While I sit here and enjoy Romania, Charles has begun his own adventure and took his first airplane flight headed, eventually, to Philmont Boy Scout Ranch in Cimarron, NM.
They were up early Saturday morning and at the Charlotte Airport at 06:00 AM. Landing in Colorado Springs they spent 2 days of “Altitude Acclimation” where they enjoyed a tour of the Air Force Academy and a trip up the Cog Rail to see the top of Pike’s Peak. These are Hearty Boy Scouts; so no wildfires can stop them!
On Monday, they will arrive at Philmont Base Camp to begin their 12 day, 73 mile (+/- depending on if they “turn right when they shoulda turned left”) adventure.
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| View From Pike's Peak Wow!! |
For the uninitiated, Philmont is 137,000 Acres of rugged Northwest New Mexico mountain territory. Each day, the Scouts will hike through some of the most unbelievably beautiful country ever seen and their only survival will be 8 Scouts and 4 adults working together with only what they are carrying on their backs!
Their Trek leads them from the Base Camp at an elevation of around 6,500 feet (for comparison, Spartanburg is only a measly 800 feet above sea level) towards Crater Lake, across the Black Mountain, winding around Lookout Meadow and Buck Creek to then be challenged by scaling the peak of Mount Phillips where they will climb some 2,700 feet in only 8 short miles to reach their highest point of 11,741 feet ("Hey, where did all the oxygen go!?"). After this, they have a steady downhill "stroll" of about 3,700 feet through Upper Sawmill where they will be rewarded with an enjoyable two day stay at Cimarroncito before the final push to traverse across the infamous “Tooth of Time” ridge and finally back into Base Camp completing their 12 days on the trail and ready for a much overdue - and well deserved - shower. This adventure is not for the faint of heart (I am quite jealous I didn’t get to go with him, if you haven’t guessed by now).
So enjoy the first picture he sent from Pike’s Peak above and then look at the itinerary below and follow along with them for the next two weeks while they conquer the majestic peaks and valleys of Philmont!
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| Itinerary of Trek |
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| Map of Trek Relative to Ranch Property |
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| You Can Track Their Daily Progress. Watch Out For Day 7! |
