Hanging Out with the Crew

I had the wonderful opportunity to hike with one of two crews from the French Creek Council back in Erie.  This crew was mostly made up of Scouts from Troop 59, my troop back home.  

So when I told them that I couldn't hike with them the week they were here, they were understandably disappointed.  But I ended up getting a couple extra days off last week and surprised them at their next stop: a camp called Clark's Fork.  

Together, we saw the sun set on the Tooth of Time, Philmont's infamous 9,003 foot rock face.  It was a long day of hiking, but the view was worth it.  

We woke up the next morning and descended the ridge line back to base camp.  Early morning hiking is the way to go; we started at 5 a.m. and made it to base camp around 8 a.m.  

And they all made it without injury or illness.  Sounds like a 10-day miracle to me.  The other crew from the French Creek Council wasn't as lucky-- on their last day, one of the Scouts went down with the heat and an adult advisor blew out his knee on the top of the ridge.  But they too made it in the end.