Since Walt would not be with us during our return trip, during breakfast he gave me $700 in travelers checks to pay for the pizza at Fargoís in Colorado Springs on our way home. I thought that was a generous sum, but I was to be surprised (more on that later).

The skies were clear and the weather was hot and dry when we boarded the busses at 6:55. "Put me in Coach ñ Iím ready to play!"

At 8:15 we reached Trinidad, CO, and turned off onto US 160 West, and then onto I-25 South. We were at the Raton, NM, "Port of Entry" and weigh station at 8:32. Welcome to the Land of Enchantment! We made a brief stop to have the bussesí paperwork checked, then were back on the road. At 8:47 we passed through Raton. We rolled through Cimarron at 9:26, and at 9:38 we finally were at Philmont!

Each of the crews now became an autonomous unit, but Walt immediately went about the task of handling the administrative details that pertained to the entire contingent. For example, he soon reported that he had signed us up for a 7:00 AM departure breakfast on 7/16. Wow, we had just arrived and our departure plans were being made. Well, thatís just one of the details that the individual crews didnít have to bother with, and there were plenty of other details that we had to handle ourselves.

We met our ranger, Brendon Doner, who led us over to the trail-bound section of Tent City. Our crew was assigned to tents A15 through A19. Larry and I were in A19. We dropped our gear in our tents and headed over to Logistics. It was 10:45 before we got there, though. Our trek planner at Logistics was Jon Montgomery, one of MCBSAís own! He reviewed our itinerary with Nathan and gave us some late-breaking information. For example, our conservation site was changed from Lovers Leap to Crater Lake (which turned out to be a moot point, but more on that later).

Jon also told us that because conditions in the backcountry were still very dry a fire ban was still in effect. Also, because water was at a premium, and Philmontís horses are much more valuable than the campers are (itís better for them to drink than for us to be clean), the showers at Clarkís Fork were closed. Now thatís what we call a bad thing!

The toughest news, though, was that we were scheduled for an 8:00 AM bus to the trailhead. That wouldnít give us much time to accomplish all of our chores in base camp, and it certainly ruled out a tour of the Villa Philmonte before hitting the trail. There was no room to negotiate, either, because it was Mormon week at the Training Center and the unusually large group of folks there caused the bus schedules to be very tight. Brendon got us a reservation for an afternoon tour of the Villa on the day of our return.

Even though I thought we had prepared for it pretty well, the base camp drill seemed to be more hectic than usual. That was compounded by the fact that Nathan was feeling ill. After lunch (which was at 11:30 and was rather nondescript, but at least there was lots of it) we brought Nathan to the Health Lodge while the rest of the crew went to Medical Recheck. The diagnosis of the witch doctor gang was: "Heís sick." They decided to keep him overnight for observation. He would not be reexamined until after 8 AM.

Blake temporarily took over Nathanís leadership responsibilities. Larry and I went to Logistics and begged for mercy. Dave Woodson, one of the transportation staffers, was very helpful and accommodating. He arranged for a 3:00 PM bus, in the hope that Nathan would be released by then, and even suggested some alternatives for our conservation project. We thanked him profusely and presented him with one of our Council Strip patches for his efforts.

At 4:45 there were several concurrent meetings: one for the Advisers, one for the Crew Leaders, and one for the Chaplain Aides. Brendon worked with the rest of the crew while Blake, Tim Lingelbach, Larry, and I attended our respective sessions.

At the Advisersí meeting we were told that there was a serious bear concern at Philmont this year. Due to the exceptionally dry conditions early in the year, the bearsí natural food sources were not as abundant as usual so they were spending more time roaming around the camps looking for an easy meal. We were told to note all observations for any bear sightings. We also were warned that New Mexico has a fine for feeding wildlife, which includes the possibility of a jail sentence. They are serious. The term thatís frequently used is: "A fed bear is a dead bear."

After the meeting the MCBSA Advisers got together and presented Walt with a silver 60^th Anniversary Philmont belt buckle as a token of our appreciation for all of his hard work to make this contingent successful.

Blake reported that the Crew Leadersí meeting was poor. Perhaps the administrivia that plagues the adults in base camp is foisted on the Scouts as well.

After dinner (5:45) it rained a bit, but we found out that this was only the second measurable rainfall in the past two months. No wonder there was a fire ban. Anyhow, the immediate result was that the opening campfire was held under the Welcome Center pavilion (without a fire), which didnít enhance its normal atmosphere. Also, the staff did a so-so job. Our crew balked at singing the Philmont Hymn at the end. I told them they would be belting that tune out later, and indeed they would (but weíll get to that).