Philmont: Having fun, being responsible

BY MARK WINEKA
SALISBURY POST

Their ranger, college student Jonah Wetherill, said 100 to 450 black bears roam the Philmont Scout Ranch’s 140,000 acres. On his own first day of hiking and training at Philmont, Wetherill’s group of rangers spotted a bear from about 75 yards away.

“It was awesome,” he said.

“What do you do if you see one?” 14-year-old Matt Clements asked.

“Take its picture,” fellow crew member Duane Turner answered quickly.

“No, you don’t take its picture,” Wetherill scolded.

The ranger would have plenty to say about bears over the next two days before he left Crew 3 on its own. For now, Wetherill predicted that the crew’s chances of seeing a bear during their 55 miles of backpacking were “slim to none,” provided they took all the precautions.

The 10-member crew, one of four carved out of a 43-man contingent from Salisbury, N.C., was impatient to get on the trail. The previous day had seemed much like the military. They spent long intervals waiting, from final itinerary approval at the logistics office to medical re-checks at the health center.

Crew 3 probably represented the most fragile group of the North Carolina expedition. It had issues, besides questions.

Jimmy Rothwell, a 30-year-old adult leader, had a steel rod in one of his knees from an old accident. Could he come close to making the 55 miles of rugged, rocky trails ahead?

Duane, a rising high school freshman, told his fellow crew members on arriving at Philmont that he didn’t want to go on the backpacking adventure. Never had.

Crew advisor Henry Trexler and another adult leader, Zach Terry, each were a few pounds overweight for their respective heights. Philmont reserved the right to keep anyone off the trail who didn’t meet its physical requirements.

But most of the crew’s concern centered on Christoph Schiewe, also a rising ninth-grader. Christoph suffered from asthma, and Philmont nurses and doctors checked him, rechecked him and ordered him back for a consultation with a lung specialist the morning Crew 3 was supposed to depart.

Dr. Mike Nelson said he was confident Christoph could make the trip, but advised that he drink enough water to urinate at least four to six times a day. He also suggested that Christoph either lead the crew on the trail or get behind a moderately paced leader to assure that he wasn’t desperately trying to keep up.

The medical staff cleared Henry and Zach, owing their extra poundage to heavy hiking boots. Jimmy also passed the physical and pronounced himself ready to go, as did Duane, who had a heart-to-heart talk with Henry.

Before Christoph could leave, the medical center required him to pack a bee sting kit because of his allergic reaction to stings.

“Philmont’s about having fun and being responsible,” ranger Wetherill told the crew during their preparation day.

Christoph and the others hoped he was right, especially about the fun part.

Previously, Wetherill had quizzed Crew 3 with flashcards about map symbols and covered detailed protocol on first aid. He put them through a backpack shakedown, making sure they had everything they required for 10 days in the wilderness, while encouraging them to get rid of items they didn’t need.

While they waited for their bus, the boys weighed their backpacks. Most tipped the scales at 50 pounds or more, threatening Wetherill’s rule of thumb: A backpack should not weigh more than a third of a person’s body weight.

“If only we were ants,” Wetherill sighed.

As part of the previous day’s preparation, Philmont furnished the 10-man crew with certain supplies: five two-person tents, cooking pots and utensils, a dining fly, five bear bags, ropes, water purification chemicals, concentrated soap, a strainer, toilet paper and food for four days.

They had to provide their own camp stoves and fuel bottles, tent stakes, insect repellent, first-aid kit and whatever else they thought they’d need to survive, from rain gear to walking sticks. Items such as sleeping bags, sturdy hiking boots and adequate clothing were absolutes.

Maggie, the bus driver, eventually transported Crew 3 along a dirt road to a turnaround. From there, the crew would backpack only two miles to their first campsite, Lover’s Leap.

Wetherill made it an instructional trip, giving more insights into how to avoid bears, orient the crew’s map, read trail signs, cross streams, pass through gates on this working ranch — even how to pee.

Clear and copious

Certain expressions had already become familiar to Crew 3. As for urinating, the crew learned that they should always strive for “clear and copious.” Wetherill assured the boys they would be clear and copious if they drank enough water — a must in this dry, high-altitude environment.

The boys also heard about “smellables,” any item that might attract the attention of a bear. Smellables include all foods, soaps, trash, insect repellents, lip balms, medicines, disposable cameras and the like. Deodorant, also a smellable, is not even allowed on the Philmont trails.

Wetherill explained that a bear had killed a Scout some years back, attacking tent-mates who, earlier in the evening, had been horsing around, spraying each other with deodorant. The bear couldn’t resist the new smell.

Crew 3 members also knew that if they vomited on their trek, they would have to clean it up and pack it out. “Throw-up” was a smellable.

All the Philmont precautions are meant to protect the bears as much as the backpackers, Wetherill said. Once a black bear has a taste of the concentrated food the backpackers carry, for example, it becomes like a drug addict who can’t get enough.

Even though these problem bears are trapped and trucked hundreds of miles away, they often return to the same area. Then, the only recourse is to kill them.

“A fed bear is a dead bear,” Wetherill warned.

Look for ‘Bearmuda Triangle’

At each camp site, whether it’s a staffed camp or trail camp, crews look for three things: a cable from which to hang their bear bags, a sump for waste water and a spot to erect the dining fly.

Wetherill called it the “Bearmuda Triangle.” Crew members erect their personal tents outside the “triangle,” since it is the most likely area to attract a bear during the day or night.

On arriving at camp, Philmont crews put up a dining fly, prepare the ropes for the bear bags and place all the food, crew gear and personal smellables under the dining fly. The tents go up next, followed by periods of relaxation, devotionals, meals or, at the staffed camps, programs.

The bear bags are hoisted up to the cable about 20 feet off the ground at night, or whenever the crew isn’t in camp. Bears can climb trees, but they can’t reach the bags when properly hung from the cables.

Each Crew 3 member had assigned duties, designated by crew leader Eric Taylor, a rising senior at Salisbury High. Matt led the nightly devotionals and “Thorns and Roses.”

At the end of each day, crew members take turns in listing their thorns and roses, the things they liked least and most about the day. Philmont officials promote the activity as an important communication device, aimed at airing out grievances and promoting teamwork.

Roses passed out on the first night gave Duane credit for his improved outlook and praised Christoph for hanging in amid all the medical scrutiny at base camp. The thorns included gripes about crew members not tending to the water purification bottles and the inconvenient locations of the bear bags and water supply at Lover’s Leap.

The meals provided are a calculated study in high-calorie, high-energy food meant for the trail. Atypical breakfast might include a small box of Frosted Wheaties, a compacted fruit-flavored cake (meadow muffin), beef jerky and a bag of banana chips.

Lunches often include crackers, cheese spreadables or tins fulls of chicken or ham salad with Oreo cookies for dessert.

Dinners, cooked in an 8-quart pot, blend together dehydrated foods such as spaghetti and meat sauce, beef stroganoff or Mexican beans and rice with instant soups and dehydrated noodles and peas. They form interesting concoctions that, surprisingly, members of Crew 3 usually found pretty tasty.

Zach, Christoph, Matt and Ryan Holt usually volunteered to scrape the pot when all the servings had been dished out.

The concentrated, high-carbohydrate food leaves one bad side effect: gas.

No one, apparently, is immune, and it becomes a common topic of conversation and amusement for Philmont Scouts.

Singing on the trail

Wetherill, the ranger, spent his second day on the trail with Crew 3 more as an observer, wanting the Scouts to turn to crew leader Eric for direction.

To pass time on the trail, crew members often sing — anything from “Bohemian Rhapsody” to “You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feeling.” Matt and Sam Wineka began fashioning words and music to their own Philmont song, titled “Clear and Copious.”

Other expressions began creeping into the Scouts’ conversations. Crew members liked the way Wetherill proclaimed things as “awesome” or “excellent” and began using the words themselves.

They also spoke often of “fluffing the duff,” a phrase for rejuvenating a campsite in the morning so it looks as though no one has been there.

Trexler proved to be the steady leader on the trail the backpackers needed. He took his time uphill and seemed to increase speed on the downhill stretches of trail. On those occasions, Duane liked to call his crew the “Humping Rabbits.”

Much of the back country scenery proved awe-inspiring, and Wetherill encouraged the backpackers to take it all in.

On the way to Crater Lake, the ranger stopped the crew and informed them he had seen at least three signs of bears in the vicinity, including the splintered tree he stood beside. Alerted, the Scouts soon began finding evidence on their own, from bear scat to large overturned rocks just off the trail. Bears apparently were searching desperately for food.

“These are not good signs,” a troubled Wetherill said.

The Scouts in Crew 3 came to consider the Crater Lake camp one of the best.

They liked the laid-back musicians who staffed the camp, and they each took their turns at climbing the 30- to 40-foot spar poles that were part of the camp’s logging program.

One of the staffers promised to give Christoph a steak at that evening’s program if he climbed the pole higher than the staff member. Christoph came through and, sure enough, the staffer started the evening’s entertainment by presenting Christoph with his steak — a tent stake.

Zach, Eric, Ryan, Matt and Sam enjoyed the Crater Lake music and humor so much that they took the musicians up on their invitation and went by the cabin to hear more music that night. The musicians accepted requests, from “Free Bird” to “Wipeout” (on the banjo).

Earlier that evening, Wetherill surprised Crew 3 when he pulled out a pound cake and a can of apple topping from his backpack and offered it as dinner dessert — a going-away present. Wetherill said his formal goodbyes that night by leading the group to a spot just behind Crater Lake and urging them to appreciate the beauty of Philmont.

Before leaving, the boys shook Wetherill’s hand and accepted the “Philmont Wilderness Pledge,” which commits Scouts to respect Philmont’s wildlife, conserve its water, respect the trails, properly use the campsites and keep the ranch clear of litter and graffiti.

Wetherill left the group early the next morning. Crew 3 was on its own.

Longer, winding trails

As its first week progressed, Crew 3 saw its daily hikes lengthen a bit: 4.5 miles to Lower Bonita Camp, 5.5 miles to Apache Springs and 7 miles to Beaubien, a two-day layover where Crew 3 met up and socialized with the three other N.C. crews.

Always in the back of their minds, the Scouts knew that the toughest part of their journey lay ahead. They faced covering 30 tough miles over the last three days of the expedition, including climbs to Mount Phillips, Shaefer’s Peak and Tooth of Time. Mount Phillips would be their highest elevation at 11,711 feet.

Each morning, the crew worked on rising earlier, so that by the last three days they were waking up at 3 a.m. and hitting the trail by daybreak.

Sam announced one day that three things were like gold at Philmont: water, food and toilet paper.

Indeed, Henry guarded the toilet paper closely. In general, the Scouts were happy that campsites offered latrines, no matter how primitive some might be. It was better than digging catholes.

Scouts gave names to the three models of wilderness latrines: pilot-to-bombardier, for the back-to-back, uncovered seating arrangement; pilot-to-copilot, for the side-by-side model; and Red Roof Inn, for the latrines that actually had roofs and walls.

Zach, a veteran of Outward Bound, proved to be the crew’s chief navigator and entertainer, even performing at the second-night campfire at Beaubien. This Western lore camp also provided a break from trail food with a Chuck Wagon dinner of stew and peaches.

Beaubien offered branding for Scouts who wanted to give a distinctive Philmont mark to their hiking boots, belts or hats. The camp also had cold showers for the brave of heart and lengthy horse rides.

Sam rode a horse named Little Dip. Matt was on board Lil’ Brown Jug. Duane rode Bo, the crazy horse. Ryan was atop Heinz, a horse as slow as ketchup.

From Beaubien, Crew 3 members also hiked about 2 miles one morning to a trail under construction heading to the Trail Peak summit. As part of its required three-hour conservation project, the crew had to work on blazing the new trail. Their job: remove a pair of large Ponderosa pines.

Eric, Christoph, Matt, Sam, Ryan and Zach worked an extra hour to make sure their tree came down. Philmont required the crew to dig out the trees at the roots and push them over, rather than rely on anything as crude as a chain saw. Other programs during their 10-day trek included Indian lore and a 3-D archery range at Apache Springs. The Scouts followed an archery course that offered shots at 10 life-size animal targets.

In the homesteading program at Crooked Creek, the Scouts milked a cow and chased and caught chickens.

The crew resupplied their food twice at Phillips Junction, which also provided hot showers for the first time on their journey. Here, many of the Scouts also washed out their sweat-soaked clothes. It was seven days into the trip.

Meeting Mr. Bear

Henry met the bear as he led Crew 3 up a hill, about a mile from Wild Horse Camp. His first thought was the right one: make noise. He started pounding his walking sticks against the ground.

The small bear quickly crossed the trail in front of him and bolted for the cover of the dense woods ahead. Henry was amazed at how fast the bear could run. He judged it to be only a year or two old.

Duane, second in line, said he and the bear looked eye-to-eye with each other. Ryan, behind Duane, saw only the tail end of the bear before it disappeared. The seven other crew members failed to see the bear at all but were excited nonetheless.

The crew’s pack line seemed to bunch up immediately, and crew members spent the next 15 minutes yelling, whooping and talking bear trash in loud voices, remembering what Wetherill had told them. Make noise.

Bears generally will stay away from humans, unless they are protecting their young, are needlessly provoked or are investigating possible food sources.

As they made their way toward camp, the Scouts shouted for the bear to come out and show himself. Of course, he did not.

“Wussy bear,” one of the boys yelled.

Out goes the light

At the opening and closing ceremonies of a Philmont expedition, the program pauses each time, turns out the lights and asks the Scouts to look at the sky.

The skies are mentioned twice in the “Philmont Hymn.”

“Starlit skies above aspen covered hills,” and “Purple mountains rise against the azure sky.”

The expansive sky at Philmont provides enough beauty for a lifetime. It’s even better as topping for the majesty of mountains as beautiful as Phillips, Big Red, Trail Peak and Tooth of Time.

Within this backdrop, Scouts learn about conservation, teamwork, fun and responsibility.

Before each meal, Scouts on the trail recite the “Philmont Grace,” which give thanks for food, raiment, life, opportunity, friendship and fellowship.

The simple prayer took on deeper meaning for Crew 3 with each day of their journey.

Jimmy’s knee held up, never once causing the crew to leave the trail. Others in the crew helped share his load, whenever he needed.

Christoph labored with his breathing on some of the tougher mountains, but proved strong to the finish.

Duane became an invaluable crew member. The only homesickness he mentioned was being unable to find out who won the National Basketball Association title.

Henry never faltered in his role as hike leader or bear chaser. Zach enjoyed his Philmont experience so much that, on arriving back at base camp, he signed up to work at Philmont for the rest of the summer.

He drove across the country for a full-time job in logistics a week later.

On the next to last day of their journey, a noon thunderstorm collected itself in the sky above Crew 3’s heads next to North Fork Urraca Creek.

A crash of thunder close to the crew prompted Zach to instruct the Scouts to take off their packs, plant them beside the trail and sit on top of the packs — feet off the ground.

Already dressed in the appropriate rain gear, the crew sat quietly, timing the seconds between lightning strikes and the sound of thunder. Soon, dime-sized hail began pelting the crew, stinging through the nylon already soaked with rain.

Crew 3 waited out the barrage with few complaints, even a sense of wonderment at Nature’s prickly personality.

When the storm was over, the crew members quickly collected themselves, strapped on their backpacks and headed down the trail.

They had learned a lot about themselves at Philmont. Their chances of forgetting it?

Slim to none.