2018: Celas Maya Spanish School, Third Session

Annual letter to family and friends: 

• Happy Holidays to family, friends, fellow Continental Divide hikers, and assorted CDT Trail Angels!  I hope you are all well, that 2018 was good to you, and that 2019 will be even better.

• Here are the Cliff Notes of my year:

Jan-Feb: Spanish lessons in Guatemala.

Mar-Apr: Windward Islands with wife Caren aboard newly-acquired catamaran Serenity.  Daughter Rachael and boyfriend Jeremy joined us for awhile.

May-Jun: More Spanish lessons.

Jul-Sep: 2nd half Of Continental Divide Trail.  Thanks to bad weather, forest fires, and general fatigue, I was unable to complete about 5% (2019 goal: finish the damn trail!)

Oct: California.

Nov-1st half Dec: Condo in Mexico.

2nd half Dec: Spanish lessons (again!) in Guatemala.

Special 2018 thanks to:

• Wife Caren, for being the best wife, friend, and shipmate a husband could ask for.

• Daughter Rachael, for letting me store all my worldly possessions in a shipping container next to her amazing tiny house in Scott’s Valley.  And for being #1 employee in her new job.  And for not getting mad at me when I brag about her.

• Boyfriend Jeremy, who built their amazing tiny house, then went to Spain to learn the latest in high-tech architectural design tools.

• Son Dana, for continuing to astonish me with his span of interests and projects: photos accepted for inclusion in the official Leica gallery, crossword puzzle submissions to the New York Times, cartoon caption contest submissions to the New Yorker, an archaeological dig of a Scythian necropolis in Siberia, and a new well for his lovely farm/commune/shared living facility amongst the redwoods of Boulder Creek.

• My very dear family friend Nancy Packer, for letting me crash at her apartment while in Palo Alto.

• Larry Tesler, Colleen Barton, Angela Hey, and John Mashey for many helpful deeds, large and small, when Caren and I are in their neck of the (Portola Valley) woods.

• The Coti Family, for hosting me in Guatemala.

• The most challenging part of 2018 was hiking on the Continental Divide Trail.  It is the longest (about 3000 miles), toughest, and loneliest of America’s three National Scenic Trails (the others being The Pacific Crest Trail and the Appalachian Trail).  It goes from the Mexican to the Canadian border through New Mexico, Colorado, Wyoming, Idaho, and Montana.  I hiked the bottom half, from Mexico to Wyoming, in 2017.  I returned in 2018 to finish try and finish the job.

• I needed a lot of help hiking the CDT: from other hikers; from people who drove me to places where I could reprovision, or who put me up for a night in their homes; from “Trail Angels” who left water and snacks beside the trail.  What follows is a list of some (but not nearly all) of the many people who helped me, both in 2017 and 2018.  Thank you so much - I couldn’t have done it without you.  (By the way, if a name in the list seems kinda funny - like “Knock Knock” - it is the trail name of a hiker; my trail name is Solar Sam.)

Annette: Let me sleep on the front porch of her El Cuervo bar near Chama, NM.

Dusty & Clarice Atkinson: Housed me in Steamboat Springs, CO.

Barbara Barnes: Trail Angel who helped me find a ride in Helena MT.

Karen Batista: Hosted  Dundee & me in Twin Lakes CO.

Nikki Courtney: Helped me shop for supplies in Silver City NM.

Cynthia (manager of Burro Mountain Homestead, NM): Gave me ice cream and soft drinks.

Mickey Florio: Stayed with him, wife Tricia, kids Fiona & Nico, and standard poodle in Breckenridge.

Rod Foote: Artist who told me about the good food deal at the Blue Corn Cafe in Santa Fe.

Gary & Debbie Frederick: Picked me up hitchhiking to Augusta, Montana, fed me & housed me, drove me the next morning to town

for “Waffle Wednesday” at the local cafe, where I devoured waffles covered with strawberries, two chocolate milkshakes, a dish of huckleberry ice cream, a grilled cheese sandwich, and fresh-squeezed lemonade.  Hey, you get hungry hiking all day every day!

John & April Cushard: Drove me to the Central Wyoming Fair and Rodeo Grounds in Casper WY to view the solar eclipse.

Sean Geisler: Gave Dundee & me a ride from Monarch Pass to Salina, CO.

Lynn Haerr: Shared a beer or two with me in a teepee at the Hatchett Resort just south of Yellowstone National Park, near the end of my 2017 section of the CDT.  When I returned in 2018 to begin where I left off, she picked me up at the Bozeman MT airport, put me up, and drove me to where I had left off the year before.  Thank you so much Lynn!

Dundee: aka Shane Harting.  Met him at The Toaster House in Pie Town, NM (l’m not kidding). He later accompanied me through a particular gnarly section of the CDT.  Thanks for your help and friendship Dundee.

Danny Helfrick: Met at Lava Mountain Lodge, WY.  Gave me a pair of winter shoes for the snowy route to Yellowstone.

Jane, Isabel, & Garth:  Gave me a ride into Silver City in the back of their U-haul, which was empty except for a grandfather clock.  Luxury!

Knock Knock: Enjoyed his company and help at the Shadowcliff Lodge in Grand Lake, CO, surely the finest accommodation on the entire CDT.

Ken & Chris Kowynia: Stayed with them in Steamboat Springs CO, enjoying a lovely barbecue dinner.

Midnight & Annimal (sp?): Met in Grants NM.  They were on their honeymoon.  Helped me all sorts of ways, including, much later, some great info on hiking in South America.

Dianna Meyers: Took pity on me as I staggered into Grants NM.  Introduced me to Moscow Mules (now my favorite drink), showed me around town, and threw a dinner in my honor.  I had planned on staying one day in Grants - I ended up staying five.  She even carried my backpack for the first (steep uphill) mile of the trail leading out of Grants, just to see what it felt like.

Nita: Owner of The Toaster House.  She lets hikers stay for free in her home, with a fully stocked kitchen, washing facilities, and an icebox full of beer.  Gave me a tour of Pie Town, including the Windmill Museum and the Large Antenna Array.  Nita was voted Trail Angel of the Year in 2015.

Popsicle: An ultramarathoner from Hawaii who encouraged me to keep on truckin’.  I met her at Doc Campbell’s, Gila Hot Springs, NM.

Jill & Lat Straley: Were oh-so-nice to me in Pinedale WY.  I celebrated my 75th birthday in their home, cake and all.

Skeeter & Steel: Fixed my iPhone display for me on the CDT Mack’s Inn Alternate.

I crossed paths with many other hikers, sometimes only sharing a few minutes, or a lunch stop, or a camp spot.  Here is a partial list:

Heyhoka, Kemosabe, Skipper, Oki Gal, Euro Trash, Clark Kent, Chilly Willy, Kilroy, Silent Joe, Iguana, Kindergarten Cop, Nacho, 8 Mile, Uber Bitch, Bristlecone, Honey Buzz, Quake, Unload, Swiss Miss, Grey Ghost, Nadir, Skeeter, No Amp, Patch, Crumb, Honey Badger, Troy, Sweep, Zac, Whistling Moose, Upchuck, Skywalker, Pepper, Mace, Cookie Monster, Half Step, Flash, Foot Locker, For Now, Lil’ Steps, Whistling Goose, Moose, Slow N Easy, Flame, Wisa, Safari, Sister Sue, Home Made, Bandit, Post Op, Spice Rack, Busted Magic, Crasher, Serenity, Soft Walker, Topsy Turvy, Rhine, Gourmet, Rockfish, Cricket, Megaphone, Don Johnson, Noodles Romanoff, Hot Rod, Sprinkles, Grenade, Spoon Man, Story Time, Sea Horse, Chili Dog, Good Spot, Wanka, Buffalo Jump Sly, Bigfoot Jim, Rock Locks, Mr. Fox, Roo Rat, Marmot, AM Crew, Tibetan, Lightning, Spock, Twiggy, Tall Paul, Trouble Maker, Jackrabbit, Rambling Rose, Dan, Sunshine, Balls, Egg Man, Sweet Bird, Home Made, Jukebox, Gentle Spirit, Petunia, Tree Hugger, and last but certainly not least, Fucking Gentle Spirit.

Thanks again to one and all. 

Much affection

Solar Sam

Dec 30, 2018:   Xela

Now trying to figure out what comes next.  Tentatively:

• 2-3 more weeks at Celas Maya?

• Mid Jan - late Feb: Travel in Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua ... further south?

• Late Feb - mid Mar: Punta Mita

• Mid Mar - Apr: California (sell Infiniti, buy camper)

• May: Drive to New Mexico, begin CDT

• Jun - Jul: finish CDT.

• Late July: Gold Lake

• Aug: Iceland

• Aug: Ireland, England

• Sep: Camino de Santiago

• Oct-Huayhuash circuit, Peru

• Nov-Dec: Fitz Roy, Paine circuits

• Dec: Colombia for Christmas 

• Jan-Feb: Colombia, Aconcagua

Or:

• Sep-Dec: Spain, Morocco, Algeria