And that makes two!

I returned from my very first trek and was pleasantly surprised to see that I was scheduled as an "Alternate" on the following day (June 16). This was to be followed by two workdays and then a day off, and then I would pick up my next crew on June 20. The crew I would pick up was scheduled to be near one of the peaks I need to climb (Trail Peak), so I was excited to not only have another crew, but to be able to kill two birds with one stone.

An Alternate is in place in the unlikely chance that a Ranger becomes ill or injured and cannot take a crew or finish with them in the backcountry. I was told this was unlikely, and that I needed to stay in basecamp until 5 p.m. and could leave after that, but only as far as Cimarron (a few short miles away) in case I was needed.

I did as I was instructed and was winding down and about to grab some free ice cream when I got a call. It came through as "Philmont Scout Ranch", so that was a little freaky. I couldn't think of anything I had done that would have "the Ranch" calling me directly. My review from the first crew was pretty good, but not worthy of a call congratulating me (or awarding gold stars). Well, you guessed it, a Ranger was sick (there is something going around) and I was being called to step in.

This was a bit awkward because the Ranger had taken this crew through the entire basecamp procedure, the only thing remaining was the opening campfire and then hit the trail the following day. I got some basic details, a transfer of paperwork (SO much paperwork) and then I was dispatched to the Welcome Center, which is the meeting place to walk to the campfire. I knew nothing about the troop, including how to identify them. After a few fits and starts, including a loud yell from the top of a picnic table (unsuccessful), and a canvas to each table ("Are you crew 616-O-01?", also unsuccessful), I finally found a crew from the same council (616-O-02). They were able to point to two advisors some distance away at the Advisors Lounge. Run!

Some quick introductions (in the dark, so that's helpful for remembering who's who), a campfire, some basic instructions about meeting for breakfast and the bus and I was off to repack everything I had just unpacked and put away for a few days. I had even taken my backpack and some gear to the car to store to keep the tent a bit more uncluttered. Yeah, in hindsight I jinxed myself. Rookie move. I guess I'm still a Ranger rookie, but I should have known better. Oh well.

In the end a great crew, 3 male advisors and 8 male scouts. While the altitude and elevation of our treks took a bit of a toll on them, they were extremely well prepared for many other aspects, including bear bags, patrol cooking and even setting up a dining fly. I was able to refine a few things, but it was very easy teaching. They were from Florida, so not much they could do to train for Philmont trails and conditions. Not that I minded as my conditioning is getting better and I looked brilliant as I tackled the heights ("no, I only use the trekking poles on steep grades"). I guess that's not too humble, don't tell my Ranger Trainer.

A view of the meadow and Prairie Smoke flowers

The best part was heading to our second camp, up a trail affectionally known as "The Stairmaster", and coming out the top into a large open space known as Bonito Meadow. It is quite picturesque with lots of flora, the occasional fauna (and too occasional prairie dogs chirping in alarm) and surrounded on all sides by ridges and higher peaks. The scouts were so blown away by the beauty that after hiking it a bit and exploring they decided to sit on a hillside and eat lunch and just enjoy more of the meadow. Philmont leaves its mark in many ways, but perhaps not as quickly as this; it was fun to watch and reinforced why I am here.

The hike up Trail Peak, built by bulldozer with no respect for humans.

This trek also allowed me to change plans a bit and still capture one of the peaks I'd like to climb this summer. We were about 1.5 miles from the start of the hike up Trail Peak (elev. 10,250 ft.), which is popular as it has the remains of a B-24D Liberator that crashed in 1941. There are still parts of the wing and fuselage and several memorial plaques at the location. However it is 1000 ft of elevation over the 1 mile hike, an average grade of almost 20% and no switchbacks. Ouch. And I mean ouch. Heading down was maybe even more difficult as I had destroyed my quads on the way up and didn't have any brakes left. I was up the grade in just about 50 minutes and down in half that. Ouch.

The remains of the B-24D Liberator from 1941

The crew liked getting up early, so it was a 4 a.m. reveille and I was headed for Trail Peak by 5:20 a.m. after joining them for a quick trail breakfast and saying goodbyes and good lucks. After the peak, I double-backed a bit, schwacked (Philmont parlance for ignoring a trail and thinking it's best to just walk where you want or need, short for "bushwhack") a bit to save time and hightailed for the location where I could catch a bus back to basecamp. If I missed it, it was a 3h wait with nothing to do but stare at the mountains and smell the Red Roof Inn. I was NOT going to miss it.

So another great crew, some good miles and one peak of four down. I even bought the patch already.

That's 5 of this series, 3 to go!