2026 Trek 12-6

Rugged; Approximately 65 miles; Maps required: north

Trek History: 12-3 in 2025; 12-6 in 2026

Enjoy Philmont's North Country along with the scenic Valle Vidal in this program focused itinerary. Experience a delicious chuckwagon dinner and a fun filled campfire show at the Philturn Five Points camp at Ponil before setting off into the neighboring Valle Vidal. Use your land navigation and low-impact camping skills as you traverse the vast meadows of the Valle and learn about astronomy and the Philmont's connection to astronauts before heading back into the heart of Philmont's North Country. Explore the rich history of the North Ponil Canyon from the first people in this land to the logging operations of the Cimarron & Northwestern Railway at Indian Writings and Metcalf Station. While the terrain of this itinerary is less strenuous than others, it does have relatively high mileage and requires crews to have strong land navigation and low-impact camping experience.

Per the Guidebook to Itineraries: "Due to potential emergencies, such as catastrophic fires, Crews must not deviate from their assigned itinerary. Changes are only permitted for bona fide medical emergencies and must be approved in advance by the Logistics Department."

- No photo available for this campsite or this program at this location. Click icon for specific needs.

Day	Camp	Program Features	Campsite Features
1	Camping Headquarters	Opening Campfire	Commissary; Showers; Trading Post;
2	Trail Canyon	Food Pickup @ Camping Headquarters	Trail Camp; (Commissary; Showers; Trading Post; at CHQ Trailbound)
		Bus to Nine Mile Gate Trailhead
		Ranger Training
		Water @ South Ponil Creek
3	Elkhorn		Trail Camp;
4	Head of Dean	Challenge Events
5	Ponil	Food Pickup	Commissary; Trading Post; Showers;
		Philturn Five Points Camp Program
		Cantina
		Chuck Wagon Dinner
		Campfire
		Continental Tie & Lumber @ Pueblano
6	Beatty Lakes	Challenge Events @ Dan Beard	Low Impact Camp; (Low Impact Camp; at Dan Beard)
		Low Impact Camping
7	Ring Place	Astronomy	Commissary; Low Impact Camp;
		Food Pickup
8	Whiteman Vega	Conservation Project @ McCrystal Creek	Low Impact Camp; (Low Impact Camp; at McCrystal Creek)
		Mountain Biking
9	Dan Beard	Challenge Events	Low Impact Camp;
10	Cottonwood	Cimarron & Northwestern Railway Program @ Metcalf Station	Trail Camp;
11	House Canyon	Ancestral Puebloan Archeology Program @ Indian Writings	Trail Camp; (Showers; at Indian Writings)
12	Camping Headquarters	Closing Campfire	Commissary; Showers; Trading Post;
		Hike to Six Mile Gate
		Tyrannosaurus Rex Track
		Bus to Camping Headquarters
Warning: Itinerary details provided by PhilSearch are for planning purposes only. Only the current year's "Treks" book and the addendums to it, if any, should be used for final trek selection.

Crews passing through staff camps are not scheduled for program. If time and space allow, some crews may be able to participate in some of the programs offered.

Day	Camp	Potential Additional Program Features	Campsite Features
2	Camping Headquarters	Visit the Villa Philmonte	Commissary; Showers; Trading Post;
		National Scouting Museum
4	Head of Dean	COPE
		pickup crew based challenge events
5	Ponil	Western Lore / Branding	Commissary; Trading Post; Showers;
		Cantina Show
		Hart Peak
		Gymkhana
		Cavalcade
		Cowboy Action Shooting
		Circle Ride
		Wrangler Training
	Pueblano	spar pole climbing
		Tie making / Crosscut Saws
6	Beatty Lakes	Hike via Iris Park & Beatty Lakes	Low Impact Camp;
7	Ring Place	Folk Weather Forecasting	Commissary; Low Impact Camp;
		Historic Homestead
		Side Hike to McCrystal Creek Ruins
9	Dan Beard	COPE	Low Impact Camp;
		Leave No Trace Training
10	Metcalf Station	Morse Code
11	Indian Writings	Petroglyphs Tour	Showers;
		Atl Atl Darts
12	Six Mile Gate	Tyrannosaurus Rex Track
	Camping Headquarters	Visit the Villa Philmonte	Commissary; Showers; Trading Post;
		National Scouting Museum
		Ride into Cattle Headquarters
This list is not complete and is dependent on the route you take each day.