Troop 344

On July 2, 2023 both Philmont crews from troop 344 left for New Mexico on a train
from Kirkwood station. We arrived in New Mexico on July 3rd and spent a day at
Base Camp to get acclimated to the elevation. On July 4th, we split into our two
crews and boarded separate buses to start our treks through the backcountry.
This is about the Southern crew, which followed itinerary 12-5, a 55 mile hike. We
hiked to Lovers Leap on the first day. It was an easy day considering it was our
first because we only hiked 1.6 miles. On the way to Lovers Leap campsite, we
saw the actual lovers leap point on a mountain and had great photo
opportunities.
The next day, we went to Miners Park which was our very first staffed
camp and our first time rock climbing on actual rocks. At Miners Park we also
picked up our first few days of food.
After Miners Park, we had a long hike to Beaubien, where we spent 2
days. This was probably one of the cooler camps we went to because there
were a lot of activities, such as muzzle loading rifles and branding.
After Beaubien our hikes got longer and more challenging. We went to
Comanche Creek and Comanche Peak. At Comanche Creek, we saw a
homestead and got to pet a lot of farm animals. Comanche Peak was our
highest campsite sitting at an impressive 11,303 ft.
After Comanche Peak we went to Sawmill which is where we did our
conservation project, and .30-06 rifle shooting and reloading. Our conservation
project was building a trail along the edge of the Ute Park fire line.
Cyphers Mine was next and was probably the highlight of our crew’s trip,
mostly because we toured a gold/iron mine, slept inside of an Adirondack and
didn’t have to set up camp. Also, the staff there were amazing. After Cyphers
Mine, we hiked to Cimarroncito which had an indoor rock climbing gym.
Then came the last two days of our trek, and they were probably the
hardest thing we had ever done as a crew because our last 2 campsites were
dry, meaning we had no additional water. We hiked 6 miles to Shaefers Pass,
and 2 miles up and down Shaefers Peak, then camped back at the Pass.
Shaefers Pass was a nice campsite but it was up a large hill.
The next – and last – day was the hardest day yet. We woke up at 4:45AM
to get to the Tooth of Time early. We hiked 3 miles to the Tooth, then bouldered
to the top which sits at an elevation of 9,003 ft. We left the Tooth to hike 7 miles
back to base camp on the “Trail of Tears”. It’s called that because you can see basecamp but still had 3 hours to hike, weaving back and forth down 18 switchbacks on a mountain just watching basecamp get closer and further away.
The feeling of relief that we all felt when we got to Base Camp on July 14 th
was amazing! It was probably the best feeling we had all felt in our whole lives.
At the time I thought that I would never go back, but after reflecting for while I
think that Philmont was one of the coolest and most important things I could do in
my scouting career. I think that anybody considering Philmont should do it!