The highlight of this year’s summer camping trip out west was the hike down into the Grand Canyon to visit Phantom Ranch and the long hike to get out.
The group of Scouts from Troop 715 started the adventure in Colorado. There they hiked up the Dallas Trail near Ridgeway to the Blue Lakes, which are above 10,000 feet. On that hike, they had to forge streams and a lot of snow to get to their destination. Most of the western mountains received record snows this year and a very late melt off were still taking place in July.
The next day, the group rented three jeeps and took off again into the high country above the tree line to an old gold mining camp called Camp Bird. That was a white knuckle experience. They traveled over a road that sometimes seemed impassable to get to the mine slag dump to hunt for pyrite crystals.
After four days in Colorado, the group journeyed into Utah for a couple of days of rock-hounding. They crossed the Colorado River at Hite, which is on the north end of Lake Powell. Some petrified wood was found in the desert area as they travelled toward the north side of Arizona.
In Arizona, they visited the Petrified Forest National Park and Meteor Crater before heading for the South Rim of the Grand Canyon. Making the hike into the canyon were Scouts Dillon King, Nate Wilcox, Zach Laureano, Nick Hawn, Dyllan Hernandez, Kole Smith and Devin McCleary.
The adult leaders were Scott McClintock, Joe Hawn, David King and Rick McCleary. Due to a twisted ankle back in Colorado at the mine, Scoutmaster Dick McCleary remained above the rim and took pictures.
Troop 715 has hiked the Grand Canyon on eight other occasions during McCleary’s 33 years as Scoutmaster.
