Cumbres Pass to Pagosa Springs

I reached Wolf Creek Pass yesterday afternoon (ahead of schedule) and caught a ride into Pagosa Springs for an unplanned day off, as the hike from Cumbres Pass/Chama was more tiring than expected. 

This was a low snow year, but as I am still fairly early, so the north-facing slopes and forested areas still had significant snow.  The nighttime temperatures were not low enough for it to refreeze overnight, so I postholed much of the time I was on snow, making for slow progress and long days.  Additionally, when I was not on snow, the wind was a steady 20 mph most of the time, gusting to 40 mpg.  The pictures do not do the conditions justice, as I was not in the mood to photograph myself stuck waist-deep in snow on a steep slope.

When I was able to forget about my exhaustion, the scenery was beautiful.  I also saw my first porcupine and what I believe were two wolves (they were far off and ran away quickly).



Trailhead at Cumbres Pass.

Bark beetle damage.

Sunset at camp.



Rock windscreen.

 

Entering the South San Juan Wilderness.

 

The trail comes down from there.

Porcupine.

Snowy pass.

The trail came from the saddle to the left across the snowy slope.



South-facing slopes were relatively snow-free.



The trail goes across the left side of the valley and back up the right.



The trail goes over that somewhere...



Ghost Ranch to Chama

I have reached Colorado!  The sage and sandstone terrain quickly gave way to the high rolling hills of the Rockies.  We were around 10,000' most of the stretch and frequently encountered patches of snow. 

My feet are almost 100% and continuing to improve in new, larger shoes.  We have been able to increase our daily mileage to the high 20s both due to feeling better and increasing daylight.

I spent the night in Chama, New Mexico, which is reached from Cumbres Pass, just over the border in Colorado.  Clement will soon be hitching to Denver and I will return to the pass to head north solo.  The San Juan mountains are quite high and snowy, so I have added a few pieces of clothing and an ice axe.  I plan to be in Pagosa Springs on Saturday and head out the same day to Lake City.  This should take a week and a half, and there is a good chance I will not be online until then.

Clement on the way out of Ghost Ranch.

A shortcut that wasn't.

The wild iris are starting to bloom.

Cooking dinner.

The elk were abundant in this stretch.

Walking the ridge.

The meadows are saturated with snowmelt.

Colorado border!

A great spring--no filtering required.

Walking the rails to Cumbres Pass.

Hitching into Chama.

Cuba to Ghost Ranch

Clement and I left Cuba after a leisurely cup of coffee for a quick 53 mile overnight hike to Ghost Ranch, a retreat center just off the trail that is the nearest access point to Santa Fe, where we were picked up by a family friend for a day off and a chance to resupply in a real city.

The climb out of Cuba was beautiful.  I expected more of the same sandstone/mesa terrain that we had been going through, but instead we climbed through aspen up to open alpine meadows saturated with snowmelt and surrounded by pink granite.

We did not sleep well that night, as a group of wolves nearby woke us several times with their howling.  An early start was required to make it to Ghost Ranch in time for the pickup.  It was difficult to get out of my sleeping bag, as a layer of frost had settled overnight, although the day warmed quickly as we descended to the Chama River through more of the familiar open sage brush country.

Our time off in Santa Fe has been productive, although it is hard to relax when there is so much to be done.  We both picked up new shoes and socks, among other things.  I am looking forward to my feet healing in roomier shoes that have more cushioning.

We will be back on the trail later today, and should reach Chama on Monday morning.

Clement on the way up from Cuba.

Going over San Pedro Peaks.

Aspen

Cold morning start.

Chama River

On the way to Ghost Ranch

Grants to Cuba 2

I arrived in Cuba this afternoon with Clement, Ross, and Waldo.  Ross (whom I met in Pie Town) and Waldo caught up to us in Grants and we have stuck together for the past few days.  Clement and I are heading out first thing in the morning, while the others are taking a day off.

The rest of our time in Grants was excellent.  We had a leisurely morning at the post office and a quick lunch before Carole drove us to the trailhead so we could walk back into town on five miles of road without packs.  We started in earnest just before dinner, but still made another dozen miles.

Shortly out of Grants we climbed Mt. Taylor.  It is a volcano that erupted ~2 million year ago, losing about 7,000 feet.  We encountered our first snow on the north side, albeit only a few patches.

The trail involved much more true trail and less dirt road than previous sections.  We are starting to encounter regular ups and downs as we navigate the beautiful mesas and the afternoon thunderstorms that I had expected from the Rockies.  Unfortunately, the weather has ended my streak of cowboy camping--I setup my shelter two nights ago for the first time on the trail.

The next leg is only 53 miles to an access point from where Clement and I will spend a day off in Santa Fe.  We both are in need of new shoes and a few other bits of gear.

Grants to Cuba 1

Clement and I with Carole Mumm

Atop Mt. Taylor

Clement on the way up Mt. Taylor

Wide open spaces.

Near the edge of a mesa, overlooking volcanic necks.

Afternoon thunderclouds assembling.

Handmade CDT sign.

Preparing to climb another mesa.

I have been following blooms north.

Following the cairns along the sandstone.

Skirting the base of a mesa.

Improvising a tub for an epsom salt foot soak while catching up on the computer.

Pie Town To Grants

I arrived in Grants on May 7 and am now have ~400 miles behind me.  It has yet to rain, and I have slept in the open every night on the trail.

The first stretch from Pie Town included quite a bit of dirt road, with a bit of asphalt to give the feet an extra beating.   The second half followed the Narrows, a stretch of Jurassic sandstone cliffs, and El Malpais, a Quaternary basalt flow.  

Grants is home to the Mumms, the local trail angels (for those unfamiliar, that is the term used to describe those that host hikers, put out water caches along dry stretches, shuttle us around, etc).  We enjoyed a fantastic dinner and breakfast with them, and are spending today catching up on shopping and the internet--amenities that were not available in Pie Town.

I will head north to Cuba tomorrow with Clement.  Brooks is heading to Albuquerque for adventures on nearby trails, although I may see him again in southern Colorado.

I really hope they are bluffing.

Overlooking the basalt field.

Springtime.

Natural sandstone arch.

El Malpais ("The Badlands") were slow going.

Bonita Canyon

Clement under threatening skies.

Zuni Canyon

Pie Town

Pie Town requires its own post.  The town consists of two cafes, a post office, several normal houses, and one very special Toaster House.  If Pie Town were Seattle, the Toaster House would be all of Fremont on one lot.  No one lives in the Toaster House, but Nita and her family have hosted hikers and bikers there since 1982.  Since moving out of the house, they have left the door unlocked and pantry stocked for all who need a place to stay.

I took a day off there with Clement and Brooks, along with Ross, a hiker from Cincinnati who was letting his feet heal up.  After showering and starting laundry, I accepted the challenge of cooking dinner on a wood stove (in a towel and rain jacket, of course, as everything else was in the wash).  In the morning, we went out to breakfast at the only cafe open for breakfast, where we enjoyed eggs, giant pancakes, and a rotation of ranchers and the like that caused Clement to comment, "I thought this only happened in the movies..."  One was even wearing functional spurs.  We were later told that the crowd used to included an old cowboy that wore his Colt around town.  After picking up our resupply boxes at the adobe post office, we spent a leisurely three hour lunch at the Pie-o-Neer Cafe, which also had delicious pie.  Nita came by to say hello and gave us a tour of the local sites, including the local NRAO Very Large Array outpost and the Stool Bus.

Firing up the stove.

After an excellent breakfast.

Ross, me, Clement, and Brooks after lunch.

The local rendition of Sasquatch.

With the wonderful Nita.

I think I will wait for the next bus...

The Toaster House, with its namesake gateway.