Philmont Diary

In the summer of 1978 I got to join other members of Boy Scout Troop 73 of Beaver, Ohio, on a backpacking trip to Philmont Scout Ranch in New Mexico. I took notes. Here they are.

Some of this will be cringeworthy, but I'll try to transcribe accurately. Notes added during transcription are in italic.

The topographic map images are from "Philmont Trek Map PUBLIC" on CalTopo. On those images, dashed brown lines are trails, and black dashed lines are unpaved roads.

Friday, June 30, 1978

Little trouble loading. We're separated in Waverly, when Alton gets travelers checks, Brad gets food. 15 minutes - 20 minutes. (Greg's acting up, Mom.) Found Brad at 1:58.

We were in two cars: Roy Manning's red Plymouth Volare (Dodge Aspen?) station wagon, and Brad Teeters's red Ford Pinto.

Rest stops at Springfield, Ohio, and Indianapolis, Indiana. Arrived 10:00 PM, 10 miles west of Vandalia, Illinois. Camp prices are still high.

Saturday, July 1, 1978

Woke up 06:10 hours. (That's 7:30 Eastern S.T.)

It's dark for a little, and thunder is heard. We get sprinkled. Our "waterproof" tents are as waterproof as a wet sock (a little more so). Lost hubcap by Noah's Ark Inn in Earth City. In Wentzville, Missouri 8:30 AM.

Breakfast in rest area. Rest stop close to Concord, Missouri. Rest stop in Topeka, Kansas. Rest stop 20 miles west of Topeka. Air base at 4:05 pm. (Cavalry Museum) Camp at Wilson.

I think this was Lake Wilson, Kansas. I remember it as being a striking place because, after miles of flat prairie land, Lake Wilson had rolling green/yellow hills, pure blue water, and people flying hang gliders.

Sunday, July 2, 1978

Got up 6:30 AM. Packed up. Left at 7:15. Rest stop outside of Russell Kansas. Rest stop near Colorado border (7 miles). Fireworks 75 miles before. Ate at Stuckey's 5 miles from Flagler, CO at 12:00. Gassed up County Road 63, Lincoln County, Arriba, Colorado. Lost Brad in Limon. He took wrong turnoff (both of 'em had the route we wanted). Got to the USAF Academy 2 hours ahead of time. Set up camp. Went bowling at 8 pm, after a hike down the hill at camp.

Fireworks: I think this means, we bought fireworks. I remember Brad and crew setting some of them off at our last campground near Cimarron, NM.

Bowling: Alton let fly his ball a little too soon. As it was rolling down the lane the mechanism that resets the pins lowered, and there was a resounding clang when the ball hit. One of the bowling alley attendants admonished us to slow down.

Monday, July 3, 1978

Got up for breakfast, ate, and took off. Went 1st to Garden of the Gods, then to town for lunch.

I remember Alton walking up to a pigeon perched on the red rock slabs, gently picking it up, and turning to show it to our scoutmaster. "Look, Mr. Manning!" To which Mr. Manning replied to the effect, "Put that bird down! something something filthy."

After that we went to K-mart, then to camp, then to Cripple Creek. (Alton and I fell asleep, so only Brad, Rick Sloan, Darrel Brown & Ronnie Brown went on.) Planetarium

Tuesday, July 4, 1978

Got up, packed up, & went to eat. Went to Royal Gorge, rode inclined railway, walked to bridge. Ate at McDonald's, then on to Cimarron. All lips are chapped. Mental attitude is normal, a little edgy. We set up camp at Camp Ponil, in Cimarron.

We were edgy because we were approaching the challenging part of the trip: more than a week of hiking through mountains with heavy backpacks.

I think this is where some of the group set off fireworks.

Wednesday, July 5, 1978

Checked in Philmont 8:30 am. Met ranger Chris Ball. Very nice. Got equipment, took picture. Slept after opening campfire in Tent City. Some (all) are a little homesick.

Thursday, July 6, 1978

Go up, ate breakfast, got on bus for Six Mile gate. Got there, went to Four Mile camp. Set up camp, got wood, went rock climbing. Fun. No staff. Play frisbee p.m. Critique.

The climbing was more like scrambling, if I remember correctly. Alton wore a hole in his shorts sliding down the big slant-sided boulder.

I think this was the morning, in the dining hall, when we met a scout who had been brought back to base camp after being mauled by a bear. His arms were wrapped in white bandages. I don't remember his story well, but I think he'd had a candy bar in his tent. I do remember him saying that the bear was nothing compared to the doctors, who stuck syringes into his gashes to wash them out.

This was our first camp, so it was also our first time putting up a bear bag. Alton wanted to try tossing the rock, around which the rope was tied, over a tree branch. He broke wind with the effort. Chris Ball, our ranger, called out, "Who sat on that frog?"

I don't see Four Mile camp on the modern caltopo.com/m/MF16# map.

According to https://www.billcotter.com/philmont/day-14.htm, which itself quotes the Philmont Trail Guide, "Four-Mile Gate, so named because it is four miles from the Ponil Camp, is a new starting camp in 1966. Beautifully situated, it commands a magnificent view of the Ponil Canyon."

On the Caltopo map the best match for Four Mile camp is the now-inactive Trail Canyon Camp.

Friday, July 7, 1978

Got up, cooked breakfast, broke camp.
Backtracked 1 mile, took off over hill for Dean Cow. Program rock climbing. Set up camp, ate lunch went to cabin (staffed). Went over safety process. Went outside, climbed 1st tree, then most over rock. Took bath, cloth. Went bed.

We started the program by taking turns jumaring up a ponderosa pine. Then those who had the courage tied in and did some actual rock climbing. I chickened out. That decision bothered me for about 18 years, until Andy Welter got a group of us out to Urban Krag in Dayton.

Mr. Manning got on the rock, but had some trouble. I vaguely recall him, slightly sunburned, trying unsuccessfully to get a heel hooked over a hold on the rock.

This may have been the day when Roy told us about something that happened when he was in the army, in WWII, during the invasion of Sicily. The gist was that, on a bet, he climbed/scrambled up a mountain. No big deal for a boy from West Virginia. The one spot that gave him pause was a large gap with a good view of a long fall. He jumped across and continued up the mountain.

Mr. Manning's commanding officer, on hearing of his feat, decided that the entire group (platoon? division? He was a tank commander) should climb the mountain. Which they did, the next day, cursing Roy as they went.

Roger Jackson, our other adult leader, didn't climb at Dean Cow: "I don't have to prove anything to anybody."

Saturday, July 8, 1978 (staff)

Got up early, ate breakfast, hiked to Harlan. Set up camp, ate, went to program. Burro racing. Show how to load burro, then race. Snowball, rusty color, won for Brad, Darrel, Alton & me at 2:00. Also won at evening. Mild storm.

How to load the burro: this was where we learned to tie a diamond hitch.

Our race involved tying empty crates onto the burro inside the corral, then racing out, circling a big boulder, and running back to the corral. We were the last ones out of the corral, and our burro wasn't moving very quickly. Then Snowball farted and took off so fast that I couldn't keep up. And that's how we won.

Sunday, July 9, 1978 (staff)

Got up early, ate breakfast, hiked to Sawmill. Longest hike. Got up 4:30, left at 6:05, arrived Cito food 11:30, arrived Sawmill 5:00. Storm at rough climb, rain. Program cancelled til morn.

"Cito": I'm pretty sure this was Cimmaroncito, where we loaded our packs with fresh food. The philmont.fandom.com wiki says this is a big camp, but I don't remember that at all. I remember re-filling our packs pretty much on the trail. Maybe we just stopped briefly in the camp?

The Philmont Guidebook confirms Cimmaroncito was a food pickup point.

BTW I never appreciated how close Sawmill was to Eagle Nest, New Mexico. (The orange line is U.S. 64.)

Monday, July 10, 1978

Squirrel Greg's back

Got up early, ate breakfast, 7:00, 7:30, begin program, 9:00. Did good, moved out 1:00 2:00, 3 1/2 - 4 miles to Comanche Peak. Little rough. Cold, storm, jets, wet.

Squirrel: if I remember correctly, a ground squirrel ran in a parabola up one side of Greg's back and down the other.

The program at Sawmill was shooting 30-06 rifles. We were at the top of a ravine, and our targets, which were thick, painted, metal animal silhouettes, were on the other side of the ravine. The distance was so great that there was a noticeable lag from the instant we fired until we heard the impact on the other side. I was the only one who hit a target, as evidenced by a delayed metallic clang. But I had no idea what I might have hit - I couldn't guess how much the bullet descended on its way across, and none of us saw any clouds of dust or motion of targets.

Still, I started speculating. After I'd rambled on for a bit, Brad spoke up: "I thought you said you didn't know what you hit, Mitch."

This might also be the camp where Darrel and Ronnie tried to get a view over the shower walls, as some co-ed rangers were cleaning up.

"Jets": near dark, after we were in our tents, we heard the brief loud roar of jets that sounded like they were right at our altitude on the mountain. Greg saw them: F-111s, hugging the terrain. They were probably from Cannon AFB.

Tuesday, July 11, 1978

Got up early, ate breakfast, 6:00, 6:30. Moved out. Down saddle, up to Mt. Phillips. Trees, on way up, fall wind. _(We had to make our way over a bunch of big pine trees that we believed had been blown down by wind.) _ Top wow! view. Stop Clear Creek .58. 1 guy crazy. Arrived Wild Horse 2:30. Set up camp. Greg sick, chills. Went bed. Some observe other crew.

".58" refers to .58 calibre black powder rifles. philmont.fandom.com/wiki/Clear_Creek_Camp confirms Clear Creek was the black powder camp, with one staffer brandishing a knife and getting in scouts' faces, trying to act like he'd gone stir crazy

Wednesday, July 12, 1978

Cooked eggs breakfast. Broke camp, hiked 5 miles (down) in 2 hours. P.J. food pickup. Hike 1/2 miles in over 1 hour (up) to Beaubien. Hail. All went in cabin (not common), dry off. Hike camp, setup. Rain. Roger, R.E.M., R.S., A.D. & I go campfire 8:15. Singing, Jokes, stories. Fund. Go bed.

Beaubien taught us about monsoon season in the mountain west.
R.E.M. - Roy E. Manning
R.S. - Rick Slone
A.D. - Alton Davis

Thursday, July 13, 1978

Got up, ate, boys went corral horse rides. Saddled up after show how. Horses: G.C. HP, R.S. Middleton, A.D. Harry, R.B. Crow, D.B. __, B.T. __, M.C. Widowmaker. Gone 1 1/2 hours. At 2:00 pm went back corral for boot branding, roping. 6:00 Chuckwagon dinner. 8:15 campfire. Hang bear bag. Bed.

Was this the camp where we cooked sopaipillas in dutch ovens, and where Ronnie Brown, sharing a tent with his cousin Darrel, later called out for Mr. Manning to save him from the green cloud that Darrel made?

Friday, July 14, 1978

Got up, moved out for Abreu. First 4 1/3 miles ===! Last few - Oh well. Arrive 12:00. Some go cantina. Burp! 2:00 Adobe casa. Mash mud, make brick. 3:30 cantina. 2 pitchers. Go bed.

Darrel rattler.

I'm not sure how to read these notes.

I think they say we made great time for the first 4 1/2 miles, then slowed way down.

I think they say the first cantina visit entailed 2 pitchers and 5 glasses of root beer between Darrel Brown, Rick Slone, Ronnie Brown, Brad Teeters and Alton Davis. I think there was a return visit at 3:30 involving two more pitchers, between Roy Manning, Alton Davis, Roger Jackson, and me.

Darrel saw a rattlesnake? I vaguely recall him coming back to camp, looking pale, saying he had almost stepped on a rattler.

Was this the camp where the staff told bad jokes? One went as follows.

A group of cowboys rode into town. They had a bit too much to drink. Several of them decided to prank one of their own. His horse was hitched facing north, and they turned his saddle around facing south. The next morning at breakfast, eyes wide, he said, "Somebody cut off my poor horse's head last night! I almost didn't make it back to camp! I had to put my arm down its neck to steer it home."

Saturday, July 15, 1978

Get up, eat breakfast, move out for Urraca camp. Go up back side of Urraca mesa, down. Leave 8:30, arrive 11:30. Other group kill 4 foot long rattler. 1:30 wilderness survival. Campfire. Philmont story. Spook.

The group that killed a rattlesnake was from Texas. I'm not sure if this was the group that later inspired Mr. Manning to comment to the effect that, "Every time we saw them, they were talking about how much better everything was in Texas. If Texas is so wonderful, why did they bother coming to New Mexico?"

Wilderness survival: stay where you are. Hug a tree.

Spook: I think this might be related to a story that explained that "Urraca" meant "magpie", and that the magpie was considered the devil's messenger. I have a vague memory that the campfire program included a performance of "Ghost Riders in the Sky."

Sunday, July 16, 1978

Get up early, no-cook breakfast, on trail at 6:30. Saw a doe. Hike down stockade. Rest, up Tooth of Time ridge through gully. (Pant) Reach top, rest, climb Tooth of Time, wp. View (wow!). Hike remaining 4 miles to base camp. Last mile hot. Break 2 groups. R.M, R.J., M.C. in last group. Arrive noon. Drop packs. Get tents, shower, return equipment. Sup. Cl campfire. Bed. Lose record book.

"No-cook breakfast" usually meant "Pop Tarts".
No idea what "wp." means.
"Cl" means "Closing", I think.

Monday, July 17, 1978

Eat breakfast, TP, L&F, pack up, leave. Go to Rocky Mountain National Park. Lightning. Go on to campground.

TP == Trading Post
L&F == Lost & Found

Wow, I do not remember any of this day.

Also, based on the sketches that started showing up on this day, I must have been feeling a bit punchy.

Tuesday, July 18, 1978

Got up, ate, go through Wyoming to South Dakota, go to Custer (National Monument), camp. See Rushmore night. Buffalo, deer, mule. Bed.

Does "mule" mean "burro"? We had wild burros sticking their heads through car windows, looking for handouts.

Wednesday, July 19, 1978

Got up, eat, rock shops, Mt. Rushmore, drive through Badlands (wow!), camp S. Da. War.

"War": playing with cap guns? One of the campgrounds where we stayed had a big wooden "fort" reminiscent of those on "F Troop".

Thursday, July 20, 1978

Get up, eat, leave for Corn Palace. Som'n'else. Go Iowa, camp KOA. Little rain.

Friday, July 21, 1978

Got up, ate breakfast, sped home.
Eat supper Columbus, Ohio, Ponderosa. 7:00 pm. Call home. Arrive Beaver 9:00. Celebrated. Went Home!

Recap