Crew 411 Participates in Inaugural year of Double H High Adventure Base Camp

By Kensey L.

Earlier this summer, Crew 411 of Chapin, sponsored by Lake Murray Presbyterian Church, set off for the small town of Datil, New Mexico to experience the inaugural year of the Boy Scout of America Double H High Adventure Base Camp and to create many “firsts” in the history of Double H itself. The crew, consisting of Caroline W. (Crew Leader), Kensey L, Stefka S, Jeffery L, Paul C, and Edwin W, along with their advisors, Pat S, Keturah S, Furman M and Charles W, and with the help of ranger/guide J.T. K from Brunswick, Georgia, successfully accomplished a seven day trek in the backcountry of the New Mexico mountains.

The Double H Ranch strongly differs from the more popular Philmont Scout Ranch. Double H has no man-made trails. Instead the only “trails” encountered on the trek were the occasional game trails, roads, or dry river beds. To find the next water source, camp site, or geocache, we used Global Position Systems (GPS) and the Universal Transverse Mercator (UTM) grid map coordinate system. Double H is in southern New Mexico, where the hiking is mostly through high altitude deserts with sparse vegetation.

Crew 411 led a trek of many firsts at Double H, including: the first crew to have a female crew leader- Caroline W, the first mixed crew to cross the Plain of St. Augustine, first crew to visit the Martin Ranch Cemetery after dark, first crew to leave trade items in a geocache, and the first crew from the Indian Waters Council and from the Midlands.

On July 1st, the long trek began at a temporary base camp located almost directly across from the Very Large Array radio telescopes. After undergoing the typical base camp actives such as distributing gear and food, we were driven 12 miles from base camp on a dusty road to our starting location- Iron Gate. After a quick but hot 2.5 mile hike in the mid afternoon sun, we reached our first campsite at High Lonesome. The crew got their first taste of what it was like to hike in such a dry atmosphere and at altitudes of over 7,500 feet.

Day 2 on the trail proved to be much more difficult as we left High Lonesome for water at Rene Tank then later our campsite at Rock Hole Camp. At our water source, Rene Tank, we stopped to participate in make-shift challenge activities that brought our group closer together. Proceeding west from Rene Tank, we crossed the mountains at saddle points and followed a dry stream bed downhill until we reached the Plain of St Augustine and became the first mixed (male and female) crew to successfully cross the Plain. The flat, long Plain enabled us see the curvature of the Earth, such as when looking out at the ocean. As the day grew late, we began encountering a plethora of bones and carcasses from elk, cows, and possibly other animals- not an encouraging sign as our water began to run low. We pushed on and reached Rock Hole Camp at 7:00 pm, completing a total of 10.2 miles for the day.

After a well needed rest, we set off on a side hike to find a geocache in the morning. A geocache usually consist of a small box slightly hidden containing small mementos or a log detailing who has found the box. We are given only the coordinates of a geocache and using GPS’s, we can often locate them. Though we quickly learned an important lesson in GPS’s: always double check all coordinates. Unfortunately, as we discovered after a 2.5 miles hike to find the geocache, the coordinates had not been entered correctly. Despite this minor set back, we determined our next campsite, Lower Medley Windmill with a water source- Taylor Tank- en route. We reached Taylor Tank mid morning only to discover there was no water, just a large mud hole. Our ranger, JT, provided Leave No Trace (LNT) Training and wilderness medical training with help from advisor Keturah S, a certified Wilderness First Responder. We revised our plan and headed for Medley Windmill to get much needed water. We reached our campsite at Lower Medley by following a very sandy dry river bed and completed the day with 8.2 more miles behind us.

Everyone was in high spirits the next morning with a short hike and the long awaited Martin Ranch ahead of us. We continued our sandy hike through river beds until we reached Old Canyon Ravine. The crew explored the rock formations, did some impromptu bouldering, and found a geocache, in which we left Camp Barstow pins for future “geocachers” to have. Proceeding through the ravine, we had to lower our packs down small dry waterfalls. After arriving at Martin Ranch, the crew thoroughly enjoyed running water (a sink), and being able to wash clothes in a tub. The rangers at Martin Ranch taught the crew how to reload and shoot black powder rifles. For supper, there was Dutch Oven beef stew, corn bread, ice cream, and cobbler- a great improvement in the food eaten on the trail- and also a chocolate cake in celebration for the Fourth of July. One camp staff member played guitar and sang songs we and other crews requested while we provided an entertaining skit. Our crew finished off the night with a late night hike to Martin Cemetery- the first crew to ever visit the Cemetery after dark.

In the morning, two rangers from Martin Ranch escorted our crew to an archeological find, showing us pottery and arrowhead chards, before we departed for Thompson Camp. The following hike was a grueling and hot 8.6 miles and left us with almost no water when we arrived. At the campsite, we realized our water problems were just beginning. The algae was very concentrated in the water source and quickly clogged the filters. We tried multiple pre-filtering methods, such as sifting the water through a bandana, letting the water settle in a pot, and pre filtering through sand and boiling. Through trial and error, the only process that worked was to heat the water until the algae congealed, scoop the algae off the top of the water until enough was removed for the water to boil. But because of the high altitude and algae the water took very long to boil and all night to cool. Finally, we were able to do part of our conservation project- building dams in the dry stream bed. The crew made the critical decision to send our ranger, Paul, Jeff, and Edwin to another well a mile or so away for more water. To our despair, they returned empty handed- that water source had even more algae and a dead bird.

We awoke early the next morning to make it to John Henry Well for more water before the day turned hot. At John Henry Well, the water was flowing and clean- sans dead animals. For the remainder of our conservation project, we constructed a “water garden” or water containment area for the overflow from the tank to the adjacent pond by placing rocks under the overflow. We christened the water garden with a rock shaped like South Carolina and an aptly located hole right where Chapin would be. From John Henry Well, we departed for our final camp site at Rincon Windmill. Crossing through a saddle we explored high rocks on either side and later discovered an elk antler that measured five feet. The water source at Rincon Windmill was completely dry but luckily, we brought along a very heavy six gallons of unfiltered water from John Henry Well. The crew was later informed that the entire western side of Double H property was dry and had no water. On our last night, we met another crew from Kansas that was on their first night and shared stories and information.

After a quick 2.5 miles hike to our pick up point, we stopped for breakfast. In the distance, a dust cloud was spotted and 10 minutes later, the van to pick us up and take us back to base camp arrived. 50.2 miles, 516 quarts of water, too many blisters to count, and hundreds of card games later, Crew 411 completed the trek and made it back home.