August 3 (Philmont Base Camp)

I woke up at 6 so I could get into the shower before a dozen other people, then went outside to watch the sunrise. It was pleasantly cool outside. On the main road running through Cimarron I saw 5 deer crossing the road, saw some hummingbirds, and could hear coyotes howling.  Pat got up and as he strolled the area he found some bear tracks near the dumpster in the back of the property.

Our motel was actually a small house that fit all thirteen of us; Matthew and I shared the bottom of a bunk bed with Ryan taking the top.

All the boys got up and dressed in their class A uniforms, I dressed in my Philmont Troop 158 t-shirt.  We had met a Philmont staff person at dinner last night who advised us to get to Philmont at 8AM and get checked in early (we didn't make it).  He also told us that our trek (Trek #14) is a good one.

We walked down to breakfast at Heck's Hungry Traveler restaurant. MikeH didn't feel like eating since he still seemed to be suffering from altitude sickness a little bit.

We ended up arriving at Philmont base camp at 8:45, where Dave and MikeH registered us, and then met our ranger , AJ.  AJ would be hiking and camping with us the first two days of our trips to show us the ropes.  He just graduated from high school one hour south of Chicago, and will go to Columbia College in Chicago to study writing. He likes the Cubs, and wore a small backback with a school bus on it.  He was invited to Philmont because (a) he's an Eagle Scout, (b) he had been to Philmont himself, and (c) he had been to Double-H ranch as well.

Right away I also bumped into my co-worker from EMC, Kaleb. Although we were on different treks, we both started the exact same day. Amazing. His troop was from Belmont, MA.

AJ showed us to our "trailbound" (Matthew and I had tent #52), where we would spend the night before our hike. While the adults filled out paperwork, and Pat tried to find a place to spend the night, AJ met with the scouts, learned their names, and talked about Philmont.  We had our troop picture taken, and then AJ brought us down to the medical check-in, and we were all cleared to hike.  Matthew was given an inhaler just in case; and then at 11:30 we ate lunch in the dining hall.

After lunch we went to the Philmont museum and signed up for the "Villa Tour" of Waite Philipps house at 4PM.  Then we started picking up some gear: tents, rope, dining fly, pots, bear bags, and food.  Here's a picture of us hanging out in the gear pick-up area.

We laid out our hiking gear, and AJ ran through it and did a check (I needed a pack cover, extra canteens/nalgenes, and extra socks, all of which I got at the Trading Post).  We finished the gear inspection just before the hail came, and then it poured. Was this a sign of afternoon rainshowers to come?

After we toured Waite Philipps' house (very cool), we went to dinner and then on to various meetings. Dave went to a crew leader meeting, Matthew went to a chaplain's aide meeting, and the adults went to an adviser's meeting.  At 7PM it was time to attend a worship service (mandatory for anybody wishing to receive the "Duty To God" patch). Some went to the Catholic service, some tried the Mormon service (to see what it was like) and I went to the Protestant service. The Protestant service was a small outdoor ampitheater with a pulpit and cross in the front and miles of open space behind the cross. It was gorgeous. Deer were walking behind the pastor as he spoke, and you could hear horses neighing throughout! He formed an impromptu choir and I joined in. It was a great service.

At 8:30 we all walked across the street to the opening campfire, which was held underneath a starlit sky, and involved several historical actors describing the history of New Mexico.  Shots were fired!  Also, our crew leader Dave was given an American flag by AJ to put on his pack while we were hiking. After the opening campfire we all crashed in our tents, ready to start our trip the next day.