Laura and Don joined some friends for a backpacking trip at Philmont Scout Ranch in New Mexico. This was an adult-only trip – after all the students had gone back to school – and was a very different experience. Normally there are thousands of scouts out on the trails at any point during the summer, but in September we didn’t encounter anyone except for maintenance teams during the entire 6-day trek. It was a beautiful time to go, with the aspen starting to turn and the horses loose to graze freely.
The one downside is that Don contracted COVID, probably in transit, so we had to drive back to California rather than flying.