Philmont Scout Ranch Backpacking Trek

Bryson and I completed a 12-day backpacking trip at Philmont Scout Ranch. This was my first time visiting the ranch. I felt lucky to get to go, because I’ve heard stories from people who have worked or visited Philmont and everyone has good things to say about their experiences. The hikes (especially the elevation changes) can be very challenging, but the sites are beautiful, and the staff camps have fun activities like spar pole climbing, rock climbing, bouldering, cowboy action shooting, chuck wagon dinners, campfire shows and more.

Day 0

We arrived at base camp ‘a day early’, which was great because it gave us time to get unpacked, figure out how the dining hall operated, and get orientated. We stopped to eat at Taco Villa in Amarillo and toured the National Scout Museum when we arrived at Philmont.

Day 1

We met our ranger and she guided through meeting all the people and going the processes of getting checked in and approved to go on the trail. It was a day of “go walk over here and meet with this person”. My favorite part thing was the Tooth of Time Traders Store. This store was amazing! It is like REI that only has camping gear, but all the best of everything you need.

We rolled in yesterday about 5:00 and did some stuff like playing volleyball. Ultimately not much. We learned that you get to chant before meals. All I’ll say is seat-belt. This morning, after breakfast, we met our ranger, Bella. We spent the day going through the check-in process. Registration to meds to equipment check-out, back to our tents, to logistics planning meeting, then finally lunch. Crew STINKY stole our chant. They got to eat before us and seat belted and ruined our chant. They were promptly shunned. After lunch we had pack shakedowns, and assigned crew gear. I passed with flying colors. We then had some free time. I ate a delicious chocolate soft serve cone and then went to see cherry trees. They were in front of Villa Philmonte, Wade Phillips’ mansion. The cherries were very yummy. We then walked around the property and Mason tried to break in. I made him see reason. We are planning to do a tour on the way back. When we started walking back to camp it started raining. I forgot my rain jacket. NOT FUN. After dinner, we played some Volleyball, went to a church service, then opening campfire. I’m pretty tired writing this but ready to hit the trails tomorrow. Sleepy.
-Bryson

Day 2

This was our first day of hiking. We started at Ponil Trailhead, went to Ponil for activities, then to Flume Canyon to set up camp for the night. I set up my tent amount a stand of trees and close the a stream and could hear the water flowing all night. It was an awesome place. A really skilled brander burned in the Philmont brand into my Nalgene bottle, then we did some roping and root beer drinking.

First day on the trail! We had an early bus time so we had to get up early, pack up camp, eat, and promptly get on our bus to the back country. The bus tour was quite enjoyable . The staff taught us about fires, bears, and the MAXWELL LAND GREAT! cue claps The bus dropped us at Ponil trailhead where we learned we learned about Universal Transverse Mercators and navigation. We also took our first ever visit to the red roof inn. P. U! We took about a mile hike to camp Ponil. I navigated flawlessly. In Ponil we drank root beer (yummy) in the cantina. Mr. Broadway played piano! We did branding, lassoed some cattle, and ate lunch. Luke lassoed himself. Ponil is one of the coolest camp and was the original base camp. Ponil was a great camp but we had to go to our true tail camp, Flume Canyon. I’m excited to return to Ponil on Day 8. We had a 2.5 – 3 mile push to Flume Canyon. My dad struggled. It also rained on us. No me gusta. At camp, we set up a dining fly, practiced bear bags, and did all the special practices to set up camp. Bella then helped us cook dinner, Potatoes and chicken! Yum! We barely had to KP cuz Mason sumped so well. Fatty. Bella tried to convince us that all the sumps led to base camp. Bad lie Bella. The we performed our skit at Mr. Broadway’s request. After that we played cards till dark. Writing this I can hear the creek and smell mason very well. These tents are small. Tomorrow we do spar pole climbing and watch a campfire.
-Bryson

Hike Statistics

Ponil Trailhead to Ponil: 1.62 miles, Total Elevation Gain/Loss: 1299 / 1227 feet

Ponil to Flume Canyon campsite: 3.79 miles, Total Elevation Gain/Loss: 1938 / 1342 feet

additional 1.06 miles recorded near campsite for day 2 total miles = 6.47

Day 3

First we hiked to Pueblano for activities. Spar pole climbing was the highlight, be we also did timber processing (sawing and squaring). Next, we hiked to Pueblano Ruins and set up camp and ate dinner. After that, we hiked back to Publano for campfire program that night then back to camp again.

Today was our most fun day yet. I am pretty tired so this will be briefer. We woke up super early this morning and were out of camp by 7:10. Bella said we were the fastest she’s seen yet. We hiked over to Pueblano logging camp. We did cross cut saw, railroad tie making, and spar pole climbing. Many made it, some did not. I did. Then we went to our trail camp, set up our camp and found our poop with a view. We played cards until dinner. After dinner, Bella gave us a pound-cake that she’d been carrying the whole time. It was very yummy. Then we hiked back to Pueblano to see the campfire program. It was the best campfire I’ve ever seen. They told stories about people who have died logging in between songs. They played “Where did you Sleep Last Night.” I may have cried a little. Then we hiked back to camp in the dark. Stars were cool. I’m sleep now.
-Bryson
P.S. ask about naked guy.

Hike Statistics

Flume Canyon to Pueblano: 1.79 miles, Total Elevation Gain/Loss: 637 / 323 feet

Activities in Pueblano: 1.08 miles

Pueblano to Pueblano Ruins: 1.40 miles, Total Elevation Gain/Loss: 626 / 301 feet

Pueblano Ruins campsite and round trip back to Peublano for campfire: 5.81 miles

Day 3 total recorded miles: 10.08

Day 4

Hiked from Pueblano Ruins to Baldy Town. This hike was very hard for me due to the elevation changes and steep grades, and the fact I’m fat and out of shape. Baldy Town was a actual mining town over 100 years ago, and some of the equipment and parts still litter the land today. The campsite is all slope and rocks. When I first climbed in my tent, the tent slid downhill off of the ground cover and popped the tent stakes out. This camp has showers and a general store. I bought more ‘special edition’ merchandise (Nalgene and shirt) from this store.

This morning Bella left. So very sad. However, she left us a mini-ranger named Greenbell. It contains the ranger magic. After we got on the trail it became apparent that this hike WAS NOT as easy as we thought it would be. We ended up gaining about 1500 ft of elevation over 4.5 ish miles. We had to take very frequent breaks. Mason was displeased. Luke navigated flawlessly however camp was always ¼ mile away. We took a break in a prairie and saw Mount Baldy for the first time. It was super cool.They got all the shaving cream this time. The next major stop was just as beautiful and at the peak of a ridge. We could see Angel Fire (i think). Me and my dad called my mom. It was pretty quick to Baldy Town after that. They had a cool little museum about the mining history of the town. There were also some cool old rusted out cars in their “rust garden.” We then had to rush for a couple hours to find camp, set up camp, eat lunch, and get commissary. Then we rushed to the showers and I took a nice shower. I had my dad buy me a limited edition baldy town water bottle and we mailed out postcards. My dad bought a lot of stuff. Bigggggg spender. We then learned about the geology of the region. After that we say around, cooked dinner, and now I’m ready for bed. We are doing Baldy tomorrow So I need some rest. It is raining softly and it’s going to put me to sleep.
-Bryson

Hike Statistics

Pueblano Ruins to Baldy Town: 4.52 miles, Total Elevation Gain/Loss: 3244 / 1791 feet

We logged an additional 0.67 miles in the Peublano Ruins campsite and 1.02 miles in Baldy Town campsite for a daily total of 6.21 miles.

Day 5

We woke up early to get hiking as early as possible. We had to take frequent rest stops on the way up the mountain, it was a very difficult hike. When we made it to False Peak, 3 of us stayed behind while the rest of the crew went summit the mountain. It was super windy and cold at the top of the mountain.

Baldy Summit Today!!!! 12,411 feet in elevation. We woke up at 5:00 A.M and got on the trail at 6:50. The hike up was extremely difficult. We went up about 3,005 feet over about 3.2 miles. We took a lot of breaks. About 800 ft from the peak, the adults and Koen stopped. The rest of us dropped packs and scrambled up the rest of the mountain. The wind hits you and sounds like a jet engine. the peak was super cool. we could see everything for hundreds of miles. It made Mount Phillips look like pansy hiking. Single-handedly the coolest peak I’ve ever done. After we took pictures at the top of Baldy ( Mason was shirtless) we hiked back down to the advisors. We ate lunch and Mason wanted devotional. We then began our long and painful descent. My hammies hurt. I made my dad buy me a toblerone at the bottom as a reward. I began to have stomach issues down the hill but I think I pooped it all out. We took showers again and they were hot this time. I’ve been exhausted all afternoon and I’m sleeping now. Today’s hike was super tiring however cool.
-Bryson

Hike Statistics

Baldy Town to Baldy: 4.01 miles, Total Elevation Gain/Loss: 4062 / 1350 feet

Baldy to Baldy Town: 4.09 miles, Total Elevation Gain/Loss: 1337 / 4081 feet

Total logged miles for the day was 8.10 miles.

Day 6

The hike out of Baldy Town in through Miranda and Maxwell to Ringtail was my favorite hike so far. It was beautiful scenery and a good trail (easy to walk on). We stopped at the staff camp Miranda to throw tomahawks (hawks) and eat lunch. From the porch at Miranda you can see Mt Baldy and across the valley you can see the meadow that is the Ringtail campsite. Ringtail was the first dry camp we stayed out, and we had to haul water in which took extra time and effort, but it was worth it– Ringtail was the nicest campsite — just a beautiful place. Luke got lucky win (with an ace on the river) against me so I was out in the first big poker game. At twilight, the people back at Miranda turned toward us at Ringtail and all yelled “Goodnight Ringtail”.

Today was my favorite day so far. we got up early and packed out of Baldy Town this morning. It was cold and windy and we wanted to leave. John Navigated. Let’s just say we padded for miles a little bit. After 2 miles we stopped in Miranda. We threw tomahawks. I sucked. We are lunch there and took 2 wrong turns on the way out. We (Mason) lost Greenbell in the staff camp. Luckily Riki found her. Riki is the permanent keeper now. We could see the meadow where we are staying from Miranda but we did not know how beautiful it would be. After a struggle to get it together we finally left Miranda. About a mile out of our camp we stopped at a creek for water. We used a bandana to filter sediment and micropure for the water. that was very fun. I may have dropped and popped one of the 10 l water bags on the last end of the hike to our camp. Luckily Dan whipped out the duct tape and fixed it. I did not know how cool this Camp would be until we spilled out onto the sprawling meadow that we were camping in. You have a perfect view of quality and the sunset, as well as being able to see the South country. ( please ask to see some pics). We did our usual setup procedure and cooked dinner. I cooked with Dan. we made delicious food. After dinner we decide to play poker with everyone. We wagered that the first out would carry trash and the winner would get the extra Oreos from tonight’s dinner. Mr Broadway was carrying the trash after two hands. The pot winner is a longer story– right off the bat Mason and my dad split a big pot and seemed to be the game leaders. Then Luke started betting. And after hands of cautiously betting but somehow taking all of our money his pot got so big he didn’t even try to sort the chips. Then it was just Mason Luke and I left. I began to slowly and masterfully bleed Luke as the minimum bet went up. Everyone got antsy but I remained calm as a cuke. and one pocket came all in bed I snagged the last of Luke’s chips, earning me the Oreos in the end. All this by a warm burning fire. At the end of the one and a half hour game we realize the fire needed to go out and we were at a dry camp. We decided to use our resources, and use the human wastewater to put out the fire. We all took turns peeing on the fire and looking away. Plan put into action flawlessly. As I am riding this I’m sitting under the stars and feeling the full Philmont magic. Hoping for a shooting star.
-Bryson

Hike Statistics

Baldy Town to Miranda: 2.23 miles, Total Elevation Gain/Loss: 628 / 1402 feet

Miranda to Ringtail: 4.51 miles, Total Elevation Gain/Loss: 2868 / 3125 feet (includes lots of wrong turns!)

Daily total hike miles: 6.74

Day 7

Hiked from Ringtail to Head of Dean for activities, then on to Elkhorn campsite. The scenery out of Ringtail was beautiful. When we arrived at Head of Dean, we used one of their campsites to cook our breakfast. This was the only time we had a hot meal for breakfast, it was usually trail food packages. The activities at Head of Dean were ‘challenge course’. The scouts had to build a bridge out of small 2×4 lumber to get across, then had to get the whole crew up a 12′ wall without leaving anyone behind. It was a lot of fun watching them work together as a team.

Today was a pretty fun day. I was sad to leave the beauty of Ringtail but once we got to Head of Dean there were lots of cool things to do. we first cooked our non snack version of our breakfast and after plates and volleyball. We then did a low-cope course. We balanced on a board, built a bridge, and climbed a wall. I don’t have the pages to describe… ask Mason what it was like. After that we did lunch and more volleyball. We then made our way to Elkhorn on a fire road through a burn scar. It was a nice change of scenery. When we got into Elkhorn a big and greedy crew was taking up like three campsites. We walked down the hill and camped there. It started raining so Mason and I cooked dinner under the dining fly. It was delectable. Then John, Riki, my dad and I fooled the rest of the crew with black magic. Mr Broadway was very confused. I have a lot of stuff to do at Ponil tomorrow so I’m going to go to bed.
-Bryson

Hike Statistics

Ringtail to Head of Dean: 2.30 miles, Total Elevation Gain/Loss: 1211 / 1012 feet

Head of Dean to Elkhorn: 3.21 miles, Total Elevation Gain/Loss: 763 / 1096 feet

Daily hike miles total: 5.51

Day 8

Hiked from Elkhorn to Ponil. We picked up our last group of trail food and hoped for showers, but the schedule was really packed with things today. We had to do a service project that was over a mile up the mountain, and had to help prep the chuck wagon dinner. The main activity (cowboy action shooting) was already filled for the day, but we were able to schedule it the next morning. Some poor decisions were made after important paperwork was forgotten, so me and Mr Broadway wound up tracing the steps of all the trails to ensure everyone was safe and where they needed to be. The chuckwagon dinner was chili w/ beans, biscuits, and peach cobbler. They let us eat all we wanted, which was a real morale booster and nice to have real food for a change. The cantina show was a little lacking because several of the staff members were involved in a rescue mission to help a hiker that fell off the trail.

I’m going to have to start getting briefer because I’m running out of pages. however today was a huge day. we hiked from Elkhorn to Ponil really fast this morning. we played a game Mason thought of. that can’t be discussed how to due to our busy schedule of stuff with an annoyed staff. we first got commissary, then set up camp and ate lunch. I nap for a moment. then began the debacle of getting to conservation. we left Camp too late. and our haste to get out I left my crew leader copy (every important paper I need). I didn’t realize this till halfway down the trail. in a flurry of bad decision making we sent Mason back as a runner. this led to a charlie foxtrot of split crew issues. luckily we all safely made it to conservation and did our project. after trail building we got to eat a chuckwagon dinner. chili, biscuits, and cobbler. very yummy. we then drink some root beer in the cantina and went to campfire. it wasn’t as good as pueblano but all right. we still have showers and shooting tomorrow before we go to our next campsite. I’m going to go to the tent and sleep soon.
-Bryson

Hike Statistics

Elkhorn to Ponil: 5.31 miles, Total Elevation Gain/Loss: 1675 / 2810 feet

Ponil Conservation Project and back: 11.20 miles, Total Elevation Gain/Loss: 6404 / 6451 feet

Total miles for the day: 16.51

Day 9

Hiked from Ponil to Indian Village after we did cowboy action shooting in the morning. We packed up camp really realy and were also able to fit in showers for everyone. We ate lunch on Hart Peak on the way, which was a neat place with an excellent view. We toured the petroglyphs in the mountain side, then had a run-in with the over-zealous staff at the camp. The next morning we attempted to throw atlatl darts.

I didn’t do a full journal entry today I just put in bullet point so whoever is reading this can talk about these in more detail.
*Riki peeping Tom at early showers
*shooting cowboy action ( I shot better than Koen)
*cantina
*hart peak
*long hike
*quick setup
*petroglyph tour
*beef stroganoff
*Ricky got camera confiscated
*code one! code one! code one!
-Bryson

Hike Statistics

Ponil to Indian Writings: 4.70 miles, Total Elevation Gain/Loss: 2061 / 2198 feet

Indian Writings camp: 3.53 miles, Total Elevation Gain/Loss: 1896 / 1904 feet

Total miles for day: 8.23

Day 10

In the morning at Indian Village, we tried to throw Atlatl Darts. These were used in the ice age time to take down big animals. They were very hard to control and thrown. We had to climb up a rock face on the way, which was pretty challenging. At camp, I played several of the scouts in chess. I can beat some of them, but a few of them (Dan) are very good and easily beat me. We played a big game of poker again tonight, and it came down to me and Bryson in the end. Mr Broadway was one of the first to get out (again) and had to carry trash (again). I eventually beat Bryson.

we first did adolato darts ( I was not good.) somehow we got kicked out of a “active range” all the flags were down and we’re outside of the roped off section. ridiculous. I hate Indian writings. we then hit the trail taking a stop at a T-Rex track. it was cool enough. when we got to our camp, house canyon I took a really long nap. nothing of note happened till our evening poker game. we each bet our cookies. first place got five of the cookie boxes, second place got three cookie boxes, and third place got one cookie box. first and second out had to carry trash or the communal food bag. Mr Broadway carried trash again. Luke carried food. Mason was third, I was second and my dad won. All the cookies.
-Bryson

Hike Statistics

Indian Writings to House Canyon (via t-rex track): 5.24 miles, Total Elevation Gain/Loss: 2126 / 1984 feet

Total recorded miles for the day: 5.24 (we should have tracked how long it was to the red roof and water source though— would have added a few more miles)

Day 11

We hiked from House Canyon to Chase Canyon, then to Chase Cow. Most of this hike was on the Chase Ranch property, which Philmont leases to make up for all the burned areas in 2018. Chase Cow turned out to be the most fun camp of all. The staff made all the activities more fun than usual. Rock climbing and bouldering were the official activities, but the biggest attraction was ‘cow ball’ which is a variation of volleyball with extra rules that come in to play once the game has started. (for example: can only communicat with ‘mooo’, and ‘no hands, only hoofs’)

today was the coolest and the best staff camp ever. there was a super energetic staff of granola climbers. we got to climb a real rock face and did some bouldering. Dan was super good. in the evening we played cow ball. ask one of the people that went to explain. Mason is now super grumpy cuz we lost but I had a lot of fun. today was my favorite day at Philmont. sleepy time
-Bryson

Hike Statistics

House Canyon to Chase Cow: 3.98 miles, Total Elevation Gain/Loss: 1164 / 1176 feet

Additional Chase Cow / Campsite: 5.25 miles , Total Elevation Gain/Loss: 4455 / 4477 feet

Total miles for the day: 9.23

Day 12

We filled up water at the Chase Cow yurt, then made the realitivly flat hike all the way to Chase Ranch. We had to wait about 4 hours for our bus to pick us up and take us back to Philmont. We did get a tour of the old ranch house, and played games in the nice yard and also ate our last trail lunch of the trip.

Back at camp, we quickly went through all the steps to get checked back in. Bryson was great at navigating and delegating the workload. After a much-appreciated shower and change into clean clothes, we went to the famous St James Hotel for dinner. After that was closing campfire, handed out patches, the sleep in tent city to prep for the drive home the next day.

Hike Statistics

Chase Cow to Chase Ranch: 6.44 miles, Total Elevation Gain/Loss: 1370 / 1861 feet

We hiked another 0.50 miles at Chase Ranch, for a daily total of 6.94 miles.

Trip total miles: 89.26