“He’s a devil not a man…”

Lacking suitable inspiration for a blog today — that is no treasure and no brilliant thoughts — I decided to return to my Philmont reveries. I already had one written that I hadn't posted, so I'll have to start another fresh one. Gotta keep writing, ya know?

So here you have the deets on today's run, which I would have sworn would push 8 miles, and after that is the Philmemory. That's the source of the title, which is a lyric from "Cool, Clear Water," by the Sons of the Pioneers (and others).

Today's Stats (Wednesday, Oct. 9, 2013)

Temp: 50 degrees F

Distance: 6.08 miles

Weekly Total: 10.29 miles

Treasure: 39 cans. I did pass up a child’s Star Wars backpack with an empty purse inside.

iPod Playlist (Shuffle):

Psycho Killer - Talking Heads
Changes - Yes
Alone Again (Naturally) - Gilbert O'Sullivan
Born And Raised - John Mayer
Can't Buy Me Love - The Beatles
Holiday In Spain - Counting Crows
Worrier King (live) - Warren Zevon
One Tree Hill - U2
Foolin' - Def Leppard
Captain Jack - Billy Joel
Dance In The Dark - Lady Gaga
She's Got A Way - Billy Joel
I Will Follow You Into The Dark - Death Cab for Cutie
Oh Girl - Paul Young
John Hancock - The Usual
I Melt With You - Modern English
Hard Day - George Michael
Perhaps, Perhaps, Perhaps - Cake


“He’s a devil not a man…”

While we relaxed on “our time” with 1980s pop-country (Oak Ridge Boys, Alabama, Michael Martin Murphey), nights in the Cantina del Duke meant tradition.

Among the issue equipment for the program at Abreu in 1984 were the following: adobe brick molds (1x4s arranged roughly 12x36 for 3 12x12 bricks – I’m guessing at these measurements), shovels, pails, trowels, burro harnesses, pack-saddles, pack-boxes, canvas tarpaulins, rope, fly-fishing rods and reels and a small assortment of flies, serapes (donned nightly because they were both warm and cool, if you take my meaning), sombreros (rarely worn), several decks of playing cards, a combination turntable/tuner and speakers (might have had 8-track, but if it did we had no tapes) and a stack of dusty LP records (variety of classic country and an album box set of flamenco guitar music by Carlos Montoya and family – amazing stuff).

 

My fascination for the Flamenco guitar of Carlos Montoya notwithstanding, I and my cohorts were mostly annoyed by the scratchy old country music. But we tried to keep an “authentic” atmosphere with the old tunes, rather than introduce our more modern country music into the cantina routine. In searching for recordings to fill out my playlist I found myself struggling with a faded memory. I am certain that we had music by Bob Wills and the Texas Playboys and Jerry Jeff Walker, as well as Montoya and Marty Robbins, among others I’ve long since forgotten.

But the most convincing and seemingly familiar version of “Cool, Clear Water” I’ve found is by the Sons of the Pioneers, not Bob Wills as I recalled. Perhaps we had both. Perhaps I’m crossing the streams and Bob Wills was other music, but “Cool Water” was indeed the Pioneers’s version. Don’t know that I can ever be sure. I’m pretty certain that at this stage of the game Philmont has long since ditched the LP records and phonographs.

Anyway, in addition to that mystery, I’ve no idea really what was on the Montoya box set. To represent that music I selected “Malagueña” mostly because it was a song my ex-wife’s high school band had played. Maybe that song was somewhere in that collection. Doesn’t really matter; it conveys the feel of Carlos Montoya’s flamenco guitar. So beautiful.

On a side note, I was surprised one quiet night when I tried the tuner and actually picked up a radio station. It seems to me we occasionally tuned in a Spanish-language station but I could be concocting a memory there. What I am clear on, however, is that one night the atmosphere was bouncing the waves just so and I landed on WBBM (780 on the AM dial)! I grew up listening to News Radio 78 in the mornings before school – it’s what Mum and Dad liked (mostly Mum, I think).

Ironic that I should be blessed with that bit of home, which I really didn’t miss, but was denied a visit by my parents, whom I would have loved seeing. Never heard the end of that. You see, my folks were out West on a motorcycle trip that summer – something they did regularly back in the day – and they’d decided to make a surprise visit. Well, unannounced visits don’t work so well at Philmont.

Bin 1984, we didn’t have cellphones and I didn’t have a car at camp. And backcountry access is restricted. I had no way of knowing my folks were coming so I could arrange a day off to be there when they arrived and special trips to base were limited to emergencies. Needless to say, my folks were pissed. Probably still are a little. They had traveled hundreds of miles out of their way to surprise me and were denied the opportunity to see their boy. If they’d forgotten about that little adventure I just reminded them. D’Oh! Now I really will never hear the end of it.

 

I wish I had my journalistic senses back then. I’d have written about my experiences then and I’d have chronicled it all through photos. As it is I have static exteriors, portraits and scenics. The one process photo I have is of Camp Director Bill skinning a rattlesnake. That’s pretty cool, but I wish I had photos from the root beer chugging contests, of the burro races (which involved loading pack boxes on the animals and coaxing them down the road 25 yards or so and back), brick-making and other everyday bits. I don’t have a single interior shot of the cantina. Or the kitchen of the staff cabin. Or a photo of the burro pens. Or the chapel we relocated from a high point to a low – I carried the cross. I’d even like a photo of the manual trash compactor out back of the cabin in use.

 

Oh, and our sweat lodge on the banks of the Rayado River. “The sweat” consisted of a green-stick frame covered in Boy Scout green canvas. We had a metal milk crate filled with large rocks we’d heat over a fire, then carry inside with a branch. Then we’d pour stream water over the hot rocks. After several minutes soaking in the cleansing steam we’d throw back the door-canvas and dash out into the cool stream. Exhilerating!

 

PHILMONT PLAYLIST

Mountain Music - Alabama

Seven Bridges Road – The Eagles

Ghostbusters – Ray Parker Jr.

Music Time (live) - Styx

Slew Foot – James McMurtry

Snowblind (live) - Styx

Y’all Come Back Saloon – The Oak Ridge Boys

Carolina In The Pines – Michael Martin Murphey

Dream On (Single Version) – The Oak Ridge Boys

Cool, Clear Water(Remastered) – Sons of the Pioneers

Malagueña – Carlos Montoya

Big Iron – Marty Robbins
MORE TO COME...