PC Training continues. Today was 8 hours of First Aid training. Yea.

My staff is excellent and I am very excited with the prospects of an excellent summer. I will write more about each of them later, but so far they are all great. I like them all and we seem to get along very well.

Tonight I am letting my staff cut my hair (who thinks this is a good idea?) and then we are having another jam session. We have multiple guitar players and a mandolin player. We actually played Whiskey in the Jar a few nights ago (more Irish version than Metallica) and I was totally stoked about that. We sound awesome - campfire is going to compete for title of Best on the Ranch.

And finally, last night was a crowning achievement in my professional development as I continue to strive for a leading roll in Cats. Last night I learned to two-step. My boots, tight jeans, and big hat all went to the Philmont dance (with Rod Taylor and his band) where many patient female colleagues let me step on their feet. All those years of marching band totally paid off. Thankfully by the end of the night, I was the one leading my partner, as opposed to her leading me. Now all I have to do is learn some ballroom before I get married and my dancing career will be complete.

PS: I found on Boing Boing that a law student at OSU has written a scholarly essay on the legal implications of the word "fuck." Bastard stole my idea. I haven't read the paper yet, but I downloaded it to my hard drive and will read it soon. The abstract sounds interesting, but more importantly - Well done representing OSU, buddy.

So my staff is arriving/arrived today. Very exciting stuff. So far I have met 4 of them (out of 8) and more should be arriving this evening.

In case you will be in the neighborhood of Cimarron, NM in the next week, I wanted to share my Program Counselor Training Schedule. Feel free to drop by fro BSA Aims and Ideals or the Phil-First Aid Round Robin. Also feel free to point out spelling and grammar mistakes in the schedule but know that a. it has already been printed up and b. as is my standard practice, I don't really care.

Also, I mailed out a huge batch of postcards today. So if I have your address, watch the mailbox this week. And if I don't have your address (Alex, Ruvym, Brooke, and others), you better email me your current address. philmont@derekwalden.com

PS: Funny moment of the Day: In the middle of the afternoon (while working on Staff Rules and Regs) a fellow CD comes over to my tent and says, "Want to see something funny?" I go, "Sure." "My Mom just sent me this text message," she says as she hands me her phone. The phone read, "Brad and Angelina had a girl."

Sorry for the long delay in posts, but things are starting to get busy. I'll give you the 10 scond recap then tell some funny stories (because let's face it, me listing all the things I've done is borning as all get up, but me telling you about stupid things is funny).

-Last week we finnished setting up all the tents in Base. Kyle and I passed on our leadership duties to a few other tent crew and they continue doing other things around the ranch this week.

-Last weekend myself and 3 others went in to Taos. Saw DaVinci code and I really enjoyed it. Thought it captured all the salient points of the novel. Well done. Also got the oil changed in my car (does anyone know how to reset the "Service Engine Soon" light?)

-This week is CD training. We sit in a little room and learn how to do our jobs for 8 hours a day. All the CDs are great people and as different a collection of folks as can be imagined. But we all love Philmont and love our jobs, so that's something.

Now to the funny:
I've been talking to a lot of the first year Rangers that were in my tent crew about the good and the bad of being a Ranger. One day we had sat down and spoken for almost an hour about all my favorite memories. Later that day, I had remembered something that I wanted to tell my guys. So that night we had all gone in to Cimarron for ice cream and we are all sitting around a picinic table and I say, "Oh hey. I totally forgot to tell you guys about "Ranger Miles." But as soon as it left my mouth, I was interupted by someone else. We didn't get back to my little comment for a few minutes until one of the guys goes, "So Heavy D, who was Ranger Miles?" I am confused, "Uh, what?" "Dude, you said you were going to tell us about Ranger Miles. Was he some Philmont bad ass?" At which point everyone chimes in with their own theory about who they think Ranger Miles was and what he did to go down in Philmont lore. This is the point in the story where I am looking at them all like they have "tin heads" (Hi Mom and Dad!). I can't believe that everyone took the same exact interpretation of "Ranger Miles." I start cracking up laughing.

As anyone who has been to or worked at Philmont knows, the funny part of this story is that Ranger Miles is not a person, it is a thing. A "Ranger mile." A unit of distance. Some random camper asks you how far away something is and you reply, "Just a Ranger mile." The actual distance is entirely irrelevant - it can be 500 yards or 5 miles. It is a way to force the participants to read their own map and think for themselves, rather than relying on us.

So, after laughing profusly, I explained this to my little group of first years and we all had a good laugh. Now we have a running joke about this mythical Ranger Miles. Anytime someone asks about an impossible feat or some test of skill, we all reply that it was once done by the legandary Phimont bad ass, "Ranger Miles." Who hiked to the Tooth and back in 3 hours? Ranger Miles. Who hiked the Ranger Marathon blindfolded? Ranger Miles. Who can leap tall buildings in a single bound? Ranger Miles.


Other jokes which I have to write down or I will forget later (which will not be funny to anyone else):
Everything which is anything important is KBD
When taking the lord's name in vain, replacing "Jesus Christ" with "Joseph Smith."
Women are care givers, men have "magical powers" (like D&D hit points or something)


PS: 2 more weeks til I get to the Backcountry.

Nothing out of the ordinary happened today. We set up many many tents. My crew is coming together nicely. I was pleased to receive a personal compliment and handshake from the head of the maintenance department today. Apparently the other two guys I have been working with said some nice thing about my help organizing the crew, and he passed on his appreciation. So that was nice.

In other news, I got to visit my camp today. A Conservation crew was being picked up out at Clark's after dinner and I was able to tag along. The camp looks to be in pretty good shape, but a lot of thing have changed since I was there in 2001. The chuckwagon area that they were building in 01 is completed and looks great. And all the camps between now and then have done projects which change the appearance of the camp slightly. The biggest change that I noticed was our cabin. They have extended the porch and added a good-sized patio. An addition was also put on the back of the cabin for a CD room (I think). The interior of the cabin has also changed. It looks like they took down the kitchen wall and moved it over a few feet. Exciting, exciting.

I was so glad to get into the backcountry, even if it was just for about 10 minutes (plus 30 minutes either way in driving).

PS: Per Ruvym's choice, I posted my 15 on 15. This month is cereals.

Our forecast from yesterday was true and our motley crew of 6 rocketed to over 20 people today. Which was great. I am estimating that we set up around 400 tents today alone. And, not surprisingly for anyone who knows we, I was in charge. My crew has nicknamed me "Heavy D" because apparently last year there was a really fat guy named Derek and everyone called him Heavy D. I am not fat, nor do I really care, so I am OK with it. And in my love for nicknaming people ("Ash" "Ter" "Al" "B"), I was happy to have someone else assign me a name. At dinner one of my crew comes up to me and in front of the whole table goes, "Um, Heavy D, we didn't sign the sign in sheet." I thought it was so funny.

BUT, my favorite quote of the day was from a fellow CD, Kyle, who I have been working with on Tent Crew for 2 weeks now. He comes up to me at the end of the day and goes:

Damn man. You take to leadership link stink on shit.

Inspiring, isn't it?

Second favorite quote of the day came from dinner. I was meeting a random guy who I'd never met before are introducing ourselves (as is the custom here since virtually nobody knows anybody else). We had the following exchange:

ME: So what's your name?
GUY: Shiny.
ME: What?
GUY: Shiny, like the sun. (me making a confused face) S H I N Y. (he spells it)
ME: Oh. OK. Well, that's a cool name. Never heard anyone named that before.
GUY: Well, that's my last name. I go by that because my first name is normal and boring.
ME: Oh, what's that.
GUY: Derek

I thought he had read my nametag and was totally screwing with me, but after a moment of me assuring him that it was also my name and him doing the same, all he could say in between laughter was, "Oh man... what a coincidence." We even spell it the same.

We took some time today to add up all the tents we have to set up. The number is somewhat difficult to calculate because we have to have some in reserve, but we think we figured it out.

Total tents: 1,400
Reserve: 200
Tents to set-up: 1,200
Completed todate: 450

The good news is there are rumors that our crew of 6 goes to 24 tomorrow (today was a large arrival day). So maybe the other 18 people can help out.

We get news at Philmont, especially the bad news. 29%. Ouch. As such, I updated my chart.

So the skunk and I are now the best of friends. Only best friends would see each other on three (count 'em, 1, 2, 3) unannounced visits in the same day. You have got to be close to just show up and casually stroll around in another person's home, going through their stuff without their permission. To just walk in off the street and sniff around someone's humble abode and conduct an in-depth search for food, which mind you they did not offer - this is a real bond. And all while they are trying to sleep - that is a level of friendship rarely found in our cynical world, but here at Philmont, apparently all you need is one introduction and then you are the best of pals. So the headlines should read: Man and beast form lasting bond. Sub heading: Skunk and Camp Director decide to take relationship to next level.

To celebrate our new friendship, I have decided I will name him "Mr. Stinky" (in honor of Grizzly Man and Mr. Chocolate). And he can call me "Al." Or "That Guy Who's Tent I Forage for Food at 2AM."

Skunk Info 101

I don't know if anyone else will find this as terrifying as I just did but I was almost a victim of a wildlife drive by. Right now it is about 9:40 here and I am sitting in my big chair in my tent with the flaps open. I always put my chair right by the door so I can see outside and watch the sunset.

A few seconds ago, I was using my computer to listen to music and type an email (so making a fair amount of noise). I hear some noise behind me and assume it is someone else walking up to there tent. The sound gets closer and closer, which in itself does not startle me because I have visitors and we are a friendly bunch and often just stop and chat if we see someone sitting in their tent. But the noise gets closer and closer and when I look up, I don't see anyone. So now I'm confused. The noise gets so close it actually brushes against my tent and walks along the open tent door about 1 foot to my left. It briefly stops to smell me and my tent, yet because of how my chair reclines, I can't see what type of creature it is. Because I can't see the top of it, I know it is not a deer/bear/elk. I am assuming it is a rabbit and for one brief moment, I almost stuck my hand down there to swat it away.

Damn, am I glad I didn't. About 3 seconds later, the creature cleared my chair and a large black and white tail walked over to the tent across from me. It was Pepe Le Pew's New Mexican cousin. I literally said, out loud and with no one else around, "Oh shit," and started laughing to myself. If I had swatted at it, I am sure it would have totally sprayed me with somesort of skunky toxic fumes. And it was a pretty big one too - it looked like a fluffy black cat - so I am sure I would have gotten a powerful dose of skunkness.

A little too close.


PS: I posted up some photos of my 30 minutes at University of Texas. This link should take you directly to that album or you can view all the albums here.

That's all I really got. Tents.

Oh and one more thing - I am getting old. The reason I know this is because my knee hurts. And not the muscle, the joint. I have joint pain = I am old. So there's that too.

After waking up in time for lunch, myself and three of my newest friends shot over to Taos for an afternoon screening of Mission Impossible 3.

I liked the movie but would have loved to see more of Hoffman. He is great. While it was not as good as MI1, it was a drastic improvement over the terrible debacle that was MI2. The film starts off with a flash forward allowing you to quickly build interest and wonder A. how exactly Tom got into this mess, B. what the hell they are talking about and C. how Tom plans to get out of this one. The special effects are good and just like a James Bond film, all the gadgets and toys are sweet. I wish I had bombs I could implant in peoples heads that as opposed to killing them, but would detonate the part of the brain which lets them think it is OK to drive 67 in the fast lane. All in all, good flick. Go see it.

It's Saturday and I couldn't be happier for some R&R. Tent Crew is hard work and anyone who says otherwise is probably trying to get you to sign up for Tent Crew too.

My first day off I played golf. That's right folks, you read it correctly. A friend of mine and I drove about an hour to the nearest city, Raton, NM, and went to their local country club's golf course. This was an interesting event for any number of reasons. Let me name a few:
1. Never in my life has I driven past buffalo on my way to play golf
2. Never in my life have I played golf in a canyon surrounded by picturesque mountain landscapes
3. Never in my life have I played an entire 9 holes for FREE (there was no one at the clubhouse so we just teed off and once I played 7 & 8 twice in a row at my parents house in Sandestin after the course was closed for the day because 7 & 8 are basically in their backyard)
4. Never in my life have I seen a sign on the course which says "Caution Rattlesnake Area"
5. Never in my life have I seen a golf shot which gets bladed off the face of a sand wedge only to skip twice off a pond, roll up a hill, and onto the green stopping about 6 feet from the hole (that was Carl, and it was the funniest and coolest shot simultaneously)

So golf was fun, but obviously without my own clubs and just using Carl's I lost by about 10 strokes. But we had fun and played for free, so there's that. We also had to make a stop at the major shopping outlet of Raton - Big K (formerly KMart). I got tees (for Carl since I owed him a few bucks from a previous poker loss), golf balls (30 for $12, a real deal for all you non-duffers), a set of twin bed sheets for $6.00 (another sweet deal, I think, but maybe not - I haven't laid (is that the correct "lay"?) in them yet, so they might feel like sandpaper), a normal sized pillow (that doesn't smell like a foot), and some razor blades (which I bought some in Cincy but apparently left them in storage).

In other news, my associates and I were evicted from our cushy dorm room and placed where we belong - in a tent. Being in Tent City is a blessing and a curse. Blessing - now I have my own huge 10X14 tent all to myself. I can sit around reading books in my underwear, should the mood strike me. Also all my crap is layed out (how about that one ? Is that the correct "lay"?) everywhere and I can access it easily. Curse - massive temperature fluctuations. Tents turn into saunas during the day and tonight's low: a chilly 39. I'm talking sock hat and mummy bag weather here. I even busted out my huge fleece blanket last night and put it over my sleeping bag to stay warm. So showering in the wash house is entertaining in the way that cool breeze comes under your shower curtain and blows cold air against any body part not directly under the hot water. I'm cold just thinking about taking another shower...

But that's about all. Everything else is great. Tomorrow we may go into Taos for a Sunday afternoon screening of MI3. Critics seem to be enjoying it, so we'll have to see if I also enjoy Hoffman and Cruise.

So I am sitting here doing my laundry (at the Laundromat) and I thought to myself, what a great time for a post.

Philmont is wonderful. I always forget how much I miss it until I come back. I love being here. Work is hard, but nothing could dampen my spirits. Today's gym routine consisted of bicep and forearm workout - I hammered in a million nails today while setting up tents. I wonder if I can learn to hammer with my left hand, so as to even out the pain. As with most repetitive activities, you get to a point where you don't even feel the pain anymore. I can see myself hitting in another nail, but I don't really feel my arm...

Yesterday (maybe the day before) we were out working and a quick storm came through. I saw a lighting strike hit off on a nearby mesa and didn't think much of it until about 5 minutes later when we saw a dark pillar of smoke rising off the top of the hill. The fire was well off ranch property and relatively small but they did call in a few local fire deptartments (include Philmont's). Apparently that one storm generated three small fires around the Philmont area. So there you have another thing to add to the list of things that could kill me: bear, mountain lion, fire. Or as Ashley put it: Glad you told me about fires - I hadn't really thought about that. Now I will be sure to worry.

Tonight we had fried fish for dinner. LJS style. My favorite cafeteria meal to date.

I posted up a few more pics of base camp and a few pics from my days in Taos, NM. Enjoy.

http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/derekwalden/my_photos

So I am working on a couple of photo albums which will be housed on derekwalden.com. Techincal difficulites have forced that project to be placed on indefinite hold. As such, I am going to be using Yahoo! Photo to house my albums.

All my photo albums (current and future) can be found at this address:
http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/derekwalden/my_photos

The most recent photos of base camp and Tent Crew activites can be found in the first Philmont album (only 3 photos right now).

My gym's name: The Philmont Tent Crew.

Today was my first day of work at Philmont. Until I go out to Clark's Fork, I am one of the few staffers here and I am on the Tent Crew. This job is exactly like it sounds - I put up tents all over Base. Hundreds and hundreds of tents. Today was my first taste at just how many tents and ho long this will take. I woke up at 7AM (not a misprint, 7AM (which for the record, this is the first time I have been up at 7AM since the last time I worked at Philmont in 2001)) and headed over to the dining hall for some powdered eggs. Mmm. Once they found our manager and put us to work, we were constructing tent frames all day. Look at the photos and try to get an idea of what I am talking about.

The staff tents out at Philmont are large wall tents probably about 9 feet tall and 10 feet wide and 15 feet long. They require two vertical posts that support the single cross beam. Part of our crew drove around placing beams, while myself and one other guy put the beams together. There are pins which go into pre-drilled holes, but this rarely happens easily and typically requires a hammer. This took place from about 9AM till 4PM with one hour for lunch. The last hour we pulled nails out of the frames. As you can see from one of the photos, the tents have wooden or cement platforms. Each tent is thrown over the three pole frame we constructed then pulled out and nailed to the wooden platform (via bungees and grommet holes). So we pulled out all the nails from last year so we can put new nails in this year. We have about half of Ranger Tent City to pull tomorrow, then I imagine we will start actually setting up tents. But who knows.

For now, all I do know is that I am tired and sore. But loving every minute. At dinner someone asked me, "If you're going to be a CD, why would you volunteer for Tent Crew?" I replied, "You don't know anything about my last job..."

Hello from Philmont. That's right, after two weeks on the road I have finally arrived at my destination. I showed up in Cimarron around 1PM and got a milk shake at The Art Gallery (a local soda shop/gallery owned by the wife of one of the Philmont big wigs - I worked with her son the last year I was at Clarks and we spoke for a while). By 2PM I was in base getting checked in. I was the 8th staffer to check in this year. To put that in perspective, the ranch will employ close to 1,500 seasonal staffers this summer alone.

For the time being, I am staying in one of the few "dorms" on campus, which is an advantage of getting here first - no tent just yet. I am currently with two other guys, but odds are good they will fill the fourth spot very soon. I begin work on Tent Crew tomorrow morning. Our job will be to set up the 1,000s of tents in tent city. Check out the picture and imagine setting up all those tents. There is a lot of work to be done. It is some what odd though - base is empty. I mean I was the 8th summer staffer here. Normal base is full of hundred+ staff and a couple hundred campers all going in different directions getting ready for their treks. But now, no one is here. It is quiet. Its weird. I feel like I've been given a backstage pass to Disney World on a day it was closed to the public. The park is empty, none of the rides are running, and there's no music or laughter. Not to worry though, in about two weeks I will long for the quiet (and luckily at about that time I will be heading out to my camp).

In other news, cell phone reception out at the ranch is spotty as best I can tell. I will investigate more as time goes on. I think my reception in Cimarron was fine (although roaming, which is craptastic). Speaking of cellular phone service, my bill for the past month tripled my normal rate. Why you ask? I wasn't really talking all that much, but I used went over my plan by 250 day time minutes at 40 cents a pop. Why? I believe that every minute I am uploading a photo or on the internet, that counts as one minute. And we've seen how many photos are on this blog. Plus my cell phone was my major source of email checking over the past two weeks. Moral of the story - The only industry screwing America worse than the cellular phone industry is the oil industry (whose $3+ a gallon price tag is killing me).

With my rant coming to a close, that is it for now. I will take some pictures of base (naked and unpopulated as it is) and post them over the next few days. Adios.