This trail was made for touring skis! Wow, i could not have planned it better. Once Restless and I got to the trail about 9am, we boot packed in the first 3 or so miles…the trail was muddy and full of water, and there were snow patches, but we made good time until our first ridge.

Hitching back to the trail

I popped those skis on and magic!!! Most of the day traversed dramatic ridges with views you would not believe. Restless was doing well on his snowshoes, and we cruised through a few snow showers and some ominous clouds, but by late afternoon the sun came out again and made for the most stunning photos.

I got a chance to ski down quite a bit…nothing steep, but on the slight downhills on the ridges, I was able to glide for long periods, I love the skis!!

I truly don’t know how anyone will be able to get through efficiently without snowshoes or skis. It is almost all snow, and fortunately even with the danger of wet slides, we kept to safe aspects…tomorrow looks much of the same, lots of ridges although we may take a lower Ley route when we get to some exposed sections near Blue Lake.

So stoked to be out here, it was a strenuous day, we are both exhausted and it’s already 9:30pm, by far the latest i’ve been up on trail, but a great day. Tomorrow will be grand.

Another day in town, another rainy morning. We are leaving tomorrow and there is a potential window of good weather! Now that has been changing, and some hikers turned around and came back to town because of the white-out conditions and sheer difficulty of postholing without snowshoes, but Restless and I are ready and we are going to do this.

It was a quiet day. I made burgers for dinner, putzed around a lot, tried to get all my gear in my backpack, and generally not much happened.

Hard at work doing nothing

Tomorrow, however, I hope to have some stories for you.

Because I walked the highway into Chama and the trail spits hikers out on the other side of the Colorado border at Cumbres Pass, I needed to hike the 12 miles from Chama to Cumbres pass to connect my footsteps. The plan was for Restless (maybe Natty) and I to get a ride up to the pass tomorrow to continue our hike north.

Restless’s friend Andrew was in town to visit, so I asked him to drop me off at the pass and I would slack-pack (hike with just minimal gear in my pack) back the road the 12 miles to town. When we were leaving the train was just taking off up the mountain, and we got to see the engine puffing away up the grade. It was raining, then snowing. Uggg, it just doesn’t stop.

Up top Andrew took a few photos for me, and I started my hike down to town. It was snowing HARD the first few miles. Then it poured on me. All this fresh heavy wet snow would create even more avalanche potential in the mountains we would be soon hiking through. I will definitely not be afraid to bail out if the conditions are this nasty. There is a forest service road in the valley below the CDT that we can walk if we need to, and as i pushed through the wind and rain and snow I realized this would be a real possibility. It is not a matter of skill level in the mountains or on my skis, it is a matter of getting caught in very risky situations in the mountains. The trail goes through some perfect avalanche terrain. I won’t be afraid to go low if I need to.

So as I was walking down the road I could hear the train coming up, but the visibility was about 20-30 feet….I could smell the fumes and could tell the train was incredibly close, but couldn’t see it. Pretty trippy!

There is a train right there...I swear!

I made good time down the mountain and celebrated by buying an ice cream cone in the local fudge shop. Go big or go home!

The rest of the afternoon was pretty chill….caught up on some blog posts and just visited with other hikers. We made a nice dinner and Ben, Jill and their 2 kids who are renting out their upstairs to us came up with some homemade strawberry shortcake for dessert. Natty had picked up a pecan pie, so we indulged and just had a grand ‘ol time.

Inspiring future hikertrash

Oh, and we decided not to leave tomorrow. More rain and storms on tap….so we’ll leave the day after…I promise! Otherwise i might have to change my residency. 🙂

Neck tatts!

Days off!! Food and beer and good company! We had heard that on May 23 the mayor of Chama and the New Mexico Governor would be declaring the city a gateway community for the CDT. I had a feeling Teresa with the CDTC would be coming to town, and yes! In fact Snorkle and Val would be coming with her, the weekend was sure to be a blast.

I just lounged around most of the day, and when the CDTC ladies rolled into town we decided to go out to dinner at the High Country Restaurant. A huge burger and a couple beers later, I was fat and happy and was stoked to get to catch up with Boston Bones and Axyl who had hitched up from Ghost Ranch for the festivities.

There is a LOT of new snow in the southern San Juans, and more in the forecast…we are all trying to figure out the smart way to hike…lots of talk of flipping and low routes. A few guys pushed through the actual CDT north of here, but it all sounds pretty sketchy to me…I have a feeling they aren’t experienced with backcountry snow…and if they were they would not have gone through as they did. I feel like I have enough experience and knowledge of avalanches to be pretty wary of the conditions. The Colorado avalanche forecast center will stop their forecasts after this weekend, but the word is heavy wet avalanche danger. Hmmmm. Even with skis, that’s not a good outlook for the next section.

Saturday a whole bunch of hikers hitched up to Chama for the festivities and we all gathered at the train station for not only the gateway celebration, but the inaugural trip of the narrow gage train.

Lint was there! Shane too! And Bearclaw came to town! More hikers than I had seen the whole trail…what a trip. I really was at the front of a mass of hikers. Teresa thinks about 200 hikers started northbound this year, by far the largest number so far on the CDT.

I also got to meet Let it Be, or Neen, the famous triple triple crowner…who is well on his way to a quadruple triple. Wow, very impressive.

We passed the day with a huge group lunch at the High Country Restaurant, and a few cases of beer…we hikers are pretty predictable in that way…beer and food please!

Lots of laughing, a little pool at Fosters, and more laughing rounded out the day. I love these people. I love this trail. I love this life.

Got my skis ready!

Not many cars passed by my head in the middle of the night, which I was quite happy about.

I jumped on the highway and realized I had come so far that I only had about 6 miles into town. From looking at my trail data I knew there was a cafe on the south side of town. Hot breakfast!!!

I rolled into the Elkhorn Cafe just as they were opening, and had a spicy breakfast egg burrito. YUM. I then strapped on my pack and walked into town, hoping i would run into some hikers to either split a hotel room, or gather some intel on the next section. The day was sure to bring rain again and even though I had just come from a few days off, thought i might stay a few more days in Chama depending on snow levels.

I went to the library where i was able to connect with a few people online since my phone was still broken, and should be at the post office tomorrow, yes! Thanks Mom and Dad!

I found Restless was still in town (PCT 2006 friend) and that he was staying at an Air b-n-b just down the street. They had room for me and was only $20 a night!

The second story space was SWEET and even better, the young couple that own it, Ben & Jill, are outdoor adventurers themselves. Perfect.

I stopped by the post office to pick up my 7 packages including skis, ice axe, gortex pants and gaiters, and yummy goodie boxes from Nemo, Annie, my folks, and Phil and Phyllis (blog readers of mine). Thanks everyone!!!!! I would be eating REALLY well on the next stretch.

I was sharing the apartment with Natty and Restless, and we made a scrumptious dinner in the kitchen that night.

Restless and I decided to head into the mountains together in a few days when the weather was supposed to calm down, but for now, rest up, eat, pour over maps, and just be for a while.

I woke rested, despite slipping downhill a bit due to the slightly slanted spot I hastily selected for my camp.

I hit the road, enjoying the sunshine and the deep green grass all the rain had sprouted. Doesn’t really look like the New Mexico I had imagined!

I walked into the small hamlet of Cajillion where I saw a ranger station, and knew i would be able to find a map there. I walked up and immediately got excited for the soda machine in the lobby. I was helped by a young woman who showed me the route, a pretty straight forward walk into Chama, and helped me out with another dollar when the machine ate my $1 as I was trying to get a rootbeer. Wow, both sodas came out, so I had an extra sugar boost for the road walk.

The rest of the day was broken up by a few stops at gas stations along the way for microwaveable cheeseburgers and hot pockets.

The valleys I passed through were gorgeous…all lush and green, with snow capped mountains in the background. The same snow-capped mountains I would be in soon!

By 7pm I was exhausted, but couldn’t see anywhere I could legally camp for all the private property signs around. Finally almost delirious with fatigue, I climbed up a small hill on the side of the road and wedged myself between a tree and a fence, maybe 20′ off the highway. Oh well. I was so tired I didn’t care. I was high enough to be out of sight from passing cars, and was successfully not trespassing.

Sleep.

Again, sheesh. It snowed/rained/sleeted/hailed all night, but I stayed snug as a bug in my shelter and sleeping bag. I love snow, but this is getting old, Spring. Lets lighten up on the rain, snow, and lightning for a while, eh?

When I finally emerged from my shelter, I took advantage in a break in the weather. The day was misty as clouds hovered overhead for the first few hours. I slogged through the mud, slipping and sliding all around, before the sun finally came out and I could marvel at the rolling meadows and shiny world around me.

I could see snow on a far peak I would pass by later, but for the time being I enjoyed walking on old roads and was thankful for the sun that began to emerge and dry everything out.

I took lunch and listened to some music on my phone while eating another roast beef and feta cheese bagel…much better than yesterday, probably because I was so hungry!

Right before packing up for the afternoon’s hike my phone slid off my pack and onto the ground. Not thinking much of it, I picked it, selected a podcast for the after-lunch miles, and started hiking again.

I realized a while later I was’t on the trail anymore…or I wasn’t sure for that matter. There had been almost no CDT markers all day. I pulled out my phone to check my position on Guthook’s CDT GPS app, and to my horror realized the screen was shattered.

#*%&#(&! (pardon my French)

I got a panicky fear welling up, but I tamped it down and reassured myself that I was a map and compass guru and didn’t need the App to successfully navigate this section…snow? Follow footprints. Well, I tried to hike back to where I knew i was on the trail last, and pulled out my phone one more time to take a look and realized the top half of the screen was still operational, yes!

I called my folks and asked them to order me a replacement phone and have it shipped to Chama…whew, success! I saw I was about a quarter mile off the CDT before the entire screen went dead…but not before a partial text from Pimp Limp (a day ahead on the trail) came though that said, “Do not cross the river alone!”

What? What river? Where? I couldn’t manage to read the rest of the message before the phone went dead.

#^&#*^

This section had a few days of postholing up ahead before I would reach Chama, and apparently a big, dangerous river crossing, and yes, I was alone.

Well, I tried my hardest to find and stay on the CDT, but a few hours later I emerged on what I realized was a Ley alternate, elated that I knew where i was, but defeated that I had missed the trail and wasted some time, I weighed my options…and started walking the road I had stumbled upon out.

I left the mountains. Amid some self-berating about taking the easy way out and not rising to the navigational challenge of the trail ahead, was a deep sense of relief. I would be safe today. And tomorrow. I would get myself out of these mountains safely and not get caught in a potentially dangerous situation of hiking through the terrain ahead alone.

So I left! i knew the road would lead me to another road, and another road, and eventually a highway which I **hoped** would  lead to Chama. I would figure it out.

I hiked until about 7pm when a car drove by and I stopped them to ask about the way to Chama, apparently I only had about 6 miles to go until the highway and about 30 road miles to Chama. Yes!!!!!

Elated I decided it was time to camp, and found a spot snug on a short ridge beneath some scrub oak. The day was almost over. I broke my phone/camera/video camera/GPS/ and my Ipod (another instance in the day where I dropped it into a puddle), but I was safe and happy that i made the right decision.

Whew. I was dragging today. It might have been the HEAVY pack or the fact I didn’t drink much water over the last two days (maybe more beer than water?? oops.)

Alan and I left Santa Fe fairly early and got to Ghost Ranch just before 10. He decided to come hike a bit with me, and it’s the first friend I’ve had join me for an hour, it was really nice to show off the CDT, especially the amazing sandstone cliffs of that area.

We had a break and said our goodbyes and I headed up, up, up to thinner air. I was slow and dragging. Then i missed the trail for an alternate, but for some dumb reason I turned around instead of walking up the drainage….there was a very obvious way to connect back to the trail, but no. I turned around, and then got turned around again and wasted a good hour. Grrrrr.

I struggled up a bushwack to the top of the mesa and sucked eggs. And then made myself lunch of a pastrami bagel with feta cheese spread on a sesame bagel. That helped, so did the ipod I put on.

The going was slow and the old dirt track still muddy in spots from the torrential rain two days ago. I got rained on, but just a bit. Heard thunder, but just a bit. Was quite beautiful on top with glowing young aspen trees everywhere and cheeky little dandelions everywhere. I think dandelions might have a good chance at taking over the world…they are tenacious suckers.

Anyway I made it to a spring and walked just a bit further to find camp…a bit early, but I’m exhausted and have no reason to push. It may snow tonight…heavy rain is forecast, and I have one more day of walking before I reach the postholing snow I’ve heard so much about. I can let the potentially sunny forecast for Wednesday melt off more of that stuff. I’ve got 8 hikers breaking trail one day ahead of me, so I can afford to hang back and rest up when I’m feeling so ragged.

Ahhh, madras lentil tasty bite for dinner, and a hot apple cider, gourmet!

Taking time off to come into Santa Fe to visit my bud Extreme Alan has been wonderful. He met me at Ghost Ranch and as we drove the hourish route into the city it began to snow. At 7,000. Not an exciting sight.

The trail traverses some high elevations in this next stretch (only about 100 miles to Colorado!), and all the recent storms have left a hefty layer of snow. Yikes. I have to admit, with all my winter travel experience it’s still daunting to know there is snow out there and more coming. Storms predicted all week. Ugg. Some hikers just shared their harrowing experience of the next stretch and it hasn’t done much for my nervousness, but I have used the opportunity of being in a big city to evaluate my gear.

I picked up some micro spikes, borrowed some pants from Alan, and Kirk is sending some gortex pants, snow gaiters, skis, skins, wax, new tyvek, several compactor bags, Aqua Mira (frozen filter??) and probably some others things I can’t think of right now. My gortex socks will be life savers out there, and so now it’s just doing it.

But the rest has been wonderful. Alan and Andy (housemates) have been most welcoming and have unflinchingly helped me in all my various tasks and chores (and didn’t comment on my pervasive hiker stench). So much so that the second day Alan and I were able to play tourist in Santa Fe. We stalked the Outside Magazine office, walked around the open air artist markets, looked at a few old churches, watched Mad Max, and took a short hike to an overlook of the whole city. It’s been great!

Ate good food, caught up with a great friend, and got myself rested and prepped for the next section.

Not looking forward to the storms that will be most heavy in the next two days, but hopefully they will have done their thing and I can enjoy the sunlight for the few days of postholing I’ll have in the second half of the next stretch. Now all those big miles I’ve been doing seem to have caught up with me, but with the continued storm cycle we are facing I’m not sure it would have made much difference.

Onward!

(Some of my previously written blog posts were saved despite the broken phone! Joy!)

I got chased by storms all day. Literally.

I woke up to thunderheads coming my way in the morning, so I made short order of packing up and headed out to climb the big mesa in front of me. I had just made it to the top when the winds picked up and I could see the clouds approaching (it actually felt quite good as I was SWEATY), but kept moving. This happened all morning until early afternoon when they actually caught me.

I’m meeting my friend Alan at Ghost Ranch tomorrow morning to take a day or two off in Santa Fe, but with this dark dark sky, the 26 miles into shelter and food and a bed doesn’t sound that bad. I think I’m gonna do it! Another big day when there is still snow falling in the mountains north of here and people telling us to slow down…but it’s so hard to slow down when my legs are feeling strong and I am hiking alone and all there is to do is hike. This is what I’m here for! So I hike. And I’ll probably get to some considerable snow soon…but the good thing is I’m fairly comfortable in snow, and I have my skis coming!!! That’s right. It looks like I may get to use my shoe-binding skis in southern Colorado. In fact, it might be easier if there is more snow (sorry other hikers!)

Back to the hiking…after that first big climb on the mesa the rest of the day was downhill, on some really nice trail. It’s hard not to make miles when it’s so good! And when I emerged from all the downhill…..WOW, it does get better! The scenery keeps getting better! A lot of the terrain on top of the mesas reminds me of the high desert in Oregon, but then I get a glimpse of these dramatic and jaw-dropping sandstone cliffs, and I am blown away.

Today I was almost literally blown away…the storm was still on my heals, and I didn’t linger long as the rain was starting to fall. I tried to soak in as much of the beauty as I could…pictures just can not do this area justice, and kept hiking.

The rain came. I got out my umbrella. Kept hiking.

Hiking

More hiking until I reached the Ghost Ranch alternate, and started the 11 mile walk to warmth! The road I was on follows the Chama River, and yep, another waterway I would like to come back and boat.

I kept looking back and the storms and rain and clouds made for some pretty dramatic landscapes. Even though the miles are long and the pace is hurried, I had a great day.

I turned off the road and unfortunately the periodic rain created the perfect concoction for mud boots. The heavy red clay soil caked on my shoes again and again, it felt like 10 pound weights on my feet. UGGGGGG.

And then I was there!

Oh beautiful Ghost Ranch with your all-you-can-eat meals and your bunk rooms. There was enough space for about 10 dirty hikers, and I met a bunch of new hikers that have been in front of me. Pimp Limp’s dad had come to visit and brought the desired beers! We ate and celebrated the fact we were not in the downpour, and of course all the talk was of the snow. Yep it’s still snowing.

But tonight, dry and warm.