Kickin' in the Canyon

Rayado River. Hot day. Time to chill. Kick it in the canyon.


Put my waterproof camera to work...


Went for a swim.

Ponil

Ponil is a large staffed camp. Actually, it used to be base camp in Philmont's early days. Now it's a horse camp, meaning they have horses and burros (donkeys for the English-speaking people). For program, there's branding, roping, a backcountry trading post for your on-the-trail equipment needs, and a cantina where they sell root beer and Toblerones (crunchy-good swiss chocolate).

At night, the staff puts on a cantina show, a mix of humor, music, skits, and more. It was good when I was there in 2008.

August 17

Day off! My last one. This morning, I woke up at eight, took a shower, and collected the laundry I left up last night. (It was a late clothes wash- the sun didn't dry them in time yesterday.)



I caught a ride with the trading post's backcountry driver to Ponil and Abreu, two staffed camps, to help her bring merchandise back from the backcountry trading posts. I liked Ponil. Not so much Abreu. It was good to get out of base camp for a while. The drive was spectacular- sunflowers lined the road and littered the fields.

Later, I was supposed to ride to another camp, but ended up going into Cimarron to catch some high-speed internet (for once).

After my friends got out of work, five of us piled into the car and drove to the canyon. The Rayado River runs through it. We parked at our favorite location and got out, scaled the huge boulders lying in the river, and walked the riverbed.

It's not much of a river- more like a creek. Eventually, I jumped in. It felt good to be in water again.

We went back to camp, changed clothes, and headed to Denny's in Raton for dinner. I had a great meal. Breakfast for dinner- can't beat it. I found another crazy toy in the vending machine...

Denny's was followed by Dairy Queen.

Dairy Queen followed by Wal-Mart, a short drive away in Trinidad, Colorado. It was my friend's last night in New Mexico. He leaves in the morning. It'll be sad, but we had a good time tonight.

August 16

Today, my zone manager left. Sad day. but I got my final evaluation, which was very good. I'm recommended for management next year. Yea!

Later, at night, I went with a friend to the campers' closing campfire. It was very similar to the one I saw as a participant two years ago, but still good to see again. It began to rain a little, so the campfire staff cut it short (because they were lazy and didn't want to go through with the whole thing; it was only a sprinkle).

Patch Wall Map

Patch wall map (noun): a giant map of the United States in the snack bar, used to display council patches and locate the crews that have been to Philmont this summer. Putting a council patch up entitles the bearer to a free ice cream cone.

At the end of every season, the patches are taken down and given to the Philmont Museum for future display. This summer we received patches from most states, including Alaska, and even councils overseas, including China and Germany.

August 15

In the store, there were really no customers. We had to find things to do, considering two people could efficiently run the store and there were over ten of us...



But I had the snack bar shift. I wiped down the walls by the ice cream machine and most of the baseboards. They were disgusting after a season of ice cream splatter, drippage, and spills. The whole snack bar was scoured, cleaned and stocked by me and my co-worker.

Later, a group of friends and I went to get some pizza in town. Simple Simon's Pizza was closed, so we decided on going to the St. James. It was kind of a farewell dinner for a few of us- some were leaving the next day. I wasn't planning on getting a steak, but my friend and I convinced each other to do it. And it was delicious- one of the best meals I've had in a while. Just the right amount too.

Big Joe

Big Joe (noun): All purpose, heavy-duty forklift. Sometimes drops boxes and/or pallets on innocent bystanders below. Clearance is advised.

August 14

We're getting better at finding things to do at work.

Today was the last day for arriving crews. Now we just have to deal with campers coming off the trail. Hopefully, they'll shower before they come to shop.

After work, our store director hosted a staff party at her home down the street. It was a relaxing time. Burgers, games and relaxation. There was even a pinata. It felt good to be at a cookout- there's not as many summer picnics out here like there are back home.

After the party, I went to my tent and found my tent mate had moved out. He's still at Philmont, just moved to another tent. I didn't understand- my feet didn't smell... Oh, well. Late that night, one of my friends moved in.

As we sat on the cots talking, I noticed something crawling across the wall behind me- a gigantic spider. I was pretty spooked. As I sat there, frozen, my friends took care of it. (I got a picture though.) Before sleeping, I checked my bed- and everything else- to make sure the spider didn't have any friends with him.

Meteor Shower

Stars. Stars. Stars. I've never seen so many. The galaxy was visible, as were a few planets. There were so many stars- I couldn't even make out constellations. Meteors streaked across the sky, some leaving a tail for a few seconds.

This was the reason I came to Philmont- the miraculous night sky, the wilderness, the in-the-middle-of-nowhere feeling. When I first came to Philmont, I remember my ranger telling my crew the amazing environment Philmont has to offer- especially the stars at night. Now, two years later, I was sitting next to him, soaking up the moment on a cloudless night. It couldn't have been more fitting.

All in all, I counted over 60 meteors. Some were more spectacular than others, but the whole phenomenon was still amazing. Though we didn't stay till it peaked at 2 a.m., we caught more than I ever expected.

August 13

Work's slowing down. Even more. We try to keep busy...

At night, my ranger from 2008 and his friend met me after work. We started to watch one of the Chronicles of Narnia movies, but the small I-Pod Touch screen wasn't working out... So we switched to watching Avatar (the acclaimed movie with the blue people) on a laptop.

The original plan was to watch the meteor shower, which peaked at 2 a.m., but a storm rolled in and it was too cloudy and raining. The wind was ridiculous too. But by 11 p.m., all the wind had blown the storm away. So we stopped the movie and piled into a big van. The three of us drove to Zastrow turnaround, a backcountry parking lot in the middle of nowhere, and laid down on the roof. I've never seen so many stars. The meteors were amazing.

August 12

Slept in the cabin last night. Woke up to the sound of pots and pans banging as the cooks began cooking. Did some dishes and listened to the radio to see if any trucks were passing through Beaubien (so we could get a ride home).

Finally, we heard a familiar voice- the trading post driver. She said she was heading to Phillips Junction, a 30-minute hike from where we were. I said goodbye to the cooks (my favorite backcountry cooks on the whole ranch) and we began to hike.

It took us a half-hour to get to Phillips Junction (PJ), and our prospective ride wasn't due in for another hour. When she pulled up, I was hopeful we'd get a ride. When three people piled out (including my manager at the store), I wasn't so hopeful. Sure enough, she had no room. And she wasn't heading back to base. I asked my manager what would happen if I was a few hours late to work. He said, "You'll find out when you get there." Comforting...

It was 10 a.m. I had to work at 2 p.m. It would take 5 hours to hike from where I was to base. I was stuck. So we hike fast- we trekked it- back to Beaubien. This time it took 18 minutes, as opposed to 30. We got to the intersection of the trail and the road. I stopped to look at the map; my friend tied his shoe.

Minutes later, I heard an engine. I looked down the road- a Philburban was chugging down the road. I flagged it down. I could make out the driver's face. It was the backcountry ride coordinator man. He said he was heading back to base after a quick stop. Thank God! We'd make it back in time!

On the way home, a bear crossed the road. It was the first Philmont bear I'd ever seen. I's in the picture somewhere. I swear...

August 11

A day off! I haven' t had one in weeks. I went to breakfast, and then my tent to pack up for a trip to the backcountry. I wanted to go back to Beaubien.

Luckily there was a truck with enough room for me and my hiking partner. The hour-and-a-half drive was much less intense than the 5-hour hike it would've been. At Beaubien, my friend and I did some dishes, helped out with some logging, took naps, hung out with the cooks, and I got my boots branded. The food was amazing- one of the main motivators of visiting the backcountry. Later, after a wonderful, loaded macaroni and cheese dinner, my friend and I practiced roping. I'm not very good. But I finally found a way I could do it.