Monday, June 24, 2013

Staffed camps

Since we crossed over the Cimarron River into the north country, we have camped in a series of staffed camps. This has afforded us access to purified water, trash bins, better latrines (although that is subjective), and more program time. We have not yet seen any showers, however. With the continued lack of rain, everything and everyone is covered with dirt. Some of the boys are almost unrecognizable as the scouts they used to be. Parents should be prepared for laundry that may take industrial strength machines to handle.

We stayed for two nights at Miranda, home of the mountain fur trappers and the fabled Mountain Man Rendezvous "Y". We shot .50 caliber black powder rifles, threw tomahawks, and played mountainball with the staff. Mountainball may best be described as a form of baseball. The boys enjoyed it because it had no rules. On the same day we hiked over Baldy Mountain, we stopped at French Henry for gold panning (unfortunately, we came up empty) and a tour of the old Aztec Mine. There are over thirty miles of mine tunnels in the mountains around Baldy that date back to the beginning of the twentieth century.

Today we are in Pueblano, home of the Continental Tie & Lumber Company. We have climbed spar poles (pictured), cut railroad ties with hand tools, and played loggerball; which seems curiously like mountainball but the staff here has assured us that they do not cheat. Tonight, we have a company meeting to attend that includes music and skits for our entertainment.

Tomorrow, we will hike over Wilson's Mesa to Dan Beard Camp.