Finally gave up at 4:00 am and got up.  Outside, 61 degrees and clear, but surprisingly not all that many stars visible (I guess from too much light pollution from all the lighting around the base).  Hugh was also already up, and I asked him to unlock the truck again.  After doing the bathroom thing, I reorganized my own and the Crew gear (making sure I shifted the CD player, the CD’s, and all the film to the white van).  I also reorganized all the packs in the truck into a horseshoe arrangement, so each was accessible without having to move anyone else’s pack,  then moved my gear from the cot to the truck (placing it on top of my pack).  Some of the Troop 11 Leaders started stirring around 5:00 am or so, and Hugh and I both briefly chatted with them.  To my surprise, they were going to Camp Alexander (a Boy Scout summer camp about an hour west of Colorado Springs), not Philmont as I had assumed last night.  Well that explained why they were “so far out of their way” for Philmont!  They were a fairly new outfit, just a few years old, so a pretty ambitious trek for them, impressive.  I got the rest of the Crew up at 5:45, and we held a brief meeting - drink one liter of water before we go, reminders on what to wear today (warm clothes for Pike’s Peak, long pants and boots for rock climbing), pack up everything into the truck on top of their packs, and leave their cots in place.  Everyone was done packing up inside in 18 minutes - good timing!  After a few last bathroom stops, we gave our parting Thanks! and Best Wishes to Troop 11, and hit the road.  Took the Martin Luther King/Rt. 24 Bypass to I-25, then north to Rt. 24 West (aka Cimarron Street).  After some playing around we worked out way to a McDonalds off to the left (as we noted last night - and also in past years - some of the roads are quite oddly configured, and seem deliberately designed to make it difficult to get to certain restaurants and shops).  Inside, I tried to talk the cashier into doing the “bag” style ordering that had worked so well for us in 2000, but he chose not to, so we did a mass order, and waited about 15 minutes for the food.  And of course, we were missing half a dozen items, but they replaced them all with no complaints.  Out the door at 7:13, and up to Manitou Springs by 7:25 or so, parking at the far end of the street.  There was a surprisingly long line for reservations at 7:30.  Our reservation was in order, but it was 7:45 before we got our tickets.  The guys were all already downstairs and getting in line to board when I exited the office, so I headed down to join them.  We’re in the second car (“Salida”) this year; quite surprisingly, it was nearly half empty (a first for me in all the times I’ve been here).  [Photos: 1, 2]  In another first for me, they indicated they would be starting a little late; wow!  They started the engines at 8:02, then announced “open seating” in the Salida car (to allow the people in the first car - “Leadville” - to space out some) - so we were soon joined by Venturing Crew 127 from Phoenix (Grand Canyon Council), a mostly female Crew.  They were going to Packard High Adventure Base later today.  We finally started off at 8:08.  Our Engineer is Walt, and the Conductor is Elizabeth.  This was the Cog Railway’s 111th year of operations, so a nice coincidence for us!  [Informational Aside:  The cog railway is named after the unusual rail system used by the trains  there are 3 rails, with the middle one being "geared" (i.e., cut with grooves like a machined gear.)  The train's wheels are not powered; the grades are far too steep for normal locomotion.  Instead, the engines turn huge geared wheels that slot perfectly into the middle rail.  Slow, but very effective at pulling up even the steepest grades.  According to the guides, the steepest grade that a normal locomotive can pull is 6%, whereas the steepest section on this line is 26.5%!  [There are supposed to be cog railways in Europe that pull over 40% grades!]  As you might guess, they've got about 16 different braking systems "just in case!"]  The views are increasingly spectacular as the train climbs through the forest and then above the treeline - and many of the “foothills” to Pike’s Peak are formidable mountains in their own right.  [Photos: 1, 2, 3, 4]  On top, as usual, we held the Crew in place while everyone else got off, and after giving everyone the biannual caution on avoiding carbonated drinks and not running around on the cliffs, we headed en masse to the southeastern point for our myriad “mommie shots”.  Sunny and pleasant, and not too windy this year (quite a contrast to 2000, when the top was covered with 1 - 2 inches of wet slush, and a bitter wind was howling).  Once that was out of the way, we headed back to the summit sign (now clearing out), and got our classic group/sign shot with the help of some fellow train-riders.  Then everyone headed inside to the massive gift shop to look at postcards and patches.  I bought 6 postcards, passed on the patches (too expensive), and bought 13 pieces of fudge for everyone (had Luke distribute).  Unbeknownst to me, Drew also bought about half a pound of fudge for personal consumption (ouch!)  Since we were down to about 15 minutes til our scheduled departure by this point, I encouraged everyone to go back outside and enjoy the view - but I think most everyone stayed inside.  Charlie, Michael, Matt, and I walked around the peak for a few minutes, grabbed a few more mommie shots from different vantage points [Photos: 1, 2, 3, 4], then headed back to the train, arriving just as the horn sounded three times (9:55).  We headed down at 10:05, so (surprisingly) late again.  I wondered if they had pushed their whole day’s schedule, since the trains are usually timed exactly in order to be able to pass each other on the few sidings.  In a bit of a surprise, the guys did not zone out right away, even though it was quite warm inside the train (though we did get a neat “reflection” shot of Neil).  Once we got down out of the wind, we did suffer some from the diesel fumes (we had a following wind), but it wasn’t too atrocious.  At 10:16, we saw a small herd (about eight) bighorn sheep on a ridge to the south side of the train.  But too late for a photo (and too far away, also).  Later we picked up a guy from the Barr camp making a trip to town for supplies; since we had plenty of free seats, he obviously picked the right train!  Passed several upward bound trains at the sidings - one had a very large Philmont contingent, all in red shirts.  Couldn’t tell where they were from, though.  Once we got back into the trees again, Thomas and Matt slept most of the rest of the way.  We got back to the depot at 11:13, and immediately disembarked.  After a group toiety, we hit the road for Manitou Pancake and Steak House, arriving at 11:35.  After a brief debate (very brief), everyone decided to go with the Breakfast Buffet and drinks, a bit of a surprise (my previous Crews had always mostly gone for lunch meals).  This made the meal go much faster too.  We were basically done (e/c William!) at 12:10 or so, way early, since Erick wasn’t due til 1:00 pm or so.  Most of the guys went downstairs to hit the bathroom, and quickly discovered that the pinball machine was free of charge and (even better) “untiltable”.  So that kept about a third of the Crew  entertained while we waited; the rest headed back to the van for a group nap.  We tried calling Joy Gough from inside, on Hugh’s cell phone - no luck, so Hugh and Matt moved out to the parking lot to try again.  I stayed inside, writing diary and keeping William (and his food) company.  Finally paid our bill and headed out at 12:45; no sign of Erick, so I sent Hugh to gas up the van (with premium) while I waited back in the parking lot.  Mark Van Horn and Aaron Rossin showed up about 10 minutes later. We exchanged pleasantries - Erick was unavailable, so it was just the two of them, plus myself.  Wrote the check right there, to save time later.  Hugh pulled in and I introduced him.  With that, we headed off to Camp Quest, an executive “male-bonding experience” camp located in the Eleven Mile Canyon area.  Still bright, sunny, and hot, but building clouds.  We pulled in at 2:00 pm, and cut right to a clearing below the climbing bluffs (about 140 feet high.)  Mark gave a basic run down, for about 10 minutes or so.  Then I stepped in and counseled patience, drink water, tighten boot laces, etc.  Aaron started in on the nuts and bolts of the harnesses and helmets while Mark went up to set up the ropes.  The harnesses (new ones) were a rather odd design, not easy to figure out, but a highly adjustable model.  The helmets were a standard design, and easy enough.  No climbing shoes (though Matt had brought his own along, so wore them).  After refilling our canteens (we used up all of the water both we and Mark had brought), we headed up to the rock face, a steep trail up, maybe 150 feet.  Hugh and I were gasping pretty good on our way up - it’s probably 8,500 feet elevation here, and we’re not used to it yet.  The Crew spread out on a convenient log and a few nearby rocks, and Mark went through some more basic instruction on gear use, then did a live demo climbing up free style (with chamfers and nuts) to place rope #3.  Once he was up, we got started on three ropes (around 3:00 now) [Photos: 1, 2, 3, 4], while Mark set up the fourth rope from the top.  I designated the four ropes A, B, C, and D, starting from the far right (the rope Mark was still setting up).  Hugh and I watched ropes A and B, respectively (the easier climbs) as safety monitors and instructors, while Aaron watched ropes C and D.  Thomas went up B first, then Charlie, then Mark T.  When Mark VH finished setting up the A rope, Drew was first up on that climb.  The rest of the Scouts headed over to the left for the more challenging C and D climbs.  But A and B were challenging enough, and Charlie could only get up about a third of the way up B on his first try, and Drew only a fourth of the way up A.  So a lot of ground level counselling going on.  I kind of lost track of what was happening at C and D, but an occasional yell confirmed several successes on those climbs.  As it turned out, Neil was the only who could do Routes C and D, and he was a very fast climber too.  I’d have tried them myself if I had known they had beaten everyone but Neil!  Meanwhile Mark VH set up a 160 foot rappel (three separate lines), with a 25 feet overhang at the finish, so various Scouts started heading up for that too.  [Photos: 1, 2]  Our distant clouds finally turned into an impressive thunderstorm, but it kept its distance, and we only heard about half a dozen rather distant booms of thunder.  Once most of the guys had had their fill of A and B, I went ahead and did Route B twice - once the easy way, and once the hard way.  Fun!  Seeing the old coot do it encouraged Charlie and Drew to give it another try.  Charlie got all the way up B on his second try, but (a very reluctant) Drew came back down after making it up about 15 feet - but as I told him, all I wanted him to do was give it another try!  After that we headed over to the rappel, where Drew and I came down with Aaron.  Oddly enough, Drew excelled at this, and repeated it a little later with Mark T (go figure).  The guys started heading down around 7:00, but Mark T and I stayed behind to help pull and sort ropes and gear.  We called it a day at 7:20.  I invited Mark and Aaron to join us for dinner in Colorado Springs, but although they said they would try to make it, it didn’t sound too likely (they both know the restaurant schedules too!)  However, they did recommend Las Casitas Mexican Restaurant as being a lot of good food for the money.  We left at 7:30, with an immediate stop for Hugh to place a tip for Aaron under Mark’s windshield.  It was an easy ride back (of note, a stream that had been dry on the way in was flowing on the way out, so that thunderstorm really dumped some rain north of our climbing area).  In Colorado Springs, we found “Las Casitas” at Rt. 24 and 8th Street, and did a mass order of Mexican classics (fajitas, burritos, tacos, etc.)  They gave us two or maybe three extra meals for free, too, which was kind of strange (but they didn’t care, so OK!)  Good stuff, but the doors closed at 9:00, so (once again) they were cleaning up around us.  We ended up leaving around 9:10 or so.  At Peterson, once again no new vehicle pass, but the MP (a former Boy Scout) chatted us up while we waiting for clearance, which only took about 20 minutes tonight.  Nice guy.  At the shed, just us now.  Surprisingly, all the doors were unlocked - since Pat had been pretty insistent that everything be left locked up, I was hoping that no report had been filed on this lapse by whoever had been working there that afternoon.  We had a brief Crew meeting to discuss tomorrow (whitewater rafting and mountain biking), then got ready for bed, around 9:40 or so.  I had to fight with one of the garage doors for about 10 minutes - there was a short in the switch than prevented it from closing.  But after playing with the wiring for a bit, we finally got it shut.  I won’t be touching that door tomorrow!  In the night’s last adventure, Will and Michael enjoyed driving each other around the floor on a cart - which the mean old Bob stopped after a few minutes of zooming around.  Lights out at 10:10.  I wrote diary til 10:30, fading quickly, then crashed.  I am very weary tonight, and fell asleep in mid-prayer.  A good day.