Follow Strider's Rambles

Day 105

Yesterday I pushed to make miles because I knew today’s forecast called for rain. The day started well, only a scattering of rain on my tent when I packed it, and I rock hopped the Rio Vallecitos under a partially blue sky. At 9 am, it began to rain: sometimes light, often heavy, stopping occasionally though usually not for long. It was a miserable day, however I kept hiking because I was determined to make it over halfway through the remaining miles to Ghost Ranch.

I was in my typical rain layers – sun hoodie, Senchi, rain jacket – until about noon, when I sheltered under a pine tree. It was windy, the terrain was 10,000 ft. high, and my rain jacket had leaked. As a result, I was cold. I put on my yellow puffy, which took several minutes due to my damp hands getting stuck to the sleeve lining rather than sliding easily through. It took me a bit to warm up, but the puffy helped immensely. Next issue: my hands were so cold they could barely clip my pack buckles. While in town, I’d rinsed two of my plastic quart meal bags. I put them over my hands and was impressed how much they helped, shielding my hands from wind and rain.

Around 3 pm, I came upon a surprise pit toilet near Upper Canjilon Lake. It was perfect timing as I needed to pee and was hungry. I skipped lunch as there was nowhere to stop plus I had to move to keep warm. Inside the pit toilet, I ate a couple snacks and drank electrolytes. There was even an adjacent trash can and I threw away my emptied PB squeeze pouch.

The late afternoon brought muddy trails, which spattered my pant legs and slowed my steps. I encountered two backpackers headed north; the lady looked unhappy. Finally, around 5 pm, the rain stopped for a long time. Slowly, my pant legs and the wetness in my chest area dried, helped by a stiff breeze. I pushed my luck, making miles, though as soon as it started to rain again I pitched my tent on the closest patch of flat ground. I achieved my goal, 22.4 miles on a crappy day, only 19.3 left to Ghost Ranch. In my tent, I ate a big dinner and dried damp layers via body heat.

Day 106

When I woke, I thought my tent might take off as it flexed and flapped in the stiff breeze. After breakfast, I put on muddy pants then wet socks and shoes. It was misty and every now & then I stopped to release a layer of mud from my shoes. I’d done two miles when I heard a voice call out. I met Quick Draw, whose name I recognized from FarOut comments. We hiked together the rest of the day; it was nice to commiserate about yesterday’s misery.

Quick Draw started at the Mexican border and hiked to Grants before flipping to the Canadian border and hiking south, so after Ghost Ranch he only has 160 miles left. It’s his first long trail. He’s hiked solo except a day here & there with people and when his girlfriend joined him in Glacier NP. As we hiked along, the sun came out and we slowly delayered. We took a lunch break and laid our tents and other wet gear out to dry. A couple pickups went by and one had an elk in the back.

After lunch, we began a rocky descent that dropped us from 8,000 to 6,500 ft. The terrain changed drastically, juniper and cholla cactus replacing the pines. It also got drier, warmer and there were impressive sandstone rock formations. I spotted a tarantula and we paused to observe it. Then the trail dropped into Arroyo del Yeso, traveling back and forth across a creek that I bet was flowing only due to the recent rains. There was a ranch property sign and the appearance of day hikers.

Soon Ghost Ranch buildings were around us and we got directions to the Welcome Center. We split a room with two twin beds. It also came with dinner, breakfast, and 24/7 access to the dining hall. The hall was a thru hiker’s paradise: drink dispensers w/ various juices, coffee, tea, and a PB&J bar with GF bread! We went there immediately after leaving our gear in the room. I rehydrated with a lemonade & OJ mixed juice and ate PB & honey on GF bread.

Back at the room, Quick Draw and I went through our resupply boxes. I showered then we headed to the dining hall for dinner. Butter, Safari, and Ruby Red were seated outside. We assembled plates full of Frito Pie (there were GF & DF indicators!) and joined the others. They’d arrived earlier in the day, in time for lunch. We compared rainy day experiences. After dinner, I hurried off to Zoom in for my film club meeting. I did the first half in the room and the second half in the emptied dining hall. It was fun to catch up with my friends! Plus, I snacked on leftover rice Krispy treats and drank hot tea.

Day 107

Usually I sleep better in my tent than in a real bed, however I slept great. I used the Women’s bathroom and then it was breakfast time! This time we sat inside with the others. I enjoyed coffee, eggs, potatoes, and yogurt topped with fresh berries. Following breakfast, the others headed back to the trail. Quick Draw and I were unable to do laundry last night because the shop closed and we couldn’t get change. We got the wash going and our gear packed up for 10 am checkout. Then we transitioned to the dining hall to wait out the dryer cycle.

When our laundry finished, it was lightly raining and only an hour until lunch. Of course we stuck around! The rain didn’t last long. I saw Top Shelf outside and ran out to say hello. Since she planned to camp at the ranch and get a meal plan, she joined us for lunch. I ate two PB & honey sandwiches and a huge salad, plus drank more juice. It felt great to fill up on food that felt good to my gut.

It turned out that Top Shelf and I have similar trail interests! She’s done the AZT, the Grand Enchantment trail, and a 500 mile New Mexico loop trail. She wants to do the SDCT, the North Country Trail, and the Desert Trail. (We both love desert hiking.) Since she did the Gila River alternate when she did the CDT, Top Shelf plans to take the red line through the Black Mountains, which almost no one does. I’m on the fence about the Gila River so maybe I’ll do the red line with her; we exchanged numbers. It was 2:45 pm when Quick Draw and I finally departed Ghost Ranch.

The terrain was fairly flat, a mix of roads, horse trail, and one wood-slatted suspension bridge. Twice we got off trail and corrected by going cross country across the desert. The second time we said hello to a guy getting out of an SUV. It turned out to be Pitch Perfect’s husband. He drive 1400 miles in 20 hours from Washington state to hand deliver two of her boxes. Quick Draw called him husband of the year! He had three German Shepherds in the car, hence why he drove instead of flying.

I’d hoped to make it 10 miles at least, yet there was rain in the distance. When we felt the first drops hit, we quickly pitched our tents facing one another. Quick Draw had no water, only juice, and I had just enough to make breakfast and brush my teeth. (We’d hoped to make it to the nearby river.) He innovated by putting his pot under tent runoff and quickly got enough to make dinner. I was in tent leakage mode, occasionally soaking up puddles with my camp towel and releasing the water outside. Quick Draw’s water collection gave me an idea, I began squeezing the water into my BeFree filter bag. By the time the rain stopped, I had a third of a liter; it turned the leakiness into a game. In fact the whole rainy experience was sort of fun because Quick Draw and I chatted from inside our tents and updated one another on our activities.

Day 108

I rinsed my breakfast pot with filtered leak water that felt satisfying to drink; take that rain!  We were packed and out of camp before 7 am.  When I saw the chocolate milk hue of the Rio Chama River, I suggested we hike 0.4 past it to access a cattle trough with crystal clear flow from the inlet pipe. With full water bottles and to the accompaniment of bird song, we ascended gently through a forest of juniper bushes loaded with blue berries.

About 7.5 miles into the day, we came to a mile of trail that had been demolished by a flash flood. The trail had paralleled a creek bed. A shallow stream flowed through the bed, which we followed at times or crossed to scramble through debris and bits of trail to either side. At times, whole tree trunks, piles of broken limbs, or a washed out bank blocked the route. It was impressive destruction! At the end, I happily began a steep climb away from the potentially dangerous area.

Our next water stop was a giant rubber tire that served as a cattle trough. The water was weakly brown, but filtered clear. There was an adjacent four-walled, metal pipe corral on which I hung my tent to dry while I ate lunch. One more steep, yet short, climb and we began a long descent via dirt roads. We chatted almost continuously to pass the time. Patchy blue sky and sunshine became prevalent and multiple hued rock formations rose amongst sagebrush. The descent ended at a paved road and we proceeded uphill once again.

Quick Draw began sneezing in short bursts and took allergy medicine at our next snack break. From there, it was five miles to a stream crossing. A smoke cloud rose from a campfire tended by Flavor Town, a SoBo thru-hiker who we met briefly in the flash flood area. We decided to camp with him in a grassy area adjacent to the stream, though I pitched my tent under a tree. He and Quick Draw swapped marine core stories. Then the three of us sat on a log by the fire. While I ate my dinner, I saw a bright shooting star.

Day 109

With a desire to hike miles before possible rain, we were out of camp by 6:25 am.  Over six miles, we ascended to 10,525 ft, where we layered up due to mist and wind. Another 2.3 miles brought us to the old CDT junction, a route not marked in FarOut as a possible alternate, yet shown in the topographic background. According to Flavor Town, it would save us 4-5 miles of hiking to Cuba. We decided to give it a try.

Initially there was a boggy field and our feet got soaked by water. Afterwards we were on a well marked and maintained trail, I was surprised by its quality. We were also above 10,000 ft. for much longer than I expected. When we finally dropped down, the sky became a patchy blue and the sun came out. We ate lunch on a log that had fallen beside the trail. A short time later, Flavor Town passed us and we chatted briefly with him.

Over time, the trail transitioned to a dirt road. Just beyond a cattle guard with a metal gate, a sign declared “foot traffic allowed on road through private property”. Apparently this was the reason for the route being abandoned, the official trail could not traverse what became private land. I spied a Gopher Snake laying in the road. Quick Draw caught it and we took turns allowing it to slither between our hands. He taught me the needle differences between pine trees and junipers.

The dirt road became a paved road and we walked past a bunch of homes, most run down. Only three cars drove by and we saw no aggressive dogs (a possible issue in the Cuba area). Mid-afternoon we walked into town. Quick Draw had booked us a room at the Del Prado Motel. I got food at Saveway and he got BBQ. After I chatted with my parents, we did free laundry while we ate dinner and watched Operation Fortune, a movie recommended by my sister.

Quick Draw gave me a hard time about my old battery pack because it used a micro USB cable, as do all my non iPhone devices. I like getting a long life out of my electronics! At one point, we went outside to admire the sunset and chatted with Safari & Ruby Red, who had a room two doors down.