2026 Trek 12-9

Rugged; Approximately 59 miles; Maps required: north,south

Trek History: 12-9 in 2025-26

This rugged itinerary winds North to South allowing you to experience the diverse environments and programs of the Philmont backcountry. Start your journey in the historic Ponil Canyon and try your hand at rock climbing. Make a quick visit into the 2018 Ute Park burn scar and hike your way up canyons and ridges to the base of Baldy Mountain. Along the way you will experience a variety of high adventure and living history programs. Head back across the burn scar over the Ute Park Pass to enjoy more rock-climbing program and Central Country views around Cimarroncito. Learn about sustainable forest stewardship in the Demonstration Forest before enjoying a delicious chuckwagon dinner at Clarks Fork. Your trek will culminate with an exciting summit of the famous Tooth of Time and a hike into base camp.

Per the Guidebook to Itineraries: "Due to potential emergencies, such as catastrophic fires, Crews must not deviate from their assigned itinerary. Changes are only permitted for bona fide medical emergencies and must be approved in advance by the Logistics Department."

Dry Camps: Bluestem; Tooth Ridge;
- No photo available for this campsite or this program at this location. Click icon for specific needs.

Day	Camp	Program Features	Campsite Features
1	Camping Headquarters	Opening Campfire	Commissary; Showers; Trading Post;
2	Dean Cow	Ranger Training	Showers;
		Rock Climbing & Rappelling
		Food Pickup @ Camping Headquarters	Commissary; Showers; Trading Post;
3	New Dean		Trail Camp;
4	Bluestem	Food Pickup @ Ponil	Trail Camp (Always dry); (Commissary; Trading Post; Showers; at Ponil)
		Philturn Five Points Camp Program @ Ponil
		Cantina @ Ponil
		Water @ Ponil
5	Elkhorn		Trail Camp;
6	Head of Dean	Conservation Project @ Elkhorn	(Trail Camp; at Elkhorn)
		Challenge Events
7	Minnette Meadows	Water @ Cimarroncita	Trail Camp;
		Wildlife Conservation @ Cimarroncita
		Fire Ecology @ Cimarroncita
8	Cimarroncito	Rock Climbing & Rappelling	Showers;
		Food Pickup @ Ute Gulch Commissary	Commissary; Trading Post;
9	Cimarroncito	Rock Climbing & Rappelling	Showers;
10	Clarks Fork	Western Lore / Branding	Showers;
		Chuck Wagon Dinner
		Campfire
		Forest Stewardship Program @ Demonstration Forest
11	Tooth Ridge	Shaefer's Peak @ Clarks Fork	Trail Camp (Always dry); (Showers; at Clarks Fork)
		Water @ Clarks Fork
12	Camping Headquarters	Closing Campfire	Commissary; Showers; Trading Post;
		Tooth of Time
		Hike into Base
Warning: Itinerary details provided by PhilSearch are for planning purposes only. Only the current year's "Treks" book and the addendums to it, if any, should be used for final trek selection.

Crews passing through staff camps are not scheduled for program. If time and space allow, some crews may be able to participate in some of the programs offered.

Day	Camp	Potential Additional Program Features	Campsite Features
2	Dean Cow	Visit Black Jack Ketchem's Hideout	Showers;
	Camping Headquarters	Visit the Villa Philmonte	Commissary; Showers; Trading Post;
		National Scouting Museum
4	Ponil	Western Lore / Branding	Commissary; Trading Post; Showers;
		Cantina Show
		Hart Peak
		Gymkhana
		Cavalcade
		Cowboy Action Shooting
		Circle Ride
		Wrangler Training
6	Elkhorn	Baldy Hike Prep	Trail Camp;
	Head of Dean	COPE
		pickup crew based challenge events
7	Cimarroncita	Archery
		Laser Shooting Range
		Ute Park Pass Hike Prep
		Hike through 2018 Ute Park Fire Zone
8	Ute Gulch Commissary	Commissary & Trading Post	Commissary; Trading Post;
9	Cimarroncito	Hike via Hidden Valley / Window Rock	Showers;
		Climbing Gym
		Traverse Wall
10	Demonstration Forest	Obsolete
11	Clarks Fork	Western Lore / Branding	Showers;
		Cowboy Campfire
		Ride out from Cattle Headquarters
		Ride over Schaefers Pass
12	Camping Headquarters	Visit the Villa Philmonte	Commissary; Showers; Trading Post;
		National Scouting Museum
		Ride into Cattle Headquarters
This list is not complete and is dependent on the route you take each day.