The snow continued into the night but stopped by morning, letting us get started in relatively dry conditions. We had a small climb and then big drop to a highway. Then we had a very long climb up above 10,000ft then stayed above there for a few hours. What made things interesting is that it started snowing heavily as we climbed. By the time we hit the top there was a solid 6 inches of snow on the ground, making following the trail a challenge. Also, the footing was tough due to the snow covering loose rocks and roots. We were warm enough while we climbed but cooled down once we were on top.

The continued mantra was that we would make it to Circle A Ranch and sleep in a bed instead of our wet tents and sleeping bags. The other thought I had was pure schadenfreude – thankful I wasn’t still way up in the San Juans, probably getting a foot of snow dumped on me.

We eventually dropped down far enough to get out of snow and motored down to the ranch right as the sun was setting. It’s right at the end of their season, so it is very quiet and not much was available for us, but that worked out fine. A warm shower to get my hands functioning again and just eating our trail dinners indoors as the rain picked up again was pretty nice.

Daily Summary
Date: Oct 7, 2011
Day 106
Daily Distance: 29 miles
Trip Distance: 2089.9 miles

We camped in pinyon pines and grass last night and right away this morning we dropped into a canyon that was pure desert and cacti. We descended to Ghost Ranch, a Presbyterian retreat tucked into the beautifully banded canyon. I think it was built on land donated by Georgia O’Keefe. We got there on time to hang out for a bit and then have a coveted All You Can Eat Lunch with the actual guests of the Ranch. While we were waiting we found Chance who had been behind us but had moved ahead by road walking from Chama. He headed out before lunch, because he had had the AYCE breakfast already and was still full.

The lunch was delightful, lots of people chatting with us and then some coffee. I, of course, ridiculously over-ate and had to be hauled out to the trail by Kevin and Piper. The weather deteriorated rapidly as we headed out, going from light mist to windy rain to wind-driven sleet to snow. We were climbing a river valley then turned into a canyon and climbed up the end of it. Everything was generally shrouded in the misty clouds, but what we could see was really pretty.

Large parts of the afternoon were on the same shoe-sucking mud as yesterday but we were mostly laughing about it instead of bemoaning it. We have camped on the lip of the canyon and snow is now accumulating around us. Fortunately, tomorrow we expect to get to another ranch where we will be able to sleep indoors.

Since I’ve stuck with Kevin and Piper for a bit, I should say a bit about them. Kevin is a Jew from Connecticut who has spent most of his adult life teaching snowboarding in Aspen. He loves movies and TV and can talk for hours about them (which is quite handy for whiling away the hours on the trail). Unfortunately, he also loves puns. Piper is a pastor from Missouri who grew up on a farm. He works at a university as a computer programmer, and again, we can go on for hours about “work stuff”. He’s also obsessed with Google stuff, which is marginally less worrying than being an Apple fan-boy. Anyways, they have made this string of crappy weather quite bearable.

Daily Summary
Date: Oct 6, 2011
Day 105
Daily Distance: 25 miles
Trip Distance: 2060.9 miles

What a day! It poured most of the night, but finally slacked off towards morning. It was still raining lightly though as we soggily got up before dawn. We hiked off quickly, but due to the cold, didn’t check maps/GPS and missed a turn. This was the story of the day. We camped last night near a trail marker and then today we didn’t see another one in a useful place the whole day. Our wrong turn led us miles off course because we didn’t think to check until the next junction. We then had to bushwhack back to the trail.

We got rolling in the right direction and committed to checking every junction, usually with Piper’s GPS. There were so many turns that you would have never found without a GPS. So many. Today was a day for getting completely lost if I didn’t have a GPS.

Anyways, we did. The other thing was that last nights rain turned all the jeep roads and trails to hilariously sticky mud. We would build up mud inches thick on our shoes and trekking poles regularly. My trekking poles actually started making my arms hurt they got so heavy at points. This was essentially all day too, very little non-mud. It also snowed, sleeted, and rained at various points, but not enough to really annoy us.

It was nice hiking with Kevin and Piper, chatting to pass the time. They don’t quite follow the same schedule as me but I think I will adapt to theirs for now. Longer hiking hours and less breaks, but company and generally the same pace is a good compromise for now.

The mileage I’m quoting for the day is a total guesstimate because we took so many wrong turns and random shortcuts it’s impossible get it right. I have never been so lost as we were today, even while following the GPS, our instincts for where to turn and what not were just so wrong it was almost funny.

Daily Summary
Date: Oct 5, 2011
Day 104
Daily Distance: 32 miles
Trip Distance: 2035.9 miles

Slept like a baby, even while it rained off and on throughout the night. I had a nice morning hike along some pretty escarpments and valleys. Around lunch the weather turned and it started raining quite hard for the rest of the day. It was windy and cold too, so the day was pretty much ruined for enjoyment, I just walked as fast as possible to stay warm.

I caught up to Kevin and Piper around 5pm and we walked and caught up with everything since we last saw each other at the start of Colorado. The only reason I’ve caught them is that they keep going to weddings :).

I think getting to New Mexico has gotten me thinking too much about the end of the trail. I still have to focus on each day of hiking, because a month is a long time. If I just think about the end it kills enjoyment of the now.

Daily Summary
Date: Oct 4, 2011
Day 103
Daily Distance: 30.4 miles
Trip Distance: 2003.9 miles

Well, I made it to New Mexico, twice! First, my tent got covered, inside and out, in frost. But the first rays of sun hit my feet and got me moving quick in the morning. The trail into Cumbres Pass was through some recent clearcut, but the bright side was they had actually made a nice trail afterwards. I had a lot of notes telling me it was really difficult to figure the area out, but I blazed right through. I got into Chama by 10:30ish thanks to a ride from a couple Latino hunters and quickly got my shopping out of the way. That being my only town chore, I parked myself at a little restaurant and ate for 2 hours.

The only annoying thing about Chama is that it’s one of those towns built around a highway, so it’s about 3 miles long and sadly I was far from the end I needed to leave town by. I walked to the edge of town, somewhat trying to hitch as I went, but not trying tooo hard. I ended up waiting an hour for a ride, crammed in the back of a jeep with another guy and a longboard.

I walked along some railway tracks (possibly the official CDT?) and then got onto a dirt road that I stuck with the rest of the day. After an hour or so, I crossed into New Mexico at a cattle guard :). So far NM looks a lot like Colorado, I even had my afternoon weather, although thankfully the lightning was striking a few hills away. I ended up hiking until well after dark (i.e. 7:30pm) because I was feeling good. I’m hoping the good trail continues and also it looks like a full moon is coming soon, which I will definitely hike by.

Daily Summary
Date: Oct 3, 2011
Day 102
Daily Distance: 24 miles
Trip Distance: 1973.5 miles

While wandering up some nice switchbacks today, I realized I sent a box of food to Cuba, NM by mistake. I was supposed to send it to the town before Cuba and eat it while walking there. This is what I get for being rushed in Pagosa. I figured out what to do to work around my boneheadedness, and I think everything will be fine 🙂

I am so close to New Mexico, I think I can see it! Probably helps that I’m camped near the top of Flattop Mountain. Flattop is apparently the last spot over 12,000 feet on the trail. I’m looking forward to being down a bit, hopefully just a few degrees warmer and less rain would be nice.

Oh, today’s rainstorm perfectly coincided with my dinner break (taken conveniently under a tree). Started pouring as I fired up my stove, and ended as I packed up. Then I enjoyed the evening light as I hiked up an open ridge/mesa, finally descending until I found a good sheltered spot lower on the ridge to camp. Great views for hours and a sunset to boot!

Daily Summary
Date: Oct 2, 2011
Day 101
Daily Distance: 28.6 miles
Trip Distance: 1949.5 miles

I ended up staying in Pagosa partially because I wanted to rest, but really waiting for shoes to arrive via UPS. The tracking info said it would arrive that day, so I was happy enough. Chance and Freebie took off to hike, with a trail angel named Matt C driving but I suspect I’ll see them both again.

I checked into a motel, drank some wine, went to a Mexican restaurant and drank beers with some nice locals. Then I rechecked my UPS info and discovered they had given the shoes to the local Post Office for them to deliver… the next day! I called the PO and asked them to put it aside for me to come pick up, which I did, probably saving half a day of annoyance. The story of actually getting the shoes is more complicated, but I’m told it’s a bit of a shaggy dog, so I’ll spare you. The new shoes are great!

Matt C called me in the evening saying he was headed out for a hike early on Day 100 (woo!) so he offered to take me along. I got to the trail head by 8am, possibly a record for getting out of a town (there is a reason hikers call towns “vortexes”).

Having spent a day in town, I really appreciated the hiking and scenery again. Well, honestly I was a bit hungover and full of coffee, so there were lots of breaks (to admire said scenery of course). There were some very cool spots, including a basin that had walls like a canyon and lots of neat mountains dusted with snow, jutting out of the divide.

That reminds me – the weather is back! I got snowed on a bit today and there was lots of thunder and lightning going on, thankfully not too close, as I was pretty exposed most of the day. I think the pattern of afternoon weather will probably continue, but I suspect I’ll be leaving it behind in the next few days.

Daily Summary
Date: Sept 30 – Oct 1, 2011
Day 99-100
Daily Distance: 26.1 miles
Trip Distance: 1920.9 miles

I buzzed through the morning with town on my mind, barely even seeing
the trail. Which is probably bad, but I couldn’t help it today. I
did meet some rangers who were surveying future trail work above Wolf
Creek Pass. Then I lost my sunglasses at some point which sucks,
because there were tons of day hikers around who aren’t likely to get
them back to me.

I got a ride from a couple who actually U-Turned after going by and
came back for me. I didn’t even have my thumb out yet, they just
figured I probably needed a ride. Great stuff eh? Once I got into
town I made contact with Chance and Freebie (Chance having taken a
shortcut to get here ahead of me). They had found some friends of
Chance’s in town (Mike and Caroline), and eventually Mike took us back
to his house with a stop at the grocery store for me.

They all went and played some sort of paintball thing called AirSoft
while I chilled out at their house using the WiFi and doing some
chores. We had dinner and hung out for the evening.

Daily Summary
Date: Sept 29, 2011
Day 98
Daily Distance: 14.8 miles
Trip Distance: 1894.8 miles

The last few days I’ve been having some knee pain going downhill. Feels like a bit of meniscus is getting ground up but when I take ibuprofen it goes away completely. I’m hoping this is just due to the rough terrain combined with my shoes being at the end of their life (you can see my big toe through the side). Due to good logistics/sheer luck, I should have new shoes waiting for me tomorrow in Pagosa Springs.

Anyways, the hiking today was quite nice. Lots of time on the divide plus some interesting volcanic mountains.

Today is the first day on the whole CDT that I didn’t see another person. That seems crazy but for such a remote trail, but it’s true. For all of Montana I saw Chance every day, so that’s an area where I might have had more solo days otherwise. I’m not sure that it’s a big deal at all, but I do remember before I started being worried about being alone so much. Turns out to be another CDT myth, at least for me.

Daily Summary
Date: Sept 28, 2011
Day 97
Daily Distance: 27.4 miles
Trip Distance: 1880 miles

Beautiful hiking today, deep in the Weminuche Wilderness. I circled Rio Grande Pyramid, which was pointed out to me by the couple I walked with right at the start of this section – 2 days ago! It was very pretty, and you can see the landscape changing to more and more desert-like each day.

I met Professor, a section hiker around lunch and we had a nice chat about hiking the PCT (he did it in 1990) and he gave me a few notes on what is to come. His opinion is that if I beat the weather to Cumbres Pass, 64 miles south of my next stop in Pagosa Springs/Wolf Creek Pass, then I will be OK for the rest of the trip. I try pretty hard not to think about anything past the current section because it makes the trip seem too big… So getting info like that tends to just make me nervous.

In lighter news, the other night while trying to get out of my tent, I managed to get my shoe caught on a guy-line badly enough that it took both hands to get myself untangled. While I was thrashing around, swearing and trying to get unstuck, I somehow stepped on my titanium pot, mushing it into an oval. It’s amazing I haven’t fallen off a cliff yet, really. The upside was that once I bent the pot back to shape, the lid now stays on more tightly than it previously did, a small but noticeable improvement!

Daily Summary
Date: Sept 27, 2011
Day 96
Daily Distance: 28.3 miles
Trip Distance: 1852.6 miles