Grants, New Mexico

I am in Grants, New Mexico, after hiking a solid stretch from Chama to here.  I am with a group of 14 other hikers, and we have decided to stick together for the remainder of the trail.  Who said that this trail was a solitary experience?

New Mexico has been awesome with its long. easy, mesa walks, warm desert terrain, and stunning, colorful scenery.  This has been such a change of pace from the cold, snowy, slopes of Colorado, and a reward of sorts for us southbound hikers.  I also just went over Mount Taylor (11,301-feet), and that peak represents the last time I will be above 10,000-feet on this entire trip.  Yeah!

My next stretch looks to be pretty easy, as I walk to Pie Town.  I understand that there are lava fields in the Malpais National Monument that pose a challenge, but for the most part, it looks like I will remain at 6,000-7,000-feet.

I just updated my trail journals, but I am still behind.  If you are reading my journal, please bear with any mistakes in typing, etc.  Unfortunately, wi-fi internet is shoddy at hotel rooms, so I have to go to places like the Grants Chamber of Commerce - Mining Museum to get things done.  I have also updated my videos, which you will notice on the side the screen here on the blog.  I also uploaded all my current pictures on Flickr.  Check them out.

Again, I am having the time of my life out here on the trail.  I have only 418-miles to go on this journey, and a big part of me does not want it to end.  However, there is that part of me that wants to get this trail finished - that is that part of me that wants to sleep in a warm bed, eat healthy meals, not freeze, and not feel pain in my hips and feet at the end of the day.  In spite of the visual rewards on this hike, it is sometimes taxing on the body and psyche.

I will probably not be able to update things for a while, as I make a long journey from Grants to Mimbres, NM without internet and other digital services.  I hope to make another update in two weeks.  See ya!

Short Break at Ghost Ranch

I walked into Ghost Ranch yesterday around 4:00.  The sun was shining, and temperatures were in the low 70's.  I got a little sun in this last stretch since Cumbres Pass in Colorado, as the weather over the last four days has been spectacular.  I am amazed at how quickly conditions can change over a week.  At this time last week, I was trudging through snow, wind, and cold temperatures.  Yesterday, I walked through red canyons, warm temperatures, and desert terrain.  I was thinking about shedding my warm weather gear in Cuba, but I think that might be a bit too soon.

I will be leaving Ghost Ranch here in about an hour.  I am currently at 6,300-feet above sea level, and from the way it looks, I will be ascending back over 10,000-feet in this short 55-mile stretch - I have some climbing to do!  I look forward to more of the beautiful terrain here in Northern New Mexico, and I can see how the surrounding landscape inspired Georgia O'Keefe with her art.  Pretty cool!

Windy South San Juans

I arrived at Cumbres Pass on October 13th, and I am staying with Leprechaun (PCT '03) and his wife Laura.  It is good to be off the CDT, since it was snowing and quite cold when I got off the trail.

The trail from Wolf Creek Pass to Cumbres Pass was, for the most part, tough and brutal.  The first day out of Pagosa Springs was great, although windy.  I slept at Elwood Pass, where two former CDT hikers Puff Puff and Snappy (CDT 2007) had parked their truck, and were providing trail magic.  It was awesome!

On October 11th, I left camp to hike some of the slowest miles I have ever hiked on any trail.  There was so much snow on the the trail, that I could only hike 5.3-miles in four hours.  Winds were also terrible, as they gusted to 40 mph, blowing stinging snow in my eyes and face.  I was hiking through a beautiful area of the South San Juans, with great views of Montezuma and Summit Peaks.  Unfortunately, it was hard to appreciate the views because of the weather.

The group I was hiking with decided to bail on the CDT at Adams Fork in favor of a lower route.  I ascended back to the CDT on October 12th at Blue Lake, and thankfully, the winds had died down, and the snow was melting due to warmer temperatures.  I hiked to Rio De Los Pinos Creek camp, where I met up with Puff Puff and Snappy, who were waiting with hot dogs, chips, and soda pop.  I went to bed that night, and was awakened in the middle of the night by snow, hail, and rain.  Will the weather ever let up?

I spent my last night in Colorado, and when I head back up to the trail on October 15th, I have a mere 4-miles to hike before I leave Colorado, and I say "Good riddance!"  Ever since Tennessee Pass, the weather in Colorado has been horrible.  I am hoping that conditions will be better in New Mexico.  The altitude in New Mexico is lower, which means that there should be less snow.  I am keeping my fingers crossed.

Weary of the Snow in the San Juans

Snow has come early in the San Juans, according to a local, and I just got my butt kicked by the weather.  I am not the only one.  There are 13 southbound CDT hikers here in Pagosa Springs, and all but one (George) were forced off the Continental Divide by 18-24 inches of snow on the Divide.  Just today, when I crossed the Divide via the Sawtooth trail, I saw 4-5 inches of powder fall in the 9-hours I hiked.  It was brutal.

I attempted to hike through the San Juans last Saturday.  I made it from Spring Creek Pass to West Ute Lake before I had to bail on Monday.  I hiked the Ute Creek Trail down to Road Canyon Camp, where I endured temperatures in the single digits.  On Tuesday, I walked 26-miles on roads (mostly Hwy 149) all the way back to Creede.  I stayed there for the night, and I bought a new pair of shoes.  On Wednesday morning, I left Creede in a light snow shower, and I hiked the Creede Cutoff to a camp 5-miles below the Continental Divide.  This morning, I woke up to snow again, and I hiked up to the Divide.  The snow stopped momentarily, but then resumed after I got to Hope Mountian at 12,500-feet.  There, the snows really  kicked in again.  I walked about 12-miles through snow ranging from 6-inches to 24-inches, and now my legs are very sore from the experience.

I will be taking the day off here in Pagosa Springs to rest with all the hikers.  A lot of us feel like we have been through a battle, and we are going to decompress and talk about our experiences over the next day.  Hopefully, the weather will clear up for my next stretch through the South San Juans from Wolf Creek Pass to Cumbres Pass.  I guess that all remains to be seen.

Arrived at Spring Creek Pass - Heart of the San Juans Next

After a 5-day hike from Monarch Pass, I arrived at Spring Creek Pass, and I am now resting and re-supplying here in Creede, Colorado, which is an old mining town from back in the day.  It is hard to believe that this small town used to have 10,000-people living here back in 1892 before the Silver Panic of 1893.

The trail from Monarch Pass to here had variety.  I started out hiking through the southern end of the Sawatch Range, passing by Ouray Peak.  The trail then went through the Cochetopa Hills, which reminded me of the monotonous hiking on the AT in Virgina.  The CDT then dipped down into a low valley, before climbing again into the San Juan Mountains.  On October 1st, I climbed my fourth 14,000-foot peak (San Luis Peak) on this CDT hike.  It was awesome.  The trail continued through some rugged territory here in the San Juans, undulating through the headwaters of Mineral Creek, before traversing a long plateau known at Snow Mesa.



I am leaving for the southern San Juans tomorrow, and I am hoping the weather continues to remain "good" for the San Juans.  Lately I have been experiencing temperatures in the teens at night, and the winds have been kicking up.  I think there will be some snow in the San Juans over the next six days, but I think it will be manageable... at least I hope.  I have good maps in case I need to bail, but I do not anticipate that happening.

Approaching the San Juans

I arrived in Salida, Colorado on Saturday the 26th, and I have been staying here at the Simple Hostel. The weather for the last week has been cold and snowy, but it looks like the weather will be nice for the next few days until Wednesday and Thursday, when a small system moves through the area. This means that I will be attempting to hike the CDT through the San Juans here in Colorado.

This is a big deal, since one never knows what to expect for weather in the San Juans. I have had people tell me that it can dump 6-feet of snow in a day there, or it can be sunny and dry there until November. One does not know what to expect, but I figure that it's worth a shot. I have purchased some additional clothing, so that I can get through the snow, and bear the colder days, if they do come.

I am also approaching the end of Colorado. I figure that I have another 10-12 days here. I have loved hiking in this, my native state. I have appreciated the great and beautiful scenery, the history, and the people here. I will say that I have been disappointed with all the development (roads, powerlines, houses, mines, etc.) here in the mountains, and the environmental devastation wrought by mining. Some of the creeks up here in the mountains have been poisoned by mines, making some of the rivers uninhabitable to fish and other wildlife. Frankly, I have to be careful which creeks I draw water from, so that I am not ingesting chemicals and toxins. I think Colorado has a lot of challenges before it to clean up its rivers for all who depend on them for water and recreation.

Rough Weather Heading Into Twin Lakes

I hiked into Twin Lakes this afternoon, and I am glad to get out of the cold weather for a night.  On Sunday, a front moved through the mountains, bringing with it rain, snow, wind, and colder temperatures.  I was so chilled, I thumbed a ride at Tennessee Pass to Leadville, where I stayed at the the Leadville Hostel, and warmed up. 

I went back out on the trail on Monday, and the snow was falling at a pretty good clip.  Eventually, it stopped, and the sun came out, warming the day up to 40-degrees.  I camped at Halfmoon Creek that night, where temperatures fell into the high 20's.

I did not let the weather dampen my determination to climb Mt. Elbert (14,433-feet), which is the highest peak in Colorado, and the second highest peak in the contiguous United States behind Mt Whitney in California.  It was cold, snowy, and windy up at the top, so I spent maybe 5-minutes up there.  I scrambled back down Mt. Elbert, where I cross-country hiked through snow that was knee-deep in some areas, and then I followed the South Mt. Elbert trail down to the CDT.  It was quite the adventure, but I survived.

I will try and get my trail journal updated in full in Salida, Colorado, where I plan to take my next zero day.  While there I will update my videos on YouTube and pictures on Flickr.  Expect updates again on Sunday.

At the Doorstep of Colorado's Front Range

After a wonderful break in Steamboat Springs, I resumed my hike through the Rabbit Ears and Never Summer Ranges in Colorado.  About 11-miles of that hiking was on US 40 and State Route 14, which was very precarious road walking (yuck!), but thankfully the rest of the mileage kept me up over 10,000-feet, which made for very scenic walking.  Certainly the highlights of the last section were climbing Parkview Mountain and skirting Ruby and Cascade Mountains on the boundary of the Never Summer Wilderness.

I have been resting in Denver at my brother's house for the last two days, but I am heading back on the trail today, where I will rejoin my companions for a 106-mile stretch through Colorado's Front Range, which will likely include climbs up two 14,000-foot peaks (Gray's and Torrey's Peaks).  Hopefully, the weather cooperates over the next five days through this fabled section of the Rocky Mountains.