I got up at 5:00am and started packing up my things and cleaning out our tent.  We got the boys up at 6:00am.  The smoke had returned with the north breeze overnight, but it was not as bad as yesterday.  Breakfast at the dining hall was at 6:30am.  After breakfast, we had the crew pack up their things and check out of tent city by 8:00am.  The crew did a great job.  All of our base camp personal gear was stowed in the vehicles.  We formed a pack line at the welcome center in anticipation of our 10:00am bus ride to the Zastro turn around, then a big game of Frisbee broke out in the open area next to the welcome center.  I made three or four trips to the advisor’s lounge to call Pam, but  she was not home.  I did get to talk to two of my daughters before we left for the trail.  Chuck went to the snack bar to get a couple of ice creams for Elmer and I just before the bus arrived.  It was good, and I owe Charlie a banana split for the trouble.  We loaded our packs into the bus, and then we loaded up at 10:00am. 

The drive to the Zastro turn around took about 10 minutes.  We unloaded the bus, then Sarah and Susan had all 22 of us crowd into the “red roof inn” to explain the do’s and don’ts of personal hygiene, and the finer points of abusing rocks.  We started walking towards Rayado River Camp at 10:40am, first passing through Zastro.  Zastro is almost a holy place to me, being the place where I attended Wood Badge in 2000.  It sickened me to see what has been done to the once beautiful place.  Gillwell Hall has been gutted and filled with staff bunks and bicycles, as it is now the staff cabin for a fire displaced staff camp.  We asked for a quick look in the cabin, and then hiked on.  Jan, Glenn, and I talked little about what we had seen.  I think we were all shocked at the changes.

The hike to Rayado River Camp might have been another mile.  We covered the distance quickly, and chose a campsite.  Camp set up went fine, although in a little different order than Sarah wanted it done.  After bear bags and tents were up, we walked down to Abreu, and had lunch in the spot that 2 years earlier Jan, Glenn, and I had lunch on our Wood Badge overnighter.  We went on in to the Abreu cantina for some cold root beer after lunch. 

I noticed an advisor with a Last Frontier Council shirt on and started a conversation with him.  He was a professor at SWOSU (the university I attended) and we had a lot of mutual friends and acquaintances.  It turned out he was good friends with both Alvin Williams (my Scoutmaster as a boy) and Earl Bottom (a life-long Scout advisor and friend) and told me that Earl was in Abreu with another crew from their contingent.  After we finished at the cantina, the crew went looking for Rimrock camp while Jan and I went to find Earl.  I had a nice talk with Earl, and then we rejoined the crew on the way back to camp, where we had free time until dinner preparation would begin at 4:30pm.  I walked over and talked to crew 3, then Hampton and I walked a “lost” canteen back to a ranger for another crew, where we ran into Nathan Tacha (our ranger 2 years ago and a member of Troop 389 – now a ranger trainer).  We talked for a few minutes, and then I returned to camp after inviting Nathan to come by when he was finished with his ranger. 

When I walked back into camp, dinner was ready – mashed potatoes and 3-bean soup, not mixed and not bad.  The boys did great at KP.  Nathan came by and we talked for a while and took some group pictures.  The boys, along with Sarah and Jan, played cards while some of the other advisors walked back to Abreu for advisor’s coffee at 7:30pm.  We got back to camp at 8:40pm, had our Thorns, Buds, & Roses, and all were in their tents by 9:00pm.  Urraca Mesa tomorrow.

This was a great, short, first trail day.  Other than a miscue in distributing food bags this morning at tent city, there were absolutely no misfires or complaints within the crew.  It looks like I have a great crew on my hands.