Friday, July 21, 2006
Wheeler Backpacking (Day 2; July 15, 2006; Sam's birthday). Here's the Albuquerque Hobbs group at the top of New Mexico (Wheeler Peak, 13,161 ft above sea level). Sam is 17 years old today!
On the summit, the boys were more interested in feeding this Marmot than in doing the "On Target" activity. "On Target" is scouting event where scouts signal each other from one mountain top to another. We chose the highest point in New Mexico. For the"On Target" activity, we used 1 foot by 1 foot mirrors to signal to another scout team on the Sandia Crest near Albuqueruqe NM. Albuqueque is over 100 miles from the trailhead. One of the boys, Dillon, saw two flashes of light on the Sandia Mountain Range. I talked to the other scout leader on the Sandia Crest and he said he saw some small flashes with his binoculars.
On the way back to our camp, we saw a helicopter crash site. A few days before our hike, a police officer that was hiking in the vicinity got lost. A search and rescue team found the officer near horseshoe lake dehydrated and disorientated. Channel four news sent a helicopter to horseshoe lake to get the story. The helicopter had a rough landing because of the thin air at 12,500 feet. The motor lost power and the tail couldn't keep the helicopter stable. The blades hit the ground and the helicopter flipped over. On the way up to the summit, we saw the crash near horseshow lake. The boys and I decided to drop 1000 feet and check out the crash site. Here is Jacob near the Wheeler summit overlooking horseshow lake:
Here's Jacob with his back towards Wheeler Peak:
Here's a few shots of the crashed helicopter. A policeman had camped at the site to prevent people from disturbing the crash site. since the accident investigation had not been performed yet.
Since we hiked so far, we thought we would go to the lake and take a swim. On the way to the lake, Jacob stepped on a tuff of grass and twisted his ankle. Here is a shot of Jacob near a snow bank ready to take a cold swim. We wanted to keep the swelling in his ankle down. Jacob is one tough cookie, he hiked out of the lake basin, back to the camp and all the way home with a twisted ankle. We used my handy neckerchief to tie up his ankle.
Here's us swimming in an ice cold lake! So refreshing!
Three of the boys hiked out faster than the rest and played cards in the truck as they waited for the rest of the crew:
Here is our final three pictures, including Jacob's ankle after returning home:
This was one of the hardest 2 day backpacks we've ever done. We had alot of fun, saw alot of wildlife, and actually earned a Varsity Scout Letter and pin! I think we're ready for the 50 miler in August! We should start hiking all of the state high points! We have NM under our belts!
On the summit, the boys were more interested in feeding this Marmot than in doing the "On Target" activity. "On Target" is scouting event where scouts signal each other from one mountain top to another. We chose the highest point in New Mexico. For the"On Target" activity, we used 1 foot by 1 foot mirrors to signal to another scout team on the Sandia Crest near Albuqueruqe NM. Albuqueque is over 100 miles from the trailhead. One of the boys, Dillon, saw two flashes of light on the Sandia Mountain Range. I talked to the other scout leader on the Sandia Crest and he said he saw some small flashes with his binoculars.
On the way back to our camp, we saw a helicopter crash site. A few days before our hike, a police officer that was hiking in the vicinity got lost. A search and rescue team found the officer near horseshoe lake dehydrated and disorientated. Channel four news sent a helicopter to horseshoe lake to get the story. The helicopter had a rough landing because of the thin air at 12,500 feet. The motor lost power and the tail couldn't keep the helicopter stable. The blades hit the ground and the helicopter flipped over. On the way up to the summit, we saw the crash near horseshow lake. The boys and I decided to drop 1000 feet and check out the crash site. Here is Jacob near the Wheeler summit overlooking horseshow lake:
Here's Jacob with his back towards Wheeler Peak:
Here's a few shots of the crashed helicopter. A policeman had camped at the site to prevent people from disturbing the crash site. since the accident investigation had not been performed yet.
Since we hiked so far, we thought we would go to the lake and take a swim. On the way to the lake, Jacob stepped on a tuff of grass and twisted his ankle. Here is a shot of Jacob near a snow bank ready to take a cold swim. We wanted to keep the swelling in his ankle down. Jacob is one tough cookie, he hiked out of the lake basin, back to the camp and all the way home with a twisted ankle. We used my handy neckerchief to tie up his ankle.
Here's us swimming in an ice cold lake! So refreshing!
Three of the boys hiked out faster than the rest and played cards in the truck as they waited for the rest of the crew:
Here is our final three pictures, including Jacob's ankle after returning home:
This was one of the hardest 2 day backpacks we've ever done. We had alot of fun, saw alot of wildlife, and actually earned a Varsity Scout Letter and pin! I think we're ready for the 50 miler in August! We should start hiking all of the state high points! We have NM under our belts!
Wheeler Backpacking (Day 1: July 14, 2006): As a preparation for our upcoming 50 mile backpack in August, our Team and Crew 201 backpacked in and climbed the highest peak in New Mexico--Wheeler Peak. The trailhead is at about 9,400 feet and the summit is at 13,161 feet. Here is our group at the beginning of the trek:
Here's one of our youngest varsity scouts enjoying his first backpack trip.
The first two miles were extremely difficult. The older boys (Sam, Jacob, and Sean) helped the younger boys out by carrying their backpacks. Here's Jacob and Sam with two backpacks:
Here's Sean showing off his muscles:
Further up the trail, I check coordinates with my new GPS:
Here is Jacob enjoying the outdoors:
After hiking for 5 miles, we camped at the tree line in the La Cal Basin:
Here is the crew advisor, Jeff:
Dillon wanted to take a shower and bathe after getting to our camp site:
Here 's a super squirrel eating some spilled dinner, or is it Jacob?
We got up at 5:30 am to climb the remaining two miles to the summit. On the way up, we saw four large Rocky Mountain bighorn sheep: 
Here's one of our youngest varsity scouts enjoying his first backpack trip.
The first two miles were extremely difficult. The older boys (Sam, Jacob, and Sean) helped the younger boys out by carrying their backpacks. Here's Jacob and Sam with two backpacks:
Here's Sean showing off his muscles:
Further up the trail, I check coordinates with my new GPS:
Here is Jacob enjoying the outdoors:
After hiking for 5 miles, we camped at the tree line in the La Cal Basin:
Here is the crew advisor, Jeff:
Dillon wanted to take a shower and bathe after getting to our camp site:
Here 's a super squirrel eating some spilled dinner, or is it Jacob?
We got up at 5:30 am to climb the remaining two miles to the summit. On the way up, we saw four large Rocky Mountain bighorn sheep: 
Saturday, July 01, 2006
Sebastian's finally here!:We are so excited to have Sebastian staying with us for 5 days. He's great, and really fits in with our family (hee-hee). We haven't seen much of him or Jess since he got here because of their full schedule. Don't they look absolutely yummy together?
Thank goodness tomorrow's Sunday, so we can keep them captive for a while. On Monday we're all going rafting in Taos, NM! And on the 4th of July, we're having a family b.b.q.--ribeye steaks with all the trimmings! Happy Independence Day!
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