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This was another long
day on the trail, starting with the 700-foot climb from
Pueblano to Head of Dean Camp. The morning was cool -- so
cool that after packing up some of the Brumbys stood in
the sun waiting for the rest of the crew to get ready. Every
afternoon, everything came out of the pack, then it all
had to fit back in the next morning. It got to be pretty
routine. |
| We stopped
for a short rest at Head of Dean, a nice camp on a forested
ridge, where we refilled water bottles and took advantage
of the red roof inns. From here it was a gentle downhill
run along Dean Canyon to the mouth of Santa Claus Canyon.
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It didn't
look much like Christmas at the Santa Claus junction. In
fact, it was hot and the Brumbys were getting tired. |
There's nothing like a gummy bear
to revive the spirits and the energy levels. When there's
a special double gummy, it becomes a special event.
Philmont-supplied food was supposed
to be adequate, but everyone brought a supply of their
favorite trail snacks which they rationed over the days
on the trail and shared at rest breaks.
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Even on the
well-maintained trails map and compass skills were important.
Junctions appeared that weren't on the map and trail signs
weren't always accurate. Nobody wanted to hike off in the
wrong direction, so any time there was a question about
the route, the map came out and the crew figured out where
to go. |
| There was
a 500-foot climb from Santa Claus to the upper end of Bear
Canyon, then it was back down the hill again. The Brumbys
were clearly back into the hilly part of Philmont. Today's
trails weren't steep, but there were a lot of miles to cover. |
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Clouds moved
in and we put on pack covers and raincoats, expecting a
thunderstorm. All we got was a light rain that stopped almost
as fast as we got raincoats on. We'd been warned about afternoon
storms in the mountains, but stayed blessedly dry almost
all week. |
| Coming down
Bear Canyon to the Cimarron River was a major disappointment
because US Highway 64 runs along the river. After eight
full days hiking away from roads, having the sound of trucks
and cars speeding by on the asphalt seemed very much out
of place. We crossed under the highway through a huge culvert,
then bounced across a low bridge over the river. |
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Cimarrow River
camp sits on a natural bench well above the river itself.
It's another unstaffed camp, so there was no pressure to
rush to an activity. After a long day on the trail it felt
very good to just sit around and relax. This was the only
trail day that the Brumbys didn't arrive at camp by lunch
time. |
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| The river was our water
supply, and we carried buckets back up to camp to pump through
the filter for drinking. We couldn't resist rinsing off
the trail grime in the shallow river itself, though. |
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| Andrew and
the other journal writers had time to catch up on their
thoughts. |
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Dinner was always the big social event of the evening.
When the cooks had a pot of water boiling, everyone brought
their dishes to be dipped and sterilized, then set out
on a bear bag to stay clean. Once the meal was cooked
we said grace together, then sat down together to eat.
The service wasn't elegant, but the settings were grand,
the food usually pretty good, and we were satisfied. Having
one meal for the whole crew was one of the biggest differences
between Philmont-style backpacking and the way we usually
did meals on the trail at home.
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