The crew opts this morning for one of the easier breakfasts: Granola, banana chips and beef jerky. Preparation and cleanup is a breeze compared with what many regard as the best, but messiest, trail breakfast of all, which consists of pancakes, hot syrup and canned bacon. Richard and Timmy, being veterans, have decided to postpone that meal for a less busy day.

The crew is on the move by 7:30 or 8 because this will be a day of heavy hiking to reach Sawmill, where we are scheduled to participate in the .30-06 riflery program and where we will camp tonight.

The route follows a back country jeep trail that takes the crew through park-like stands of evergreen and aspen, and past Waite Phillips' hunting lodge, a low-slung, wood-frame building whose solid timbers have darkened with age. The building is not open for touring, but it is easy to imagine a different age when it might have been furnished with leather chairs and bear rugs and when a hearty fire gave cheer on wintry days.

At Left: Trek 10 Map

Past the hunting lodge, the trail breaks into a wide, grassy meadow bounded by steep, timbered slopes on three sides and then marches into Cimarroncito Camp, the bouldering and rappelling camp for Philmont's Central Country. Carefree 'Cito is a camper's delight, 2,000 feet above the plains and about the same distance below jagged Cimarroncito Peak. We spent two nights here on a layover last trek but today we're just passing through. We aren't scheduled for rappelling this year until we reach Miner's Park on Day 11.

The trail leads directly past the headquarters cabin, which occupies a clearing across from a rocky ridge known as Steamboat for its prominent rock formations. A green Holiday Inn flag flew from the roof last year. Guess there's been a change of management since then.

In one of those unexpected strokes of good luck, one of the staffers asks if our crew would like to stop a while for rappelling. The answer comes without hesitation, and soon the crew is heading up the steep, winding trail to the climbing area at Steamboat.

Steamboat rises perhaps 300 or 400 feet above 'Cito Camp. The well-worn path leads past massive boulders of Dacite Porphyry, which make up many of Philmont's more prominent landmarks. As the path begins to top out, it passes to the left of a ragged break in the ridgeline and then proceeds up a sharply-angled cliff face that requires hand and foot contact to negotiate. Once the path gains the ridge top, it follows a short and easy descent to the other side, where there is a flat, relatively wide space at the foot of the cliff for crews to gather for instruction.

The cliff face here, which the crew will soon be climbing and rappelling, is a broad, somewhat rounded exposure rising 50 to 60 feet or so above us. Occasional seams and weathering cracks provides hand- and foot-holds.

The instruction is quick but thorough. Crew members are told that they will first be required to climb the rock face to the top of the ridge. Then they will walk across the top to another point where they will put on rappelling gear the descend. They wear helmets for both activities to protect against falling rock, and at both the rock climbing and rappelling stations, a staff member at the top of the ridge is belaying them with a safety line.

The instruction includes a word or two about climbing techniques, along with the appropriate words to use for communicating with the belayer. Before starting his ascent or descent, a climber or rappeler first must ask his safety man if he is ready to protect him. The question is, "On Belay?" If the safety man is ready, he replies, "Belay On." Next, the participant must tell his safety man "Climbing" or "rappelling," depending on which he is doing. The safety man responds with either "Climb On" or "Rappel On."

But while the instructors are serious about safety, they also make sure the crew members have a good time. They keep up a friendly, easy banter, and after it is over the crew will be remembering Albert, the ranger who was into heavy-metal music, and Rose, who dubbed Richard a "perfect rock jock." And, they'll be talking about how in Philmont's backcountry they met a Scout from Egypt. (He was one of their instructors.)

The activity takes a little over an hour. That's an amazing accomplishment. Everyone who wished to climb and rappel has done so. And so have the members of what we are beginning to refer to as our "sister crew" - another group of Atlanta Area Council Scouts who also are on Trek 10.

It is not unusual to have a sister crew. Each of Philmont's 24, pre-planned treks can have an "A" crew and a "B" crew so that on any given day up to 48 crews can be started on the trail - an A crew and a B crew on each trek. There is no distinction to being designated an A crew.

Returning to 'Cito base for lunch, the crew discovers that a marauding mini-bear has attacked the trash and the food Timmy was carrying in his backpack. "Mini-bear" is Philmont slang for the Golden-Mantled Ground Squirrel, a pesky little copper-brown chipmunk-type critter. Mini-bears often attack unguarded food supplies.

Lunch features one of several varieties of spreadables. After a brief rest the crew begins the hard part of this day's hike. From about 8,200 at 'Cito, the crew will descend to about 8,000' at the mouth of Sawmill Canyon, then circle west and ascend the steep canyon, finally reaching Sawmill Camp at about 9,200'.

The hike takes the crew across densely-timbered slopes, but every now and then there are areas where timber lies fallen like scattered Tinkertoys, perhaps the result of blinding snow storms in winters past or of tornados. And speaking of storms, the skies which previously were a deep blue now have turned gray. As the crew pauses for a long rest in a tree-lined cove, a hail-storm comes out of nowhere and pelts the landscape with pea-sized bits of frozen water. That's not unusual at Philmont. And neither is it unusual that after about 10 minutes, the storm is gone. But it is kind of unusual that the skies don't brighten. In fact, a light drizzle sets in, dampening the canyon and chilling the afternoon. Arrayed in raingear now, the crew pushes on up the slope.

A last steep climb brings the crew to another mountain cover and a foot bridge crossing the narrow but noisy South Fork of Cimarroncito Creek. Then there is a shorter climb past an overlook featuring glimpses of Deer Lake Mesa to the northeast. Shortly thereafter, the crew pulls into Sawmill, wet and a bit cold and certainly ready to make camp.

I'm there to meet them, having hitched a ride from the health lodge with an angel of mercy - Elder Bud Bolton, the Mormon chaplain for Philmont. He was taking a young Scout from California into the backcountry to rejoin his crew and his route just happened to go right past Sawmill.

Actually, I've been here for some little while. I've gotten to know the rangers here. They even invited me to join them in the cabin for lunch. After lunch, they showed me the campsite we've been assigned for the evening. After climbing a steep but thankfully short slope behind the cabin and crossing an old jeep trail, we top out in a wide, flat area sheltered by Ponderosa Pine and aspen, and not too far from the shower house. However, these showers are a little different from others I've seen at Philmont. You have to chop wood and build a fire in the boiler in order to get your hot water. None of this turning the handle stuff and hot water magically appears from the propane-fired water heater.

The rangers serve hot chocolate to the wet, tired crew of 621-D-7 and after a short rest their energy seems back in full measure. It's about 3 p.m. now, but the rangers tell us they can put us through the .30-06 program today if we can get camp set up and return to headquarters by 4 p.m.

Tents and the dining fly go up in a hurry and we return to headquarters to join our sister crew for a demonstration of the difference between the smokeless powder now used in rifle and pistol cartridges and the black powder which pioneers used.

The instructor makes a trail of powder on the ground, the first part of it smokeless and the second part black. Then he lights one end of the powder trail and we watch the fire zip effortlessly through the smokeless, only to erupt in a "WHUMMPHH!" and a cloud of smoke when it hits the black powder.

Now we split into two groups. Our sister crew goes inside for cartridge reloading while we sit on the porch for a safety talk. Then the crews trade places and we get a crack at the reloading equipment.

First the instructors walk us through the reloading process and then each crew member is allowed to reload two .30-06 cartridges of his own.

The first step is to take a pre-cast lead bullet and fit a round metal seal to its base. The bullet then is placed in a greasing and seating machine, which secures the seal and puts a bit of grease on the projectile. The next step involves selecting a previously-fired casing and taking that to another machine. The case is placed upright in the mechanism and when a lever is pulled, a die drops down over the case and squeezes it back into the precise dimensions necessary for it to chamber properly in the rifle. The machine also forces the used primer out of the case.

Next, we measure the case with calipers to make sure it has been properly sized. Then a new primer is placed in position, the case is filled with a measured amount of smokeless powder and the bullet is seated in the case through the used of another machine.

After making two cartridges, each crew member places his own cartridges in numbered slots in a cartridge holder so that at the firing range later he will be firing the cartridges he has made.

Now, in fact, it's time to go try them out. The instructors lead us half-way back to our campsite, then over a ridge and down into a valley. It's growing late in the afternoon, but the range officer is friendly and says he doesn't mind running a late program today. We all take seats on logs at the back of the range while he goes over the safety rules. Among other things, he tells us that everyone - shooters and observers - must wear ear protection, and shooters also must wear eye protection.

Then, three at a time he allows crew members to take positions on the firing range, pick up the single-shot rifles and dry-fire them. This gives them a chance to get the feel of the trigger creep and also allows them to choose targets. Down range, there are metallic silhouettes of deer, big-horn sheep, bear and various other animals.

Finally, he gives the command to load and fire. Bolts are pulled back, cartridges inserted and bolts thrown home. Lying prone - as we are required to do - the shooters raise their rifles into position, take careful aim and squeeze off their shots. The report is loud and the kick has a potent sting as the powder explodes and sends the bullet on its way. Several distinct "PING!" sounds mean our shooters have connected with their targets.

After everyone has fired, the range officer announces that those who wish can take three more shots, using previously reloaded cartridges, for $1. Some take the extra shots. Others head back to the campsite to start supper.

In addition to striking targets, some of our shooters also hit $1 bills which they were allowed to place down range. Richard and Ruben both managed to fire holes in shirts which they played in the target area. No one managed to shatter Jeff's plastic name tag, which he placed among the targets. However, a bullet did hit the stump on which it had been placed and knocked it to the ground. He confessed he would have been hard-pressed to explain why he needed a new name tag if someone actually had connected with it.

As twilight falls, we dine on chicken noodle soup and other freeze-dried delicacies. We make our meal around the fire ring, which is a metal ring sunk deep into the ground where wood fires are supposed to be made.

Each tent site has a fire ring and a sump, but we're relying on backpacking stoves for our heat source so we are using the fire ring only as a central gathering place. It may be that we will build some wood fires later in the trek. If we do, we know the procedures to be followed. Fires can be built only in the rings and must be put out at night. The next day, the burned wood must be crumbled by hand into small bits, then carried five minutes' walk from camp and scattered in a wide swath in the woods. Then, the crew must place a long stick upright in the center of the fire ring. We are told that if a fire occurs later on, the stick - or its buried remnants - will remain to show Philmont staffers that it started from our carelessness. I don't actually know if that is true, but it can't hurt for people to think that.

Before we retire for the night, I get the Scouts to gather round and recount their experiences since leaving base camp, enabling me to fill in the gaps for this journal. And finally, it is time to head for the tents.