We woke up at 4:15 today and left for our last day on the trail at 5:20. We hike as fast as possible, but had to keep a pace that Will could and was willing to keep up. We reached the side hike to Schaffer’s Peak, where we wanted to see sunrise at 5:49, and the few of us determined to see the sunrise dropped our packs and half-ran, half-walked the last 1/5 - 1/4 of a mile to the summit (9410’). We got to the top at 5:53, one minute before sunrise. We met a crew from North Carolina there, but our sister crew had walked right past. It was the second best sunrise I have ever seen (after Haleakala on Maui) and was absolutely spectacular. We could see all of the way to Colorado and the Valle Vidal. Baldy, to the north, and Uraca Mesa, to the south, were visible as well. Tooth Ridge, we were are hiking today, was laid out right before us to the east. As the sun rose, it cast some really neat shadows and turned everything amazing shades of red and orange.

We left the summit at about 6:20, and resumed our hike along the ridge. We hiked along the very top for awhile, an easy hike with good views to both sides. We then dropped below the ridge to the side trail up Tooth of Time. We dropped our packs there at 7:35, taking water, breakfast, and cameras with us. It was a steep rock scramble to the top, where we ate breakfast. While the Tooth of Time is lower than Schaffer’s Peak, it has better, 360°, views because it is far less treed in. We could see the western part of Philmont, which we had not been able to see from Schaffer’s Peak. Also, we could see base camp to the east, now that the part of the ridge behind us was no longer in our way. We climbed down at 8:20, and resumed our hike towards base camp when we got back to our packs. I had to carry our sister crew’s garbage, which they accidentally left behind. We had trouble finding the correct trail through Tooth Ridge Camp, but that did not slow us down for long.

A little below there, we saw a rattlesnake. Dan and Will had already walked past it, and I had my left boot about two inches from it when I saw it, coiled and rattling. I panicked at first; despite all that people tell you about staying calm, it is impossible when the first time you see a rattlesnake is when it is two inches from you, coiled, and rattling. I calmed down again after those of us not yet past ran about ten feet back up the trail. We waited for it to cross the trail and move into the shrubbery on the downhill side. After that, we and another crew that had caught up with us, the one we met on top of Schaffer’s, moved briskly past it, one at a time. After that, Will, who was now spooked, kept seeing things and stopping. Not long after, Brian got stung by a bee, and we were forced to stop while he took care of that. Once we were out of the area snakes like, we resumed a fast pace for the downhill walk to base. We came around the end of the ridge and had a very good view of base camp most of the rest of the way down. We got back to base camp at 10:50.

We posed for a picture at the "Welcome Back!" sign before dropping our packs at services while Brian went to logistics to check in. We moved our gear over to our section of homebound tent city and took our first real shower (with real soap) in eleven days, and went to lunch, our first non-trail meal in just as many days. After lunch, we returned crew gear and did some repacking before heading over to the trading post. We also made calls home. It started to rain so we went back and played cards at the tents until dinner. Following dinner was a closing campfire, after which we were presented our Philmont Arrowheads and fifty-miler awards (even though our trek was longer in actuality). We wandered over to the snack bar, only to decide that the line was too long, so we went back to our tents and to sleep around ten.

We woke up at 5:30 today. I took another shower and finished packing. We then moved our gear up to the Welcome Pavilion and went to breakfast at 7:00. After breakfast, we went back to the trading post to get some patches. I picked up an application for OA trail crew in Minnesota next year and requested one for Philmont Trail Crew. At 7:50, we loaded the buses and left Philmont at 8:05. On the way out we saw the famous Arrowhead formation and the Villa Philmont. We watched two movies and stopped for lunch at Fargo’s Pizza in Colorado Springs at 11:20. Around 1:40, we got to the Denver Airport, but had to wait a very long time to check our bags. After our bags were finally checked, we went down to the concourse and stopped at a McDonald’s.

The plane boarded at 4:35. It is a 727, and I have a window seat just behind the wing. There are about ten non-scouts on the plane, who I feel sorry for. We took off at 5:04, and hit turbulence soon after. Dinner was good (something I never thought I would say about airplane food) when compared to the rehydrated food we had been eating. The scout next to me is having a birthday, so he got cheesecake from the first class cabin. During the descent, we passed through some turbulence and could see a thunderstorm in the distance. We passed the Meadowlands very low and got a very good view. We landed at 10:14 EDT, 8:14 MDT. Our parents were waiting at the security checkpoint, and we claimed our bags and went home.

Philmont Books

• Return to the Summit of Scouting: A Scouter's Midlife Journey Back to Philmont by William F. Cass. Humorous and exciting firsthand account highlights the tension, adversity, fun, teamwork, and cooperation that are fundamental in the Boy Scouts of America's High Adventure Program.
  
• Riders in the Sky: The Ghosts and Legends of Philmont Scout Ranch by Michael Connelly. A brief book in which "Michael Connelly does for the famed Philmont Scout Range what Stephen King does for Maine: makes it fascinating and scary" (Smiley Andrews, Baton Rouge Advocate)
  

<< Days 13 & 14