Day Two

Thursday, 7/2 - Woke at 5 am when Rick hit the bathroom, but waited `til quarter after before rousing myself. Lights on in the main room at 5:30, to lots of groaning - well, this'll teach `em to listen to "rap" half the night! "Public Bathroom" concept works fast and well - a keeper for the future. Quick dress, minor cleanup, and out the door at 5:55. Mostly cloudy - but only low hanging cumulus of the "burn-off-early" variety. 55 degrees according to KILO. Down to the North Academy Boulevard McDonalds - still no easy access, despite all the construction last year; had to do a group U-turn (legal) in order to get in the parking lot. This must cost them business - I'd be damn surprised if they were happy with this crazy arrangement! In a good idea by Rick, we ordered by vehicle, with me paying each sub-bill in turn - this avoided last year's interminable wait to get everyone served at once, and also dramatically reduced the number of errors. Still a few mistakes, but not bad. As usual, good, quick service and nice clean facilities; always a pleasure to see some McDonalds can (still) do it right - they ought to send the clowns in Arlington out here for "how-to" training. Quick eats, then Rick reloaded his van with previous trekkers and headed back to the airport to see if his luggage had arrived overnight, while Al and I took all the first-timers to go see the Garden of the Gods in a slow drive-around tour. As always, an awe-inspiring sight, especially in the rapidly clearing, deep blue skies. Took the loop around to the Rt 24 cutoff, giving a quick running commentary over the CB for the benefit of everyone both vehicles. Heading down to Rt 24, I was pleased to find that the rumor that Balancing Rock had finally tipped over was false - it was still standing, as always, and we all piled out of the vehicles for a couple of quick group shots. Not the whole crew, of course, but everyone who went to the airport already had their glory shots from previous years, so no big deal. Back in the vans, down to Rt. 24, and up to Manitou Springs and the Pike's Peak Cog Railway. Arrived right on the dime at 7:30, and was quite surprised to find hardly anyone present yet - a stark contrast to the last three years, when the place was a zoo by 7:15. The gate to the primary parking lot was still closed, also, so we parked up the road a few feet. The guys all quickly bolted down the stairs to the snack bar (again!!!) Went in to find our reservation was in order, plus we got the first car for a change (after 4 straight trips where we were in the absolute back of the bus), but I miscounted the crew in my hurry and grabbed only 16 tickets (oops, there's 17 of us, dummy!) Compounding the confusion, Rick and the airport van arrived on the scene (no luck on the gear), and my camera batteries died about the same time. As in dead, dead, dead.... Naturally, I had no warning from the idiot light, and so had left my spares back at the Scout Huts - arggh! The gift shop didn't sell 123A's, so I borrowed Rick's solo spare (his camera only took one battery, while mine takes two), which brought me back to life again - temporarily at least. Finally started loading about 7:50, at which point I finally realized I was one ticket short. Hustled back to the ticket counter, with absolutely no hope whatsoever, and was amazed to find that they hold all the non-reserved spares until the very last minute against this very scenario, and only then sell them to the standby passengers. Lucky! Anyway, got my seat, but 25 rows away from the rest of the crew; that's OK, better than sitting at the depot for 3.5 hours. Off at 8:03 - first time in my personal history here that they started late - well, I was part of the delay, so absolutely no complaints here! Since I was pretty much alone for the duration, I again whipped out Jenner's thesis for some more editing - at least, `til my head started spinning with the altitude - with an occasional quick look up for the guide's descriptions of the by-now familiar (to me) formations and views. [Note - except for the sentences outlined with asterisks, the following section was lifted near verbatim from the 1997 Diary, since the experience was also near verbatim!] The cog railway is named after the unusual rail system used by the trains - there are three 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!" We got the usual nickel tour from the guide on the way up - always interesting, even for an "old-timer" like me. The guides are always fresh and enthusiastic on the first trip up, especially when the weather is as perfect as today. *Stopped briefly to drop off a couple of workers for the "Barr Trail Crew," and kept on chuggin'* Fantastic views of the Pike National Forest to the left on the way up, then distant views of Colorado Springs and the great plains to the right as we broke above the treeline. *Saw several small herds of Bighorn Sheep to both sides of the train, hanging out in the lower Alpine meadows and the upper rock fields. The Guide also claimed to have seen a herd of elk the previous day, near the treeline, but nary a one was spotted today.* There were a few yellow-bellied marmots here and there among the rocks, but they (again) seemed scarcer than usual. [End 1997 Diary section.] Weather now just spectacular, almost cloud free. Approaching the summit, we could see signs of the Pike's Peak Rally qualifying races; the race is on the fourth of July. Some of the top participants allegedly hit about 120 mph on the way up the hill, which is as close to a death wish ride as I ever want to imagine (man, you just gotta be flat out insane!) Finally to the top, where we again held the crew until everyone else had departed, and gave everyone the usual spiel on high altitude, avoiding carbonated drinks and taking care on the cliffs. Shepherded the whole crew off the train for the standard array of "mommie-shots" overlooking Colorado Springs and/or the Rockies to the North of Pike's Peak, then gave them their release for the duration. No marmots to be seen on top this year, anywhere, which is pretty odd - they used to be all over the place. Maybe one of the staff members has a dog, or some predator has decided to take up semi-permanent residence (which would certainly explain the skittishness of the few we saw on the way up.) I did a quick solo loop tour on top, and then (in a change for me) headed on into the gift shop. Looked over the array of postcards - 3 for a buck being a very good deal - and decided that most of the postcards were better pictures than I could ever hope to take, plus they're cheaper than my photos anyway, so I snagged about a half dozen of the best for my personal photo album. Had to snag some M&M's, too, just to make the visit complete. With some verbal encouragement from me, about half the crew followed my lead on the postcards (and quadruple on the candy, but of course!) Two air-horn blasts at 9:50 quickly chased us all back to the train. Left right on time for the downward slide - with two different trains already on their way up on a single track, timing to the sidings is everything. Large, fluffy clouds beginning to congregate all around the peak, but nothing threatening yet. Hard to tell from my vantage point, but it looked like at least half the crew napped most of the way down, despite the continuing monologue by the guide. One of the passing trains was completely filled with uniformed Scouts, from somewhere in New Jersey if I was reading the CSP's correctly - obviously a fairly large Council Contingent - at least 80 Scouts and Leaders. Been there twice, done that twice, got the plaques (and mental scars) to prove it; never again. Two crews plenty enough for Bobby these days, thank you very much! Heading into the base station, I weakened to the point of casual tourist and (finally!) broke down and bought the Pike's Peak videotape - after resisting on 5 previous trips; well, I figured I could use it during my first Parent's meetings in the future, plus it was cheap enough ($ 10), so what the heck. Back at the station, paid another quick visit to the ticket counter to thank them for our discount and for finding me a last ticket, and we hit the road for the Manitou Springs Pancake and Steak House. All the way at the far end of Manitou Springs (past Rt 24), so a leisurely 10 minute drive down. Dropped everyone off and headed back into town for camera batteries - I was very leery of being sans camera for the rock climbing and repelling (where I knew I'd be taking at least 3 rolls worth of shots), and past experience had proven that one good and one bad battery was not a happy mix in my Olympus. Geez, it was like no-one had ever heard of 123A's! - even the 1-hour photo place didn't have them, although everyone was well stocked with 223's. Finally found exactly 3 of them at a drug store, bought all three, and headed back, at least a half-hour late. However, the guys still hadn't been served yet; apparently a waitress had quit just before we had arrived, so they were kinda behind the eight ball. Plus one table's order didn't get taken on the initial try, and a whole tray of drinks got tossed a few minutes later, both of which added to the problems. Not a big deal, but time was getting on. Guys getting a little rambunctious with the wait, but quieted down quickly as the first platters arrived. Most everyone snagged the burgers, which were huge a la Conway's Red Top last year; Dan was the only one who went for breakfast, snagging a monster Belgium waffle with apples (?) (and topping it off with all my french fries - now there's a yummy combo.) Pretty decent food, although it was clear they must have held a number of items waiting for the tardy table's order. Despite all the delays, we were still finito by 12:50, and streamed out to the parking lot to find Erick from Sport Climbing Center already there and ready to go. Tough and strong, no-nonsense looking kind of guy, reminds me of a Marine DI. We discussed particulars on directions while waiting for the last bathroom visitors, and loaded up to caravan out to the climbing site, near 11 mile canyon off Rt. 24. Long climb through Woodland Park and up towards Ute Pass; surprisingly heavy traffic for mid-day, but we made decent time nonetheless. Skies still mostly clear, and hot, but thunderheads beginning to build to the North. Took a left hand turn off 24 to 11 mile canyon - immediately remote, with nary a sign of habitation other than a few Ranch signs, but still a number of vehicles coming the other way, so somebody lives out here. A few turns brought us to "Quest Camp," which is apparently some kind of a executive level male bonding/encounter/team-building experience set-up with a Native American Indian theme (doubtless at $ 5,000 a pop.) [Hell, give me a bunch of high-powered execs and a 10 day "encounter" with a superstrenuous Philmont trek, and I'd guarantee them all sorts of male bonding!] Half a dozen teepees made up the primary camp, plus a sign stating: "No-one who has passed this point has failed to come away changed." Well, we cut right to a secondary parking lot at the base of the primary attraction for us, a sharp set of sheer bluffs, about 140 feet high. The parking lot was outlined with an aspen grove, and we exited the vehicles and fell out under the trees for an orientation talk and self-rigging with climbing harnesses. Mark Van Horn, who worked with us at the Garden of the Gods last year, and a young assistant "Brian" were also present, having spent most of the morning and early afternoon setting up six separate climbing runs on the face. As expected, Erick gave a very stern talk on safety and behavior, after which we quickly got into the harnesses, grabbed the helmets, climbing shoes and our cameras and water bottles, and climbed up to the face. Sat on a convenient log for a quick "how-to" demo by Brian (Erick and Mark narrating), then got right to it. Quest Camp lacked the overwhelming dominance of Garden of the Gods (which had initially been so intimidating for the guys last year), but was plenty challenging nonetheless; the six pitches were spread over about 75 feet of the face, and ranged from a Class 5.6 up to a Class 5.9, with the highest being maybe 100 feet. Two had serious overhangs, one of which was pretty severe. On the plus side, however, the whole face was real granite, not the crumbly sandstone we climbed on at the Garden of the Gods, so it was a significantly safer climbing area. Started climbing just after 2:30; unlike last year, where I climbed first as the only experienced guy (and to provide some encouragement to the somewhat overawed members of the crew), this year the Scouts started in immediately, starting with those that had some experience. The adults basically started off monitoring and doing safety checks on harnesses and belayers. Erick, Mark and Brian cruised up and down the line continuously (at first) to ensure we were getting it right, then began to relax when it became clear that everyone was serious about safety, and paying attention. After helping talk the first few novices up the face on the easier runs, I started in myself on #2 [Note - I designated the climbs as #'s 1 through 6 from far right to far left; #1 was the easiest, #4 was the most difficult, and #6 had the really tough overhang at the start.] That went fairly easily, as did my climb up #3 - but then I moved up to #5, and got my comeuppance. This one had two minor overhangs at about one third and two thirds the way up, and with a very tricky (for me at least) narrow crack running almost 20 feet up an otherwise bald face between the two. I managed to get past the first overhang, but exhausted myself fighting over it, and the crack damn near defeated me. Fortunately, Brian was belaying me, and was very patient and encouraging while I basically hung in the harness recovering some arm strength (and my breath) after slipping down the rock face half a dozen times. Guess I needed to do a lot more pullups during my pre-trek training - something to remember for next time. Finally decided to go for it, jamming my toes into the crack sideways while bracing my arms, and willed myself up one foot at a time, at some cost to the skin on my knees and arms (and oddly enough, my shins.) And to think I actually imagined I was good, too. Well, after that, the rest wasn't too bad, other than the flies that immediately began worrying and tickling my numerous bloody scrapes, driving me nuts - how do the damn things find you up here??? Finally to the top, and a quick repel back down to the congrats of Erick, Mark and Brian, who seemed to appreciate how much effort I had put into it. All in all, tougher than "New Era" last year, at least for me. After this, however, I was basically hors de combat for the rest of the afternoon, and I concentrated on taking more photos, chatting with Erick and Mark, and talking Ryan all the way up #2 (which he did, good job.) Guys pushed me to try #4, but I declined, so only Brendan and Mike ended up conquering that one (although John also made it about halfway up.) Chris W. and Brendan (others???) also went exploring to the far left, where I think Mark had set up a seventh climb, but I never found out if they tried that one or not. Finally bagged about 6:30, with a large thunderstorm beginning to brew over the canyon (just a few drops of rain for us, though.) Erick gathered everyone together at the log again, and basically gave us an "attaboy" pep talk praising our teamwork and encouraging us to work together for the rest of our trek. Guys gave him a thank-you cheer, and we gathered all the equipment and headed back down. Gave Brian (an "at risk" youth being Big Brothered by Erick) a $20 tip, which just lit him up (and made me feel pretty good, too, but he earned it, pushing me up #5.) Paid Erick and gave him our sincere thanks (and a plug for 2000), and we piled back into the vans and headed on out, with Rick leading the way (I was half-zombie by this point.) Erick, Mark and Brian headed back up the slope to take down the ropes and carabiners. Most of the Scouts in my van quickly zonked again, so I was clearly not the only tired puppy. Back onto 24 East and down to Colorado Springs, catching a really neat double rainbow on the way. Had to pay meticulous attention on the winding, steep downhill into town, still pretty crowded with traffic. Left on 21st and over to Uintah and Furr's Family Dining, getting there just before 7:45. Class B's for this one, and we walked in just before they closed down for the night (8 pm shutdown - crazy!) They had managed to transpose our reservation, and were expecting 91 of us (not the 19 we called in), but were happy to see that we were a reasonable sized group, not two buses worth. Because they were shutting down, some items were already done for the night, and each Scout only got one tray's worth - but a very full tray's worth for all, as everyone piled it high and deep. Heading into the main dining room, we got a couple of friendly comments from natives clearly familiar with Scouts and Philmont, including one who remembered our T-shirts from last year (which is pretty amazing, when you think about it.) Decent meal, although some items had obviously been in the trays a bit long and were a little stale (and therefore went uneaten after a few bites.) Got the usual discount from the manager after a short chat: free sodas for all, a free meal for me, and no taxes for the entire meal - good deal! - and making up for the single pass-through on the line. While I was dealing with that, Rick and Chris headed over to the adjacent Wal-Mart for some quick equipment purchases (due to diminishing hope on ever retrieving their gear still lost in the TWA Twilight Zone.) Once everyone was reassembled, we headed back to I-25 North, and then up to the Miniature Golf Course off Exit 149. Inside, the place was a zoo, but the crowd on the golf course was surprisingly sparse. Got a pretty good "group rate" on the games. As usual, had to chase the guys away from the arcade games (the real draw for the present crowd.) Split into four groups, and headed for the links. Rick declined to play in favor of photo duties. JT, Chris B., Al and I made up group #4, and we didn't scare anyone - for some reason, none of us could putt worth a damn this year; Al in particular was very frustrated (and after one particularly atrocious hole, played out the rest of the course without paying attention to the score anymore.) I won our group by about 10 strokes, but was about plus 8 for the course, not exactly the second coming of Tiger Woods, to put in mildly. Don't quit your day job, Bob! JT was number two in our group. Everyone gathered at # 18, where you had to putt down a narrow bridge across a small moat - if you managed to get it across the bridge, a huge Buddha sitting above the moat sprayed a stream of water on you. Judging from the lake in front of the hole, I guess a fair number of folks were more accurate than the four of us! No-one from our group managed to set off the Buddha, which was a pretty fitting end for the evening. Had to chase John, Mike and Nathan off the course - they had passed on the bottomless 18th hole, and had instead started in on a second round. Back to I-25, with a quick pit stop for gas at the corner Texaco (premium only, but of course), and off to the Scout Huts, arriving by 11:15. Not too much trouble getting everyone to sleep tonight. Did receipts and a little diary, and racked out myself around midnight. Another great day....