Day Five

[From the Philmanac - Six Mile Gate is so named because it is located six 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 - Old Camp is located in the North Ponil Canyon; it was part of the original Philturn Rocky Mountain Scout Camp, and was used as a staff camp in 1962. The Cimarron and Northwest Railroad headed up this canyon to a small settlement at Ponil Park (a ghost town today.) The Cimarron and Northwest was only 22 miles long, and was started in 1908. It crossed Ponil Creek 51 times and climbed a total of 1,400 feet, and was built primarily for the purpose of removing timber from the vast canyons in the area. The rails are long gone, but there are still signs of where the railroad ran through the canyon.]

Sunday, 7/5 - Up at 5:05 (first light), just after yet another wakeup chorus from the local coyote pack. Amazing - despite hearing them for years and years out here, I've never actually laid eyes on a Philmont coyote... ...and they always sound like they're standing right outside tent city, too. As usual, got dressed in my hiking clothes only (despite the 52 degree chill), and paid a quick visit to the shower house. Beautiful clear day dawning, with a light breeze. Woke everyone else around 5:30 or so, and we were quickly up and at `em on the final pack-up of our last van-storage items and backpacks. Home-bound tent-city was a lot busier than our side; seemed like we were the only crews moving in the trail-bound side. A couple of the guys headed over to the Welcome Center to grab some brooms - not that we had gotten our platforms all that dirty, but it's expected. Easily done by 6:15 or so, and we headed off to the Dining Hall via the Welcome Center parking circle, setting up our packs in lines on several of the sentinel posts, and formally "checking out" of Tent City at the Welcome Center. As always, I took a light breakfast (with as much fluid intake as I could stand), but most of the guys ate hale and hearty. Done by 7:00, and off to crew photos with John and Bob, once again at the "classic" spot overlooking Basecamp with the Tooth of Time in the background... ...and once again, forget it - the sun was already above the horizon, and impossible to stare into without squinting. We did it anyway, but it's a total waste of time; Philmont has got to figure out a better way to do this! - how can they stand it knowing that 90 % of their crew photos are garbage? I went ahead and dragged everyone back over to the Dining Hall, and we took our own crew shots by the statue - these are at least guaranteed to look like we're not being tortured with laser pointers. After this, it was back to the Welcome Center to await the 8:00 buses, with half of our guys laughing at Scouts (and Advisors) from the other crews weighing their packs. 50 pounds, 60 pounds, 70 pounds, 70 pounds plus!!!, unbelievable. Hey, don't forget your lawn chair and Super-Sized Therm-a-Rest, huh, buddy! We got quite a few disbelieving looks and excited chatter ourselves when the half-dozen or so packs of ours that we re-weighed came in between 35 and 40 pounds per (I think some of our guys publicly re-weighed their packs just to bust some chops.) Four buses pulled in around 7:45, including ours. Turned out to just have three crews on board, but that was enough to fill it up. John, Bob and the other Ranger (never got his name) did the pack loading duties, with the Scouts handing them up at the back door. Loading was finished in short order, and we were on our way (at last!) just before 8:00. Bob and the Ranger from the third crew split most of the duties on giving the usual spiel on the trip out, pointing out the Seton Museum, Villa Philmonte and the Philmont Training Center, plus the arrowhead formation on the north face of the Tooth of Time Ridge, plus lots of chatter on "mini-bear traps," the Philmont buffalo herd, the neighboring ranches, the big fire in Cimarron, coal mines, etc. Little talk from the Scouts - everyone taking in the scene, listening to the running commentary, and the bus was (as usual) awfully noisy. Looking to be a spectacular day weather wise - super deep-blue skies, with a few puffy white clouds sailing along, just marvelous. Once at the gate (8:25), we gave the bus driver (Edi) a cheer, and quickly unloaded and set up our pack line (I gave the usual warning to keep the packs off the barbed wire fence!) Also took Edi's card so I could send her one of our patches when we returned home (guess that's a new tradition now.) All three crews split, and the Rangers continued in on their final pre-trek training - map reading, map and compass use, emergency procedures, and proper stretching techniques. After a final camel-up on water, we saddled up and started on our way to Indian Writings, a few minutes behind Crew B. I kinda get the feeling we'll be chasing them most of the trek. As we have each of the past 3 treks, we went ahead and used the parallel trail to the road, starting at the cattle guard steps. My favorite flowering cactus on the Ranch (right after the cattle guard, on the left) was hurting pretty badly - no flowers and looking kind of wilted. Last year it was spectacular - this year it looks half-dead. Don't know if the lack of rain was the culprit, or if somebody decided to pick the flowers. Well, hopefully it'll be in better shape the next time I pass by. Both beaver dams were still in place, however, with one being pretty impressive now; lots of hard work went into that one. Sad that beavers are otherwise such destructive animals; they've chewed down just about every tree along the bank for 150 yards, even the big ones. 20 minutes later, we took a packs-off break to go view the fossilized Tyrranosaurus Rex footprint, about 30 yards off the trail to the left. This is allegedly the best such artifact in the entire world, right here at Philmont (although Jim Smith, one of my ASM's, has indicated to me that there's a whole walkway of T. Rex footprints - including tail drag marks - in a fossilized river bed in Texas, so Philmont's claim may be a bit suspect.) Philmont still hasn't instituted any routine gardening maintenance inside the protective chain link fence, however, so the footprint is really getting badly covered over with weeds. Back on the trail, and soon passing Anasazi (one of the many Ranger/starter camps), with impressive views of towering rock formations and palisades on both sides of the valley. In a change this year, there was a crew in one of the camps - don't know what they're still doing hanging out this late in the morning - but then again, nothing surprises me on those lines anymore. Still beautiful, clear blue skies, with large, fluffy white clouds drifting along. We got a bit disoriented in the mileau of trails in Anasazi (going to all the various campsites), and ended up doing a little overland to get back on the main path. After crossing the creek several times, we finally pulled into Indian Writings around 10:45; 4 miles of hiking in about an hour and a half, with one stop for the T. Rex footprint, and another in Anasazi - pretty decent pace. Big hub-bub all around the camp because of a small bear hanging out on the ridgelines to either side. Several of our Scouts and others already present spotted him on the western slope, but I couldn't make anything out from my vantage point. However, one of the staff members was chasing him around, and I finally got a clear view (and a decent picture) when he turned in a small clearing to look us over (and check the progress of the staff guy up the hill.) After that excitement, we moved on up to the cabins; as always, I stopped the crew to give a few minutes instruction on staff camp entry protocol, and we walked up, stacked our packs right below the main cabin itself (because of Mr. Bear, and per the direction of the staff), and sent Rusty and Matt S. on up to check in. The staff quickly invited the rest of the crew up to share some bug juice, which everyone appreciated, and filled us all in on the bear situation. Turns out he was a yearling cub, about a hundred fifty pounds, and had done a pretty good job tearing into the staff cabin the night before. A bear monitor was on the way, along with a trap, so I suspect Mr. Bear was going to be taking a very long drive in the next day or two. Once again, the staff signed us up for the afternoon petroglyph tour, at which point I indicated we still had a lot of hiking to do, and asked if I could take our crews over the tour myself (I've done it enough times); this seemed to shame them into it, and one of the staff members agreed to do a morning tour for all the crews that were present (still learning, Bob, even after all these years!) Canteens and ponchos all around, and we headed for the first set of glyphs. I decided to partake this year myself, after skipping it last year to watch our gear and write some diary. The petroglyphs are various designs "chipped" into the rock faces of the canyon by the Anasazi Indians who lived here in the 1200's (before the Great 24-year Drought drove them away.) There are a variety of glyphs, including power symbols (concentric rings) and depictions of the sun, the canyon, rivers, corn and a (presumed) Fertility God depiction. Still clear and powerful, 750 years later. A much younger glyph of a horse (which can be seen high on the canyon wall) was done by Jicarilla Apaches perhaps 300 years ago - but that is apparently the only Apache glyph in this area of the canyon. Only bummer is various "Scout-chipped Glyphs" and a bunch of bullet holes in and around the power circles, from various settlers and cowboys who had passed by over the years, doing a little target practice. Even given the changing mores on environmentalism through the years, such outright destruction is pretty ignorant. After viewing the glyphs, we moved on to two excavated Anasazi kivas in the middle of the valley floor - these were the Indian's protected dwellings, which have been completely excavated by Scouts over the past 40 years or so; because they really couldn't take anything with them (plus they were likely already in extremis by the time they left), the Anasazi left things pretty much the way they had always been. Always an interesting - if somewhat somber - review. In addition to the Indian dwellings, there's a burned-out squatter's cabin dating from the Colfax County Land Wars of the late 1800's, with various settler's trash laying around the semi-excavated chimney floor. Included in the trash pile were various artifacts from the Continental Tie and Lumber Company Railroad, which had run right down the middle of this canyon. History on top of history on top of history - for all those with eyes to see and minds to appreciate. With that, we schlepped back to the cabin for lunch; in his second "near-death" experience, Dan had our yearling bear tear across the road right in front of him, switching from the western to the eastern slopes. Happened so quickly he didn't have time to even yell about it (but we all heard about soon enough!) We all spread out for lunch in the shade just below the cabin, taking particular care to do a meticulous job on cleanup and trash recovery. I spent a minute to go check out the impressive damage to the staff cabin (he had literally torn and broken a half-dozen boards right off the side of the cabin), plus got a bird's eye closeup of the bear-trap, which had arrived and been set up while we were on the tour. I'm always surprised at how small these things are, seemingly not much bigger than a 55 gallon drum on its side; you wouldn't think a bear of any size would even fit inside (never mind be tempted to try), but they're extremely effective. A trash bag full of camper's food at the far end was the bait. Have a good trip, Mr. Bear! After compacting and submitting our trash, everyone started doing fresh stretching exercises and filling up on water (3 liters each, since Old Camp was unpurified well water.) Got out a few minutes ahead of Crew B - this year using the road directly (since we had learned last year that the Philmont map was a liar on the alleged parallel trail.) Still mostly clear skies and a hot sun, but some clouds and a light breeze, so it's not too bad a hike. Just as we approached the right-hand cutoff to Cottonwood Camp, Dan (who was leading) had his third "near-death" experience in the form of a curled up, three foot long rattlesnake just off the road, who announced himself in the usual manner while Dan levitated. One thing's for sure - nothing in the world sounds like a rattlesnake! I hustled up front and got some good shots before he started slithering into the weeds. Crew B managed to catch up and get a view as well, before he slipped into a rock pile. We continued on up to Old Camp at a steady pace, now following Crew B, with no further breaks or incidents. Crew B snagged Site 3 (the only useable site in the camp, and the one we used last year), while we took the open meadow on the opposite side of the road. The whole camp was very, very dry, with virtually no grass at all - quite a contrast to last year, when it was a yard deep and lush. The ground was like concrete, too. Flies everywhere, but fortunately not the more vicious variety. After setting up their tarp and bear bags, most of Crew B headed for the steep mesa to the east (nicknamed "Chris' Ridge" by Rick last year), working straight up the face. This in followup to last year, when Chris W. and Travis had climbed it right after dinner, and reported some great views from the top. We elected to prep (and eat) dinner first, saving the mesa for the late afternoon/evening, when it would be a bit cooler. "Glop" as usual, but there's nothing better than trail food when you're starving! Tim and John Carman hitting it off real well. Distant yells echoing down from the mesa, where Crew B had made it to the top, served as light entertainment. As always, John was impressed with the "Bob-method" of cleanup - another Ranger convert! (with Ranger Bob no doubt soon to follow.) Crew B returned, all pumped, and headed back to their site to start in on their own dinner. After a short break, everyone in Crew A except Tim headed on up to the mesa ourselves. Quite a steep climb - very deceptive - and a lot of fighting through the scrub oak that appeared to be no problem from the meadow. Took about 30 minutes to reach the top, and we all gathered on a rock outcropping directly above the camp to take in the view. Also took the first of my many "mommie shots," some with the guys holding the crew flag, with the valley as a dropback. Matt, Dan and Nathan headed further up the ridge, hoping to crest the rise and get the view to the east; the rest of us just kind of hung out, enjoying the view and slowly fading day. After about 45 minutes, we called our explorers back (from "Stainback's Ridge") and held a reflection session on another outcropping of rocks a bit further in from the edge of the mesa, giving a nice view down the canyon towards Indian Writings; John and I both felt that this was as good as anything we would find at Bent the next day. I gave my usual spiel on handing down the "Legacy of Philmont," which I think went over very well. After that, we headed on down a small draw to the south, which looked to be an easy path back down to the camp, but turned out to be quite a challenge itself. Some areas had fallen aspen leaves two to three feet deep; like wading in deep snow. A new Philmont experience, even for me. Finally back down to the valley floor (had to take a minute to empty all the leaves out of my boots), and we headed back to the camp to change into our "night clothes" (in most cases, just tomorrow's hiking clothes), then rinse the stuff we had been wearing all day. As expected, everyone's stuff was plenty dirty, so we all spent a good amount of time at it. After some debate, everyone decided against "meadow crashing" tonight - with the many flies (and now mosquitoes) still roaming about kind of sealing that decision. After the final bear-bag run, and a session of "Roses, Thorns and Buds," we held a quick combined PLC to review the day and discuss the hiking plans for tomorrow - John and Bob were highly complimentary of both crews' organization and abilities, which was pretty gratifying. Both crews decided to take the Ridgeline Trail to Dan Beard, even though it's tougher, since the Cook Canyon trail is such a bore. The ridgeline trail is also the alleged demarcation of the forest fire, which everyone wanted to check out, too. By this point, it was pretty nigh on dark, and we called it a day - and a damn good one too. An early wakeup call tomorrow.