Six Scouts and five adults from our troop spent last week (March 10-15) at Philmont participating in Kanik, Philmont's winter camping program. We had an excellent time.
The fee for our 5-night adventure was $195 per person and included food, tents, stoves, fuel, water containers and winter camping clothing if we needed it.
After spending our first night in Philmont's "quad" after going through an hour and a half training session on winter camping, we were transported to the Hunting Lodge near Cimarroncito where we camped for four nights and did side hikes. In total, there were five Kanik crews camped at the Hunting Lodge, all from Texas.
Our crew enjoyed two trips to Cimarroncito where the boys spent a great deal of time in the climbing house. A hike to Window Rock also took place. The most strenuous activity was a hike to Cyphers Mine during which part of the trail and area around the camp was covered by a couple of feet of snow. The boys especially enjoyed playing in the snow at Cyphers. They also had fun sliding on snow & ice (on saucers supplied by Philmont) near the road that goes from the Hunting Lodge to the Cito Reservior.
Although some trail food items are included, Kanik food is much better that the food provided in the summer as there are several MRE type meals in each pack. Each person received a personal food pack for each day and we had a whole lot left over. I'll be eating peanut butter, jelly and crackers for several weeks.
Cobbler cooked by the Kanik staff in Dutch ovens and a night time campfire program conducted by the staff in the Hunting Lodge were enjoyed one night.
Other than very high wind gusts one night which destroyed one of the tents we were using, there were no significant problems during Kanik. Probably too many people concentrated in one location (Hunting Lodge) but that wasn't a significant problem. Our biggest disappointment was the lack of snow.
The Kanik staff was exceptional. I especially appreciated their concern when my father was hospitalized back here in Texas. A cell phone was provided which enabled me to communicate with the hospital, etc. and to make sure my father was okay. Other than having to spend his 95th birthday in a hospital, he came through his latest ordeal in satisfactory condition.
We also enjoyed two visits to the Philmont Trading Post, a tour of the Villa Philmonte and a stop at the Cimarron Art Gallery for ice cream, etc. Seeing large numbers of Mule Deer in the Villa yard and the field across the highway was interesting.
By the way, the St. James Hotel is under new ownership as of March 15, and the Cimarron residents seem to be pleased about that.
Also, I was told that fall and winter moisture at Philmont has been about 30% below normal. So, unless there is a great deal of moisture during the next couple of months, it is probably best to "be prepared" for another summer camping season during which there are more bear sightings than usual.
YiS,
--
Calvin H. Gray
Scoutmaster, Troop 405
Georgetown, Texas
This Web page is maintained by Selden Ball
at Wilson Lab.
Please send any comments or corrections to
seb@lns.cornell.edu