Thursday, May 31
Just before leaving Ghost Ranch, a hiker I've never met approached me with the fervor of a street evangelist and said, "The forest is closed and I'm road walking to Chama. It's only 40 miles and we can be there in two days!" He was clearly looking for someone to join him, but I wasn't interested. Just to make sure he understood the current forest closure, I clarified that the Santa Fe National Forest south of Ghost Ranch was closed due to fire danger, but there were no current closures between Ghost Ranch and Chama. I also pointed out that I was in no rush to get to Chama. I wanted to give the snow in the San Juan Mountains as much time to melt as possible. It was clear I didn't change his mind about road walking, but he didn't seem upset that I didn't want to road walk. I wished him well and was on my way!
Although my next resupply stop is in Chama, New Mexico, before I get there, I will reach the border of Colorado! I've hiked 568 miles and it is only another 90 to the northern border of New Mexico. After crossing the border, I'll hike three more miles into Colorado to reach Cumbres Pass where I'll hitch back into New Mexico to Chama (the closest town to the CDT). Can you tell I'm excited to finish New Mexico?
But I'm getting ahead of myself. I'm still in the desert and it can't end soon enough. I'm tired of the heat, sand, lack of water and the infinite amount of cow dung EVERYWHERE! After a long hot climb out of Ghost Ranch, I got my wish...at least until Wyoming. The desert gave way to aspen and pine trees and for the next 80 miles the trail never dipped below 8,500 feet and was usually over 10,000 feet.
I'm camped with three other people: Bee-Dub, Medic, and Bourbon. It's nice to be camping with other hikers...especially since hearing about a black bear attacking a car camper, in his tent, in the Gila National Forest. The assumption is the bear was attracted to the tent because there was food in the tent.
It's common for thru-hikers to sleep with their food, and currently that's what I am doing. But as a precaution, I've asked Eva to mail me my Ursack, a bear and rodent resistant kevlar sack used for food storage. I'm 5 days away from Chama, NM, so I'll just have to do my best to minimize food odors and avoid camping where there are obvious signs of bear activity. I'm not too freaked out, but it's still nice to have a few other hikers around.
Friday , June 1
It's hard to describe how wonderful the hiking was today: beautiful trees, flowing water, and breathtaking views for miles in every direction. (There is still an amazing amount of cow dung...) Sometime in the afternoon I reached 600 miles on the CDT and celebrated with an extra snickers with dinner! I saw the other hikers I camped with last night occasionally throughout the day and we again camped together near a small creek. It was a great day and I'm beginning to feel like I'm doing more than just "surviving" the CDT...I'm actually enjoying myself.
Thanks for following along!
Comments