Philmont – Day 7 – Comanche Creek Camp

It rained through most of the night and the wind started blowing. It was also the coldest night that we have had so far at Philmont. Being above 10,000 feet has also contributed to the weather and temperature difference.

 

 When I got out of the tent there was also a lot of moisture in the air. The clouds were low, the trees were dripping and the wind had a bite to it. I checked my thermometer and it was below 38 degrees. Needless to say, if you stopped moving you became cold. On the other hand, it was cold and difficult to get moving. I had everything packed up except for my tent, which I strap on the back of my backpack. I was hoping that it would dry out a little so I would not have to carry as much water in the fabric. Everyone else was working to get packed up. Some of the young men did not sleep well and it was difficult to get out of their tents and get ready for the trail.

 

 I went back to my tent to see if it was warmer out of the wind. As I lay on the ground in the tent, I could feel that the ground was cold in and of itself. I was cold and I wanted to see the sun. I knew that everyone was cold and the sun would be a welcome change. I prayed that we would get some sun and warm up. I did not want to spend the next 6 days in a damp foggy rainy existence. I got out of my tent and began walking in a large circle to stay warm. Even as cold as it was, there were still some smiles to be had.

 

 We finally got onto the trail. We needed to head up over Comanche Peak and then down a couple hundred feet and then start up towards the peak of Mt. Phillips.

 

 On our way up Mt. Phillips we could see small blue patches through the clouds.

 

 As we got higher we began to see more blue through the massive layer of clouds. As for the view, the clouds obscured the tops of some of the peaks around us.

 

 As there was hope of sun, we saw a mini bear out looking for the warmth of the sun as well. As I inched closer to take a picture, he was not interested in moving. I think he had his heart set on catching some rays.

 

 We made it over the peak and to the other side where we ate the rest of breakfast and started on lunch. It also gave us the opportunity to get a picture.

 

 We then headed down the trail to Clear Creek, a staffed camp on the Rayado Creek. There were still lots of clouds in the sky. However, out in the south west, there were patches of blue sky headed our way. The trail off Mt. Phillips when you are headed south is a very steep descent. Before we left for Philmont, when I told someone we were going over Mt. Philips, they asked, “Are you going the right way or the wrong way.” The reason they asked is that they went over Mt. Philips a few years earlier, headed north from the southern side and it was a very steep climb. When the got to the top and down the other side, they determined that they had gone the wrong way. If they were ever to go over Mt. Philips in a future trek, it would defiantly be from the other direction. So according to my friend, we were going the right way.

 

Soon enough we were closer to Clear Creek Camp and things were leveling out.

 

 We got to the Staff Cabin and had our porch talk. We set a time of 2:00 for black powder rifles and had some free time. We also saw the sun for an extended time. Eating the remainder of lunch was on the agenda and it went quickly. That leaves you with free time at Clear Creek Camp to do something like throw
tomahawks.

 

 You also can chase the only chicken at the camp. If you are lucky you can look at the grizzly bear rug in the staff cabin, one of the last grizzlies to roam the area.

 

 Or you can play that Egyptian war card game while the adults hone their tomahawk throwing skills.

 

 Soon enough we had our safety talk and were headed to the range. Today was .50 caliber black powder rifles. Everyone had a chance to shoot. Some of us shot the one with the gritty and difficult trigger and others shot the one with the incredibly ridiculous trigger pull. Yes, you can use two fingers to pull that trigger. I guess that gives new meaning to “squeezing the trigger” when it takes effort with two fingers. You cannot slap that trigger with your finger.

 

 As we still had a few miles before we would be at our camp, Comanche Creek. The trail was nice and easy with the exception of the water on the trail from all the rain. It followed the path of the Rayado Creek as it headed east.

 

 There were plenty of wildflowers along the path with the creek babbling in the background.

 

 Then again, the trail also did a little babbling of its own.

   

We finally arrived at our camp. We chose wisely the one that had the flattest spots to sleep. The dining fly was placed on the ground so that a few damp sleeping bags could be put out in the sun. Damp socks were hung on anything where the sun shone. And of course, when you have damp or wet wallet in the wilderness, you put it out in the sun to dry along with all you cash.

 

 The solar panel made it out as camp was set up. It was nice to have slightly damp ground to put a tent on rather than soaked ground.

 

 While at Crooked Creek camp I asked a staff member, who was splitting wood, if I could get a piece of dry wood. I got a couple of pieces. One was mall enough I could carve up some kindling to start a fire. It was nice to have a fire to warm the spirits up. It was also nice to have some sun to dry out socks.

 

In the evening we had a few visitors, a couple of young bucks. They just wander through camp and look for the plants of their liking to munch on.

 

 It was truly a miracle that we had some sun, dried out damp sleeping bags and could look forward to possibly having more sun in the next few days. We had talked about the scripture mentioning that there must be opposition in all things. You cannot know joy unless you know sadness. You cannot know the joy of light and warmth unless you have experienced the cold and gloomy. We hope we have had enough gloomy and cold. It is time for warmth and light. Speaking of light, there are a few things that need light to exist. Yes, it is time for the flora. Today we have the limber pine and a daisy. Which daisy? I cannot get a better description than that.

 



 And of course our fungus section where we have the fly agaric or fly amanita (Amanita muscaria) and the yellow coral mushroom.

 

Philmont – Day 6 – Comanche Peak Camp

There was some rain last night and a lot of gear is wet.  Some of us attempted to get from our camp to the staff cabin to watch the sunrise.  I was a little late getting up to the see the sunrise as the previous mornings had just been cloudy.  There was better color in the sky as I started down the trail to the staff cabin.  However, I did get a picture of the sun behind the clouds.



With a little sun, it was a chance to try to charge up some batteries.  We had a little time this morning to so out came the solar panels.



The sun was also a welcome participant in the morning to hopefully dry up the tent a little before packing it for the days travel.



As today was the day we were going to travel to a dry camp, one with water anywhere close, we chose to cook our dehydrated dinner for breakfast.  As we waited for the water to boil, we broke down camp.  As we broke down camp, more things ended up in the sun.



That process continued and things moves to anywhere the sun would shine.  The less water on the gear makes the backpack lighter.  I would rather carry the water needed at the dry camp in a water container rather than in all my gear.



We got on the trail later than we wanted.  However we made good time.



We also stopped at a picture spot where we stopped in 2011.



Looking at the picture from 2011 you can see Baldy Mountain in the distance as well as two of the young men that went in 2011 that are on this trek.




On many of the trails we need to cross bridges.  This is one good example of a simple bridge on our way to Comanche Camp.



As we hiked the sun was being threatened by the clouds.  Knowing that the moisture was coming from Mexico in the south and the clouds were moving in a northern direction, we knew we may be in for some bad weather.



The clouds were getting closer to us.  Fairly soon, we would lose the sun for the day.



We made it to Thunder Ridge for lunch.  Thunder Ridge is called that because it is one of the places at Philmont that sees a lot of lightning.  As we ate lunch it started to sprinkle and we put on our raingear as well as made sure our packs were covered.

A couple of days ago, I really did not get the moss.  Now that we were hiking through a damp cloud in drizzly weather with high humidity, I get the moss.  It is just hanging our looking for a little sun or some moist cloud to keep it doing what it does best, hanging out.



As we continued to climb the switchbacks up to Comanche Camp we were not happy about getting all laden with moisture as we had dried out much of our gear earlier in the morning.  When we arrived, the first thing we did was set up the dining fly.  That would give us a place to keep dry.

We started to look for dry wood to get a fire started.  That was a difficult task as everything was so damp.  It was about four and we saw a spot of sunshine in the camp.  Out from under the dining fly we emerged to stand in the sun.  The problem was that when it stopped raining, the trees kept dripping and they never really stopped by the time it rained again.  There is nothing better than a spot of sun in the afternoon.



I decided I was going to set up my tent.  It was lightly raining again and I felt it was best to just get it done.  Some thought that we should wait until later in the evening as the rain typically slows down.  As for the thunderstorms, the pretty much fade away by six or seven at worst.  I just did not get the feeling that this was the typical thunderstorm.  I thought it was just a bunch of heavy clouds that wanted to dump on us.


We had all set up our tents and we were back under the dining fly.  We collected some wood.  We had whittled what damp wood we could from the sticks we found to get to dry wood.  However, now it was now raining fairly hard and no one wanted to get out in the rain to try to start a fire.  In fact it kept raining moderately to heavy now and then.  It was much better to sit under the dining fly.





We prepared for the night, brushing our teeth and pulling any smellables in our packs out and putting them in the bear bag.  We also had our usual roses, buds and thorns as well as a spiritual message from our Chaplin’s Aid and a presentation on invasive species from out Wilderness Gila.  Soon enough it was a dash to the tents through the rain to try and get a good night’s sleep.

As for the flora today, we have Fireweed and Scarlet Paintbrush to lead off the flowers.  Of course the flowers are followed by the Saprophytic Wildflower section and then the fungus section.







Saprophytic Section - For this section we have Pinesap, a waxy while, flushy herb.  Pinesap lacks chlorophyll so it is not the green plants in the picture.  Pinesap obtains its nutrients from decaying organic material in the soil.



And of course the Fungus Section.

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.