July 2nd, Day Twelve – The Magic of Philmont

The crew engaging in the blacksmith trade.

Today I awoke at 7:30 to sunny skies. I was denoted crew leader for the day and appointed Steve as the crew navigator. We all woke up and went to a Blacksmith program at 8:00am that was offered at Cyphers Mine. This was impressive. We learned about the blacksmith trade and made a J-hook after twisting and pounding on metal. We learned how to heat up the metal to make it malleable and shape it to our desire. Something I have seen but never actually tried until now. Everyone in the crew had a chance to shape the J-hook, which we got to keep after it was finished.

We left and ate breakfast at the cabin. We cleaned up and backed out to Mount Philips. The hike was uphill and exhausting. We stopped and ate lunch with a prestigious view. Here, we could see where we previously hiked. I was a sight to see, as we could look out for miles and see nothing but God's given beauty.

A great view while having lunch.

We continued onward and soon found ourselves at Mount Philips which was the home of yet another breath-taking view. The hike was not easy, though it was worth it. At Mount Philips, we saw that a past crew hung up some clothes on a makeshift flagpole. Our crew took down the clothes and another crew in passing saw what we were doing and gave us an American Flag to hang on the pole. We installed the American flag and raised the pole. Within a half hour, four crews used our newly installed flagpole with the American flag for a photo opportunity.

OATC622B Posing in front of the flagpole with their new flag.

 It was a fulfilling moment to see our work being immediately cherished. In a simple action, we have given crews a great photo memory that I'm sure will be hanging on their walls when they get home. We packed the old clothes  that were on the pole out and went to the campsite of Mount Philips.

We set up camp and sat under the shade for awhile. It was extremely relaxing. We took our dinner and walked over to the top of Mount Philips (five minute walk) and relaxed some more.

Panoramic View of Mount Philips.

We ate dinner there and watched the picturesque sun set below the mountains ahead while playing cards. Here I am, 19 years old on top of this glorious mountain playing cards. How incredible! I started to see the magic of Philmont fill my spirits up with peace of mind. We cleaned up dinner and got ready for bed.

View of sunset from Mount Philips

Right before we went to sleep, we had thorns and roses underneath the bright star-lit sky. We drifted to sleep watching shooting stars and passing satellites. It was windy, but the view was one of a kind. Later, during sometime in the middle of the night, a full moon came out into view. It was beautiful to wake up and see the priceless view of the indescribable nightlight right before our eyes.

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Revised 6/02/2006