knot without letting go of anyone (theoretically ending as a large circle).  To make it even more difficult, everyone was mute except Drew, who had to direct.  Very difficult - made even more so because our circle turned out to be two independent but interlocking circles, not one large circle.  Finally, Event VII was the Over The Wall, again with various Scouts either mute or blindfolded.  Plus only two guys were allowed on top at any one time to help pull people up.  After five minutes planning, we started in; the guys went with an alternating big guy/little guy sequence, with William last. [Photos: 1, 2]  It worked - though pulling William up at the end took some real effort!  Done at 11:15 - A Good Time!  After saying Goodbye and Thanks to Kristina, we headed back to the cabin.  Everyone filled three liters each, since our next chlorinated water source wasn’t til Harlan.  However, the staff assured us that the two water buffalos at Santa Claus were full, and also that the spring at Visto Grande was flowing, so we should be fine.  And if all else fails, we’ll collect rainwater off the tarp (no lack of rain lately!)  Plus another thunderstorm was brewing up over Baldy and Touch-Me-Not, and we would be hiking away from it if we left right away.  So the Crew decided to push on to Santa Claus and eat dinner-for-lunch there.  Met John Ruppel and Crew III - they had just pulled in from Ute Meadows, had climbed Baldy the day before, and were going to Santa Claus after doing the Challenge Course (it appears that they’re on the same trek as Troop 51).  Sounded like they were having a great time too, and we parted with smiles and (continued) good luck wishes.  We left at 11:55, pushing hard.  The trail to Santa Claus was closed due to fire damage, so we had to use the old road.  That thunderstorm continued to grow into an impressive size behind us (west), but we were walking directly away from it, so it appeared we would luck out.  We soon began passing through some of the really badly burned areas, the worst we had seen yet, everything completely incinerated.  Despite the recent rains, some areas were quite dusty with black soot, so we took a minute to repack damp clothing back inside our packs (beginning to wonder if we’d ever get them dry again).  I also encouraged Will in particular and anyone else who felt the need to use bandannas as dust masks, and cautioned everyone to step carefully to avoid stirring up the dust too badly.  Even though we expected this, the reality of it was pretty grim.  Confirming what Rene and Blake had told us earlier, the staff at Head of Dean had also said 50 years for it to come back.  Plus it looked like they would suffer some terrific erosion when the heavy rains finally came - there was nothing left to hold the runoff water.  The fire zone extended right up to the Santa Claus meadow, but it was only a ground creeper by that point.  At least two Crews were in residence at Santa Claus.  Contrary to the rumors on the Philmont List Server, the cabin was OK, but it was locked up tight with a hantavirus warning posted on it.  As promised, there were indeed two water buffalos present, but one of them was empty.  We took a campsite on the other (unburned) side of the meadow, and immediately started in on cooking dinner for lunch.  Several of the guys suggested we put up the tarp, but I said not to worry about it - by this point, the dark stormclouds were moving away from us, and the thunder and lightning was growing distant.  [Perhaps my all-time worst decision at Philmont!]  Light sprinkles started over the camp just as dinner was about ready - which quickly grew into an absolute downpour, even as the skies got brighter and brighter overhead.  Just bizarre - and I’m sure the look of stunned incredulity on my face as I stared at the uncaring sky must have been comical indeed.  Everyone (except me) grabbed raingear - I blew it off, since I still needed that missed Baldytown shower anyway.  Some of the guys took refuge in the latrine, others under trees.  We finally gave up and took out the tarp and stood under it, holding it up with our hiking poles.  Judging from our left out pots and pans, at least l ½ inches of rain fell in about 45 minutes.  It finally stopped around 3:15, leaving us with quite a mess and the disappointment of knowing that my thought to save 20 minutes in tarp setup and takedown cost us over an hour and a hot dinner.  Plus we still had a heck of hike to go yet - the normal Trek 32 day starts here and goes to Upper Bench, whereas we had started at Baldy Skyline this morning, and it was now already mid-afternoon.  And to think I thought I knew Philmont weather.  Duh.  We quickly finished dinner (now just lukewarm), and I apologized to everyone for screwing up, and explained that we really had to push it now to get to Visto Grande (our last water source) for lunch-for-dinner, and then to Upper Bench before dark.  Once we were done eating, everyone jumped into a massive all-hands cleanup and packup from 3:30 til 4:00.  A quick set of stretching exercises, and back on the trail by 4:05.  Once again, we saw and said “Hey!” to Troop 51, just finishing their own camp set up.  At least three other Crews were in residence, but I didn’t see Crew III anywhere (maybe they were still coming from Head of Dean).  We pushed down to Bear Canyon on the road - many massive puddles  and lots of slick, gluey mud - unfortunately, a harbinger of much more to come.  20 minutes to the top of Bear Canyon, and one quick group photo (great background, with the skies already beginning to clear).  At my insistence, we shared our hiking poles around, ensuring everyone had at least one - I knew what was coming up.  Will took my second ski pole; Neil had to extend his second Leki pole all the way in order to accommodate William.  As I expected, many sections of the Bear Canyon trail were treacherously slick, but we picked our way with care and no one fell.  Our boots weighed an extra pound each with stuck on mud - the mud even stuck to our hiking poles!  Great views as always on the upper stretches - that is, when you dared to take your eyes off the trail.  I took a couple of opportunities to grab additional pictures, especially as the skies semi-cleared.  We appeared to have the entire canyon to ourselves - no other Crews still hiking up, and I have to think no-one else coming down behind us.  Finally reached the bottom, and I was able to relax a little bit.  Hit the Cimarron River/Rt. 64 tunnel at 6:00 on the nose; pretty decent time considering the conditions.  Took a few more photos as we crossed the bridge. [Photos: 1, 2]  Despite all the rain over the past week, the river was still very low.  But no time to dawdle - the weather was beginning to threaten once again (!!!), and so we pushed hard through Cimarron River Camp (occupied), then up to Visto Grande (heavily occupied), doing only a few caterpillars the whole way, and arriving 6:50.  I’m starting to feel the long day (and the long hike) now.  As the staff at Head of Dean had stated, the Visto Grande spring was flowing well, about one liter per minute.  A small group was finishing up just  as we arrived, so we jumped right on it.  Several guys collected water in canteens, and Charlie and I Polar Pure’d them as the rest of the guys pulled lunch-for-dinner.  Most of us also took advantage of the local latrines.  Done and gone at 7:25.  Pushed up the switchbacks to (my personal version) of “Inspiration Point”, with light rain beginning to fall again.  This is allegedly the spot where David Westfall wrote the Philmont Hymn, and it offers a spectacular view up the Ute Creek Valley to Baldy.  One of my favorite views (and places) in all Philmont.  Took tentmate photos with the mandatory flash function activated; not sure how these will turn out with the fading light and rain-shrouded peaks in the background; let’s hope!  Last push up to Upper Bench in fading light, again at speed and with just one or two caterpillars, arriving 8:30 (nearly dusk) in another growing rain.  Two Crews in residence, both already in their tents, except for one Advisor who was looking out over the meadow, and seemed quite surprised to see us pulling in so late (“It’s a long story, friend”).  We headed down to the far end of the campsite, which I knew was a nice, flat site.  The guys set up the tarp quickly, while I grabbed the bear bag rope and headed back to the cable (one of the highest in all Philmont, but amazingly I got it on the first try).  The rain really picked up as we set up our tents, then (thankfully) eased a bit.  We got the bear-bags up, organized everyone’s packs under the tarp, and everyone hit the rack at last.  I did a tent-by-tent survey to check that everyone was OK - everyone sounded surprisingly chipper and upbeat, no-one showing any signs of hypothermia, or even complaining.  I told the guys how proud of them I was - they had put forth a really quality effort all day long, dawn to dusk.  Saw a few flashes of lightning in the far distance, maybe towards Baldy?  Bed for me at 9:30 - I am very weary - where is that 17 year old who could backpack 35 miles?  Wrote diary til 10:00, then turned out my flashlight and reflected on the day.  I have maybe never been so proud of any of my Crews as the one that nearly ran me right into the ground on the speed run from Santa Claus to Upper Bench - after what had already been a full day.  A memory to cherish.  The rain finally quit around 10:15 or so, but it was breezy and chilly overnight.  Despite my fatigue, I woke up repeatedly after 2:00 am - just muscle sore I guess.