Philmont – Day 5 – Sawmill

There was lots of rain last night. For a few hours there was plenty of thunder and lightning with real heavy rain. We were greeted with a cloudy sky and it seemed like nothing was dry. We struck camp quickly and headed to the trail.

 

On the way we stopped by the Staff Cabin to check out. The Crew Leader checked on the best way to make it to Sawmill. Their suggestion was not on our map. It included the road by the shower house, which was also not on the map. From there, the road would lead straight into a trail that would take us to a junction where we would catch the trail up Sawmill Canyon.

 

We made it to the junction and started up Sawmill Canyon. The sun was nowhere to be seen and it was still damp out. On the other hand, the trail was a nice trail.

 

As we made it further up the trail we passed several areas with wildflowers, like the Mexican Hat. There was also plenty of water running down Sawmill Canyon. If it was not so cold and wet, a drink out of a cold stream could sound good.

 

We reached another trail junction and checked our location. You can line young men up at a trail junction. However, when you get out the camera and they see you, they hide their faces.

 

There were more wildflowers as we continued up the trail.

 

We came to a familiar location so we took a picture. In 2011 this is the place we stopped when one of the young men noticed that they had a blister on one of their toes. At least when I say this one in for mom, smile, they cooperate.

 

We arrived at Sawmill and had our porch talk. We ate lunch, put up our bear bags, and set up camp before our 2:00 appointment to reload .30-06 cartridges for the range. After reloading cartridges, because it was real cloudy and due to safety issues on the range we were to wait for it to be clearer before shooting. We went back to the porch where the adults sat in rocking chairs and the youth played some war game with playing cards.

 

Almost two hours later, we got the all clear and headed to the range. Everything was wet. The clouds that were blowing through were so laden with moisture that they dropped it everywhere. As the clouds could travel under roofs, the moisture was on all surfaces. We really did not care about the water. We had our raingear on and the powder was dry, so bang the firearms went.

 



After the range we went back to camp to cook diner. It was a wet and cold evening. Everyone found a place under the dining fly. Some more comfortable than others and as usual, some were shy about being photographed.

 

 When dinner was finished, the adults headed back down to the staff cabin for “Scoutmaster Coffee” where I consume cookies and the other adult drinks hot apple cider or chocolate. This evening from the porch we were treated with a double rainbow. The one rainbow could be seen from end to end. Soon enough we were made our way back uphill to our campsite.

 

 As for miracles for the day, we made it to Sawmill and I felt a lot better than I did in 2011. The weather on the trail was good as compared to what it was like once we arrived. We did not have any thunder and lightning as I loath the lightning position. It is tough on knees. I think the youth did great. Perhaps they have personal miracles. The can share those with their parents. As for the flora, there was plenty. Not much that I could identify. The first one is New Mexico Vervian. There was also a good helping of mushrooms to see on the trail.

 









Now comes the fungus section.

 

Philmont – Day 4 – Cimarroncito

We were up early today as we wanted to get moving before we had any rain.  The sunrise was on the edge of the meadow and it was nice to see some blue sky.  It had rained last night, sometimes a little heavy.



After getting a few things done, we went on a meadow walk.  Our ranger, Chris had us walk out into the meadow and think about why we were at Philmont and what we wanted to get out of our being there.  It was a beautiful morning and it was nice to be in the sun.  My answer was to have fun.



As we made our way back to our camp we came across some turkeys and their young moving through the tall grass.  Depending were they were at, you could see the young.



We also had a chance to get a photo of all of us.



Soon enough we were on the trail.  It was a nice walk in the forest as we made our way to Ute Junction to pick up food.



One of our stops in the past has been at the edge of the ridge overlooking the valley where Ute Gulch is.  It is a good place for a group picture.



It also seems to be a better place to get on the edge of things.



We were a bit on edge as well as the sky seemed to be filling with clouds.  It was after 10 and we still had a ways to go.



We got to Ute Gulch, picked up our food and ate lunch.  We still had a few miles before we made it to Cimarroncito.   Unfortunately those miles were mostly uphill.  Just the thing you want to be doing after picking up four days worth of food.  The good thing was that the trail was nice.



As we neared Cimarroncito, we could see more large rocky outcroppings.  Hence the activity there is rock climbing.



We made our way to the porch for the porch talk.  The clouds were getting a little darker and more ominous.  We chose to leave our packs at the staff cabin to go rock climbing.  I always am fearful of leaving my pack with mini-bears lurking as they like to eat holes in packs.  That is just a chance one takes.

We climbed up at one spot.



We then rappelled down another spot.



There was also a nice view from up on the rock.  It was also not a surprise that it rained lightly for a few minutes when we were climbing.  A few weeks before the rock was so hot people were blistering their fingers.  A little moisture is not a problem either.  The problem that will get you off the rock is thunder and lightning.



When we got back to the staff cabin we chose to shower before going to our camping spot and setting up camp.  We got two keys for two showers for an hour for the seven of us.  I was ready to go so I got a key and headed to the shower.  It started to rain lightly when I entered the shower.  As I showered, I could hear thunder and the rain was heavier.  By the time I got out of the shower there was hail.  We were lucky that by the showers there is a laundry area that is covered.  We waited there before showers and after showers.  It also rained the whole time we were there with a fairly heavy downpour.  You could say the laundry was not drying very well.



In a light rain we made it back to the staff cabin, got our packs and headed up to our campsite.  We set up the dining fly, hung the bear bags and set up our tents while dinner was started.  We needed to be careful with our bear procedures as a bear was seen that afternoon in one of the other campsites just lumbering through.



As it was fairly drizzly and cold, most everyone retired early.  As for the night, it rained most of the night with some fairly close lightning and thunder.  It was a little difficult to sleep when you see a flash and start counting and waiting for the thunder in the middle of the night.

As for the flora, we have Scarlet Beardtounge (Scarlet Penstemon), Mexican Hat, Cactus and an unidentified yellow clustering flower.

Philmont - Day 3 - Deer Lake

We woke up to some blue sky which was good as it had rained a little overnight.

 

We finished up more training and prepared to travel to Harlan. Things were damp like the dining fly and our tents.

 

 Once on the trail, we were back at the Vaca meadow where we got a picture of the group. The blue sky began to disappear.

 

 At Harlan we received our “porch talk” and then waited for our time to reload 12ga shotgun shells and then shoot at clay pigeons.

 

 As we waited, some played cards and other chased the wildlife, or should I say domesticated wildlife types.

 

 We then went to the reloading shed where we reloaded 12gs shotgun shell that we would use in shooting at clay pigeons. Then there is the gun safety talk going over gun safety. Once all that is complete it is down to the range to shoot at those bright orange clay pigeons.

We then made our way back to the staff cabin to pick up our backpacks and prepare lunch. The sky looked a little threatening and there was some rain so we set up our dining fly to keep our packs dry as we all put on our rain gear. We got the stove started and a pot of water set on top to heat up to boiling so that we could prepare our dinner for lunch as there was no water at our next camp.

 The lightning and thunder was in the distance, however, it got closer. It was getting closer so we assumed the lightning position, kneeling down or squatting and keeping our heads low. The lightning only got closer. It was to the point you could not count between the flash of the lightning and the sound of the thunder. However, for the 40 plus minutes we were in the lightning position, the water came to a boil so that we could prepare dinner for lunch.

 

 After lunch we packed up and headed for Deer Lake. There was still off and on rain coming down. The trail up to Deer Lake was a bit muddy. Then there was the road as the last part of the trail has not been complete. This road is steep. It also had water flowing down it. It was most efficacious to walk where you could see the stones peering through the mud rather than walking on the mud. As you would expect, walking up a steep muddy road also includes sliding down with each step.

 

Once we got close to Deer Lake, we could see that there were plenty of clouds in the sky and there was no indication of when they would move on from the area.

 

Later in the evening, the rain stopped for a while. There were plenty of clouds still in the sky so we had no indication of how long not having rain would last.

 

We had the opportunity to eat our lunch for dinner. It was tuna fish and saltine crackers along with some other things. Many of us were hungry and no problem eating the tuna. One young man opened his tuna to try it and gagged and intimated that he was going to have a physiological reaction that included hurling the small piece of tuna and anything else he ate today into the atmosphere.

 

We had been concerned because some of the young men were not eating enough calories. You can be picky eaters at home because there is other things you can find around the house to eat. In the wilderness, you eat what you have because you need it. A couple of us finished up the tuna so we would not have to pack around an open can of tuna. That would get real disgusting.

 Dinner went well and Chris, our ranger brought out a pound cake and icing for us to eat. I was thinking that if you ate your tuna, you should be able to have some. That was just me. Everyone had some of the pound cake. We then cleaned up and finished anything we needed to before we hung the last bear bag with anything that had a smell that a bear may be interested in.

 

It rained late into the night and we really did not know what we would be in for the next day.   As for a miracle for the day, there was enough time without rain to get things done.  Everything seemed to fall into place.

As for the flora and fauna, I took several picture. Many of them were not in good focus. However, for today we have wooly mullen or “cowboy toilet paper.”