We met Al Thomson's New Jersey crew in Cimarron at the Kit Carson Restaurant during breakfast on Oct. 8 and spent that night with them at Beaubien. Al's crew departed Beaubien on Oct. 9 and we didn't see them again.
Our crew was transported to Beaubien in Philmont vehicles via the "Beaver Slide." We used Beaubien as our HQ during the week with side hikes to Phillips Junction, Porcupine, Crooked Creek, Black Mountain, Trail Peak and Fish Camp. The hike to Black Mountain was the highlight for my wife and myself as we had visited the camp during regular treks in 1989 and 1995.
Our guide during the week was Jonathan Porter, a Philmont wrangler and University of Florida student. He was very knowledgeable and displayed a great deal of humor throughout the week.
We saw lots of wildlife including a large heard of elk and several flocks of turkeys. A dead horse (he died in front of the cabin) made the trip to Fish Camp very aromatic.
The weather was cool at night but warmed up each day. We had rain on Wednesday and Thursday nights. Each of our five nights was spent around the fire place in the main cabin at Beaubien telling jokes and stories, some of which were even true.
On Friday morning, we returned to HQ via a road much better than the "Beaver Slide" and stopped by Crater Lake for a short visit. After enjoying hot showers, we visited the Tooth of Time Traders (trading post) before driving to Cimarron for lunch at Simple Simon's Pizza and a visit to the Cimarron Art Gallery.
In summary, our fourth all adult Autumn Adventure was excellent and we're planning a return trip for 2001.
YiS,
--
Calvin H. Gray
Scoutmaster, Troop 405
Advisor, Venturing Crew 405
Georgetown, Texas
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