Woke up several times overnight to outside noises, especially at 3:30 am (something - a deer or elk probably - crashing through the woods).  Woke at 5:30 am, and rousted myself at 5:45 am – several others (Hugh?/Rick?) already up I think.  Dumped my sleeping gear on my backpack and rousted the rest of the crew at 6:00 am.  33 degrees in the meadow, but a little warmer under the trees; very little dew.  There was heavy frost on the grass near the lake, however, showing how the coldest air settles in the lowest spots.  I dropped the bear bags with Hugh’s help.  Then I went ahead and climbed the anchoring tree to untie the ropes (much to Ted’s displeasure - he preferred I should let one of the far more athletic Scouts handle that job).  Well, you’re as young as you feel, or at least as far as you’re willing to delude yourself.  Mark reported that he had gotten up at 10:30 pm last night - great stars but still some light on western horizon.

As usual, we took way too long to get packed up; surprisingly, Matt is the one dragging this morning.  The needle on the scale broke off when Neil’s pack slipped off - it was still usable, but now only for estimating weights.  This is the 3rd or 4th such scale of ours that this has happened to over the past 10 years, so clearly a design flaw by Remington (doubtless intentional).  Finally circled up at 6:50 am.  After a group discussion on how we could improve our camp breakdown, we did our stretching routine, saddled up, and reassembled on the rise above the lake (in the sunshine).  38 degrees when we left (at 7:05).  No sign of any life on the far end of the lake, so if there had been a group there last night, they were well hidden and clearly not up yet.  7 1/2 miles today, and gaining another 300 feet in elevation (net).

We hiked for about 20 minutes on the Scab Creek Trail, then ran into a small herd of cattle by upper Lightning Lake - kind of surprising to find them way out here; I guess this is what they mean by "Free Range Cattle."  They were less than enthused to see us, however, and after a minute semi-stampeded down the draw.  Hiked on for another 5 minutes, then Ted spotted a good rise to the left, giving a nice view and a sun exposure.  Breakfast was apple crisp, mini-muffins, raisin bran, and water. The dehydrated apples, while good the first day, were destined to be seen too often on this trek!  Breakfast for my sub-Crew also included a Cliff bar and a apricot bar; these were supposed to be trail snacks, but we hadn’t figured that out yet.  Todd started a daily routine of visiting my sub-Crew to scavenge any remaining food - he got a little leftover raisin bran today.

I took both sub-crew’s trash and consolidated it for carrying, tying it on the top of my pack.  45 minutes and on the road again. Brilliant skies.  Dusty trail.  No native wildlife to be seen anywhere, just some birds - weird!  We broke out of the trees and into the clear, and got our first good look at the entire Continental Divide range to our east, with War Bonnet peak being the most prominent.  Stopped for an extended (20 minutes) packs off/potty break, plus water and snacks.  Then we headed down to several uneventful stream crossings; lots of small fish racing around as we crossed over each stream.  Rolling country now - lots of up and down and more lakes.  Only a few small clouds broke the endless blue above us.  Came to a sign to Raid Lake (the southwestern section), and cut left onto the Dream Lake Trail.  Also spotted some seagulls - what the heck are they doing here?  After checking the map, we went left around Dream Lake to get to far (eastern) side of Raid Lake.  The vegetation thinned out considerably, and the wind began really picking up.  Altitude effects were noticeable for the first time here - we’re at about 10,000 feet.  Some good photo ops along this hike.  Dream Lake was pretty stark - all bald around it, with several feeder streams and some algae on the north end - hardly a "Dream!"  This was the spot where the guidebook indicated the trail disappeared - and yes, it did indeed just fade out to nothing.  However, we could see the "Old Highline/Fremont" trail on the opposite ridge (a pretty obvious trail), and we crossed the small feeder stream that led into Dream Lake and climbed up the opposite ridge to intersect it.

The guys decided to push south to Raid Lake instead of stopping for lunch.  Right turn, Clyde.  Very windy on the east side of lakes - but the sun was pretty intense, which compensated some.  Finally stopped in a copse of trees above Raid Lake for lunch.  After an extensive review of the map, we decided to continue south to Cross Lake, as the area around Raid looked as stark and windblown as around Dream.  Lunch was Fig Newtons, crackers, and cheddar cheese.  I scouted around and found that a small swale below the trail was reasonably well shielded from the wind, had a number of decent (flat) camping sites, and easy access to the Raid Lake by a "quasi-trail" which was parallel to a dry creek bed.  After Ted reviewed and agreed, we bagged on pushing on to Cross Lake and decided to stay here as scheduled.  Tents up first, since zero chance of rain (again).  Father/sons combinations tonight, so I’m with Al instead of Mark.  Ted set up the cooking area (stoves, fuel, cookware - no food yet) in a sheltered area up and over the ridge, about 125 feet away.  Charles handled the bear bags, and we got all the food and smellables up.  Todd, Neil, and Thomas did the first schlep down to the lake for water.

Once we were all finished with setup, I headed down myself for another swim/bath with Rick.  Al and Matt were also at the lake, but no one else.  I tried to shave soap-free - not too successfully.  Then had a swim - pretty cold, but not unbearable, and it was again worthwhile to get the trail dust off.  Hugh came down while I was swimming.  I asked Matt to move away for 5 minutes while I did the drip-dry routine again - and 5 minutes was all it took, too, between the sun and the breeze.  Felt good, but I was grateful to get dressed again in fresh clothes.  In short order, most of the rest of the crew came down and most went wading and even fully swimming, with loud cries of protest after the first plunges.  A very enjoyable hour and a half.

Back at camp, the guys had a card game, and played Frisbee "pickle" - tough with the wind.  Neil read a book ("Ender’s Game"?) while draped obliviously over a large rock.  Al and Chris left to do some climbing (bouldering) again, and then Matt and Sam headed back down to the lake to try some fishing.  Mike worked on Charles’ dressings around 4:30; they appeared to be healing nicely.  At about 5:30 pm, Ted and I watched a Bald Eagle soaring just to the north of the camp; pretty cool.  Mark and Neil handled dinner tonight, with Ted and Mike’s assistance.  By this point, the few clouds were thinning out to another clear sky again.  Matt and Sam returned, with Hugh; Matt had managed to catch (and release) a fish, and after checking Hugh’s booklet, we guessed  it was a "whitefish."  I wrote diary til dinner call (6:00 pm).  A solo hiker passed by just as we started in on Philmont Grace, heading north.  Dinner was pea soup, beef-chili-cheese stuffing, pudding, and lemonade.  As we were eating, we re-covered our morning discussion on more efficient camp breakdown and packups upon rising.  Mike and Charles assisted me in cleanup and re-packing all the Crew gear.  Most of the crew headed back down to the lake to wash clothes or fish.  The sky was perfectly clear at this point - not one cloud - and the wind died at about 8 pm, bringing forth a small air force of little biting flies (a kind I had never encountered before, they drew blood almost painlessly - all you would feel was an itch after they had completed their dirtywork).  With no wind and a clear sky, it looked to be quite cold tonight.  Bear bags up at 8:15 pm.  As everyone reassembled for bed, I gave a final reminder on boots (place by tent doors) and on filling canteens.  Bed at 8:45.  Woke up several times overnight - spectacular stars overhead.  Did not hear any animals.