July 8 - Day 12 - Minette Meadows to Ute Turnaround - Base Camp

 Up early.  Have to be at Ute Turnaround at 10:20 for transport back to headquarters.  Our crew is motivated today and packed by 6.  Mike is yelling "your moving like pond water" and "why are your hands in your pocket".  He even takes a stab at a nearby crew from Kansas' ranger "why are you still in your sleeping bag."







Crew 1 leaves while we are packing our final items.   And we are off.  The hike today is mostly a gentle downhill and not very far.  Withing the hour we are at Ute Turnaround.





 With over three hours to go we have breakfast and just chill out.  I pull out my wrap and take a short nap.  Nearby is creek which is the biggest creek we have seen at Philmont.  We are right off the highway which goes right through the center of Philmont.  I guess we are back to the modern world. 






The bus arrives and within 20 minutes and we are back at headquarters.  Now it's time to start the checkout process.

Jacob and a plate of Lasagna

 Back at headquarters we had to do a lot of the fun stuff we did the first day.  We received our tent assignments and made our way to our tents.  We quickly unloaded then headed for lunch.  We turned in our tents, pots, and bear bags and ropes.  We had to get rid of our extra fuel which I donated to a new crew like it was donated to us on the first day.  We cleaned out the lockers and turned the keys into security.  We went to registration where they gave us our crew photos and returned our insurance forms.  After cleaning all of the fuel bottles and meeting up with the other crew to get their bottles, I stopped by the post office to mail the bottles and some other gear back home.  They told us to check if we had any mail and by chance we did.  Alex had dropped off a rope that we weren't using that he carried by to HQ.  We had a big supper with lasagna being the feature dish.  Perfect meal for those just off the trail.  Next we went to the Tooth of Time trading post to purchase the Duty to God patch and the Wilderness Guia patch.  Now for some free time.

For free time, most had a nice warm shower, visited the Tooth of Time for some last minute shopping, some washed clothes and others visited the local blacksmith for more branding.

We concluded the night with the closing campfire.  Crew leaders were recognized for the work they did managing their crew during the trek

Well this wraps the blog up.  I know everyone had a great time and some either want to do another trek or come back to work..