woo I'm back from Philmont! And I'm gonna tell you all about it weather you like it or not

So we arrived in Denver, Colorado and went with this this company called Blue Sky Adventures. The first place we went to was a buffet. Then we went from there to the Air Force Academy. Really was a great place with a lot of cool stuff. The cathedral there was one of the most amazing pieces of architecture I've ever seen. From there we went to Garden of the Gods. It's a while area donated to Colorado with some pretty amazing natural rock forms. Then we went to this cafe place and watched some Native American dances. After that we headed to the dorm rooms we were staying in and chilled in the pool area (2 pools, a vortex pool, a water slide, and a 40 person jacuzzi.)

The next day we took a cog railway up to the top of Pikes Peak. It's a mountain in Colorado that has an elevation of over 14,000 ft. Not too much oxygen there xD But after that we went white water rafting. There were 7 people to a boat (with me in the front) when we went out. We hit some class 1 and 2 rapids and they were fun but not the greatest in the world. Then we started to hit some class 3 and 4 rapids. They were AMAZING! Then we hit this class 5 area called "Sledgehammer" and we got blindsided by a wave names "Mt. Rushmore." That knocked us into a little cove where we got stuck. The water there kept circulating and slowly bringing us closer to a small waterfall. I blinked and I was underwater. I tried to find my boat but the current had carried me far away and no one else was in the boat except our rafting guide. SO I get footing at the bottom of a river and try to get the attention of a boat. But the current took me away again over another fall and I hit my knee on a rock. So at this point I had to swim to shore. Still holding my paddle I climbed on to see my rafting guide flow down the river without a paddle. I threw mine to him so he could get to shore and the rest of our boat got rescued. Then we passed by Super Max; a high security prison with people like the Russian FBI spy and the Shoe Bomber. Then we went back to the dorms where we spent the night.

Then we went to Philmont Scout Ranch. It's a working ranch donated to the Boy Scouts of America in 1938. We checked in and got a ranger to help us over the first few days. His name was Jon Schatt and he was actually a funny guy. So he helped us get our tents, supplies, and "food" for the trek. Now the reason I say "food" like that is because it was awful. Breakfast was beef jerky and some sort of grain or trail mix or something. Lunch was crackers with chicken, ham, tuna, or squeeze cheese (Cheddar or Jalapeño) and Gorp. Dinner was the worst. Freeze dried food all cooked in 1 pot. It was mind numbingly bad. But I digress. We spent that night in Tent City (base camp.)

The next day we weighed up our packs (45lbs for me) and left. We hiked for a while and stopped to rest. It was at this time that I nearly lay down on top of a rattle snake. Not the most fun thing in the world, lemme tell ya. But we arrived at Vaca Camp. We set up and ate. Then we learned about bear bags. Anything that smelled at least somewhat good to a bear or mini bear (chipmunk) had to go on a rope, in a tree. But then we went burro racing. Holding a burro and running alongside it (and at 8,000+ ft elevation that is not an easy feat.) But our burro, who we names Ramrod, came is second. After that Jon cooked dinner for us and we slept in Vaca Camp.

The next day we did shotgun reloading and shooting. We took empty shells and reloaded them with this funky machine. Was a lot of fun. Then we shot um Afterwards, we hiked up to Devils Wash Basin. It was really an uneventful day other then the end of ranger training and a religious ceremony. That and we started the daily session of Mao. Mao is a card game invented by a guy in my troop 12 years ago. It's a lot of fun and I can teach anybody the rules if they ask. But yeah we slept there that night.

The next day Jon left us. We started off by doing a conservation project for Philmont. We worked 3 hours on trail construction which was fun. Then we hiked that same trail up to Aspen Springs. Really another uneventful day.

The next day we went rock climbing. And not like on a guy rock wall. Up like a mountain face. Then we repelled down. Scary as HELL. But afterwards we hiked through Hidden Valley which was really a beautiful place. After that we saw Window Rock. The view from there was spectacular. We saw a thunder storm in the distance and it was really cool. But soon that storm came our way and we high tailed it out of there. Unfortunately it hit us and we had to stay in lightning position a couple times. Lightning position is a crouched position, on your toes with heels touching, hands together with your elbows on your knees... for half an hour. Sucked. But we arrived at like 9 to Cyphers Mine. Luckily we had shelter for this camp so we didn’t need tents.

This camp was loaded with mini bears. It was actually really funny. But we got a mine tour but we had to muck our way out. Mucking is where you put your left hand on the shoulder in front of you and right hand on the wall and feel your way out... in pitch darkness. And mines aren't the biggest things in the world, either. Not too comfortable xD But then we went to the forge and got to make some stuff. That was fun. Then, while people showered and cooked, I stayed on the porch and chilled with a couple friends. This was lucky for us because the staff came out and gave is their leftover rice and sausage. It was SO good. Afterwards we left to go to our next camp, Comanche Peak. It was an EXTREMELY hard hike up to like 11,000+ ft elevation. But the view was so worth it. That night we had a thunderstorm... which is pretty damn scary at that elevation. But yeah.

Then we hiked up to about 11,700 ft for breakfast. The view there was even better but it was loaded with mini bears, too. But then we hiked down a pretty steep trail to Clear Creek. It was as we were setting up that our youth leader, Kyle, realized he forgot his tent. So him, his brother Kurt, his best friend Matt, and another guy names Matt hiked back up to get it. While they were up at the very top, the same thunderstorm hit. This tine there was hail too. And while they were waiting for it to pass, all four of them got struck by lightning. They were ok but very... shocked. The worst part is they didn't even find their tent, they had to cram with someone else. . They took so long that we actually had to send out a search party. They got back and the storm hit again. And the reason this same storm keeps hitting is because in the mountains, the wind circulates, taking the clouds back and forth. But yeah we spent the night down there through the storm.

Then the next day we did black powder shooting. That was fun to see the muzzle loading and actually getting to load and shoot them. I shot my hat right through the center. Then we hiked down to Porcupine camp and got hit (yet again) by that pesky thunderstorm. We sat outside in our rain suits on our bed pads (which don't conduct electricity) for about an hour or so. Then we finished setting up camp and did nothing for a good stretch of time until other people got back with our next stock of food. So then we ate Mexican rice with wraps and stuff. This one was actually tolerable. But then it rained and we all went into our tents for the night.

The next day we left for Beaubien Camp. This camp was a lot of fun. It was western ranch camp. We went horseback riding first. My horse was a good, strong mountain horse named Striker. It was a walk pace mostly but a few downhill trots which were fun. I sang Bonanza half the way xD After that we chilled in camp until the campfire. That was a lot of fun. I ended up volunteering (un knowingly) for the Irish folk dancing competition. I got booted out first. Not really that surprising. But the rest was fun. They sang what is generally accepted as the Philmont Theme. Have You Ever Seen The Rain - Creedence Clearwater Revival. If you cant guess why that's the theme at this point I'm shocked. But then we went to bed.

Next day we were suppose to do a side hike and end up back in Beaubien but we didn't. The advisers went though so that was good for us xD Instead we all stayed back and did stuff around camp. I tried lassoing a fake bull thing with a life size head and swinging metal feet. I was actually pretty good with getting the in-motion feet. I was shocked, quite frankly. But we also played horseshoes and a lot of Mao. I also got the Philmont brand and the Boy Scout brand on the hat I shot. (I'll post pictures of the two) And I got my name and crew number (711-M4) branded on too. Then the advisers came back and we had a Chuck Wagon dinner. Beef stew, biscuits, and some of the most delicious peach cobbler I've ever had. Then the campfire again. I decided to take another shot at the dance competition and ass the worm into it. But of course, someone did it right before me. Still regret not doing Thriller, though. Anywho, campfire was nice again.

Next day we hiked down to Black Mountain. We did more black powder shooting there. That was fun again. We also went to another forge and I picked up a Christmas present for my sister. A lump of coal But afterwards we hiked down to North Fork Urraca. We got hit by the rain again and the site was really terrible. We all went to bed early because the next day was our biggest day.

We woke up to leave at 3:30 in the morning to break camp and leave. And the worst part was that at around that time, my friend's pack broke. The metal frame snapped in two. A brand new Kelty gone. So we had to lash and tape on his trekking poles. After that we hiked up to the base of the Tooth of Time. This mountain is one of the most famous in all of Philmont. It's all rock the whole way up but the view was the best yet. All around view of the mountains and valleys. On the other side was a 1,000 ft vertical drop. My friend decided that this was a good place to sit and hang his feet over. I thought he was insane. But after that we hiked one of the hardest hikes in all of Philmont. It was about 3-4 miles with no shade. I swear to got I saw a cactus on the side of the trail shriveled up. And the worst par is that it was all switchbacks. You could see Tent City and then you'd go REALLY far away. And back and forth, and back and forth. Our leader named it Torture Terrace. But we finally got back to Base Camp. We went into town and god pizza and real food. It was amazing! And then that night we had the closing campfire which was a lot of fun. Then we slept there that night.

The next day we took a bus back to the buffet and then to the airport. Then the flight was delayed because of storms in NJ. So there were about 50 or so Boy Scouts wandering aimlessly around the airport in their uniforms. No doubt we got some looks xD But finally we got on the plane and started to taxi to the runway. Of course the pilot got on the mic and said "Uhhh... yeah... both our engines just shut down soooo... we're gonna be a while." And he didnt even sound confident that this while ordeal was gonna work! I wonder to myself was the hell was gonna happen in the sky. But we eventually go home at around 5 am.

So yeah... that's everything in a nutshell. If you read all of this I'm really impressed. Uhhh... yeah.