About midway through Hidden Valley we came upon a rock cairn on the trail. It appeared to mark the junction with an old trail or a boundary of some sort. There was deadfall lined up on the old trail as if to form some sort of fence, or perhaps just to mark the old trail as closed.

We reached Window Rock at 9:15, dropped our packs, and took ample opportunity to capture the magnificent vistas on film. The guys scrambled all over the rocks (they are far more sure-footed and daring than I am) and basked in the beauty of this special place. It was beginning to sink in to even the most resistant members of the crew that there really is magic in these mountains.

Tim Lingelbach formed the crew in a circle and led us in a very moving spiritual service, which was capped off by a rousing chorus of America the Beautiful. Then, without hesitation, the crew opened the circle and stood in a line facing out over the valley and belted out the Philmont Hymn. That almost brought tears to my eyes.

Immediately afterward, an adviser from another crew that had arrived when we were in the midst of our religious service came over to me and complimented our crew on the wonderful job they did. He said he was envious and wished that he could get his crew to embrace the spirit of the backcountry as our guys obviously did. What a great compliment for our crew that was. I could only hope that this moment would be etched in their memories, as it would be in mine.

Reluctantly, we left Window Rock at 10:20 and made our way down the trail (literally). We arrived at the ëCito Reservoir at 11:20, where we stopped to have lunch. There was a small Mountain Men crew (boys whose parents were taking a course at the Philmont Training Center) with two rangers, who were just packing up as we arrived. They must have been on the beginning of their trek judging by how clean they looked, especially in comparison with our trail-hardened guys.

Just after noon a light rain started to fall, so we passed on the opportunity to visit the "ice caves" in the ravine below the reservoir and got back on the trail. We arrived at Clarks Fork at 12:40 PM and checked in with John, one of the camp staff. He gave us the times and the rules for the various programs in camp, then he gave us some bad news. The showers were still closed! They were conserving water for the horses, which clearly were more important than the campers were. As he led us to our campsite (site 12), he told us that there were at least two bears in camp. He suggested that we take the additional precaution of putting our water bottles in the bear bags (since some crews put drink mix in their water bottles the bears had come to associate water bottles with tasty treats). Finally, he advised us to clear our campsite before our horse ride the next morning.

At 2:30 the rain had let up and the guys began to emerge from their tents. We headed over to the boot branding area (except for the 2 Daves, who opted not to go) for an hour or so. Some of the guys branded their boots (mine still have the brands from my 1988 trek) and hats. Larry branded some oak and cherry slats that he wanted to use for a future woodworking project, then he helped me brand my hiking staff with the Philmont cattle brand.

The Chuck Wagon dinner was at 5:30. Due to the fire ban the cooking was done on propane. The menu featured beef stew (probably Dinty Moore from cans), saltine crackers, chocolate chip cookies, peaches (also canned), and Gatorade. There were no leftovers.

Larry and I went to Advisersí Coffee at 7:00. It was very good. We just relaxed in a swing chair on the porch of the staff cabin with Doug Bonn while we sipped on our coffee (or in Larryís case, tea). Some of the advisers were hungry for news from the civilized world (such as the scores and status of the World Cup soccer games). I couldnít have cared less. To me, the backcountry was the real world and "civilization" was an intrusion.

At 8:00 the staff put on an excellent campfire. The show was really great, with lots of good, corny humor (just my type), some fine fiddling, plus a good blend of songs and stories. They ended with a very moving rendition of Ashokan Farewell, the theme song from the Civil War miniseries on public TV. This campfire was one of the best that I had experienced at Philmont, rivaling the one led by Curly at Beaubien in 1988.

After the campfire we had a good Thorns & Roses session. The bonus topic for tonight was Favorite Philmont Food (actually an oxymoron). I chose the chicken/turkey/noodle glop we had a few days ago.