June 30th, Day Ten – Ready, Aim, HIKE!

Meadow where OATC622B took a lunch break.

We awoke to sunny skies, though it rained throughout the night. We got changed into our hiking clothes and made breakfast. Before we left, we partook in another program at the camp. We each made three shot gun shells and then used them to shoot three clay pigeons. Making the shots was really cool. We put the gun powder, shot and firing pin inside the shell to make ammunition. This was the first time I have ever made ammunition! Everyone in our crew hit at least one of the three clay pigeons.

Relaxing on a log while crossing a stream.

After shooting, we packed up the campsite and took off to a place another campsite called Saw Mill. It was an 11 mile hike. On the way, we had outstanding views of Philmont including a view of the Tooth of Time, which is a ridge resembling a tooth in the mountains. We also crossed some beautiful steams. We actually took a minor wrong turn, which cost us about 30 minutes of time. Lunch was had at a beautiful meadow, where we put our packs down, stretched out feet and relaxed. After lunch, we got back on the trail. It was a hard 11 miles.

Panoramic view with the Tooth of Time in the left.

We went up hill and towards the end everyone was testing their physical and mental ability. We finally made it to Saw Mill campsite. This place had a magnificent view of Philmont's mountains. Once we got there, I saw a humming bird. It was only the second time in my life I ever saw a wild humming bird before. As luck would have it, when I went to get my camera out, the bird took off. I suppose the little guy was photo shy. The staff at Saw Mill showed us to our site and we took a 15 minute rest before setting up camp. Once camp was up, we cooked a tasty meal of teriyaki chicken. It certainly hit the spot, though I don't know if I’ll ever find out if it was real chicken or not. We cleaned up and played some cards, hearts to be specific. We ended the night with thorns and roses and hit our sleeping bags.

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Revised 6/02/2006