Saturday, July 4, 1998.

We leave Philmont and go home.

I awoke around 5:30 a.m. and headed over to take a shower, shave and review any last minute details which needed to be addressed before we could depart. I liked to do this in the relative calm, cool and quiet of the morning. Things tended to get confusing after everyone was up. Other than completing our check out, I could not discern any items that posed any significant concern.

When I returned from my shower, everybody was up and moving about. The prospect of going home was always a great motivator. The boys eagerly cleaned out their tents, gathered up their gear and carried it over to the covered patio well before 7:00 a.m. The boys were all waiting near the head of the breakfast line when the adults walked over to the dining hall a little before 7:00.

While we were eating breakfast, Kiely Jones from Adventure Trails arrived. He was still expecting that we'd be ready to leave by 7:30 a.m., but handled the news that we'd have to delay for about an hour so that we could complete check out with patience and good humor. After all, it was not our fault.

At 8:00 a.m., I walked over to the vicinity of the Visitor Center, expecting to meet Andrew so that we could finish up our check out procedures. He was nowhere in sight. After about 10 minutes, I was growing impatient. We'd discussed this the night before. Where was he? Didn't he recognize how important it was to get this stuff taken care of quickly?

I figured that he must be over at the Trading Post making some last minute purchases. A lot of the boys were doing that. At last, at around 8:15, he appeared. Much to my surprise, Andrew had taken full responsibility for checking us out and had handled all but one or two areas himself and was simply waiting for them to open to complete the task. He was the crew leader and he had taken charge without waiting for me to tell him to do sol What a pleasant notion that was: capable boy leaders carrying out their responsibilities without prompting (nagging, pleading, browbeating, etc.) . This adult leadership stuff might become rather enjoyable under such conditions.

I turned in our locker keys over at the security building and purchased a couple of souvenirs at the Trading Post while Andrew turned in the critique sheets-the adults, as well as his own- andcompleted the check out process. Kiely had the boys load all of the gear into the same trailer we'd used coming down from ColoradoSprings the week before and the group was essentially ready to go

at 8:30or so, when I returned from the Trading Post. Andrew had us fill up our water bottles one last time forthe3hour drive. We allclimbed into the van and got ready to leave-everyone that is, except Chris Bosch, who had not returned from his water bottle filling excursion. I found him back on the patio engaged in deep conversation with a young lady (apparently, held sat up most of the night talking to her) . At my strident urging, he bid her a hasty farewell, climbed in the van and we left Philmont

As he had done on the way down f rom Colorado Springs, Kiely pointed out to us various landmarks. In particular, he drew our attention to a rock formation on a mountain side not long after we left headquarters. He noted that a Philmont legend held that anyone who viewed this formation and discerned in it the Philmont arrowhead was destined to return. I saw it plain as day and was pleased by the notion that I would return again to this magical place.

We (at least the few of us who remained awake-within 30 minutes of our departure, it seemed that Kiely and I were the only persons awake in the van !) observed a lot more antelope and buffalo than we'd seen on the way down. Kiely said this was likely due to the rain that had fallen in the last few days. He pointed out a Spanish Mission which dated back to the 16th Century and the sites of several mining towns from the gold rush more than 100 years ago.

The drive went quickly. In addition to our group-, Kiely was transporting an adult leader from a group which had only arrived in Philmont the day before. Unfortunately, a family tragedy had occurred and this leader had to return to Spokane, Washington even before his trek began. On the positive side, there were sufficient adults in his group such that his departure would not cancel their trek.

we made a brief stop at a McDonald's at roughly the half-way point. This was primarily for Kiely, who had not had any breakfast. We were back on the road again in 15 minutes and, after another 90 minutes or so were back in Colorado Springs. Kiely drove us directly to McKay's, the same place where we'd eaten lunch after first arriving in Colorado Springs eight days ago. He dropped us off at around,11:30 a.m. and headed off to the airport to help the adult leader from the other troop make his flight connection to Denver.

As we had the week before, we all ate our fill from the buffet. Our flight was not scheduled to depart until 3:35 p.m. and we were only a 15 minute drive from the airport. We had plenty of time.

When they were comfortably stuffed, I asked the boys and Tony and Jim to gather around the table and quiet down for a few minutes. I figured this would be our last real opportunity to get together as a group before we began going our separate ways. Justin would be leaving us at the airport in Colorado Springs to join his family who were on vacation out here. Trying to talk to everyone in an airport waiting area just didn't seem like a good idea.

I asked Tony and Jim if they wanted to say anything before I did. Both observed that the trip had met or exceeded their expectations and that they were proud of the boys and happy that they had made the commitment and endured the hardships necessary to make the experience the great success that it turned out to be.

When it was my turn to speak, I echoed many of the sentiments expressed in these pages. I told them that I was happy that we had been forced to overcome some challenges because these made us stronger and gave us the confidence to press on to greater things. I mentioned that I thought we did not really come together as a group until the hailstorm on Wednesday and that the highlight of my experience was watching them set aside their petty concerns to help another person.

I tried to convey to them that they should not feel compelled to find words to thank me or any of the other adults for our part in the Cavalcade. We neither expected nor desired such appreciation. The thanks we wanted would come when each of them gave something comparable back to someone else. In other words, if these boys sincerely wish to thank Jim, Tony and I, they will endeavor to make opportunities like Philmont available to other boys when they're in the position to do so.

So many things went through my mind as I spoke to the boys. They had grown so much, in a figurative sense, during the last week. They had met and overcome many challenges, had learned to work effectively as a team and, most significantly, to subordinate their own concerns to those of the group. There was now acohesiveness about the group which was lacking eight days ago. The boys had gained confidence in themselves and in each other and had tested their mettle under very difficult circumstances.

The three adults were very proud of the nine boys. We'd witnessed first hand a lot of growth in each one of them. In many instances, this growth was painful. Andrew got a major dose of what it is like to be a leader and he suffered through many challenges as Jeremy, Dale and the adults loaded him down with demands and expectations. He probably contemplated suicide early on, but he did not quit and, toward the end of the experience, he had learned to anticipate problems and deal with them before they occurred. His ability to communicate with the group improved each day of the trip and I think he would have found that we could have managed another week or two on the trail with little difficulty.

I had spoken to Andrew a number of times about the importance of maintaining a positive outlook no matter what the circumstances and this was hard for him. He was getting a lot better at this near the end of the trip.

In my experience, teenagers have a tendency to make things far worse than they are. The adults made a concerted effort during the Cavalcade to help the boys change their perspective. We started to see some results from our efforts after the hail storm.

Steve Ybarra also made some important strides. Steve presents himself as a young man interested in all things military. He had many opportunities to refine such traditional military skills as leadership, teamwork and calm under pressure during the course of the Cavalcade and I think he learned that being a good soldier is not as easy as he may have believed.

All of the boys overcame physical and mental ' challenges and, in my estimation, came through the Cavalcade as better persons than they were before it. Consequently, my objectives for the trip had all been met or surpassed.

Kiely returned at around 12:30 p.m. and the rest of the Adventure Trails' staff arrived soon thereafter with another Philmont-bound group in tow. We sipped our tea and coffee for another ten or fifteen minutes and then climbed back into the van for the short trip to the Airport.

As before, Kiely took us to a service entrance instead of dropping us off in the area where most passengers were required to go. This saved us a lot of time and effort. We retrieved our bags from the trailer, entered the airport through a service gate and then took an elevator which took us within 100 feet or so of the Reno Air Check-In counter.

Kiely had made prior arrangements so that we had a Reno Air employee specifically assigned to our group. Although the airport was not particularly crowded, it was very nice to be given such special treatment. All of us but Justin had our baggage checked within 15 minutes. (The agent allowed Justin to keep his stuff behind the counter until his ride arrived.)

It was a little after 1:00 p.m. when we finished checking in for our flight back to San Jose. That gave us almost two hours to relax and wander about the airport. Justin's aunt was supposed to pick him up around 2:00 p.m. We found an empty seating area near our gate after we processed through airport security and kicked back. Groups of the boys alternated between playing cards and checking out the gift stores. I bought a paper. Jim dozed and Tony concocted fail-safe strategies to maximize his winnings during our brief stop in Las Vegas.

Justin and I walked back to the ticket counter area at ten minute intervals starting around 1:50 p.m. to make ourselves visible to his aunt-Justin had not seen her in several years and was not entirely certain that he'd be able to recognize her. I figured that she'd have no problem recognizing us, decked out as we were in-our full class A uniforms.

On our third such excursion, we made contact with her. Justin's Aunt, Joyce Kohn, introduced herself to me and we walked back to where the rest of the group was waiting to give Justin and the boys a chance to say good bye to each other. This was accomplished quickly and in moments Justin was headed off to another part of his summer, the his Cavalcade experience now officially over.

Kiely and the rest of the Adventure Trails people also bid us farewell about the same time that Justin and his aunt did so. They left us with one final gift-a bag filled with candy and other goodies. They were meeting another group and we watched with a growing sense of nostalgia as they greeted the new arrivals, gave

them water bottles and guided them out of the airport. That had been us only eight days ago!

We boarded the airplane like seasoned travelers and took off pretty much on time. The temperature in Colorado Springs was in the 100's and this made for some bumpy air at the lower altitudes. I don't think any of us noticed. A week of riding a horse tends to alter one's perception as to what constitutes a bumpy ride.

We landed in Las Vegas about 90 minutes later and, as we had on the earlier flight, had the opportunity to visit the airport casino. I again played some slots for my son and again came out slightly ahead-about twenty cents. Tony hit a couple jackpots and appeared to be about $20 ahead at one point, but I lost track of him when I went into the book store. Scott and Tom were in there trying to decide on souvenirs to bring back home. I was tempted to wax philosophical about the merits of purchases made at airport souvenir shops but decided that this was something they could better learn for themselves.

When I returned to my seat on the plane, everyone was accounted for but Tony. Some of the boys, including his son were worried that he might not get on in time. The flight to San Jose was completely full and, I will admit, the thought did occur to me that Tony may have decided to accept an offer from Reno Air to give up his seat and spend the week-end in Las Vegas at the airline's expense ! He appeared a few minutes later, having whittled his lead over the house substantially. He was ready to go.

The hour flight to San Jose was uneventful. Knowing that a number of parents would be waiting for us and hoping to avoid additional confusion (perhaps, subconsciously, I also.. wanted to keep the group together until the last possible moment), I had the boys stay on the plane until all of the other passengers had gotten off. We then walked off the plane and through the jet way as a group one last time.

Just about everyone was there to greet us. It was very gratifying to see the joy on the boys' parents faces as they welcomed their sons back home. A veteran of many such homecomings, I know of few sensations more satisfying than returning to one's family and friends after completing a challenging experience a long way f rom home. I could see that the boys and their parents both recognized this and were viewing each other from a different perspective than when we'd left San Jose just over a week ago.

The boys were quickly reunited with their families and we walked to the baggage claim. Everything was there on the carousel as we approached and everyone was off to their respective vehicles moments later. By prior arrangement, Steve Ybarra would be riding with Jr., my family and me. Everyone else was accounted for. We'd taken and brought back 121 Our Cavalcade was now history !

AFTERWARD

Now that I've reached the end of this chronicle, I can acknowledge that I never anticipated that it would reach this length. My intent when I started was to memorialize as accurately as possible the significant events which occurred during the Cavalcade. Alas, I've included far too much and likely erred in my account of certain events while making no mention of others. Accordingly, I invite all of the participants to edit this draft freely.

The obvious shortcomings of this Chronicle notwithstanding, I believe it will pique our memories of the Cavalcade. You can then correct any errors or fill in any gaps in my narrative. Please look at this as you would a first draft and do not hesitate to substitute names, add information or correct any other mistakes you may discern.

You no doubt grew weary of my "observations" throughout the text. I included these for several reasons: first and foremost, this is my chronicle Consequently, I am entitled to write from my perspective. If you want to read about the Cavalcade from another point of view, I invite you to provide it.

A second reason that I included as much detail as I did is that I was reasonably certain that no one else would. A few years from now, our memories of the experience likely will have faded. We may need a little more prompting than 'we climbed Baldy, took some pictures, collected some rocks and got hailed on... it was cool" to assist our recollection of the events of July 1, 1998.

It is my hope that each of the participants will insert their own reactions and perceptions to the events I've attempted to describe. The reality, however, is that few of us will do that. Our lives have moved beyond our Philmont experience and, I suspect, most participants will go along with my version, flawed though it may be, to avoid having to devote the time necessary to make it better. I challenge everyone to prove me wrong about this. Don't allow me to change history !

Most significantly from my perspective, I chose to make this Chronicle something more than a mere recitation of events because I wanted to try and give the boys a sense of the bigger picture from my and the other adults' points of view.

I expect that all of the boys recognized that practically everything we did during the Cavalcade had a direct bearing upon various fundamental aspects of their daily lives-the importance of good preparation, teamwork, a positive attitude, self-discipline, subordinating personal concerns to the needs of the group and basic human kindness. My hope is that they will build upon what they learned on the Cavalcade as they continue on the road to adulthood. I made reference to some of these lessons at various points during the narrative to ensure that they not lost or obscured. Over the years, I've learned that subtlety is not particularly effective with teenage boys. I decided that I better specify what I thought to be some of the important lessons we'd learned or at least provide enough information for the boys to draw their own conclusions if and when they read this.

I consider myself very fortunate to have had the opportunity to take part in a Cavalcade with this group. The experience was one that I will remember always. Thank you all for your patience, cooperation and good humor and, please, do not allow this chronicle to become the official account of our adventures without your input. Good luck and best wishes to everyone

August 26, 1998 David R. Pearl,

Cavalcade 626 Coordinator