(Editor’s note: This is the second of a two-part series of the detailed accounts of a local boy scout trip to Philmont. The first part ran in the Saturday, August 14 edition of The Daily Herald.)
From staff reports
Day 6
We headed to Philips Junction which is at a crossroads and has a food commissary. We picked up another three days of food and brought more fuel for our camp stoves. We left PJ after lunch and headed to Crooked Creek, which is the only staffed camp at Philmont that does not have road access. The staff gets their provisions and mail every Friday hauled in on the backs of burros. After the Scouts dipped candles and toured a back woods cabin, they hiked toward their day’s final destination.
Once again the rains came, the mosquitoes attacked and the Scouts trudged along the trail. Five days of uphill hiking, five days of pounding afternoon rains and relentless mosquitoes challenged the positive attitudes of the campers. We arrived at Wild Horse Camp, which is an unstaffed camp at an elevation of 10,360 feet. The air gets very thin and Scouts move at a slow pace because of the lack of oxygen at those altitudes. This camp is to prepare the boys for the next camp, Mount Phillips with an elevation of 11,711 feet. Unstaffed camps are typically very quiet and the boys headed to bed around 8 p.m.
Day 7
We headed down the mountain for a staff program at Clear Creek Camp, home of the Rocky Mountain Fur Traders. We got to tour a fur traders cabin, threw tomahawks and shot black powder muzzle-loader rifles. Because there was no water on Mt. Phillips, we cooked our supper for lunch. That afternoon we headed up the front side of Mount Phillips. The hike was quite strenuous, with steep rocky grades and very thin air. The Scouts conquered Mt. Phillips in a couple of hours and enjoyed the incredible view from this vista.
At the top of the mountain, the Scouts had a rather emotional prayer service, where they remember Boy Scout Andrew Hecker from Troop 103, who had died at summer camp two years ago. The Scouts later learned this was the exact location of a prayer service that Mike Yeaton’s crew had back in 2002 on Mt. Phillips. The Scouts thanked God for this wonderful opportunity and asked blessings upon those Scouts who would never get to enjoy the awesome adventure that they were halfway through. The Scouts pitched their tents in the drizzle and headed to bed at 7:30 p.m. The Philmont issued tents easily stood up to the howling winds, the freezing rain and the cold temperatures on Mt. Phillips.
Day 8
The day began with the realization that once you leave Mt. Phillips, the rest of the trip is downhill! We hiked down the backside of Mt. Phillips, along the narrow rock covered trail. We arrived at Cyphers Mine (elevation 9,360 ft.) at 11 a.m. The ravine that this gold mining camp is in has such steep sides there wasn’t a level place for a campsite so we stayed in Adirondak style shelters.
We took a tour of the gold mine and we got to experience the cold dank conditions that the miners worked in to eke out the precious gold that lay along the fault lines. The Scouts then learned some blacksmithing skills at the forge, where they made a wrought iron coat hook. We then got to pan for gold along the creek and came to appreciate the tenacity of the miners in searching for a few flakes of this precious mineral. After supper we then went to the “Stomp” which was a hoe-down performed by the staff. Most memorable of this day is that it did not rain a single drop.
Day 9
We again woke up to blue skies and sunshine. We hiked down the Middle Fork of Cimmaroncito Creek to the Hunting Lodge that was built by Waite Phillips. This lodge was used by his guests and government bounty hunters, in search of coyotes, mountain lions and bears. After lunch we hiked up to Cimmaroncito Camp (elevation 8,140 ft.), and then to Ute Gulch Commissary for a three day food pick up. We came back to ‘Cito and set up camp, under Bear Alert conditions. Some of us took our first shower in nine days at camp. We did laundry and hung our clothes off tree branches in the hot dry sun. The Scouts then enjoyed an afternoon of rock climbing and rappelling off the cliffs near the top of the mountain. This activity was one of the many highlights of the Scouts’ trek.
Day 10
We hiked to Clarks Fork (elevation 7,520), which is a western style camp. There we branded our boots, hats and wallets with the Philmont ranch brands that are used on the cattle and horses. Here some of the Scouts rode horses and learned rope twirling and throwing techniques. The highlight of the day is when our fellow Tyrone Scouts came into camp around 3 p.m. Trek A-1, led by Mike Yeaton and his crew, came into camp to be met with hugs and warmest greetings. We had so many stories to tell about our treks. It was so good to see our fellow Scouts! After our trek, we enjoyed a chuck wagon stew dinner (that we didn’t have to cook)! We hiked up the mountain about one half hour away and spent the night in Ponderosa Park Camp (elevation 8,020).
Day 11
We got up very early at 4 a.m. and tore down camp with flashlights. We then hiked out in the pre-dawn hours up to Schaffers Pass, where we saw the sun rise up over the distant mountains. We ate our breakfast along the trail and trudged to the most famous land mark at Philmont, the Tooth of Time (elevation 9,003 ft.), a giant monolith that projects from the tree covered Tooth Ridge. We climbed this colossal edifice along the undefined boulder-strewn trail. Numerous rolls of film were clicked off from this panoramic vista. We carefully hiked back down to the trail and headed down the trail via the countless switchbacks to base camp (elevation 6,650 ft.). We arrived at base camp just before noon completing our 12 mile day hike. It was a bittersweet moment knowing that we had successfully completed our Philmont journey, however it was time to say good-bye to this beautiful country.
We then began the lengthy procedure of checking in, our crew leader Phil reported us back into Logistics, we returned our crew gear and spent most of the afternoon doing laundry and buying souvenirs at base camp. After supper, we attended our religious services from 7-8 p.m. We all attended the closing campfire, where our crew leaders were honored for a job well done. We went to bed in our platform tents with cots for a good night’s sleep, only to have our sleep interrupted by a howling two-hour windstorm. After a minimal night’s sleep, we boarded our bus and said our last good-bye to Philmont. We spent 12 hours riding until we arrived at Phoenix Airport. We left Phoenix around midnight, had a lay over in Detroit and arrived at Philadelphia Airport on Monday morning. We again boarded our bus and arrived in Altoona around 1:30 p.m. amid hugs and smiles from our families. Truly the friendships and memories of this wonderful experience will last a lifetime.
Aside from this awesome adventure of beautiful scenery, hiking along steep mountainsides and seeing the pristine waters of this beautiful country, most impressive were the attitudes of the Scouts on this trek. The four Scouts from Warriors Mark Troop 104 – Donovan Truax, Matt Lauder, Dan Stover and Ryan Lauder were awesome hikers and campers that did more than their share of work. These four young men truly understood the teamwork concept that were a reflection of their Scoutmaster, Craig Stover, who served as the adult advisor. Travis Hoover , who got his EMT certification a week before the trek was a most valuable asset with his medical training. He handled all of the first aid needs, as well as being a team player with a lot of experience from his Troop 29. Philip Kreckel, who served as crew leader did an excellent job making the decisions necessary to make this a most successful experience of a lifetime. Along with his father, Peter Kreckel, Scoutmaster Troop 300, who served as a co-advisor helped make memories that will last a lifetime for these young men in the Boy Scout program. The face of scouting has indeed changed in Northern Blair County, thanks to the dedicated work of the adult leaders and these ambitious youth of this area.
