This mountaintop Itinerary gives your crew the chance to climb one of the most beautiful Valle Vidal Peaks: Little Costilla. Your journey begins at the Ponil Trailhead for the short hike to Sioux where your Ranger can impart upon you the training that will benefit you for the rest of your trek. Begin your journey to the North up to Rich Cabins and stay at the former homestead of the Rich Family. Help with the garden and caring for the animals, then enjoy the evening family gathering to learn about the family and their history. Your next day will bring your crew into the Valle Vidal to the Middle Ponil low impact camping site, and that much closer to your first mountaintop experience. Continue your hike into the vast and beautiful Valle Vidal to make your way up to Little Costilla Camp. In June, explore the Shuree Cabin site and Shuree Ponds sites. (Little Costilla is closed to the public for elk calving season in June.) The cabin is a historic recreation of a cabin that existed there in the early 1900s. LA Times newspaper baron Harry Chandler used to bring silent film stars of the era to this cabin, and Shuree Ponds was the former site of the Penzoil Corporations retreat facilities, prior to the land being donated to the US Forest Service. In July and August, enjoy the challenge of climbing Little Costilla Peak! Next head to Whiteman Vega to ride mountain bikes on a trail network built just for bikes! Ring Place is next up, where you will stop for program, food, and water before camping the night at Seally Canyon. Continue the journey back to Philmont and crossover at Dan Beard. Enjoy the opportunity to practice team building and communication skills on their challenge course. The next leg of your journey brings you to Metcalf Station, home of the Cimarron & Northwestern Railway. The section gang there will have you building a railroad in no time and will treat you with an outstanding campfire performance you are not soon to forget. Early to rise, as your next to last day on the trail will bring you to the Indian Writings for a Petroglyph tour, and then over to Chase Cow Camp to enjoy their rock-climbing and rappelling programs. Hike to the former headquarters of the Chase Ranch and tour their historic home before making your bus pickup time and your journey back to 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." |
Day | Camp | Program Features | Campsite Features | |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | CHQ Trailbound | Opening Campfire | Commissary; Showers; Trading Post;   | |
2 | Sioux | Western Lore / Branding @ Ponil | Trail Camp; (Commissary; Trading Post; Showers; at Ponil) | |
Cantina @ Ponil | Trail Camp;  | |||
Campfire @ Ponil![]() | Trail Camp;  | |||
Ranger Training | Trail Camp;  | |||
Food Pickup @ CHQ Trailbound | Trail Camp; (Commissary; Showers; Trading Post; at CHQ Trailbound) | |||
Bus to Ponil Trailhead | Trail Camp;  | |||
3 | Rich Cabins | Conservation Project @ Ponil | Commissary; Low Impact Camp;  (Commissary; Trading Post; Showers; at Ponil) | |
Homesteading | Commissary; Low Impact Camp;   | |||
Cabin Tour ![]() | Commissary; Low Impact Camp;   | |||
Campfire | Commissary; Low Impact Camp;   | |||
4 | Middle Ponil![]() | Low Impact Camping ![]() | Low Impact Camp;   | |
5 | Little Costilla![]() | Low Impact Camping ![]() | Low Impact Camp;   | |
6 | Little Costilla![]() | Side Hike Little Costilla and/or Ash Mountain ![]() | Low Impact Camp;   | |
7 | Whiteman Vega | Mountain Biking | Low Impact Camp;   | |
8 | Seally Canyon | Food Pickup @ Ring Place | Low Impact Camp;  (Commissary; Low Impact Camp; at Ring Place) | |
Folk Weather Forecasting @ Ring Place | Low Impact Camp;   | |||
Search & Rescue / Wilderness Medicine ![]() | Low Impact Camp;   | |||
9 | Dan Beard | Challenge Events | Low Impact Camp;   | |
10 | Metcalf Station![]() | Railroading |   | |
Blacksmithing |   | |||
Campfire ![]() |   | |||
11 | Chase Cow![]() | Rock Climbing & Rappelling ![]() |   | |
Bouldering ![]() |   | |||
12 | CHQ Homebound | Awards Campfire | Commissary; Showers; Trading Post;   | |
Hike to Chase Trailhead![]() | Commissary; Showers; Trading Post;   | |||
Tour Historic Chase Ranch @ Chase Ranch | Commissary; Showers; Trading Post;   | |||
Day | Camp | Potential Additional Program Features | Campsite Features |
---|---|---|---|
2 | CHQ Trailbound | Visit the Villa Philmonte | Commissary; Showers; Trading Post; |
National Scouting Museum | |||
3 | Ponil | Cantina | Commissary; Trading Post; Showers; |
Western Lore / Branding | |||
Cantina Show | |||
Climb Hart Peak | |||
Gymkhana | |||
Cavalcade | |||
Cowboy Action Shooting | |||
Rich Cabins | Evening music | Commissary; Low Impact Camp; | |
Animal Care | |||
4 | Middle Ponil | Side Hike Ash Mountain | Low Impact Camp; |
Side Hike Little Costilla and/or Ash Mountain | |||
6 | Little Costilla | Side Hike Ash Mountain | Low Impact Camp; |
8 | Ring Place | Astronomy | Commissary; Low Impact Camp; |
Historic Homestead | |||
Side Hike to McCrystal Creek Ruins | |||
9 | Dan Beard | Leave No Trace Training | Low Impact Camp; |
10 | Metcalf Station | Morse Code | |
12 | CHQ Homebound | Visit the Villa Philmonte | Commissary; Showers; Trading Post; |
National Scouting Museum | |||