On the weekend of May 29 – May 31, the Philmont crew participated in a backpacking trip to the Ohlone Wilderness in order to help us prepare for our Philmont Trek. We spent Friday night car camping at the Del Valle Family Campground, where we worked on backcountry skills that we would need to use at Philmont such as setting up our dinning fly. On Saturday morning we hiked 7 miles along the Ohlone Wilderness Trail to the Stewart’s Backpacking Camp. Although the overall distance was not too far, the main challenge of the hike was the steepness of the trails with over 3,000 feet of elevation gain. We started at Del Valle Reservoir (750 feet) and climbed over Rocky Ridge (2,426 feet). Next we descended down into Williams Gulch (1,890 feet), where we ate lunch. After lunch we climbed up BIG BURN, where we topped out at 3,380 feet. Finally we descended down to Stewart’s Camp (3,160 feet). At camp we set up our tents and dinning fly, cooked dinner, and continued working on skills for Philmont. The next day we hiked back 7 miles to our cars; the return trip was much easier (mostly downhill). On the way back, we stopped at Stomer Spring to cool off and played in the water. We ate lunch at the picnic area at Del Valle Reservoir and then drove home. Overall the weekend was great preparation for our experience at Philmont. Thanks to Mike and Ben for driving, to Andrew for stepping in as crew leader for the weekend, and to Ben for helping me shop for food.
https://youtu.be/_Q1H7s_LJuw
