I brought my Mountain Laurel Designs Speedmid to Philmont and my son brought his brand-new Black Diamond Betamid. The Betamid is interesting because it is decently light and probably the least expensive high-quality shelter you can find. A Scout is Thrifty.
We didn’t get a lot of rain, but we did get one good nighttime thunderstorm. Everybody stayed nice and dry.
Here is Mike (on the right) and his Betamid at Apache Springs:
I wanted to like What I Saw And How I Lied, not because of the National Book Award, but because of reviews from people I respect, and also the really fine 40’s, George Hurrell-style cover photo. How could a cover that good be bad?
At Cypher’s Mine camp at Philmont Scout Ranch, they sang a lot of mining songs, including 16 Tons, but the one that came to my mind was Ballad of Springhill about the Springhill mining disaster in 1958. It was written by Peggy Seeger, with some help from Ewan McColl.
Most Casual Observer 