and accompanying guides. It provides a resource for travel-related purchases as well.">
     
logs: Philmont Scout Ranch
 
   
Day 13: Monday, July 13

We woke up at the usual time, 5:00, today and ate breakfast in camp, since it was a hot breakfast. We left camp a little after 7:00. We hiked downhill for a while, with fairly good views. We had to step to the side while they went back together. At the bottom, we met a road, which we soon left to hike on a trail that ran through Ute Springs Camp. We reached Ute Gulch Commissary, the location of our third and final food pickup, at 9:30. DJ left the trail here because his knee is so bad, so we only picked up food for ten. Once we picked up the food, we raided the trading post for chips and candy, which had never tasted so good. We relaxed for awhile, and started to make dinner for lunch at 11:00. We did this because the camp tonight, Aspen Springs, is supposed to be dry, and dinner is the meal that uses the most water. When that was done, we filled up all of our water containers and left a little after noon.

To get to Aspen Springs, we had to hike back the way we had come for a little and then up another trail. The trail was a steep climb, but fortunately there were switchbacks. At the top, we reached camp. When we got there, we found out that not only was there water, but it was purified water. We had camp set up by 2:15, and we decided to take a nap. We all woke up at 4:30, and we had a lunch and some extra food for dinner. After dinner, we climbed some large rock outcroppings to get some really good views. Then we played a frustrating, but fun, card game that Dan learned from our sister crew. We went to the tents around 8:30.

Day 14: Tuesday, July 14

Window RockWe again woke up at 5:00, and were on the trail a little after 6:00. I am trailblazer for the day again. We stopped at about 7:25 for breakfast at Window Rock, which had wonderful views of the area south and east. Because of the view, and the hot breakfast (which takes longer because water must be boiled), we had a long breakfast, not leaving until 8:20. After Window Rock, the trail dropped steeply, passing Cathedral Rock. Along the way, we came between a doe and her fawn, and she bluff charged us. A little later, we began a gentle climb up towards Clarks Fork Camp. We got there around 10:00, and our sister crew’s missing advisor was there to rejoin them. We went to a program that talked some about the ranching industry and got to brand our boots with the Philmont Brands. Again, the night’s camp is supposed to be dry, other than an unreliable spring, so we again cooked dinner for lunch.

We had a 1:00 horse ride, which had nice views as we rode along the base of Tooth Ridge, but we had no real control of the horses as they just followed the horse in front of them. Our ride got back at about three, and we quickly passed and left. The trail climbed steeply up to Upper Clarks Fork, where we were supposed to camp, but logistics had approved an itinerary change that would let us get closer to the end of the trail. It quickly grew even steeper as it climbed up Schaffer’s Pass. Despite the steepness, we continued to move at a good pace, soon passing our sister crew that had left before us. Even though we were moving fast, we got into Schaffer’s Pass Camp (8740’) late for us. We set up and ate dinner at 6:00. We had two lunches for dinner, since we had picked up an extra one at Ute Gulch. After dinner, we played cards with our sister crew and drank much of the extra hot chocolate. Our card game was interrupted by a skunk walking through the campsite at 9:30; it made several appearances. We put up the bear bag and went to sleep just before 10:00.

<< Days 11 & 12  |  Days 15 & 16 >>

Guides     Travelogues     Other Sites