Mount Phillips, formerly called Clear Creek Mountain was renamed in 1960 in honor of the then living
Waite Phillips, who donated the area to the
Boy Scouts of America
Scouting America is the largest scouting organization and one of the largest List of youth organizations, youth organizations in the United States, with over 1 million youth, including nearly 200,000 female participants. Founded as the Boy Sco ...
.
It is located in
Colfax County about south of
Baldy Mountain in the
Cimarron Range, a subrange of the
Sangre de Cristo Mountains
The Sangre de Cristo Mountains (Spanish language, Spanish for "Blood of Christ") are the southernmost mountain range, subrange of the Rocky Mountains. They are located in southern Colorado and northern New Mexico in the United States. The mountai ...
of
New Mexico
New Mexico is a state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States. It is one of the Mountain States of the southern Rocky Mountains, sharing the Four Corners region with Utah, Colorado, and Arizona. It also ...
.
Philmont Scout Ranch
Mount Phillips is the second highest peak in
Boy Scouts of America
Scouting America is the largest scouting organization and one of the largest List of youth organizations, youth organizations in the United States, with over 1 million youth, including nearly 200,000 female participants. Founded as the Boy Sco ...
's
Philmont Scout Ranch
Philmont Scout Ranch is a ranch located in Colfax County, New Mexico, United States, near the village of Cimarron. Donated by oil baron Waite Phillips, the ranch is owned by Scouting America. It is a high adventure base where crews of Scouts ...
in the central country on the western perimeter. It is an easy hike from Comanche Peak, but it is a much steeper ascent from Clear Creek to its summit. There are four close trail camps in the area of the summit, but none have water. These are Mount Phillips, Comanche Peak, Thunder Ridge and Red Hills Camps, which, except for Red Hills Camp, are all dry. The staff camp of Clear Creek is the closest camp with water.
Geology
The mountain consists primarily of the metamorphic rock, pink
gneiss
Gneiss (pronounced ) is a common and widely distributed type of metamorphic rock. It is formed by high-temperature and high-pressure metamorphic processes acting on formations composed of igneous or sedimentary rocks. This rock is formed under p ...
,
[Mary Stuever and Daniel Shaw, ''Philmont Fieldguide'', Boy Scouts of America, 1995] which is quite evident as small boulders on the trail. The true summit is marked with a flagpole toward the north side. A few crosses have sprung up in this area, having great meaning to the groups that have erected them. It is scarce of trees and gives great views to the north, east and west. This is not true for the south, due to the gentle incline of the terrain in this direction. From the southern false summit, a good view of Angel Fire Ski Area is possible
See also
*
Tooth of Time
The Tooth of Time is a geological feature on the Philmont Scout Ranch located southwest of Cimarron, New Mexico, United States, and is one of Philmont's most popular sights. It is an igneous intrusion of dacite porphyry formed in the Paleoge ...
*
Cimarron Range
*
Culebra Range
*
Eagle Nest Dam
*
Sangre de Cristo Mountains
The Sangre de Cristo Mountains (Spanish language, Spanish for "Blood of Christ") are the southernmost mountain range, subrange of the Rocky Mountains. They are located in southern Colorado and northern New Mexico in the United States. The mountai ...
*
Geography and ecology of Philmont Scout Ranch
References
{{Mountains of New Mexico
Phillips
Sangre de Cristo Mountains
Landforms of Colfax County, New Mexico
Philmont Scout Ranch
Mountains of Colfax County, New Mexico