Day Eight

[From the Philmanac - Wilson Mesa is not part of Philmont, but is rather located adjacent to Philmont in the Elliott Barker Wildlife Area (which is managed by the New Mexico State Department of Fish and Game.) Elliott Barker was the New Mexico State Game Warden from 1935 to 1953. There are several small lakes on top of the mesa, and it is known for its spectacular views of Baldy Mountain. There are numerous relics of early settlers on the mesa (including several gravesites.)]

[From the Philmanac - Pueblano is Spanish for Little Village. It was also part of the original Philturn Rocky Mountain Scout Camp. Until 1963, the western edge of Philmont was just beyond Pueblano; the addition of the Norton Clapp purchase of the Baldy Mountain Tract allowed Scouts to hike and climb Baldy Mountain. In the early 70's, the program was Hunter Safety and 30.06 Rifle Shooting. Pueblano returned to trail camp status in 1975 and 1976, and then reopened in 1977 as a staff camp with the Maxwell Tie and Lumber Company program; this name was changed to the Continental Tie and Lumber Company in 1980. This latter name matched that of the company started by Thomas Schomburg in 1907 to make railroad ties and mine timbers from the trees in the many Ponil Canyons. He also established the Cimarron and Northwest Railroad to transport the timbers down to Cimarron. The Continental Tie and Lumber Company worked the North Ponil Canyon `til 1923, and the South Ponil Canyon `til around 1930. The tracks ended in North Ponil Canyon near Ponil Park, and in South Ponil Canyon near Pueblano Ruins. The present-day program consists of spar-pole climbing, tie-yard, and the Philmont Story Campfire; Pueblano is also the mid-point for the Ponil/Miranda Burro Packing Program. The tool shelter in the tie-yard was actually built as the shelter for the 30.06 Rifle Shooting program. The canyon heading south to Head of Dean is known as Doe Canyon; a large Douglas Fir located at the beginning of the canyon is affectionately known as "Big Doug."]

[From the Philmanac - Pueblano Ruins (often referred to as "The Ruins") is located on South Ponil Creek just upstream (west) of Pueblano. The trail from Pueblano splits at this point, heading either to Ewell's Park/Baldy Skyline or French Henry. The camp was once the site of a prosperous lumbering camp, and there are still a few signs of its existence. The trail to French Henry is difficult, but rewards hikers with evidence of placer mining along the way, along with some beaver ponds.]

Wednesday, 7/8 - Up at 5:20 am, to the murmurs of some of the early risers in the Chapel. Well, we had planned a 5:30 reveille, so no BFD. Thin overcast skies (the type that burns off early), light breeze, 45 degrees - looks to be a decent day. Everyone managed to get packed up a little easier this morning - although sorting all the gear in the Chapel was a bit of a chore, not having to break down a bunch of soaking wet tents compensated nicely. To be honest, I'm glad the guys were able to get the Chapel; otherwise, everyone's pack weight would have been 4 pounds heavier with water weight. We didn't need that on top of the massive commissary pickup of the previous day, and that's a fact. My pack crested 50 pounds today, for the first time in many a trek; Tim and Rusty were getting up there, too. Rick and Al came over and suggested that we co-hike today and see how it works out, but I was dubious, and said so; Crew B may be slower getting out of camp, but they've got all the macho hikers, and could (and probably would) walk the smaller guys in Crew A right into the turf. They assured me that they'd keep the reins on; OK, but we'll see how long that lasts on the long haul up to Wilson Mesa. Finally hit the road around 6:30 (had to wait for Crew B), with various bits of wet gear hanging off every pack in the crew. Leaving camp, we got a few gawking looks from Scouts and Advisors heading over to the Chuck Wagon Breakfast - whatsamatta, ain't you never seen a 20-man crew before? Most of the guys were still wearing all their long gear, warming up slowly. Quickly past Sioux again, and up to the now flooded road crossing across Middle Ponil Creek. One look and I said "no way" - it was at least 2 foot deep and moving pretty good. Some of the guys just wanted to wade across, but I insisted on everyone changing into sneakers - doing the hike to Pueblano Ruins in soaking wet boots would result in everyone's feet turning to hamburger halfway there. Also had to nix doing it in bare feet - one piece of broken glass (common enough along the roads) and your trek is over. Some of the guys headed up and downstream to find a possible spot to cross - waste of time, there - while the rest of us got changed into sneakers. I headed over first, and came back sans pack to act as a walking stick for some of the less surefooted. The water was cold, but not ridiculously so. The rest of the guys came back from their unsuccessful search for a ford, and started getting changed. A Ranger came up behind us and opted to strike off downstream for a ford "he'd heard about" - that was the last we saw of him for the day, so he must have hiked quite a ways before he either found something (or gave up.) Just as we were getting the last 3 or 4 guys over, a huge SUV type camp truck showed up behind us, but the guy had the decency to wait until we were done (plus we gave him an exact measure of how deep the water was - no problem for him!) We all got re-dressed, and started back in again - now thoroughly awake. Stopped at Bent again (the lowermost site) for breakfast, with everyone doing another quick dry-off of their feet, and rearranging their damp socks. Quickly now to the cutoff trail to Wilson Mesa, with its killer and seemingly endless uphill. We started right in on caterpillars, and had a packs off break within five minutes to strip down to regular hiking shorts (didn't take long to warm up, there!) Weather now almost perfect - partly cloudy and getting warmer by the minute. Almost continuous caterpillaring all the way up; as always, seems a lot further in reality versus what it seems on the map. I was hurting some with the weight, but refused Rick's offer to share some of our gear into Crew B - like it or not, we have to be able to do it on our own. Unbeknowst to me, John took our still-soaked tarp off of Dan about halfway up the hill, since he was dying (and I'll bet he was wishing he'd paid closer attention to my weight counseling, now that it's too late.) One surprise benefit to co-hiking was the much longer intervals on the caterpillars - not something I had anticipated, but certainly welcome. Finally made it to the top of the mesa - very gritty soil and sparse pine trees, with intermittent views of the southern Colorado Rockies through the trees to our right. Another half an hour of steady hiking, and we broke out into the clear (the whole reason for choosing this trail.) I stopped everyone and had them hike solo (30 second intervals) on up to the small ridge at the far end, just so they could soak it up. This area is a huge Alpine meadow due to a fierce forest fire about 20 years ago, sparked by a lightning strike - a natural disaster which gave Philmont a natural wonder, as fantastic mountain views loomed at every quadrant, particularly Mt. Baldy to the immediate west. We stopped for our "standard" packs-off break at the rock-piles at the small crest (perhaps the most sat on rocks in all Philmont that aren't on top of a mountain peak), broke out a few snacks and breakfast leftovers, and sat back to enjoy the view. I snagged the usual pile of photos - always great shots - but different this year, with the lower hanging clouds occasionally blocking the various peaks. Fewer mini-bears than usual (lack of water, probably), but we still had a few begging us for crumbs. Mean and cruel Scouts that we were, we refused (as you're supposed to), but they doubtless found some bits here and there after we left. After about 30 minutes, we saddled up again and continued on to the Alpine Lake/Meadow at the western end of the mesa; after 2 minutes, John suddenly noticed that he had forgotten his hat, and we all had another 5 minute break while he hustled back to retrieve it. At the meadow (and much to my surprise), there were a few other crews already there (coming the other way, I think), and we were able to get the classic crew shot with the lake and Mt Baldy silhouetted in the background. For a change, I'll be in this one, so long as the other Advisors were able to hold the camera straight. Continuing on to the Philmont boundary fence at the end of the meadow, we turned right and re-entered the Ranch, continuing along the fenceline towards Pueblano. Finally started on the very steep downhill at the western edge of the mesa - I pointed out some of the rock walls and other ruins leftover from the homesteaders who had settled here until driven out during the Colfax County Land Wars. Easy enough to spot if you take the time to look for them (or if you have an Advisor like me rubbing your nose in it!) As usual, the guys took off down the hill at a breakneck pace, while the Adults took their time in deference to our knees and ankles; we all reassembled at the bottom, and cruised into Pueblano within 5 minutes, stacking our packs on the posts next to the new "burro parking" rails. Rusty and Chris headed on up to the staff cabin to check in, and the staff guys quickly invited all of up onto the porch for a "Gatorade Orientation" with "Lightning," a staff member who was perhaps too much into play acting as the dumbest rube ever to fall off the wagon. I enjoyed a reunion with Spencer - my guitar buddy from the previous two years at Miranda, who was now the head honcho at Pueblano. He had shaved this year, but was still recognizable - and immediately recognized me. We chatted for a few minutes, and agreed to get together before the Advisor's Coffee later that evening, with his buddy Jeremy Spicer (one of the head horseman at Philmont, who I also knew), who was due in later that day; my kind of people. We got a spar pole climbing session scheduled for 1:00 pm (had to be after lunch because they were still handling crews who had been "washed out" yesterday), and we fell out into a small copse of tree on the far side of the staff cabin for lunch and (more importantly) an opportunity to hang up all our gear and get it well dried out in the sun (especially my tent and both crew tarps.) That opportunity - and the sun - only lasted about an hour and a half, however, as the weather once again began to close in; as always, these terrible Class III droughts at Philmont are some of the wettest weather conditions I've ever camped in! We got everything back under cover, and then anxiously watched the clouds swirling around the peaks and canyons, hoping for a break. Our 1:00 appointment came and went in light rain, but at least we remained at the head of the queue. The guys absolutely refused to go do the tie-yard program (the other half of the Continental Tie and Lumber Company program), for fear of losing our # 1 place in line. Things finally eased to the point where we could get going, at almost 2:30, but certainly better late than not at all. We necessarily had to rush things, and I bagged on going up myself in favor of running a third pole for our combined crews. Once we got moving, things went fairly quickly, and we all had a good time. I managed to get photos of everyone at the tops of their respective climbs (I think) - and it's possible that the cloudiness will be a bonus, since past experience had shown that it's very hard to take good photos of the spar climbing against a clear blue sky - we'll see. Done by about 3:15, and quickly packed and off to Pueblano Ruins, after snagging some more purified water from the camp spigot. Hustled our way up the trail - we've got a fair amount to do if we're going to make it back for the campfire program - and I'm going to once again try for some "Bob-Time" for myself. The creek/trail were muddy but passable, and we pulled into camp within 30 minutes - good time. Only one other crew in residence so far. Crew B took Campsite # 1, the one to the immediate left of the camp entrance that we traditionally use here, while we took another spot a little further up, and both crews immediately got going on tarps, then dinner. The weather remained "iffy," but restrained itself to mostly sprinkles, occasional rain, and a once-every-5-minutes distant grumble of muted thunder far down the canyon. Dinner was an under-the-tarp affair in light rain - works, but a bit of a pain to keep all the gear absolutely food-free. Everyone bagged on climbing the mesa overlooking the camp this year - too much to do. A few other crews pulled in, or cut off at the camp entrance for the continuation trail heading up to French Henry Camp (quite a ways to go yet for the latter crews, and all uphill, too.) The rain finally quit after dinner, which was certainly a blessing. Everyone set up their tents and started in on cleanup, and gave me my release to head on back down early for the Advisor's Coffee (Thanks!) I once again grabbed my sheet music and picks, got dressed in my rain gear (just in case, you understand), and hustled back down the trail. Force of habit - I picked up a good sized log and dragged it about a quarter mile, until I remembered that no campfires were allowed this year, so no need for the crews to bring wood. Duuuh.... Enjoyed a good laugh at my own stupidity (if you laugh at yourself in the forest, and no one else hears it, are you still an idiot?), and kept going. Got there about 6:30 or so, half an hour before the official start of the Advisor's Coffee, and enjoyed a long chat with Spencer, Jeremy and a couple of other staff members, basically talking about my plans to come out to Philmont as a volunteer staffer after I retire (which they all thought was really cool), and how things had changed on the Ranch over the last ten years. Jeremy said this was going to be his final year - he was going to go back to college for an advanced degree; Spencer thought he'd do at least one and probably two more. We spaced a few songs in there as well, trading off on the guitar. About a dozen other Advisors eventually joined us on the porch, and seemed to enjoy both the songs and repartee between us; for most of them, a view of a behind-the-scenes world at Philmont that they perhaps only dimly sense in their usual travels from camp to camp. It is possible - maybe even probable - that you really can't appreciate the Ranch until you've been here a half-dozen times, and realized the legacy inherent in the people as well as in the land. (This is something I will have to reflect on at a quieter time.) By this point, most of the Scouts and Advisors from Pueblano and Pueblano Ruins had shown up, and we broke for the evening "campfire" program - which of course was just a get-together in front of the staff cabin, with no campfire allowed. At least it was dry, and was also a lot warmer than some previous years. Unfortunately, the campfire wasn't one of their best. They had me start off with a high energy version of "Ghost Riders," which got everyone up, but then followed it with a way-too-long dialogue between "Lightning" and a younger staff member (forgot his name) that started off fairly funny but deteriorated into tedium. This was followed by several Philmont classics, done well but much too slowly. The best song of the night was the finale, "New Mexico Rain," done with real emotion by Jeremy - almost like a goodbye. A good program, but not a great one. Most of the crews headed back to their respective camps right afterwards, but a few of us stuck around for a few more impromptu tunes and an extended goodbye. Good folks. With that, it was back to camp by flashlight; I traded mine for John and Mike's, which was nearly dead (they must have left it on in one of their packs all day.) Of course, I know the trail fairly well - I'll bet I've hiked it at least 10 times through the years. An occasional glimpse of stars overhead was an encouraging sign, too. Back at the Ruins, everything was still pretty damp, and getting chillier, so we all hit the rack fairly quickly. After 20 minutes worth of light rain around 11:30 or so, it was dry the rest of the night. Another long and full day. Now on to Miranda and Baldy!