Pictures of Philmont's Double-H Ranch

These pictures of the Double-H Ranch were taken during the summer of 2003 by Philmont Ranger Stuart T. They were provided by Stuart and his father Howard.

The radio dish antennas on the ranch are part of the VLA radio telescope and are where they filmed "Contact." There are 27 antennas on the ranch that can span out over 13 miles.

The Martin Ranch house is where the staff will live and it will be the meeting point for the crews. 4 crews are going to leave on each day and the trek is going to last over 7 days, so only 28 crews on the trail at a time. That is less than get to Philmont in one day.

The guide (like a ranger) will be with the crew the entire trek providing them with some kind of program for most of the days. I am not exactly sure what the programs will be, i just know that crews will probably meet up at the beginning and end and have an opening and closing campfire. The whole trek is going to be nothing but bushwacking. There are no established trails anywhere except for washes. The guys I was with said that there would probably be requirements made to get crews to get on top of the mountains instead of hiking through the washes. Also, everything will be low impact.

Bears are not that big of a problem in this area, but bear boxes or some form of protection from food will be placed throughout the ranch. There are no established locations for campsite and the crews can decide how little or how far they want to go each day as long as they are at the Martin Ranch halfway through. The typical trek will be in the form of a horseshoe and move throughout the ranch.

Terrain on the ranch is not as steep, but more rugged and I am afraid crews will think that it will be a lot easier than Philmont. It will be more challenging i think because the crews will be forced to use all the navigation techniques that they know.

Crews will get picked up on the base of the mountains in the morning, leave that day and then in the afternoon crews will enter the HH and leave within a few hours.

You can't tell in these pictures, but the "Plains of Augustine" as we call them, are seven or eight miles long so crews will not be forced to walk across that.

None of the names on the pictures are set in stone. We just started naming some landmarks, and the names probably won't stick unless one of the guys who went with me works there next year.

Stuart

The thumbnail images below all link to larger pictures.

e_t___are_you_there.jpg	camel_rock.jpg
E.T Are you there? - One of the VLA radio antennas. A possible stop on a trek.	Camel Rock - Rock formation named by the initial Phil crew that scouted the ranch, can you see the camel?
mike_looking_at_petroglyphs.jpg	petroglyphic_antelope.jpg
Mike looking at petroglyphs - This is a photo of a rock wall that has numerous petroglyphs
petroglyphs_at_hh.jpg	hh_petroglyphs.jpg

lion_mountain.jpg	lion_wash.jpg
Lion Mountain, home of a mountain lion	Lion Wash on Lion Mountain
black_head.jpg	sweat_lodge.jpg
Blackhead Rock - named by the Indians	Sweat Lodge - Location unknown.
dead_childrens_waterhole.jpg	martin_ranch_camp.jpg	martin_stable.jpg
Dead Children's Water Hole - This was at the Martin Ranch. I believe this will be at the half way point; site of Chuckwagon dinners. Of course the story is true about two children drowning in the well. Now don't know all the ghost stories, but those will come within the first week of camp!	Martin Ranch Camp - Site of dead children's water hole and horse stables.
plains_of_augustine_1.jpg	st__augustine_camp.jpg
Plains of Augustine 1 - Augustine area of the Double H. I have 3 more photos, but they pretty much look the same	St Augustine Camp - Chances are this will be the check in station for departing and arriving treks
rendevous_junction.jpg	sj_wall.jpg
Rendevous Junction - This area was named by the Phil crew. Maybe they met back here to compare notes. Many of the names used here are first time use anywhere. So if you ask a Double H Ranch hand where Rendevous Junction is, you might get a blank look.	S & J Wall - A very distinctive rock outcropping named by Philmont Rangers Stuart and Josh.
blue_mesa.jpg	little_grand.jpg	purell_canyon.jpg