Sunday, August 30, 2009
Blue Sky Adventure
We are planning to use Blue Sky Adventure to organize the non-Philmont Scout Ranch portion of the trip. They will provide transportation,lodging and meals for us. This is a link to their home page. Then you can go to the Extreme Adventure Tour page. Check out the hotel where the Crew Advisers will be staying for the two weeks we are in New Mexico. This looks like fun to me and we will be getting use to the elevation. Sweet!
Saturday, August 29, 2009
Saturday, August 22, 2009
Shining Rock 2009
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From Shining Rock 09
We wanted to take advantage of the boys’ summer break and get in a longer hike to jumpstart our Philmont preparations. It was not an official “shakedown hike” but it was a great pre-season prep for our Philmont adventure. We spent the Thursday night at the Daniel Boone Scout Camp and on Friday morning we started our hike up the Art Leob trail to Shining Rock. It had a lot of elevation gain and at 7 miles was the longest backpacking day that I have ever had. Two leaders who had been to Philmont said that it was as tough as anything that they had done there. Because Shining Rock is a wilderness area the trails are not marked and not maintained. A map and compass are a must and we worked hard with the boys on using them and orientating the map with the terrain. Thomas quickly picked up on what to do and seemed to enjoy the intellectual challenge of trying to figure out our location and which way to go next. I was used to well marked and blazed trails so we stopped at all trail junction.
The trails were almost overgrown with vegetation and we had to push our way through the growth. It made us look forward to the well maintained trails at Philmont. Something new we did was to hike out of camp without eating breakfast. This allowed us to have only one purpose in the morning--getting out of camp. Philmont provides a breakfast that does not require cooking so you can hike for awhile and then roll your first long break into a breakfast rest stop. We arrived at the Shining Rock area early enough to find a nice grassy camping spot close to a spring with some of the sweetest water you have ever tasted (after being purified). After we set up camp and pumped the water the boys wanted to hike up to Shining Rock. Once again we had to push through vegetation and found our way to the top. It was pretty neat to sit up on those shining rocks with some gorgeous vistas. After hiking back down it was time for supper. Mr. Brown gave a demonstration on how to use the Wisperlite backpacking stoves and the boys begin to boil up some water. One scout was particular helpful during dinner--Drew made sure that no leader had to pack out any excess food. We went to bed even earlier than usual so that we could get to our destination early because it was the primo camping spot on the East Fork of the Pigeon River.
At 5:30 a.m. Saturday morning I gave the group a rousing version of “I’m a Tar Heel Born” and we started the process of breaking camp. Quickly it became evident that Mr. Wall had some experience at breaking camp as he waited patiently for the rest of us to take down our dew drenched tents. Then we started down south on the Art Loeb Trail and we stopped at all the trail crossings, as we had before, pulling out the maps and compasses to direct us. This was much harder in this Wilderness area than any other trail I’ve ever been on and I was impressed that the boys were able to work out the correct choice each time. The trail was somewhat overgrown and again we had to bushwack some to get through. There was a seasonal bonus on the trail--huckleberries, blueberries and blackberries. All of which were 100% organic and locally grown! This was also a gave us a little break because it slowed the boys down as they picked berries. The lead hiker was able to clear out some of the spider webs as they walked but he did get his choice of the fruit. Everyone got drenched with the dew on the plants as we backpacked through the overgrowth.
We finally came to the end of our part of the Art Loeb trail as it reached it junction with Ivestor Gap Trail and Greasy Cove trail. Best of all it was time for breakfast and we took our first long break of the day. After eating we took some pictures and left a written message on the trail for the other Treks who would be passing this way later in the day – the message was “T934”. Then it was back to map and compass to make sure we took Greasy Cove Trail to our camp site on the East Fork of the Pigeon Ridge.
We had been warned that there is only one camp site that can hold a crew of our size at the rivers edge and so we have to get to our camp fast. We busted it up the trail and made a creek crossing right into a beautiful empty camp site on the river bank. This is the place where Mr. Brown has traditionally brought his camping merit badge students because of its beauty and the 2000 feet climb back to our exit spot. Quickly we set up camp to keep away any poachers into our site. Then it was time for lunch on the rocks in the river. What could be better than lunch on the river with your feet soaking in the cool river water? The boys and Yours Truly started trout fishing after lunch. Drew had a real trout fishing rod and he was making elegant casts that were worthy of the movies, but all we ever got was some nibbles (well, I did catch a piece of wood). Then despite the weather forecast of just a 10% chance of rain, we had a deluge of rain for over an hour. We found out later that our Troop’s other treks that were within 5 to 7 miles of us did not get a drop. While we huddled under the rain fly Philip regaled us with stories of all his girlfriends. Finally the rain ended and we investigated to see if our tents stayed dry. Things were dry inside and wet outside which is just what you want and before you know it, it’s time for supper. A good hot meal and early to bed because you can not have a fire in a wilderness area, plus we had to get up at 6 a.m. to start our hike back to the Blue Ridge Parkway. It is so different to be going to bed at twilight but after a hard day of backpacking and an early morning wake up call it sure makes a lot of sense to me.
We woke up and started the process of breaking camp. Then Mr. Robertson discovered that he had set his pack down on a spot where a previous backpacker had decided to …um, how can I say this delicately………..go #2……. and had not dug a “cat hole”. This was a sign of selfishness because the person had made his mess inside an established camping area and it was within 100 feet of the river, plus it had gotten all over Mr. Robertson pack.
After Mr. Robertson cleaned up his pack we started our river crossing. Luckily the river had calmed down after the downpour of yesterday and rocks that had been under water were once again exposed. They made nice stepping stones across the river. We all successfully crossed the river and we started our journey UP to the Van on the Blue Ridge Parkway. Mr. Wall kept chanting “2000 feet, that ain’t nothing”, but I was not a believer. Mr. Brown had a beautiful spot picked out for our Sunday Breakfast that was a mile from our camp as we traversed the Bridge Camp Gap Trail. We crossed a small bridge and then sat down to eat breakfast next to a waterfall and a pool. This was much better than eating in camp. We pumped some water and ate our meal and then it back to our hike. After awhile we ran into the Mountain to Sea Trail (MST) and then it was time for some “elevating”. This is why the Troop uses this trail to get the elevation gain needed to complete the Camping Merit Badge. It was hard work but at the end we had a great payoff when we were able to get to the top and drop packs and go visit Second Falls. The boys used the water to cool off and everybody enjoyed the beautiful scenery. Then we had to drag the boys away so we could finish up at the Blue Ridge Parkway. The Troop leaders had left our white van in the parking lot and a note telling us that they were on their way home in Big Brown. It was time for us to load up the van and head on down the highway.
We wanted to take advantage of the boys’ summer break and get in a longer hike to jumpstart our Philmont preparations. It was not an official “shakedown hike” but it was a great pre-season prep for our Philmont adventure. We spent the Thursday night at the Daniel Boone Scout Camp and on Friday morning we started our hike up the Art Leob trail to Shining Rock. It had a lot of elevation gain and at 7 miles was the longest backpacking day that I have ever had. Two leaders who had been to Philmont said that it was as tough as anything that they had done there. Because Shining Rock is a wilderness area the trails are not marked and not maintained. A map and compass are a must and we worked hard with the boys on using them and orientating the map with the terrain. Thomas quickly picked up on what to do and seemed to enjoy the intellectual challenge of trying to figure out our location and which way to go next. I was used to well marked and blazed trails so we stopped at all trail junction.
The trails were almost overgrown with vegetation and we had to push our way through the growth. It made us look forward to the well maintained trails at Philmont. Something new we did was to hike out of camp without eating breakfast. This allowed us to have only one purpose in the morning--getting out of camp. Philmont provides a breakfast that does not require cooking so you can hike for awhile and then roll your first long break into a breakfast rest stop. We arrived at the Shining Rock area early enough to find a nice grassy camping spot close to a spring with some of the sweetest water you have ever tasted (after being purified). After we set up camp and pumped the water the boys wanted to hike up to Shining Rock. Once again we had to push through vegetation and found our way to the top. It was pretty neat to sit up on those shining rocks with some gorgeous vistas. After hiking back down it was time for supper. Mr. Brown gave a demonstration on how to use the Wisperlite backpacking stoves and the boys begin to boil up some water. One scout was particular helpful during dinner--Drew made sure that no leader had to pack out any excess food. We went to bed even earlier than usual so that we could get to our destination early because it was the primo camping spot on the East Fork of the Pigeon River.
At 5:30 a.m. Saturday morning I gave the group a rousing version of “I’m a Tar Heel Born” and we started the process of breaking camp. Quickly it became evident that Mr. Wall had some experience at breaking camp as he waited patiently for the rest of us to take down our dew drenched tents. Then we started down south on the Art Loeb Trail and we stopped at all the trail crossings, as we had before, pulling out the maps and compasses to direct us. This was much harder in this Wilderness area than any other trail I’ve ever been on and I was impressed that the boys were able to work out the correct choice each time. The trail was somewhat overgrown and again we had to bushwack some to get through. There was a seasonal bonus on the trail--huckleberries, blueberries and blackberries. All of which were 100% organic and locally grown! This was also a gave us a little break because it slowed the boys down as they picked berries. The lead hiker was able to clear out some of the spider webs as they walked but he did get his choice of the fruit. Everyone got drenched with the dew on the plants as we backpacked through the overgrowth.
We finally came to the end of our part of the Art Loeb trail as it reached it junction with Ivestor Gap Trail and Greasy Cove trail. Best of all it was time for breakfast and we took our first long break of the day. After eating we took some pictures and left a written message on the trail for the other Treks who would be passing this way later in the day – the message was “T934”. Then it was back to map and compass to make sure we took Greasy Cove Trail to our camp site on the East Fork of the Pigeon Ridge.
We had been warned that there is only one camp site that can hold a crew of our size at the rivers edge and so we have to get to our camp fast. We busted it up the trail and made a creek crossing right into a beautiful empty camp site on the river bank. This is the place where Mr. Brown has traditionally brought his camping merit badge students because of its beauty and the 2000 feet climb back to our exit spot. Quickly we set up camp to keep away any poachers into our site. Then it was time for lunch on the rocks in the river. What could be better than lunch on the river with your feet soaking in the cool river water? The boys and Yours Truly started trout fishing after lunch. Drew had a real trout fishing rod and he was making elegant casts that were worthy of the movies, but all we ever got was some nibbles (well, I did catch a piece of wood). Then despite the weather forecast of just a 10% chance of rain, we had a deluge of rain for over an hour. We found out later that our Troop’s other treks that were within 5 to 7 miles of us did not get a drop. While we huddled under the rain fly Philip regaled us with stories of all his girlfriends. Finally the rain ended and we investigated to see if our tents stayed dry. Things were dry inside and wet outside which is just what you want and before you know it, it’s time for supper. A good hot meal and early to bed because you can not have a fire in a wilderness area, plus we had to get up at 6 a.m. to start our hike back to the Blue Ridge Parkway. It is so different to be going to bed at twilight but after a hard day of backpacking and an early morning wake up call it sure makes a lot of sense to me.
We woke up and started the process of breaking camp. Then Mr. Robertson discovered that he had set his pack down on a spot where a previous backpacker had decided to …um, how can I say this delicately………..go #2……. and had not dug a “cat hole”. This was a sign of selfishness because the person had made his mess inside an established camping area and it was within 100 feet of the river, plus it had gotten all over Mr. Robertson pack.
After Mr. Robertson cleaned up his pack we started our river crossing. Luckily the river had calmed down after the downpour of yesterday and rocks that had been under water were once again exposed. They made nice stepping stones across the river. We all successfully crossed the river and we started our journey UP to the Van on the Blue Ridge Parkway. Mr. Wall kept chanting “2000 feet, that ain’t nothing”, but I was not a believer. Mr. Brown had a beautiful spot picked out for our Sunday Breakfast that was a mile from our camp as we traversed the Bridge Camp Gap Trail. We crossed a small bridge and then sat down to eat breakfast next to a waterfall and a pool. This was much better than eating in camp. We pumped some water and ate our meal and then it back to our hike. After awhile we ran into the Mountain to Sea Trail (MST) and then it was time for some “elevating”. This is why the Troop uses this trail to get the elevation gain needed to complete the Camping Merit Badge. It was hard work but at the end we had a great payoff when we were able to get to the top and drop packs and go visit Second Falls. The boys used the water to cool off and everybody enjoyed the beautiful scenery. Then we had to drag the boys away so we could finish up at the Blue Ridge Parkway. The Troop leaders had left our white van in the parking lot and a note telling us that they were on their way home in Big Brown. It was time for us to load up the van and head on down the highway.
Sunday, August 2, 2009
Pre-Season Philmont Training (Fri)
As we get up at the crack of dawn the group will head out of the Daniel Boone Scout Reservation and onto the Art Leob Trail east/northeast towards Cold Mountain. When we get to Deep Gap we turn and continue south down the Art Leob Trail towards Shining Rock. We will be camping the vicinity of Shining Rock on Friday night.
Pre-Season Philmont Training (Sat-Sun)
In the red is our trek on Saturday from Shining Rock down south on the Art Leob Trail to where it intersects with the Ivestor Gap Trail. We then take a hard east turn onto the Greasy Cove Trail. We stay on that trail until we intersect with the Bridge's Gap Trail at the head water of the Fork Pigeon River. We will camp in that area on Saturday night and Mr. Brown tells me we can go trout fishing. I'm bringing a pole and some fishing flies.
The next day is in purple--we leave camp early to hike out to our exit spot on the Blue Ridge Parkway. We will head back down south on Bridge's Camp Gap Trail until we run into the "Mountain to Sea Trail" and follow it in a generally west direction with a large gain in altitude--a great prep for Philmont. Finally we come out into the Graveyard Field at the Blue Ridge Parkway. I hope that is not an ominous location to end our 3 day trek.
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