Day: 022
Date: Tuesday, 28 May 2024
Start: Armijo Canyon
Finish: Acoma-Zuni Trailhead
Daily Kilometres: 41.5
GPX Track: Click here for Julie’s Strava & Photos
Total Kilometres: 658.6
Weather: Cold early then hot and sunny.
Accommodation: Tent
Nutrition:
Breakfast: Pop tarts
Lunch: Trail mix
Dinner: Pop tarts/Trail mix
Aches: Dave - very tired and the usual niggles; Julie - nothing reported.
Highlight: Although it was road walking, the 5km stretch of road known as The Narrows, was super-impressive. On the right were towering sandstone cliffs incorporating some awesome natural formations and, on the left, was the vast expanse of the El Malpais lava fields, black, rugged and showing how the lava had flowed before it had cooled.
Lowlight: We miscalculated our food for this leg, so tonight's meal was the exciting mix of pop tarts and trail mix.
Pictures: Click here
Map and Position: Click here for Google Map
Journal:
In contrast to yesterday's road walking, today's hiking began with following a trail up through Armijo Canyon. Much more interesting walking in the early morning light with the sun illuminating the cliffs and mountains around us, even if slower on the sandy trail.
After an hour we climbed out of the canyon, crossed a plateau and descended into Sand Canyon, which we followed downstream, though no water was evident. After a while we picked up a 4WD track and followed that with the rocky bluffs of the canyon walls evident on one side or the other.
Around noon, the track reached a main road, which we followed for the rest of the day but, first, we detoured to a solar well, our only water source for the day. We drank up while we had our lunch and then loaded up 3 litres each to see us through to tomorrow morning when we reach a ranger station.
After lunch we continued road walking northwards under a hot sun, with vehicles generally going out of their way to give us a wide berth. Mid-afternoon, we reached a picnic area where we planned a break and were met by a woman who had passed us on the road and insisted we eat some oranges and biscuits they had, and take some water. Her husband, knowledgeable about the CDT, was fixing a flat tyre on their trailer while we ate.
From there we walked through The Narrows (see above) and stopped for our last break of the day at the impressive La Ventana natural arch.
Both sides of the road were fenced off for the next 4km but, as we hoped, when we reached the Acoma-Zuni Trailhead, we were able to walk a little way up the track and find a site for our tent soon after 6pm.
Humourously, as we started to set up camp, three Chinese tourists, a mother, her son, and a granddaughter, returned from a short walk along the trail. The grandmother, who turns 70 soon, was very impressed with our journey and insisted that many photos were taken.
More road walking tomorrow, but then a day off.
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