This is us on the hill just to the south of camping headquarters, before we checked in. A lovely bunch.
Nothing worthwhile was ever accomplished without the will to
start, the enthusiasm to continue and, regardless of temporary obstacles, the persistence
to complete.
--Waite Phillips, from Waite Phillip's Epigrams
Checked into Philmont at 7:30 a.m., having spent the
two nights before at the Springer National Guard Armory. We come in from the south,
viewing Urraca Mesa and the Tooth Ridge first. The kids are somewhat impressed, but have
no idea of the scale of things. It's not possible for flatlanders like us to understand
how big those things are.
Today I begin turning things over to Teresa. As our crew leader, she's
now in charge. Philmont emphasizes this, but I see quite a few advisors who just can't
turn loose of the reins long enough to let the kids hit their stride. It will take about
three days, but they'll end up running things better than the advisor ever could.
At 8:30 a.m., we meet our Ranger. He's Jason Willey from Maryland.
Mostly a military brat, he says, and he's headed to the Naval Academy. He's not the most
outgoing Ranger I've ever had -- he doesn't say a whole lot, and he's not overly funny.
The kids are somewhat slow warming up to him.
We've got a mixed crew. Teresa's our crew leader, and tents with
Cheryl. Vivian Menzel is our female advisor, and tents with her daughter, Kristen. Kristen
apparently doesn't have the power of speech, at least early in our trek. Jeremy and Morgan
are tenting together. Nick and Jonathan share a tent, as do Lee and Cole, the Dublin
cousins joining our crew. Johnny Martinez has two previous trips to Philmont under his
belt, and I have four to my credit. As a crew, we're short on experience, but everyone
gets along fine.
This is the fastest I've ever made it through shakedown.
We've brought our own tents and as much crew gear as possible, so we can skip
some of the process, and we have two vehicles we can store overage in, so we
don't need lockers. We had everything ready, and no one had any medical problems.
Jeremy and Morgan are driving me crazy horsing around, but it's just high spirits
and immaturity. We finish some First Aid and Map training by Ranger Jason, and
still end up with free time. Have time for supper, short shopping trip to Villa
and trading post. Waiting on opening campfire by 6:30.
Waiting on medical rechecks
Opening campfire, which touches on the history of Philmont, is actually pretty good, and ends with the staff asking us to look up at the sky. It's a perfect ending note. The crew seems to feel a mixture of excitement and nervousness about tomorrow.
Official Philmont Photo -- they give it to you, but Phil-lore says it's for
identifying you in case of emergency. Back row, left to right: Johnny M., Cole L.,
Jonathan D., Lee L., Morgan C., Jeremy C., Cliff C. Front Row: Cheryl T., Kristin M.,
Ranger Jason W., Teresa L., Vivian M.
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