Continental Divide Trail

May 27, 2017.  Pie Town, NM

• Photo of Nina (Toaster House owner).  Won “Trail Angel of the Year” in 2015.  Took us on a tour of Pie Town, with the "Very Long Baseline Array, and windmill museum.  Gave two more hydrocodones to Dundee, who was very appreciative.  Then off to Cebolla Alternate, just a road amongst spread out juniper, and ranches with “No hunting, fishing (?), or trespassing” signs.  Staying at Thomas Ranch, with water & lounge chairs.  Simon (trail name Dollar Bill) and Apache arrived 1/2 hour later.

• Best solar cell: Powerport Solar Lite.

• Cebola: 25.1 -> 49.6: 24.5

• CDTr: 532 -> 552: 20

• CDTl: 532 -> 524: 7

• Bonite -> Zuni: 24

• Cebola & CDT: 44.5

• Cebola & Bonita: 54

• Road: 51-8 = 43

Windmill Museum

May 29, 2017.  Grants, NM

Long long day, but only 2 liters of water to carry, and threw away most of my food: will try to get to Grants today.  And I made it - well, at least to the 117-40 intersection, where Dianna Myers, bless her heart, stopped her car and invited to drive me to my Super 8 motel: so 26 miles of walking.  After freshening up, she picked me up and drove me to her house for a Moscow Mule, a great wine, and piroshki dinner.  What a doll!  I arranged to take her to dinner tomorrow night, then back to the Super 8, a soak in the spa, a swim in the pool, calls to Yann, Rachael, & Caren, and beddie-bye.

May 30, 2017.  Grants, NM

• Decided to stay an extra night here in Grants.  Slept late, breakfast in Motel, more sleep; then cookie, empenada, apple sauce and yoghurt (thanks, Dianna!), and arranged for a 1:15 bus pickup to the post office (2 miles away: 50 cents).  Will pick up package, then to library for email writing to everybody.

• OK, package not at P.O. yet (Memorial Day yesterday didn’t help).  Sent first big email to all from library.  Then took Dianna to dinner.  Lobster pasta, and tres leches cake (yummy) for dessert.  

• For hike Grants -> Cuba:

• 552: here

• 554.2: Perk Ranger Coffee

• 569: Alt begins

• 569.3: Alt

• 573.1: Stream

• 578.1: Water tank & creek

• 586.5: Cattle trough

• 602.9: Spring

• 615.0: Junction to Spring

• 630: Water tank

• 644.5: Spring

• 654.1: Windmill

• 660.2: Cuba!

To alt: 16.3

alt: 13.5

Cuba: 72.8

Total: 102.6 miles

In Cuba: eat at El Bruno’s.

Now have:

• 5 ramens

• a little Nido

• 11 Swiss Miss

• 2 oats

For 6 days:

• 1 ramen

• cheese?

• 13 Swiss Miss

• almonds

• 18 candy bars (3/day)

Photo of Team & Infinity.

Get off at Ghost Ranch, bus to Santa Fe.  Or low route from Chama.

May 31, 2017.  Grants, NM

• No package yet - but Dianna had a dinner with friends in my honor: Moscow Mules, and a great New Mexican stew (I provided wine and root beer for the Mules).  Patty & Chock told hilarious stories of their camping and cruise ship adventures.  Watched sun set on sandstone cliffs in the distance.

Jun 3, 2017

• Heard growling last night.  Bears?  Saw 4 wild horses today.  Charged iPhone from 77% to 100% in an hour.  Camped at mile 587, near big gross tire cattle trough.  Began somewhere around 570, so 17 mile day.  Next good water: 602.9: 15 miles!

Jun 4, 2017

• Saw Midnight & Annimal again.  On honeymoon.  Hiked in Peru & Colombia (her choice), now CDT (his choice). 

• Ended at 605: 18 miles.

Jun 5, 2017

• Tough days: not feeling string; have to rest often; really dragging towards end of each day.  Camped under juniper, didn’t put up tent: ready to use as tarp if needed (but no rain).

Jun 6, 2017

• Water an issue: few sources.  Carried 4 liters yesterday, but so hot drank a lot last night.  Now have 1 liter until net source in 3 miles.  Hiking along edge of mesa - scenic if I wasn’t so tired.  Down to 2 ramen, paydays, Swiss Miss, nuts, and peanut butter.  Nothing sounds real good - when does my hunger kick in?  Threw away my oatmeal this morning.  35 miles to Cuba: today, tomorrow, and part of next.  Ouch!

• Stopped at 2:30 at mile 638.  Took many rest stops (temperature 95 degrees until 6 PM).  Trail Angel left water and pop tarts, so no need to visit spring.  Next water in around 7 miles; have pretty full bladder, so should make it.  But trail going up & down and along edges of mesas - most tiring!  Now thinking want to minimize hot weather hiking -> get off at Ghost Ranch.

Jun 8, 2017.  Cuba, NM

• Last 10 miles to Cuba went fast: get started earliest yet ( ~ 5:30 AM).  Booked room at Cuban Lodge Motel, washed socks and underwear & shirt by hand, tended to feet & mysterious scratches & bumps on back side of legs (sun?  poison ivy?)  Foot blister on right big toe somewhat better.  

• Breakfast across street: pork, beans, rice, tortillas, etc.  Delicious!  Washed down with giant chocolate milkshake.  Then apple pie a la mode, and glass of milk.  Woo woo!  Am I just hungry, or is the New Mexican food just better?  Couple of hours later, walked to restaurant further down for another mammoth meal: chicken fajitas, etc.  I ate so little the last few days on the trail: sometimes just a ramen around noon.  No desire for Payday candy bars or almonds.  Even threw oats away (never again!)  Treated water not very tasty, even with Crystal Light lemonade: signs of dehydration?  Shades of my first few days on the trail.  And it is the heat!  90 to 95 degrees every day, until 6 PM, and very little shade or cloud cover.  And the goddam mesas, one after another, scramble up one side, walk across, scramble down the other - over and over.

• Walked to convenience store (past a nice colony of prairie dogs), but couldn’t buy ingredients for Moscow Mules: illegal to buy alcohol while on foot (!)  But of course it’s fine if you’re driving.

• Last night calls to family (Caren underway, passing Monserrrat), Pancho, Irv.  Just finished up in cafe with another chocolate milkshake.

Jun 9, 2017.  Cuba, NM

• Another huge breakfast at the cafe across the street: heaves rancheros, and the tastiest chips and salsa ever.  And chocolate shake of course.  Will ship stuff home this morning, then buy food for 3-4 days to Ghost Ranch, then Warriors in game 4!

• Shopped at local market, hoping the variety will be more palatable.  Knorr instants, cereal, soft breakfast bars, no more Paydays, instant chocolate pudding.  Still on same canister; it seems to be about half full - we’ll see.  Forecast 85 degrees next few days.

• Two bikers just told me of a hiker death on the trail between Grants and here (Cuba).  News said it occurred near Mt. Taylor - one day out of Grants - probably took the summit alternate, where the north side is steep and full of snow (I took the official route around the mountain).

• First good water tomorrow: 9 miles (1 1/2 liters in bladder, plus 1 liter gatorade).

• 7 PM: Game time!  Had to call in the motel tech guy when the screen went blank earlier.  Big loss!  Depressing.

• Said hi to an old local this afternoon.  He called me over and wanted to know if I wanted some meth.

Jun 10, 2017

• Big breakfast at cafe (yet another chocolate shake).  Note: everybody in New Mexico looks… Mexican?  Indian?  And large.  Forecast: hot and dry next few days.  And: trail goes to 10,000 feet today: snow?  Cold night?  We will see.  Counting on canister to see me through.

• Picture of Roadrunner & ? (fast and serious hikers).

• With pack down to proper weight (thanks to sending pkg of stuff home on Friday), and better food (freeze-dried meals, honey oats, breakfast bars), for the first time it feels comfortable.  ALL DAY!  Walked until almost 8 PM, uphill through pine, then fir, to over 10,000 feet.  Gorgeous open (but boggy) fields, one with two elk (my first).  Followed a river, so no sweat finding water.  Threw my Sawyer filter away (it had frozen that one cold night awhile back, rendering it useless), using tablets: so much easier!  What a difference a day makes.  At mile 675: did 15.

Jun 11, 2017

• Last night at over 10,000 - not too cold at all.  Put socks in sleeping bag, and they were mostly dry by morning.  Up & out very early ( ~ 6), but pack bothered me again: must see REI.  Saw two elk again - same ones?  Ended day with 2 mile uphill hike to mesa top, then 1 mile down a road to a spring, where I am now cowboy camped.  About mile 692 -> 17 miles.