- While at Urraca Camp, be sure to gaze at the pocketmarked face of
Urraca Mesa from the south end of the meadow. Just north of the
campsites, the remains of a mountain man were found by two campers in
1970. Anthropological studies of the bones have determined that he
died of an infection from a severely abscessed tooth about 1840 at the
age of 40.
- The trail to Crater Lake crosses diagonally over Urraca Mesa and
down an old logging road on its western slopes.
- Stone Wall Pass is a scenic mountain park occasionally used as a
dry camp. East and West up the sides of the pass you can see vestiges
of the old stone wall for which the pass is named. Constructed about
1862, it served as the boundary between Rayado and Urraca ranches,
then owned by Jose Play and Peter Joseph respectively. The trail
meanders beside it as you ascend Fowler Mesa.
- Where the many trails on Philmont pass between large boulders or
if there is a high wall of rock, take time to look at the petroglyphs
that may have been carved my the Anazazi Indians.
- Lover's Leap Camp offers many opportunities for taking photos. En
route to the camp, you pass the leap itself, an enormous rock wall of
dacite porphyry, rising 256 feet above the valley floor. The Leap is
for viewing, not jumping! Opposite Lover's Leap, you may be able to
distinguish Elephant Rock if you look closely.
- The trail rises gradually en route to Miner's Park. It's ideal for
preparing you for the more difficult hikes that follow. Inspiring
views of Lover's Leap, the Tooth of t\Time and the Grizzly Tooth await
you along the trail. Be sure to glance occasionally, or you may miss
them.
- Miner's Park is a heavenly mountain park surrounded by one of the
finest stands of Ponderosa Pines on Philmont. Catface blazes,
allegedly make by Ute Indians on Ponderosas, are frequently seen in
this vicinity. Authorities do not agree on why there blazes were made,
except that they do not mark the trails. Some think they may have been
made to get sap for medicinal purposes. This remains one of many
intriguing mysteries of Philmont Country. Waite Phillips is said to
have planted grain in the Miner's Park meadow in the Spring and then
hunt wild turkeys in the Fall. Gold miners used this artistic meadow
for festive get togethers.
- This camp offers an ideal natural setting for studying wildlife,
as well as forestry. Native inhabitants include wild turkey, mule deer
and tasseleared (Aberts) squirrels. The latter grow long blackish
tufts on their ears each year that fall off in late Summer.
- Miners in these hills used Miner's Park for their annual galas.
Waite Phillips allegedly planted grain here in the spring to attract
wild turkeys in the Fall hunting season. "Catface" blazes
make by the Indians on larger Ponderosa throughout this area are
thought to have been made to get sap for medicinal purposes.
- The Grizzly Tooth, as you can understand by looking at it, is well
named, A sharp outcrop of rock jutting skyward looks like the fang of
a night-marishly large bear.
- You might want to try your hand at trout fishing in either
direction from this stream crossing. Cutthroats, rainbows and natives
inhabit Philmont streams.
Our path may vary slightly from the above for the next two days. In particular,
the overnight camp site may be different as noted in Day 11 by Rich G.
