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PHILMONT AUTUMN ADVENTURE 2006 |
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At midnight on September 22, 2006, after months of careful planning, eight Scouters from our council left for Philmont Scout Ranch in Cimarron, New Mexico, for a week of hiking, fellowship, education, and backpacking. Newest reports are at the top. |
| 09/30/06 10:03PM They're back. The Expedition arrived in Starkville safely just now. We'll look forward to their other photos and reports in a few days, after they've had time to adjust to regular (i.e., non-Philmont) life. |
| 09/30/06 1:00PM Got a brief phone report from the Expedition. Everyone's well, and they are on the road back to the Pushmataha Area Council. |
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09/29/06 2:50PM Donnie was able
to call in briefly today. All is well, and he hopes to report more
later. More photos made it
late 9/29/06. Most are dated 9/27/06, but here they are.
Gary and John at Cimarroncito Camp. See the Philmont_Wiki for camp details.
L-R: Donnie, John, Gary, Charlie, Perry, Charles, Mark, and Young. These guys look a lot leaner than they did a week ago.
Donnie said this photo was taken because they're having to keep all food in bear bags, and this shadow looked like a bear head to them.
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9/27/06 1:00PM The Expedition was
able to call in today, but unable to get a good enough signal to
transmit photos. Last night was spent at the Hunting Lodge, which was
Mr. Waite Phillips' lodge back before he donated the land to the BSA for
use as Philmont Scout Ranch. Today they hiked up to Cimarroncito Camp,
known as a great place for rock climbing. They had the chance to
visit an old council ring, lined with totem poles from the 1950's, hiked
Hidden Valley, and stopped at Cathedral Rock. This afternoon will be
spent trout fishing, and tonight they will hike back to the Hunting
Lodge for the evening. To read about all these Philmont
locations, visit the Philmont
Wiki.
A photo sent by the Expedition did make it here Sept. 29. Here's what they sent...
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09/26/06 11:20AM The Expedition
called in this morning. Being on the trail, it's harder to get
cell signals, and there's a good chance we may not get another report
after today until they return to base camp on Friday.
Yesterday our Expedition hiked into Zastro, where they successfully
fished for trout in the Rayado River. John cooked the trout for
their dinner last night, and they baked Zastro apples in the
campfire. Zastro is the Philmont camp where Mark attended his Wood
Badge training, and this photo was taken with Mark next to a Wood Badge
monument.
To get a small idea of why the Zastro camp is important in Scouting, read this. Our Expedition hiked back into base camp this morning, and this afternoon they are planning on making a driving tour of the North Country. After their tour and resupplying, they will backpack to the Hunting Lodge part of Philmont, with plans to hike out on Friday.
We didn't get any text with these photos, nut this appears to be Young Kerby and one of their backpacking stoves at base camp. The Expedition expects to
return to Starkville some time on Sunday. |
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09/25/06 8:11AM Time to start the
day. A Scout is thrifty, which means he makes good use of
his resources. Still having problems with the van cranking, Mark
cranks it each time using a $1 parts store screwdriver. Here's
this morning's episode.
Donnie sent this photo along
describing this as the "Philmont Anti-Theft Device". |
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09/24/06 5:14PM The Expedition
arrives. Mark, John, and Charlie with the Tooth Of Time in the
background. If you're unfamiliar with Philmont, the Tooth Of Time
is one of the most famous Philmont landmarks, and it's one of the first
sights that greets each new expedition.
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09/24/06 2:45 - 3:22PM The Expedition visits Capulin Mountain. This National Landmark is 8,000 feet above sea level. To put some perspective on that, most of Starkville is 235 feet above sea level. Atlanta is around 900 feet above sea level.
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| 09/24/06 12:02
PM
"On my honor, I will do my best to do my duty to God..."
"A Scout is
reverent." |
| 09/24/06 10:52AM Perry and
Charlie stopped to examine one of the smaller irrigation rigs used near
Dalhart, Texas. Perry will probably install one of these somewhere
on MSU campus as soon as he gets back.
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| 09/24/06 10:10AM A brief stop
between Amarillo and Dumas to hunt for geocache GCX377. It doesn't
show that well, but the small characters atop the ranch sign show the
date "1899".
Just in case you've misplaced your Texas map, they were about here at 10:00 AM today:
You can click the map to see a larger version.
They were at the red star, near the juncture of Texas, Oklahoma, Nevada,
Kansas, and Colorado. |
| 09/24/06 8:45 AM The Expedition gets
ready to strike out on the next leg, but... the van won't crank.
As they look for the problem, Mark calls the 24-hour technical
assistance line for help.
Stranded briefly. The crew waits patiently for the van to be revived. It's not like they've had an opportunity yet to just sit in the van.
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| 09/24/06 7:25AM Breakfast at the Big
Texan Restaurant Steak Ranch in Amarillo, Texas. This was also the
motel where the Expedition spent the night. In the shot below,
it's hard to see, but that's the Pushmataha Area Council website they
have displayed on the laptop in Amarillo. They're looking at the
picture just below this one.
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| 9/23/06 12:07PM After a couple of hours
at the National Scout Museum, the Expedition is on the road again., and
is headed toward Amarillo.
Back Row, L-R: Donnie Buckner, Charles Guyton, Perry Sellers, Gary Windham, John Herring, Young Kerby Front Row, L-R: Charlie Plasters, Mark
Guyton |
| 9/23/06,
10:00AM Before going on the trip, Donnie had successfully
tested his ability to send images via his Brew-capable cell phone.
A hardware change disabled that ability, and Cingular is working on
getting the image-sending capabilities back up and running. The
Expedition is now nearing the National Scout Office and National Scout
Museum in Irving, Texas. (Cingular problem now resolved!) Charlie
recovers from his arduous two-hour driving stint.
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| 9/23/06 The
Expedition stopped to eat breakfast at the Cracker Barrel in Tyler,
Texas. Gary took over the driving duties at that point.
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| 9/23/06 5:45 AM Refueling
stop in Shreveport, LA.
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| 9/23/06 12:01 AM The Expedition leaves Starkville. Cheryl, Jennifer, Jane, and Lisa were all there to see the Expedition off. John, Connor, Christopher, and Nicholas rounded out the send-off be being there, too. A special surprise was the appearance of Den Leader Melanie Greene, who came to wish the guys well, and she brought personalized gifts for each of the Scouters on the Expedition. Mark takes the first shift driving, and made it into Louisiana before passing the wheel over the Charlie. |
