Up at 5 AM. Eat breakfast. We had 4 deer browsing right behind us. The deer on Shaefers Pass are almost tame. We packed up, and were on the trail for the last time at 6 AM. The trail first climbs up and around Shaefers Peak, offering some great views of the surrounding peaks. We put Brett G. in the lead as a reward for his vast improvement in hiking skills, stamina, and attitude during the trek. He set a really nice pace up and out of Shaefers. After we got around the peak, the trail follows the ridge down towards the Tooth. There are great views, and we could see Cathedral Rock, where we started our trek.

It took us about 1 1/2 hours to hike to the base of the Tooth, sometimes having to pick our way over some tough boulder fields. When we got to the base of the Tooth, we dropped our packs, and started our climb to the top. It's a tough climb up, with the top half being a scramble up through a huge boulder field. When you get to the top, the view is incredible. You can see all of the peaks of Philmont, up into Colorado, and into Oklahoma and Texas. CENSORED CENSORED CENSORED CENSORED CENSORED CENSORED CENSORED Then we took a group photo, and climbed back down to the packs. The remainder of the trail into base camp is long, steep, and hot.

Soon our feet were burning, and our mouths were parched. But the views of base camp growing closer kept us going. At 11 AM, we hit the "You Made It" arch at the end of the trail. We paused for a last group photo, and then trudged into base camp. Our trek was over.

But we still had another 24 hours at Philmont. First, we checked in at the welcome center. I hobbled down to the Seton museum to sign us up for a tour of the Villa Philmonte. The welcome center staff assigned tents to us. We dropped our packs there, and hit the showers. Then it was time for lunch. 2 hot dogs, fries, cookies, ice cream. What a feast! After eating "Philmont Food" for the past 10 days, this was too much. We all felt stuffed.

After lunch, we went to unpack the crew gear and turn it in. We had one small hole in the dinning fly, which we patched. Otherwise, no problems. Scott C. and his parents, who had met us at the end of the trail, left at this time, to make it back to Albuquerque at a decent hour. It's too bad that Scott couldn't join us for the closing campfire. But Scott is interested in a staff position at Philmont Scout Ranch, so I know he'll be back. After the gear was turned in, we went to the other stops on our check in list - logistics, security, registration, and the post office. Then we let the guys go to the trading post, rest, or just wander around.

At 4:30 PM, we all piled in John's van, and went into Cimarron, for a celebration at the Creamery. They sell great ice cream there, and also have a wood badge store. As we were pulling across the road Matt said "There's Mom." Sure enough - there she was, pulling out of the creamery. We both pulled into a gas station, and met in the parking lot. Boy, it good to see her and Tommy again! We then headed back to the creamery, and had our sundaes. We sat and talked for awhile, and then headed back to Philmont Scout Ranch for dinner. Beth and Tommy ate with us. After dinner, we wandered around base camp, getting filled in on current events, and telling them about the trek.

At 8:15 PM it was time for the closing campfire. It also started raining. The closing campfire is held at a fire ring near the "You Made It" arch. The program is done by three staff members. They do jokes and skits about the trail, the food, the rangers, etc. They sing songs, tell stories, and then have the crew leaders from all of the crews come down, and they line up with their crew flags. Then the advisors come down and join the crew leaders, and the advisors are presented with the flags. After this, the arrowhead patches are presented to each crew leader in turn. Finally, it's time to sing the Philmont Hymn for the last time. I found it real hard to keep a tear from my eye.

We walked back to the tents, and said goodbye to Beth and Tommy. They headed back to Cimarron for the evening. The crew got in a circle, and as Mike J. handed the patches to each of us, we said a few words about what the trek had meant to us. I got quite emotional about this. This trip was a dream come true for me. To be able to come to Philmont Scout Ranch with Matt, and spend almost 2 weeks backpacking with him, was really special. I hope and pray that we can do it again sometime.

After this quiet time, most of the guys headed off to bed. Matt, John, and I went to the advisors lounge, and enjoyed the cracker barrel there. They had corn chips and con caso, and we really enjoyed it. We hit the sack at 11:15 PM. What a day!

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