The following is the revised notes from our expedition at Philmont, the largest restaurant in the Kimi's Teriyaki chain. We had to sell it, naturally. My personal notes will be in italics, because I certainly didn't write the troop's log or anything. Anyway. Here goes:
Philmont Day 0 (1)
7/12/05
Attendees: David Cook, Reid Mortimer, Daniel Strong, Maxwell Vincent, Davis Hill, Jack Scudder, Jacob Power; Red Robinson, Peter Strong, Charlie Hill (advisors).
We traveled to Philmont in two groups: Reid, Maxwell, David, and Daniel flew and camped in the Garden of the Gods; Davis, Jacob, and Jack drove with Charlie and his wife Janice. The boys met around 10:30 at Philmont. We all checked in and met our ‘Ranger’ guide, Will Ennis, from Longwood, Florida. We got assigned tents and did lots of unmemorable and boring things—We had a medical recheck and a map thing before that. After many trips to the car, we finally had all our things. We headed off to an opening campfire, where music such as Relient K and Linkin Park was being played. There was a skit to tell of the history of Philmont (and the Wild West). Then we finally hit the sack. There was a terrible lightning storm during the night, and it was really cool. Jacob’s joke: What’s the difference between an American flag and Davis? A flag is patriotic!
Philmont Day 2
7/13/05
We woke up around 6. Most of the boys took showers, which consisted of hot water. After breakfast, we headed over to the Villa Philmonte, the summer house of Waite Phillips and his family (Waite Phillips was the man who donated the Philmont land to the Scouts). It was a beautiful pueblo building, with many intricate carvings and pictures. Davis played the ancient but fine piano (worth $200,000)! After the tour, we scrambled to ready our packs. They were packed and waiting for us when we finished lunch. We then sat around and played cards for and hour of two, until the bus came. Unfortunately, our gas bottled needed a topping-off—and the gas place bottomed out (technically, Jacob forgot to get gas)! Luckily, we got all filled up, and headed out to the Kit Carson Museum, where we saw the building that was home to Kit Carson for many years. We learned about the history of the Santa Fe Trail, and watched Nora, our tour guide, fire a black powder rifle. We also threw tomahawks (Davis was the best, of course). We finally hit the trail and camped at Olympia, an unstaffed camp (We also had to forge streams without removing our shoes). Olympia was a piece of crap. Seriously. A big field with a fire pit. Whoopee. While coming back from getting water, Charlie almost stepped on a rattlesnake and jumped into the air with a “whoa!” We finally went to sleep—Charlie and Davis had to turn their tent around! Man, our tent was the wrong way on a hill. Sucky.
Philmont Day 3
7/14/05
We woke up and headed out for Zastrow. There was some tense confusion about separating the food, but it turned out all right. It was a short hike to Zastrow. We saw a buck and a doe on the way. It was a short hike to Zastrow, but it was hot. When we got there, we did the fabled orienteering course. It was fun, but Davis and Maxwell stayed at one clue to solve a huge math problem. After that, we got showers and cleaned our clothes. There was a very nice Red Roof Inn, the finest fecal establishment in Philmont. We went over to Zastrow for some delicious dutch oven cooking. WE later came back to play Zastroball (Zorkball) and saw some deer. We owned the staff at Zastroball, 3 games to 2. After that, we climbed up on a ridge and participated in a rededication ceremony. Once we were sufficiently rededicated, we headed back to camp and looked at the stars for a while before going to sleep.
Philmont Day 4
7/15/05
We woke up at 7 and started packing up. However, we were delayed by a vicious discussion on the merits of different food distribution methods. After breakfast, Will, our Ranger, left us (we hope to catch him in base camp). It was, once again, a short, hot hike to Abreu, our midday stop. First we hit the cantina for root beers, and Davis spilled one on the counter, sacrificing his own handkerchief (because the lady was already quite cranky). Next, we headed on over to make some adobe bricks (We all got different Spanish names). Before the bricks, we toured the homestead, which had the nicest stove in all of Philmont. By that time, the trail needed a hitting, so we set off for Carson Meadows. It has a beautiful cabin for the staff, completed with a spacious porch, where we hung out before setting up camp. After setting up, we went to go do Search and Rescue (we saw hummingbirds fighting over a feeder on the porch). Orange Team consisted of Davis, Maxwell, and David; Blue Team, Jacob, Jack, and Daniel; Reid was base camp. Orange Team found Red in 20 minutes (it must be some sort of record), We sat on the porch and watched as storm come in before realizing that dinner needed making. Alas, we were too late. As the pot began to boil, hail started pouring down. The hail soon became a vicious torrent, and we were caught in the center of a swirling maelstrom for a cold, wet hour and a half. Our packs were under the dining fly, but a stream surged down to take them out. The crew frantically rerouted the water in the nick of time. Davis braved the storm to make dinner, but to no avail. WE finally ate lukewarm beef stroganoff; it was quite delicious. When the storm subsided, a bunch of guys went down to the porch for food. After a verbal beating from Charlie, however, they hustled guiltily back to camp to salvage and repair. We finally got all ready and got to bed, which is where this is being written.
Philmont Day 5
7/16/05
