Buckle up everyone, here are some reminders of the map to your life, and some of the ways you have experienced the outdoors!
- Philmont Scout Ranch, Base Camp – 6,696 feet, 2007, 2010-2017, 2019, 2021-2025: You are one, and you get to go Philmont Scout Ranch for the first time, which will kick off a nearly 19-year obsession that shows no signs of wrapping up anytime soon. That first visit you were so young that you got a grass stain on your almost bald head! The grace from this beautiful place is one you will know well. The songs of this place will always feel like HOmE (Heaven on Earth), and you will know you can always fit in here. Later in life, you will learn that this is almost 220 square miles of rugged wilderness in the Sangre de Cristo range of the Rocky Mountains.
- Indian Writings, 7,040 feet, 2011: Freshly 5 years old, giggling in the hot New Mexico sun until a rattlesnake appears across the trail. Stepping over it separates you from the group, but surprisingly you are not frightened, but rather sad to be away from the others. No lunch upon arriving at your destination, but you are given orange Gatorade drink mix and powdered donuts. It will have to be enough. Overall, a bright spot in your memory.
- Lake Poway, 165 feet (perhaps), 2011-2015 (numerous): A fun hike loop around a pretty lake in California with your parents. There were so many ducks! You wish you remembered more about this hike since you went so many times. But, after all, it was so long ago now.
- Tooth of Time, 9,003 feet, 2011, 2019, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2025 (x2): You have learned the bit that the Tooth of Time is an igneous intrusion of dacite porphyry formed in the tertiary period some 22 to 40 million years ago, TODAY! Happy birthday Tooth of Time! The mountain itself was a constant backdrop to your Philmont experiences even when you weren’t busy climbing it, much like its historical significance as a tool to tell time along the original Santa Fe Trail. In 2023, you were unable to actually climb it due to health complications throughout your 21-day backpacking trek.
- Baldy Mountain, 12,441 feet, 2021 and 2023: Two years between the times you climbed this beast of a mountain. You turned 15 on your first trip and it took you many hours to climb it. When you were older, you felt more patience for this mountain and greeted it like an old friend.
- Peaks of Otter, Blue Ridge Mountains, 3,372 feet – 4,001 feet, 2022: Sharp Top (3,875 feet), Flat Top (4,001 feet), and Harkening Hill (3,372): Spending your weekend climbing these three rounded out a May where each weekend of the month was spent away camping. This time, you are preparing for your upcoming return to Philmont for a 12-day backpacking trek.
- Crooked Creek Camp, 9,360 feet, 2022 and 2023 and 2025: You can’t help but be tied to this place when it is where you fell off a cliff (2022), spent almost 3 days in the woods in solitude (2023), and met some new friends (2025)!
- Fowler Pass, 9,189 feet, 2023 (x6!!) and 2025 (x4): Nemesis. Not a bad pass to climb, but you would give the experience of hiking it 6 times in less than 36 hours (2023) a negative star rating. The climbs in 2025 were much more sporadic, but did little to help you like Fowler Pass much.
- Clear Creek Camp, 10,240 feet, 2023 and 2025: Highest elevation staffed camp. Oh so very cold. Bacon rice lasagna. New friends for life! The year is 1831 here, not 2025.
- Rayado, 6,508 feet, 2023: The culmination of three weeks of hard work to tell meaningful stories together in the crisp morning air. Just a short while ago these people were strangers, and now they are family. Together, you have seen the best and the worst of each other. You are now bonded for life.
- Boundary Waters, ~1,500 feet, and Quetico Provincial Park, ~1,152 – 2,073 feet, 2024: 14-day canoeing trek filled with lots of cold, wind, and rain. But just as many laughs, good stories, comforting food, and the hard week you have become used to. As a revolting development, you may be allergic to a specific kind of Canadian mosquito if the numerous swollen bites are any indication.
- Trail Peak, 10,250 feet, 2025: Site of a plane crash in the 1940s, all aboard perished. The mountain still holds remnants of the crash. Obstructed view of the landscape below. Stories say that one of the trails is called the Bulldozer side because someone drove a bulldozer up the peak to create the trail.
- Hart Peak, 7,975 feet, 2025 (x2!): This used to be the tallest mountain on property, and now it is a “small” sunset hike for many staffers. Gorgeous view. The hike up contains many false peaks though.
- Black Death Challenge, 9,360 feet – 11,736 feet, 2025: A minimum of 6 peaks: Mount (Mt.) Phillips (11,736 feet), Comanche Peak (11,303 feet), Big Red Mountain (11,020 feet), Bear Mountain (10,662 feet), Black Mountain, and the Tooth of Time. You may add Black Mountain Camp (9,040 feet) and/or Grizzly Tooth (9,163 feet) if you wish. Usually between 30-35 miles in distance. How fast can you do it? Quite the challenge when your knee won’t cooperate, the cold is getting to you, weather issues, and night is closing in. May the odds be ever in your favor!
- Black Mountain, 10,889 feet, 2025: Three issues outside of your control prevented you from climbing this in 2023, and it truly is a beast of a mountain. Named for the color of the rocks which give it its appearance, the challenge it poses, and what you learn in the climb make it the perfect addition to the Super Black Death challenge.
There is so much more to your story, but with that, is anybody not ready? (This is something you have learned to ask instead of the more traditional is everyone ready, because then the affirmative responses will drown out the negative responses)
Happy trails to you!