Philmont: Our Longest Hike, 7/22/15

Some drama in the night: around 4am, we were jolted awake by cries of "Bear! Bear!" from the crew from Kansas in the campsite next to us. Everyone was awake and anxious for a bit--I heard later that people were tossing out of their tents suspect items that maybe oughtn't have been in there in the first place--but no one came out to see the bear. I was awake for a bit, listening to see if he came our way, and at one point thought I heard something, but it was probably nothing. 6am wakeup call, on a cold morning, perhaps the coldest we had, and not even at our highest altitude. Heard later that perhaps the Kansas crew hadn't seen Barry so much as thought they heard something. Sigh.

Up at 6 then, and packed out for our descent to Carson Meadows. With the trail we had planned to use closed due to the floods this year, Stephen and the boys decided to backtrack to Phillips Junction; on arriving, the boys asked for an extra milk-n-fruit treat for passing through the commissary a second time, and were told no. Just then a truck showed up with a delivery, and Zack and the boys made a deal: we'll empty the truck for fruit and milk. They made quick time of the unloading, and we enjoyed our treats before getting on the road again down to Fish Camp.

Fish Camp was Philmont donor Waite Phillips' fishing lodge at the confluence of two creeks becoming the Rayedo River. We had a tour of the cabin as it was furnished in the late 1920s, which was pretty cool. Actually reminded me a bit of Gram McMartin's lake house on Lake Willoughby. Lunch there, then on the trail again. I had expected it to be a downhill stride following the Rayedo; little did I know we had to climb up to near the ridgeline of the hundreds-of-feet-deep gorge. Absolutely stunning views along the way. A couple of times, the trees and mountain across the gorge looked close enough to touch, it was unreal. We covered the entire ridgeline until the mountains themselves started to end, where we found Carson Meadows. Unfortunately our group got a bit strung out, with some boys up front, others in the middle, and others of us at the back; we got scolded for it by a couple of rangers, so we'll have to hike as more of a crew for the last couple of days.

Late afternoon arrival at camp meant another 28,933 steps and 13.65 miles done, our longest hike of the trek, with a couple of short ones left to finish us off. Totals to date, 181,808 steps and 93.88 miles. Here at 7,720', the air feels positively thick and hot and humid--at least by comparison. Wonder what Virginia will feel like!

Cows wandering through camp at Beaubien in the morning.

The boys in Beaubien Canyon on the way to Phillips Junction again

Let's make a deal! The boys unload a delivery truck to get snacks.

This didn't take long...the boys earning another treat.

Zack fording the Rayedo River

Arriving at Fish Camp

The fishing lodge at Fish Camp

Living room of the fish camp lodge. All furniture made on site 90 years ago.

Dining room into the living room of the lodge

The boys and Mr Johnson in the gaming room of the lodge

Our guide points out features of the kids' bedrooms in the lodge

A grizzly bear rug--reputedly the last grizzly bear shot ever shot in NM, hunted by Mr Phillips

Heading up into the Rayedo Canyon ridgeline, the boys savor the view

 

Kinda steep, kinda spare terrain to be hiking in

Looking down the canyon a ways down from Fish Camp.

 

The boys exploring a promontory overlooking the canyon

Down, down, to the river far below

Looking south through the canyon. We still had to hike to the point way far off in the distance.

Rounding the corner of the mountains, we see the end of the line--plains ahead!

Looking back up the canyon--the ridgeline along the left/top is what we hiked, and the point it disappears in the distance is maybe 1/3 of the total distance.

David, savoring the view of the end of the line

The view from Carson Meadows of the Tooth of Time in the distance

David's about had it at this point...a long hike, a tiring day