Troop 2 at Philmont Troop 2 at PhilmontLast Updated: March 23, 1997(click on patch for a better view)
What follows is an account of Expedition 618N by the scouts of Troop 2 from
Corvallis, Oregon, in the Benton District of the Oregon Trail Council, Boy Scouts
of America. In June of 1992, we hiked and camped at the Philmont Scout Ranch,
in the Sangre De Cristo Range of the Rocky Mountains near Cimarron, New Mexico.
This account was written from notes that I made along the way.
by Bill Veley, ASM of Troop 2
The mountains offer a fighting challenge
to heart, soul, and mind. To accept the
challenge of the mountains is to keep alive
the spirit of adventure.
- William O. Douglas, 1950
Philmont, The Dream
I first heard the name Philmont in the fall of 1985. It came up
in one of those conversations that occur when the night air begins
to cool and the scouts begin to jockey for a place by the fire.
They had been playing a night game in the woods of Camp Cone
since taking the flag down after dinner. As usual the game had
gone on for several hours and some of the boys were growing tired
of the chase. Other boys wanted to continue the game and were
pulling at some of the more quiet boys to return to the woods
and try a different strategy. The inevitable suggestion came up
that the fire be made bigger so that everyone could get warm.
Then one of the scouts who was a bit older said, "that's not what
we learned at Philmont." That was an opening for the scoutmaster
who asked, "well, what did you learn at Philmont?"
What followed was a discussion of wood craft, wilderness survival,
and a series of backpacking anecdotes that told of hardship and
struggle on an old west cattle ranch in New Mexico. There were
tales of mountain men and cowboys, pioneers and Indians. I was
fascinated by the adventures that the older scouts described and
figured that they were embellishing the stories for the benefit
of the younger scouts.
Through the years that followed I continued to camp and hike with
the scouts and to learn about the outdoors. Sometimes we would be
on a trail in the high Cascades or crossing the dunes at the coast
or just taking a rest break from some strenuous activity and
Philmont would come up.
By now I had learned that Philmont was a very large ranch in the
Rocky Mountains of northern New Mexico that belonged to the Boy
Scouts. I knew that it was a working ranch where scouters with
adventurous spirits could go to develop outdoor skills and receive
leadership training. I heard that the trails were rough, the
weather was unpredictable, and the air was thin.
But what I was observing, was that everyone that had been there
spoke passionately about their experience. It wasn't long before
I felt the yearning to see this place for myself. I found myself
asking old timers at camporee and woodbadge if they had been to
Philmont yet. For those who had been to Philmont the passion was
always there.
So the dream was set. I knew that I would have to go there
someday.
My oldest son, Alex, became our troop Senior Patrol Leader in 87,
about the same time that I became the Scoutmaster. We had a good
time that year and I began to sow the seed that we should take a
group to Philmont. Our Leadership Corps and the Committee got
behind it and we began to work out the plans.
In 1988, I made my first trip to Philmont with 5 boys and one other
adult. The trails were rough, the weather was unpredictable, and
the air was thin. My feet hurt from day one and my legs ached
every night. And it was great.
I was totally unprepared for the beauty of the place and the
unequaled variety. It seemed that there was something new
around every bend in the trail. I walked through forests of
white barked Quaking Aspen and towering Colorado Blue Spruce.
I had expected desert heat and got torrential rains. I expected
to see hundreds of boys on the trails and felt like we were the
only people there that summer. Philmont is highly organized to
insure that the wilderness experience is always there.
But the best part was the program that we received. Every day we
would arrive at or pass through a staffed area where we would have
hands on experience with the history of the old west. We branded
our boots, made railroad ties with hand tools, climbed spar poles
with climbing spurs, repelled on rock faces, paned for gold,
worked at an archaeology dig, climbed to the top of a 12,000 foot
mountain, and listened to the story tellers tails of challenge
and high adventure.
I found the Philmont that I had heard about and dreamed of. The
new dream was to return again. I accomplished this with my second
son, Zach, in 1992. What follows is the account of that second
trek on which we all agree was outstanding. It is my hope that
those who read this will be encouraged to have a dream of their
own and someday follow it to a magical land where spirits soar
and scouting lives, Philmont.
The Preparations and Plans
The decision was made for Troop 2 to go to Philmont. We were told
to send them the dates we wished to attend and our troop would be
placed on a lottery as there were many requests for coming to
Philmont. On my first trip it had been first come first serve,
but the number of requests had radically increased since 1988.
We were later informed that we had not been selected but could
be placed on standby in case a group pulled out.
Eventually we were informed that there was an opening and if we
still wanted to come that we should decide what our first, second,
and third choices would be for an itinerary. To help us with this
decision we first listed the programs we wanted to participate in
then listed which itineraries would have those programs. From
that we were able to select the three that would give most of us
what we most wanted to participate in.
These three choices we sent to Philmont and they gave us our third
choice, which met with our approval.
Our Philmont Itinerary was #6. This would take us through the
South Country and the Central Country with camps at the following
sites.
2 nights at Base Camp
Rayado River Camp
Crags Camp
Lost Cabin Camp
2 nights at Beaubien
Black Mountain Camp
Cyphers Mine
Cimarroncito
Cathedral Rock Camp
Tooth Ridge Camp
1 night back at Base Camp
Travel arrangements were made by Mrs. Davis. We decided to again
go by air to preserve our energy for the trail and to cut down on
the time that the four adults would need to be away from work.
A training schedule for the Philmont Trek participants was set up
well in advance to assure that all would be prepared for the
strenuous activity that is called for when backpacking at high
altitudes for extended periods. The schedule would call for
progressive increase in distance and difficulty.
The activities that were added to the already busy Troop 2
calendar were as follows.
March 14
Day hike of from 3 to 5 miles.
April 5
Day hike of 5 miles.
April 19
Day hike of 5 to 7 miles with light backpacks.
May 3
Day hike of 7 to 10 miles with medium weight backpacks.
May 30 to 31
Overnight backpack hike of 10 to 15 miles with full gear.
June 5 to 7
Backpack hike 20 to 25 miles over 3 days.
June 10
Day hike with full backpacks of 10 miles.
Everyone going to Philmont was expected to participate in all day
hikes and backpack hikes unless excused by the Scoutmaster prior
to the scheduled event. Most of the people were able to do the
hikes or find a substitute activity that would help them prepare
for the trek.
The early hikes were done close to home in Bald Hill park and in
McDonald Forest. The overnight was done in the Jefferson
Wilderness with a hike from Santiam Pass into Duffy Lake. The
last hike was up Marys Peak on a warm day.
Those going to Philmont, their rank at the time, and date of birth
are listed below. Their backpack weight was measured on a scale
at Philmont on the morning of our departure into the back country
and included the weight of our food and fuel for the first 3 days
of the hike.
Name Rank Age Pack Weight
(Crew Number 618N1)
Rusty Davis, Crew Chief Eagle Scout 16
Ben Davis Life Scout 14 35 pounds
Brian Wyse 1st Class 13 46 pounds
Aaron Wershow Life Scout 17
Jay Williams Star Scout 14 36 pounds
Tim Williams, Advisor Eagle Scout 40 40 pounds
Mike Wyse, Advisor Scoutmaster 40 44 pounds
Kevin Hart, Ranger Eagle Scout
(from Ohio)
(Crew Number 618N2)
Kelsey Moldenke, Crew Chief Life Scout 17 36 pounds
Zach Veley Star Scout 14 39 pounds
Jonathan Wyse Star Scout 14 40 pounds
Ted Crocker 1st Class 14 36 pounds
Luke Zedwick 2nd Class 14 34 pounds
Stewart Wershow, Advisor ASM 46 50 pounds
Bill Veley, Advisor ASM 51 49 pounds
Sam Lindblon, Ranger Eagle Scout
(from Alabama)
There were 10 scouts and 4 adult advisors from our troop in
Corvallis. We split into 2 individual crews of 5 scouts and 2
advisors. Each crew had a Ranger assigned to us at Philmont Base
Camp on Day One, June 18th 1992.
The Scoutmaster made the decision as to how the two trail crews
would be split up. Considerations for this decision included
maturity, skill level, and scout preferences as to who they wanted
to hike with.
Other considerations that came up in the planning sessions was
what equipment we should take with us and what we would get at
Philmont. We decided that each crew would take 2 backpack stoves
and 2 water filters. At the first trail trading post a decision
was made to add an extra fuel bottle because fuel was being
consumed faster than we had planned for.
The adults decided to use their own tents. The scouts used
Philmont tents. One scout had to rent a Philmont backpack because
his hip belt did not function well enough. Somehow this had gone
unnoticed on our pre-hikes.
The information provided in advance by Philmont helped us a great
deal in our preparation and planning. We also relied on the Scout
Handbook and Field Guide for information about backpacking,
camping, and wilderness survival.
On my first trek to Philmont we hiked from the South Country,
through the Central Country, and into the North Country where we
climbed over the top of Baldy Mountain at an elevation of 12441
feet above sea level. That trek was approximately 75 miles at
elevations always above 6800 feet.
On the first trek I had weighed about 220 pounds at the start and
had lost about 10 pounds by the end. For this hike I dropped my
weight to about 195 pounds with diet and exercise in the months
before going to Philmont. In the words of the mountain men we
would meet on the trail, "that was a good thing."
By Automobile, Airplane, and Van
We had arrived at Philmont on the night of June 17th, 1992 after
flying from Portland, Oregon on Continental Air. We left Corvallis
at about 3:15am on the 17th in order to get to the airport in time
to catch our plane out.
The drivers for that part of the trip were Jay's grandfather, Mrs.
Crocker, Mrs. Wershow, and Mrs. Veley. The elderly Mr. Williams
and his wife had driven out from Oklahoma to spend a few weeks with
Jay's family while Jay and his father Tim were at Philmont. My
oldest son Alex also accompanied his mother, Marian, on the drive
to the airport. Alex who is now an Eagle Scout was home from
College at the University of Washington and had gone to Philmont
with me back in 1988.
We checked in at Continental Air and handed over our luggage. Some
people placed their gear in suitcases, boxes, or travel bags. Zach
and I put most of our gear into a sturdy cardboard box and each of
our backpacks into yellow plastic bags that I got from Les Schwab
Tires. These were taped up securely with the hope that everything
would arrive in tact. Our boots and some difficult to replace
items were carried onto the plane. Zach used a small duffel bag
and I used my REI Fanny/Daypack. I carried my new Olympus 35mm
Stylus all electric camera with film for slides. I knew that I
would have opportunity later to show the slides to groups of scouts
that were interested in going to Philmont.
The flight to Denver took only about 2 hours. It was somewhat
cloudy when we took off from Portland, but we were soon above the
clouds and looking at Mt. Rainier to the north and Diamond Peak to
the south. Mt. Hood was of course the most magnificent because we
flew right up over it from Portland.
This was Zach's first flight and only my second since leaving the
Air Force in 1966. I had flown with Alex to Philmont in 1988,
which was his first flight. On board the plane we were served a
breakfast of Pancakes and Sausage. Zach sat next to the window but
I strained my neck looking out as much as I could. I have always
been fascinated by flight and never want to miss a thing. That
first leg of the journey was aboard a MacDonald Douglas DC9.
In Denver we had about a 2 hour layover before catching another
Continental flight to Albuquerque. We took advantage of the stop
to have Chef Salad. I had lost about 40 pounds in the months prior
to the trip to help me better enjoy my experience on the trail.
The Chef Salad was a continuation of that diet. My weight for the
hike was about 195 pounds. I felt good.
The reader board at the Denver C20 gate where we arrived and would
leave from kept flashing "Continental Welcomes the Boy Scouts of
Albuquerque". We were actually from Corvallis, but due to our
travel arrangements we were identified by our destination.
The flight from Denver to Albuquerque was on a Boeing 727 and took
us about 55 minutes from the time we left the runway until
touchdown. There had been quite a long wait to get off the ground.
We landed at about 2pm and found a 14 passenger Chaffee Van waiting
for us. We had made arrangements for the commercial carrier to
pick us up and drive us to Cimarron, New Mexico and the Philmont
Scout Ranch. The temperature in Albuquerque was 80 degrees and
seemed very warm to us.
Most of the baggage came through fine with one exception. Back in
Portland, Tim and Jay had checked in a few minutes ahead of the
rest of the group and their luggage had been loaded differently.
As it turned out later, their gear had gone on to Houston, Texas
and had to be sent back the next flight. They elected to spend the
night near the airport at the LaQuinta Inn with hope of collecting
their luggage latter. They felt that trying to replace the whole
kit would be unacceptable. This did turn out well.
Our driver was a Ken Scott. He had been driving vans in the area
for some time and had quite a few stories and facts to relate to us
as we made our way north to Cimarron. Our route would take us
along Route 25, along part of the old Santa Fe cattle trail.
We left Albuquerque at about 3:00 after a quick stop at 7-Eleven
with plans to stop later in Las Vegas, New Mexico for dinner. Ken
pointed out where up to 500 hot air balloons take off in a festival
each year just outside of Albuquerque.
This area looks a good deal like our own Central Oregon High Desert
with its sage brush and juniper trees. From the air we had seen
what we thought were dirt trails and jeep tracks spreading out over
the land like the veins on a maple leaf. On the ground we could
see that they were actually flat dry river beds, indicating that at
times there would be a lot of run-off from the rains and flash
floods that the desert is noted for. We also saw many ponds that
were often geometric in shape, suggesting that they were man made
probably for farming. From the ground, however, we saw nothing
that would account for ponds. The land was dry and appeared not
able to sustain farming.
Ken mentioned a place called Oregon Pass and the Oregon Mountains
as being on the way to White Sands and Los Alamos where the Atomic
Bomb was tested. I haven't yet found that on a map.
The van was air conditioned by rolling down the windows. It did
not help much even at elevations around 6000 to 7000 feet where
one would expect to find cooler air.
We stopped for food and fuel for the van at Las Vegas, New Mexico,
which is a community of predominately Mexican-Americans. To save
time we ordered food at Taco Bell and ate on the road. Zach
ordered for me while I ran to a store to purchase a knee brace for
him and some sun shades for me. I found that my photo gray lenses
didn't help much looking out of the van windows unless the sun was
directly on my face and I was beginning to get a headache. The
knee brace proved to be a good idea later when the rough trails
started to have their affect.
We passed through Wagon Mound and left Route 25 at Springer,
heading north west to Cimarron. I found myself straining to see
the mountains of Philmont and became very excited when the Tooth of
Time first came into view. In the last 30 or 40 miles we saw many
Antelope in small groups of up to 5 or 6. In some cases they were
grazing right in with the cattle. In other cases they were running
farther out on the prairie. They are sleek and beautiful animals.
The closer we got to Philmont the greater my excitement. This was
going to me much more to me than just a vacation.
Arrival at Philmont
We arrived at Philmont at about 6:45pm, unloaded our gear from the
van and said our good bye to Ken. Our first item of business was
to check in and get our tent assignment for the first 2 nights at
Base Camp. We were given I-1 to I-7. Each tent was a small cabin
tent with two old army cots in each, so we had room for 14 people.
Tim and Jay would arrive the next day after the airline found
their luggage. They would get a ride with another group of scouts
that had travel plans similar to ours. It would work out fine.
After we settled into our tents in In-coming Tent City we had time
to explore Base Camp. Everyone had to see the Snack Bar which was
located in back of the Trading Post. That is the area where most
of the big patch trading goes on. Zach had been approached by
another scout to trade patches before we had left our own tent
area. Anyone that goes to a national scout camp should bring a
good supply of their home council patches and be prepared to
haggle. There are also scouts that trade camp patches and
camporee patches.
I looked over the Trading Post and made plans for what I wanted to
pick up before returning to Oregon. I would get some of the
patches and emblems that are not available at home. I would also
get some of the silk screened T-shirts and books that would help
me remember my experiences at Philmont. I did buy some picture
post cards at that time to send home from the back country in the
days to follow.
Is was pleasant wandering through camp and seeing the changes that
had occurred since my last visit in 1988. Tent city was larger
indicating that more scouts are coming to Philmont now. Since we
were now in camp at the beginning of the summer camping season there
were only about half the number in camp that would be there when
we came off the trail. The first crews had not yet returned from
the back country. We would meet our rangers the next morning. Sam
would have just returned from leaving his first crew which had
finished training, and would be taking us through the steps. But
tonight, we could relax, enjoy the desert air, and look forward to
the coming adventure.
Stewart and I shared a tent and discussed how things were shaping
up. We had both been looking forward to this trip for a number of
years. He had helped set up the training hikes for the 1988 trek.
This time he was able to come along. We both had cameras and
intended to take many pictures. Gene Johnson in Corvallis had
asked that Stewart to take pictures that would show what the trails
and country looked like. They will be planning to bring the
Explorer Post to Philmont soon. I ask myself, do I want to join
the Explorer Post?
The night settled in around us. We can hear the scouts in the
other tents visiting and laughing. The desert air smells good.
Sage, Juniper, ...
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