Monday, May 28
After a wonderful time together in Albuquerque, Eva drove me back to the little town of Cuba where we ate an early lunch, said our goodbyes, and then I was all alone again and hiking north to my next resupply at Ghost Ranch Retreat Center. It was a warm breezy day, and I had over 3,500 feet of climbing in the next 16 miles. I hiked out with a frozen soda and Subway sandwich, which I enjoyed for dinner. (The frozen soda keeps the sandwich cold until I'm ready to eat it.)
Cuba is dry high desert, but it wasn’t long before the terrain dramatically changed, and for the first time on the CDT, I was in a beautiful pine forest with streams and lush green meadows. It was an amazing transition and I camped at 10,490 feet just before the trail would plunge down over 3,000 feet in the next 11 miles. I thought I would save the long decent for tomorrow morning when I would have fresh legs. It was a cool evening and I imagined an even colder night, so I added the rain fly to my tent to break the wind and keep me a bit warmer.
Tuesday, May 29
As I expected, it was a very crisp cool morning and I used my puffy down jacket for the first time to keep warm while I ate breakfast. The day's hiking began with a dramatic plunge down the mountain and by lunchtime I was below 7,500; it was hot, dry, and I was back in the familiar high desert of New Mexico.
After lunch I had a steep 1,200 foot climb and I regretted having to do it in the heat of the day. (You know it's steep when there are separate trails for humans and horses.) I had plenty of time and water so I just kept grinding away at it until I was at the top. Once again, what goes up, must come down, and I began a steep 1,600 foot decent. I stopped at a creek around 5:00 PM to have an early dinner and rest my tired legs. After dinner I relaxed, slowed down my pace, and hiked another three miles. I camped 2 miles before the next water and 13 miles to Ghost Ranch with a long road walk in between.
Wednesday, May 30
I woke up at 6:05 AM and was hiking before 7:00 AM. I was motivated by the thought of eating lunch at Ghost Ranch. 13 miles by noon was possible, but alas, it was not to be. Allow me to complain...I mean, explain: The road walking was harder than I thought. What looked flat on my map was really rolling hills that seemed to suck the life right out of me. It was like running hills at Knights Ferry with a friend who would always remind me...no talking on the uphills!
I put in my earbuds, cranked up the tunes, and tried to plow through. I was making good progress until I realized I missed a turn and now had to walk 2 extra miles on a paved highway to get back to the trail. It felt like every car that whizzed by was laughing at me! They knew I wasn't supposed to be there and so did I! I was so distracted, I missed the junction back to the trail (I only overshot it by a quarter mile), but rather than hike back, I exited the highway and began bushwacking my way to the trail.
A few scrapes and scratches later, I was standing on the trail at 11:57 AM and two miles to Ghost Ranch. After having to take off my pack three times in a quarter miles to crawl under barbed wire fences, I decided that whatever they were serving for lunch at Ghost Ranch wasn't worth it. I found a nice spot to eat lunch, made some lemonade, and enjoyed a nice lunch of cheese, crackers, and a meat stick. After a snickers for dessert, I finished the quart of lemonade and sauntered into Ghost Ranch like I owned the place!
They have two lodging options: camping and guest rooms. I was planning to camp, but after my traumatic morning, I decided to pay extra for the guest room. When I checked in, the clerk informed me that the forest between Cuba and Ghost Ranch is closed due to severe fire danger. They also said that the forest between Ghost Ranch and Chama, NM (my next resupply) will close next week. I'll be leaving Ghost Ranch first thing in the morning to hopefully beat this pending closure. This is a fairly remote area, so once I get started it will be difficult to stop me!
In less than five days I should cross the border into Colorado at Cumbres Pass and then hitch back to Chama, NM, to resupply. It looks like it's going to be a low snow year in Colorado which will be great for me! I've got an ice ax, micro spikes, and extra clothes so I should be prepared for anything!
For additional content, check out Flickr for images, YouTube for video, SoundCloud for audio, and the Postholer Map with my most recent location.
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