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Seven
hardy scouts responded to the call from Alcalde Jorge Arbusto, the
younger, of the village of Pecos to investigate reports of a gathering
of hostiles intent upon disrupting the July 4th celebration
in the village. Upon
rendezvousing at the appointed location, the scouts consisting of Jim,
Doug, Lynn and Julie of New Mexico territories and Tom, Brad, and James
of the Colorado territories proceeded to
gain the high ground.
Numerous rock outcroppings provided the scouts their first view
into the Mora Flats area, the purported area of the hostile gathering.
Not detecting any signs of the hostiles, the scouts descended
into the valley and established camp close to water, hidden from sight
of the main trail. A
discussion was held concerning edible food seen on the trek into the
valley. Berries, wild onions
and a deer were some of the items seen.
Our rear guard, Rick, arrived a few hours behind us, bringing the
band to eight. Still no
signs of the hostiles. There
were other folks camped in the area,
mostly fishermen as the Mora River is a source of trout.
The evening passed uneventfully with discussions held around the
fire.
Morning
arrived after a fairly cool night; camp
was too close to the water and in a sunken area.
Good for keeping out of sight, but not good for observing the
area. Two scouts were sent
out to find another location after breaking our fast.
As we waiting for the scouts to return, a few balls were run
before
extinguishing the fire
and camp was broken. The
scouts returned reporting that they had located a bench down the valley
that overlooked the trail area and was
difficult to see from the trial. We
all finished packing and headed to the new spot.
It was 20 feet above the trail,
high enough to keep an eye on the trail but invisible from the trail.
After
settling in, Rick, Tom and Jim went for a mile
and a half scout upstream. Tom
decided to stay and take a soak and Jim
and Rick proceeded to scout downstream for another mile and a half.
We observed a fair number of folks
fishing, but no hostiles.
Lynn
made a pot of soup for the evening meal consisting
of rice, corn and green chili. The corn and green chili were
dried by Lynn, giving it a good character.
A discussion was held concerning other possibilities for trekking
scenarios. The night was
warmer as we were high and above the river.
As the previous night was cold, most folks had not sleep very
well. We made up for it this
night as the sun was up before we arose.
Brad used a hanging moss to start the fire.
It gave him some difficulty but he was successful.
The morning meal was “a bacon jamboree”, as no one wanted to
carry out leftovers. After
everyone had their fill, the last of the fresh apples were cut up and
fried in the bacon grease. As
the apples simmered in the bacon grease
the last of the blackstrap rum was splashed over them.
Food fit for a first table. Camp
was broken, canteens filled and folks started the trek back to the
trailhead. James took the
lead. Rick and Julie were
the rear guard, the rest walked in pairs or singly as they saw fit.
As the folks from Colorado had a long ride, they did not wait for
everyone to get to the trailhead. They
left their goodbyes and headed back to the Colorado territory.
After the rear guard arrived, a discussion was held as to what we
would do differently next time as far as gear was concerned.
As
this discussion wound down we adjourned to the local Dairy Queen to
report the lack of hostiles in the area.
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Harsh's
scout camp.
The group takes a break.
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James
and Julie taken a closer look.
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That's my story and I'm stickin'
to it...
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