For information on Philmont “how to,” check out my prior posts: Philmont Overview, Registration and Itinerary, Fitness Prep, Skills Prep, Gear Prep, Youth Leadership, and Top Tips. This post is simply a trip report for Crew 714-9B-1.
Day 0 (travel day): We flew from Austin on an early morning flight to Colorado Springs, where we caught a charter bus to Philmont. The bus ride was a little more exciting than we had hoped, but we made it safely. After registering, we toured Villa Philmonte, ate dinner in the dining hall, and chilled. Cell phone reception at Basecamp was 1-2 bars with T-Mobile, nothing with Verizon.
Day 1: After breakfast, we met our Ranger Lance, who led us through a medical recheck, logistics, gear checkout, our official crew photo, and a brief equipment shakedown. This ended up taking most of the day. After dinner, we hiked with all the other crews departing the next morning to the Trailbound campfire.
Day 2 (first day on the trail): We packed up early and were bussed to the Poneil trailhead on the north side of Philmont.
On the trail, Lance provided quick lessons on backcountry hygiene and navigation. We then hiked a couple miles to Poneil, where the scouts enjoyed the cantina, which served two flavors of root beer: Crunchy or Creamy.
The scouts then branded their hats and crocs, and everyone took a turn learning to lasso.
In the afternoon, we hiked another mile to our campsite, Sioux, where Lance instructed us to hang bear bags and prepare and clean up dinner the Philmont way.
That night, we returned to Poniel for a pioneer-themed evening program with great music and storytelling. Poniel was the original Basecamp when the property was donated, and it was a fun visit.
Day 3: We spent the morning building a trail on the hill above Sioux. Overall, it was fun, but I wish it had been scheduled on a slower day.
After the conservation project wrapped up at 10:30, we still had a five-mile hike to our next activity at Poblano, which meant the afternoon storms arrived before we climb spar poles. This was the only activty we missed on the trek, but was one that some of the boys were really looking forward to doing. The campsite at Poblano was beautiful in the trees, and we were treated to another great musical program by the staff that evening.
Day 4: This was an 11-mile day. Our Crew Leader made the tough but correct decision to abandon spar pole climbing at Poblano in favor of an early departure. This put us at French Henry, a cute mining-themed staff camp, by 1000. The scouts participated in a mine education program, panned for gold (found a tiny amount), and then made a butter knife at blacksmithing.
On the hike from French Henry to Baldy Town, we were hit with our first hail storm.
At Baldy Town, one scout bought a new pack cover after the hail storm demonstrated that his original was too small, and we went to the commissary and reloaded on food. Our packs were full as we headed out from Baldy Town in another rainstorm for Miranda, a fur trading-themed camp, which we reached mid-afternoon. Our itinerary officially called for us to hike another 0.7 miles past Miranda, but the staff radioed logistics and got us permission to stay at Miranda. We quickly set up camp and participated in an hour-long hatched throwing activity.
Day 5: The scouts were up at 0300, and we were on the trail by 0400 for a 10-mile, 3,000 feet up and down Baldy summit hike. We made good progress and were on the summit by 0800. The top was windy, and temps were in the 40s, but we could fit our entire crew behind one of the rock walls that hikers have built over time. Out of the wind, we were comfortable, and we shared a pound cake and a can of apple pie filling that Lance had left us, spread by the butter knife the scouts had made. Of course, the adults had coffee.
After about an hour, we headed down, reaching Miranda around noon. It was a beautiful day in the 80s, so I took a trail shower (pots of cold water dumped on my head), washed clothes in a ziplock, and dried things. It was at this moment that the Philmont gods decided to teach us a lesson in the form of a 30-minute hail storm that left the campsite covered in inches of ice. The temps dropped into the 40s, and we spent the rest of the day walking on ice.
That evening, our scouts and adults competed in a hatchet throwing contest, and then we attended a comedy show put on by the staff.
We loved Miranda; it’s a great meadow! (This is an inside joke for those who have been there)
Day 6: With only a 5-mile hike, we had a lazy morning drying everything out as we hiked to the Baldy Skyline trail camp.
Of course, after a sunny hike, it started to rain as soon as we set up camp. At this point we were running light on isopro gas, so two of our scouts made a tripod, and we boiled our dinner water in a pot over the campfire.
The scouts spent the afternoon playing football in a field.
Day 7: We had a short morning hike to Head of Dean, where we ran into our other Troop 33 crew. After a short visit, we participated in a challenge course which was really fun.
We then took the long way to the Dean Cow campsite to gain some miles and get a few more views of the mountains. We arrived at Dean Cow with plenty of time to spare and had a slow afternoon hanging out. Just before bedtime, we saw a black bear, which caused the scouts to recheck their tents for smellables, producing several unaccounted snacks for the Oops Bag.
Day 8: This was a 10-mile downhill hike to the Cimmaroncita staffed campsite. After setting up camp, we did 3-D archery and took an ecology and history tour.
While trying to cook dinner, we were hit with a gusty thunderstorm, which required a temporary retreat to the tents. After the storm passed, we finished cooking and dished up ramen noodles in the chilly weather.
Day 9: We had another slow morning to dry things out, then briefly hiked to the bus.
We arrived at base camp shortly before lunch. After returning the equipment, we all showered (and bought soap for the boys to ensure they used it) and visited the National Scouting Museum. The Museum has a large 3D map of Philmont and is worth a stop. That evening, we attended the closing campfire program, which was special.
Day 10: After breakfast, our charter bus picked us up at 0900, and we headed to Colorado Springs for an uneventful flight back to Austin.
This trek was fun and something I am sure I will remember. All the boys had a great time, and they are already talking about coming back for the more advanced treks. As for me, I don’t know if I will be back, but I certainly would not mind running it back with another one of my kids.
Vamonos Baby! 