Welcome to Philmont
Although we had officially entered Philmont Scout Ranch, the change was subtle. There were more trees here than there had been in Sante Fe and a few groups of Scouters could be observed from our car as they crossed a small stream running parallel to the road. Aside from these observations there was very little to tell us that we had arrived. Our trip to New Mexico and to Philmont had ended, but our trek had not yet begun.

Entering Base Camp we set first upon the Welcome Center and a pavilion that rests beside it. Although base camp rests in an enormous field, a looming mountain seemed to encircle the camp from a distance. "Tent City" floods out over the field and the Tooth of Time can be seen poking up over the tops of the tents. Registration was a lengthy process, although well organized, that resulted in a lengthy wait for our ranger. In the Welcome Center we first met Ted, the Philmont Ranger who would accompany us for the first few days of our trek. His purpose was to assure himself that we would not get ourselves killed throughout the course of the trip. Co ntrary to my expectations of a ranger, Ted was able to maintain a balance of care, caution, knowledge and sense with personality. Day number one consisted primarily of meetings, organization, eating, and expectation. For most of the crew, the first day left a significant amount of free time, much of which was spent in anticipation of the days to come.

The opening campfire consisted of a story regarding the history of this New Mexico land. It was very well done and began to set the tone for the remainder of our amazing trek.