Philmont's
historic "Tooth of Time" landmark at
sunrise. (photograph taken by Mark Habermeyer- Varsity Scout Coach
Team 134)
Above is one of the scenic campsites at Rayado River Camp. What impressed me
was how green and lush this part of New Mexico was.
Another picture taken at Rayado River Camp. There was no problem
finding a teriffic spot at this campsite!
Father and son Eugene and Bryan Aranda share a special moment together at
Rayado River Camp. They were part of three father and son "teams" on this
expedition at Philmont with Team 134. |
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We arrived at Rayado River Camp after a short 1 1/2 mile hike. It had
stopped raining by now and we were all grateful for that! Hiking in the rain isn't a
lot of fun even if you are prepared for it. We were able to set up camp at the
Rayado River site which is a beautiful place to camp. It is right next to the Rayado
River which was flowing fairly well for this time of the year. After setting up camp
and receiving instructions from our Ranger Jamie, some of us decided to try our hand at
fishing. This was one of the big disappointments of the trip. Most of the
rivers were too small to do any serious fishing so most of us carried fishing gear
needlessly the entire trek! We then fixed dinner which consisted of chicken and pea
stew. Philmont food is not bad once you get used to it. Not everyone was
thrilled with the menu this night but I didn't see any leftovers! Our Ranger Jamie
had brought along a special dessert from the Philmont kitchen- apple pound cake!
Needless to say it was a big hit in camp our first night out. Our young men settled
in for the night around 10pm. I'm sure everyone kept thinking about the bear cables
just outside of camp. They said the bears were around but we never saw even one the
whole trip.
Click on red arrow to
follow the Philmont Trail |
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 Click on
the buttons to see pictures along the Philmont Trail
The start of our 2nd day on the trail began early around
6:15am. The weather was cool and damp but the sky was crystal clear! Most of
the storms had blown away and it looked like the start of a beautiful day. We tried
to break camp in record time but failed to get out before 8:00am! We had a quick
trail breakfast (Philmont's special power fruit bars!) and were off to Crater Lake Camp
which was tonight's anticipated camping spot. We passed by New Abreau Camp (click #2), loaded up with water from their water
faucet (NICE!) and looked inside the root beer cantina (which was closed). We hiked
up the burro racing trail (which we missed from the night before) and headed off towards
our lunch stop which was Aguilla Camp (click #3).
It had been mostly uphill from the cantina and with a warm sun beating down on us
most of the morning it was a nice place to stop. We had lunch in a beautiful meadow
where our young men encountered a few deer. They had fun trying to get close enough
to take pictures without frightening them away! We also had our first experiences
with preparing treated water from a near-by spring the Philmont way! Click HERE to continue the adventure: |
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Philmont Scenery near Zastrow
Turnaround
Our trip got off to an ominous start as we
were dropped off in a heavy rain and hail storm!
Our Philmont Ranger Jamie goes over Basic Camping Information
Two days with a Philmont Ranger was more
than enough for our Crew!
Bret Allen, our Crew Leader
Team 134 was fortunate to have a great
youth leader!
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