This was the 6th Autumn Adventure for Linda and me. Everyone else had been on a previous AA trek except Walter who had been on a backpacking trek as a youth and had spent a week at the PTC. At one time, we had thirteen people wanting to go on this trip but job responsibilities took a larger than usual toll.
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Note: In case anyone cares, the BSA will approve a National Tour Permit
Application showing more than 500-600 miles of travel per day as long as
the group is "all adult". We are 725 miles from Philmont and the
Southern Region has approved each application of this type I've
submitted.
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Saturday, October 5
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We began the trip by meeting at Crestview Baptist Church at 5:30 a.m. on
Saturday, October 5. Due to the size of our crew, I rented a 15
passenger van for the trip which made the traveling much easier than
usual as we had everyone in the same vehicle. We removed the van's back
seat and used this space for backpacks and other equipment. We wound up
getting on the road before 6 a.m. but had to stop at HEB to fill the
van's tank with fuel.
Our next stop was at Whataburger in Brownwood for breakfast. We continued on to Lubbock where we stopped for more fuel and for lunch at Subway. Then, on to Clovis, New Mexico, where we begin traveling north toward Philmont. Along the way, we listened to the Texas A & M vs. Texas Tech football game which the Aggies managed to lose by one point in overtime. Linda and I knew that our #2 Aggie son, Matthew, was not a happy camper as he was at the game.
We continued on, making two more stops including one for fuel in Romeroville, N.M. before arriving at the Kit Carson Motel in Cimarron. After checking in, we walked over to the Kit Carson Restaurant for supper. I had chicken fried steak which turned out to be good. Next, we retired for the night after making plans to meet for breakfast at 6:30 a.m. After taking a shower, I caught up on the football scores, turned the t.v. sound down and watched the Tennessee vs. Arkansas football game which wound up seeing Tennessee win in five overtimes.
Sunday, October 6
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We got up early and met at the Kit Carson restaurant by 6:30 a.m. Most
of us had the western omelet which was very good. After eating, we went
back to our rooms, packed up and loaded the van. We were on the road to
Philmont by 7:40 and saw quite a few mule deer as well as Philmont's
Buffalo herd on the way. We arrived at CHQ to find no one there. Of
course, we were a few minutes early as we were schedule to arrive at 8
a.m. We brought water containers so we began filling these and our
water bottles. At approximately, 8 a.m., Kevin Stickelman, Autumn
Adventure coordinator, showed up and I went with him to the
administration building to pay our final fees and take care of the other
paper work.
Dave Kopsa, our guide, showed up soon and we scheduled a time for our medical rechecks. We also reviewed our plans for the week and asked if we could drive to Ponil to view the fire damage before going to Zastrow where we planned to make our HQ for the week. We were told that would be fine. During the medical rechecks, Linda and Walter had blood pressure problems as their readings were above the Philmont max of 150/90. We decided to visit the Tooth of Time Traders and to drive to Ponil before having them checked again.
We started walking toward the ToT Traders before Dave told us it had been moved to the camper dining hall due to an expansion project. So, we walked to the dining hall and visited a somewhat different version of the ToT Traders. After that, we went to the commissary to obtain our food and Philmont supplied equipment. Next, we boarded the van and drove to Ponil. We didn't see a whole lot of fire damage until we reached mile marker 8. Then, we fully understood what had taken place in May and June as much of the area between mile markers 8 and 10 had been burned. It is going to take a whole lot of work to down all the burned trees and restore the area to what it once was.
After visiting Ponil, we returned to CHQ for another round of BP checks for Linda and Walter. Neither passed. After consulting with the medic, we decided to go each lunch and then try again at 2:30 p.m. We traveled to Cimarron and ate at Heck's Hungry Traveler restaurant. Again, I had chicken fried steak which was even better than what I had at the Kit.
After eating, we walked over to the Cimarron Art Gallery but it was closed. We boarded the van and traveled back to Philmont and stopped by the Seton Museum and Library but it was closed too. We "killed" some more time until it was time for the BP checks. Linda passed but Walter didn't (probably due to medication he was taking for allergies), and Kevin told us the best thing to do would be to go on to Zastrow and they would bring Walter out later.
So, we loaded up and went to Zastrow. We left the van in the parking area between the turnaround and the camp and backpacked in with most of our equipment. Later, we returned to the van to get the cookies that Linda had made for the crew, containers full of water and a few other items. We set up camp in campsite #6 which is where my patrol (Baden-Owl) camped during Wood Badge in August, 1998. Linda and I set our tent up near the Rayado, a great location where we could hear the sound of running water throughout the night. After setting up tents, we decided to do our cooking and eating on picnic tables near the quartermaster building which is near Gilwell Hall. Dave made his "home" on the porch of Gilwell Hall.
Our first Philmont meal was supper #5, with macaroni the entrée. As we were getting ready to start preparations, we heard a vehicle and Walter was dropped off to join us. After eating, cleaning up and hanging the bear bags, we walked back to our campsite and spent time around a campfire before retiring for the night. This turned out to be a ritual each evening.
Monday, October 7
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Neither Linda nor I slept well and everyone was up by 7 a.m. This
turned out to be our coolest morning as there was frost on the picnic
table and on top of the QM building. Breakfast was raisin bran, banana
chips and a trail mix bar of some sort. Clean up was a snap though.
Next on the agenda was our first hike of the trip, a visit to Abreu and Old Abreu. I had last visited Abreu during our '98 AA trip and we found that the new cabin we saw then had been completed. I understand that Abreu is now used for a homesteading program during the summer and tours of the new cabin are part of the program. I believe the cabin is probably the nicest one I've seen at Philmont. It includes a nice stove, a table, four nice rocking chairs and even wall paper on some of the walls.
After spending some time in the cabin and in the swing on the porch, we hiked on to Old Abreu. Nothing much there except a large chimney. We ate lunch near the Rayado. This turned out to be Jalapeno cheese spread, club crackers and my first encounter with several feet of roll candy, something I hear is very popular with young people. Desi did a little exploring and had an encounter with a nest of yellow jackets. He survived though, and showed us how fast he could move too.
After lunch, we decided to return to Zastrow via the trail to Rimrock Park. Nothing to speak of during this trip except we had to do a little bushwhacking as we must have missed a trail. Anyway, we wound up back on the trail going to Zastrow and ended up near where we were camped.
Supper was chicken and rice, not one of my favorites but we ate all of it. We found out that Dave didn't really uphold the past AA guide tradition of being a "garbage disposal" for leftover food. He ate his share of everything but he wasn't as hollow legged as some of our past guides.
After supper and clean up, as we sat around another campfire, we enjoyed more of Linda's cookies which we had been doing throughout the trip. She brought homemade oatmeal and chocolate chip cookies, an AA tradition for Linda and something other crew members have come to expect. We retired for the night around 8:30 p.m.
Tuesday, October 8
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We slept better last night. Again, we got up around 7 a.m. and made our
way to the bear bags and cooking area. We had the infamous Trail
Breakfast #4 which included Lucky Charms, a granola bar, some kind of
Gorp and Cocoa. This is the least expensive Philmont meal and I can
certainly understand why.
Today's scheduled hike was a trip up to the top of Urraca Mesa. Everything started out well but my eyes begin to bother me as we traveled toward the Mesa. The sun was shining brightly and we were out in the open. After continuing on for a few minutes, I decided not to go on as I knew I would have increasing difficulty with my vision (due to cataract surgery and complications, my eyes are very sensitive to light). Linda and I decided to return to Zastrow. Dave asked us to stay in the camp as he really wasn't supposed to let us break up into two groups. We told him we would and we did. By the time we got back, I had developed a head ache so I lay down in the tent and slept for about three hours. Linda read one of the books she had brought on the trip for these occasions.
Around noon, Linda got tired of the solitude and woke me up. We ate lunch which turned out to be peanut butter & jelly, crackers, Oreo cookies and another granola bar. After lunch, we started looking at the plants near the campsite. Linda had her Philmont Field Guide and was able to identify several of them. I took photos of several of the more unusual plants as well as some of the wildflowers. Linda also spent time looking at birds through the binoculars I gave her for Christmas last year. I spent time gathering wood for our nightly campfire.
Around 3 p.m., the Urraca crew returned. They reported the hike was nice and somewhat difficult. They ate lunch on top of the Mesa. Unlike '98, when a storm came up forcing our crew to depart, this crew had plenty of time to explore the top of the Mesa. No spooks or other strange occurrences. One person even reported that his compass worked on top of the Mesa. However, no one wanted to return that night and sleep up there.
Tonight, the supper entrée was 3 bean chili, something we all enjoyed. We had more cookies as we sat around the campfire telling jokes, stories and watching the clear sky while enjoying the effects of the beans.
Wednesday, October 9
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This was probably my best night of sleep during the whole trip. We slept
a little later than usual and it was about 7:15 a.m. before everyone
showed up for breakfast which turned out to be a very forgettable one of
granola cereal, a power bar and more dried fruit of some kind.
Today, our hike was to Rayado. At first, I didn't know if I would be able to make this one as the sky was again bright and we were out in the open. However, I didn't have to look up as we were on flat ground the whole time so I didn't have any trouble. We hiked to Olympia, a new camp used for Ranger training during the summer. There were several campsites along the trail and very distant from each other. Other than a couple of red roof inns, we didn't see any buildings. We did pass by evidence of the old Olympia camp which must have had at least one building as the foundation had been bulldozed. We also passed by the U. S. Geological Service's Gaging Station, an interesting facility along the Rayado with a gondola type seat used to cross the river.
We finally arrived at Rayado. Of course, all the buildings were closed so we didn't see much. We ate lunch of canned chicken, Ritz crackers, etc. under the trees at Rayado. I wasn't too impressed by this new lunch as I believe the old spreadables are better. After lunch, we walked up to a couple of old cemeteries on a hill behind the Rayado complex. One of these was the Abreu Family cemetery.
The return hike to Zastrow was rather uneventful as we took a slightly different route part of the way but wound up taking the same trail back after crossing the Rayado. Most crew members relaxed the rest of the afternoon by reading or just resting.
Tonight's supper was beef stroganoff. We also had Ramon noodles which we mixed in with the stroganoff. We wound up with plenty of food tonight. After supper, we enjoyed another campfire and more of Linda's cookies. We stayed up longer tonight, until almost 9 p.m.
Thursday, October 10
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Today, we had our best breakfast of the adventure, pancakes cooked by
Linda (aka the Pancake Lady). This is a tradition for all of our Autumn
Adventure trips as well as several other trips to Philmont, including
Wood Badge in '98 when Linda's Antelope patrol allowed her to cook
pancakes on several mornings. She does extremely well, especially given
the fact that she doesn't really like pancakes.
During breakfast, a couple of maps made an appearance and the guys decided to hike to the Lower Bonita Camp today. Bill, Linda and I decided to stay at camp and catch up on more important activities such as reading and sleep. So, off went Walter, Desi, Steve, Andy and Dave on their journey that would see them gain about 2,000 feet in altitude and cover at least eight miles.
For those of us in camp, it was a very leisurely day as we rested and read most of the time. Lunch was canned ham which Linda said was better than the chicken. I opted to eat leftovers from some of the other meals.
When the hikers weren't back by 4 p.m., I began to worry a bit. We also talked about splitting up their gear if they didn't make it back, another AA tradition we began in '96 when one crew member was late in getting back to the Hunting Lodge after going fishing in the Cito Reservoir. As it turned out, our hikers returned just in time for supper. They described a beautiful meadow surrounded by Aspen trees which were showing full fall colors. The photos we saw after returning home certainly proved them true. They did say the hike was quite difficult and even Dave seemed to be a little tired tonight.
Tonight's supper was spaghetti with meat sauce, an old Philmont favorite. After supper, we enjoyed another nice campfire, our last one of the trip. We finished up Linda's cookies too. Due to the small size of our crew, the cookies lasted the whole trip this time, something that had never taken place in the past.
Friday, October 11
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We got up around 6:30 this morning and most crew members packed up
before our breakfast of cinnamon toast crunch, Gorp and another
breakfast bar of some type. After breakfast, we made sure our campsite
was clean and loaded as much equipment as possible into the backpacks.
Everything else, we carried and wound up needing only one trip to get
back to the van. Before we departed Zastrow, Dave presented us with our
Autumn Adventure patches and Philmont Wilderness Pledge cards. After we
hiked back to the van, I presented Dave with one of our troop T-shirts
and a troop 15th Anniversary patch.
Soon, we were back at CHQ where warm showers were waiting. We made arrangements to meet Dave at Simple Simon's Pizza for lunch. After getting cleaned up, several crew members made another trip to the ToT Traders. Then, all of us went to the Seaton Library and Museum where we viewed a new (for us) exhibit on backpacks and tents.
Next, came the trip into Cimarron for lunch. As we were driving away, we made sure that everyone looked back to see the image of the arrowhead on the back of the Tooth of Time as that means we'll be back at Philmont again some time in the future.
After ordering the pizza, we went to the Art Gallery where most of us made a purchase of some type. Of course, the pizza was great. We had some left over which we gave to Dave. Another excellent Autumn Adventure was winding down as we prepared to hit the road back to Texas.
For the return trip, we decided to go via Clayton, Dalhart, Dumas and Amarillo. We stopped in Springer for fuel. Bill told us about a route that we hadn't taken before which he said was as good as any routes we've taken in the past. So, after going through Amarillo, we headed toward Fort Worth which would take us to I-35 and then south to Georgetown.
Shortly after leaving Amarillo, we saw a terrible traffic accident which created a somber mood for quite some time. We continued on and stopped at K-Bob's in Childress for supper. It took a long time to get our food as there was a big group there and they had ordered before we did. Anyway, the food was good (I had fried shrimp). We fueled the van again before departing Childress.
Saturday, October 12
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We continued on, listening to a high school football game and to music
after the game was over. One last stop in Hillsboro for fuel and on to
Georgetown, arriving back at Crestview before 3 a.m. We installed the
rear seat in the van, put the stoves and fuel bottles in the storage
cabinet and dropped the water containers off at the troop's storage
shed.
After arriving home, Linda and I enjoyed a few hours sleep. We got up around 8:30 a.m., ate breakfast and prepared to return the van to the rental agency. I decided to drive to the post office to get our mail which had been held while Linda finished cleaning the van. We made plans to meet at the rental agency to turn in the van. After driving about 1 1/4 miles, I came to an intersection where a lady ran a stop light and I hit her with my 2002 red Mustang. No serious injuries but my car was totaled. About 45 minutes later, along came Linda who received a nice surprise as she got to see my Mustang just before it was towed away. Hopefully, there will be a happy ending to all this as I'm scheduled to pick up my new 2002 red Mustang on October 25.
One other remembrance: On either Sunday or Monday night, we saw a very bright "shooting star" as we were sitting around the campfire...a long display of something burning up in the atmosphere.
YiS
--
Calvin H. Gray
Scoutmaster, Troop 405
Georgetown, Texas
I used to be an Owl (WM-62-2-98 @ Philmont)
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