Day 055 - Continental Divide Trail - Twin Lakes to Bald Eagle Mountain

Day: 055

Date: Sunday, 30 June 2024

Start:  Twin Lakes

Finish:  Bald Eagle Mountain

Daily Kilometres:  28.4

GPX Track:  Click here for Julie’s Strava & Photos

Total Kilometres:  1612.7

Weather:  Warm and sunny in the morning, partly cloudy with a thunderstorm and occasional showers in the afternoon and evening.

Accommodation:  Tent

Nutrition:

  Breakfast:  Omelettes, hash browns & toast

  Lunch:  Meat & cheese subs

  Dinner:  Rehydrated meals.

Aches:  Dave - the usual niggles; Julie - nothing reported.

Highlight: Nothing in particular.

Lowlight:  Hordes of mosquitoes at our evening campsite.

Pictures: Click here

Map and Position: Click here for Google Map

Journal:

After breakfast at a diner in Leadville, Fraser and Annalisse (Dave's nephew and his partner) drove us back to Twin Lakes and joined us for the first 7km or so of the day's hiking.  Although mostly uphill, it was generally along nice trail through pleasant pine forest with a few views as we chatted amongst ourselves.

After saying our goodbyes to Fraser and Annalisse, who were going to jog back to their car and then return home to Denver, we continued northwards on the CDT.

Most of our day was spent on undulating and well-maintained trail through pine, and occasionally aspen, forest between l0000’ and 11300’.  Sometimes there were views to the east where, later in the day, we could see Leadville, where we had stayed last night.

Being a Sunday, there were quite a few trail-runners and day-hikers along the trail, but we also had long stretches to ourselves.

Around 6:45pm we stopped in a clearing by a stream and set up camp.  The mosquitoes were horrendous and we finished our chores and meal as quickly as we could so we could get in the tent.  Our timing was good, because 15 minutes later a thunderstorm came through with very heavy rain.

We passed 1000 miles today.

Day 054 - Granite Mountain to Twin Lakes

Day: 054

Date: Saturday, 29 June 2024

Start:  Granite Mountain 

Finish:  Twin Lakes (but staying in Leadville)

Daily Kilometres:  26.6

GPX Track:  Click here for Julie’s Strava & Photos

Total Kilometres:  1584.3

Weather:  Cold early then warm and mostly sunny later.

Accommodation:  Rental apartment

Nutrition:

  Breakfast:  Pop tarts 

  Lunch:  Snacka

  Dinner:  Pork steaks, macaroni cheese & salad, apple crumble & icecream.

Aches:  Dave - very tired and the usual niggles; Julie - nothing reported.

Highlight:  Reaching the top of Hope Pass (12532’) after a tortuously steep ascent of 2500’ in 4km.  Along the way we saw many trail runners and learned that the trail over this pass is part of the famous Leadville 100 Mile trail race which is on in a few weeks.  Reaching the top was not only an accomplishment.  We had fantastic views over the Collegiate Peaks and, in the other direction, down to Twin Lakes.

Lowlight:  Julie lost her sunglasses somewhere along the trail today.

Pictures: Click here

Map and Position: Click here for Google Map

Journal:

It rained lightly a lot overnight, but it had cleared by daylight and we packed up a reasonably dry tent and were on our way by 6:10am.  The first couple of hours were beautiful hiking as we followed Clear Creek downstream through the Collegiate Peaks Wilderness.  Lovely quiet conifer forest, meadows and marshes and the rushing creek to our right, backed by towering rocky partially snow-covered mountains.

After about three hours we turned away from Clear Creek and began the steep ascent to Hope Pass (see above).  Dave found it very tough and there were plenty of short breaks to catch breath.  We continued to see trail runners along with day hikers.

At the top of the Pass we spent a few minutes admiring the view before beginning a not-quite-so-steep, but long descent to a trailhead followed by a 3km road walk into the hamlet of Twin Lakes where, arriving around 3:30pm, we met Dave's nephew, Fraser, and his partner, Annalisse, who had driven 2.5 hours from Denver, where they live, to meet us.  They then drove us to an apartment we had rented for the night in Leadville.  It was great to catch up with them and we appreciated the dinner they cooked for us, along with interesting conversations about their lives in the US and our hike.

Day 053 - Continental Divide Trail - Sanford Creek to Granite Mountain

Day: 053

Date: Friday, 28 June 2024

Start:  Sanford Creek 

Finish:  Granite Mountain

Daily Kilometres:  32.1

GPX Track:  Click here for Julie’s Strava & Photos

Total Kilometres:  1557.7

Weather:  Cold early, then mild and mostly sunny.

Accommodation:  Tent

Nutrition:

  Breakfast:  Pop tarts 

  Lunch:  Snacks

  Dinner:  Rehydrated meals 

Aches:  Dave - the usual niggles; Julie - nothing reported.

Highlight:  Crossing over Lake Ann Pass (12595’) was both terrifying and exhilarating.  The ascent was long and steep in places, but the views from above the treeline were spectacular.  At the top, however, was a huge snow cornice blocking our descent.  From the edge of the cornice, the snow wall descended near vertically for more than a hundred feet and steeply for hundreds of feet after that. We dared not go too close to the edge for fear it might break off.  Instead, we followed the footsteps of other hikers to a seemingly impossibly-steep rockface and saw how they had carefully stepped their way down the very steep snow slope to a rocky outcrop and then, from the base of the outcrop, slid on their butts down to the bottom of the snow slope.  We did the same, but the first part was very scary, with one false move possibly leading to a very long fast slide onto some rocks below.  We were very pleased with ourselves when we made it to the bottom, despite very wet and cold butts.

Lowlight:  None in particular.

Pictures: Click here

Map and Position: Click here for Google Map

Journal:

It rained intermittently overnight and everything was damp in the very cold morning.  It seems to take longer to pack up on such mornings and it was 6:20am before we began hiking in our wet shoes and socks from yesterday.

We planned to continue following the Mirror Lake Alternate, but to take a short-cut to save about 5km by going cross-country at one point and fording several streams.  We were increasingly apprehensive about the fords because every stream we crossed seemed to be in flood and we had to ford several early on which we should have been able to rock-hop across in normal circumstances.  As it turned out, the shortcut was fine with the crossings safe enough, though the water was flowing fast.

Soon after that, in a lovely alpine valley, we turned onto the old CDT route and followed that for 13km.  There was a lot of climbing through lovely pine forest near rushing streams with occasional views, but we knew this was just a precursor climb to the final ascent to Lake Ann Pass, from which, we had heard, the descent was difficult.  Our apprehension was building, and rightly so.  The final part of the climb was strenuous, but the descent was downright scary (see above).

We made it down safely and it will be one of the memorable experiences of the hike.  We passed Lake Ann, sitting pristinely at the base of the pass, as we followed the official CDT northwards.  By this time it was late in the day and we found a lovely tent site by a roaring creek soon after 7pm on a nice evening after a satisfying day.  Not raining for a change, either.

Day 052 - Continental Divide Trail - Hancock Ghost Town to Sanford Creek

Day: 052

Date: Thursday, 27 June 2024

Start:  Hancock Ghost Town 

Finish:  Sanford Creek

Daily Kilometres:  32.5

GPX Track:  Click here for Julie’s Strava & Photos

Total Kilometres:  1525.6

Weather:  Cold to mild, overcast with showers and a thunderstorm in the late afternoon.

Accommodation:  Tent

Nutrition:

  Breakfast:  Pop tarts

  Lunch:  Snacks

  Dinner:  Rehydrated meals 

Aches:  Dave - very tired and the usual niggles; Julie - nothing reported.

Highlight:  Nothing in particular.

Lowlight:  Trying to find our way around Mirror Lake was a nightmare.  The lake had burst its banks and the 4WD track we were following, which borders one side of the lake, was under water, reputedly up to 4’ deep.  First we tried to follow a faint track around the other side of the lake through the dense forest but gave up because of the number of trees down.  We then tried, after fording the flooding inlet stream, bush-bashing around the other side above the flooded road through thick tangles of willows which took forever.  All up, we spent over an hour covering less than a mile and patience was running thin.

Pictures: Click here

Map and Position: Click here for Google Map

Journal:

The day's walking started OK, with us following an old railway bed up a valley towards a rail tunnel which we never saw and may no longer be accessible.  There was lots of snowmelt running across and along the track and it was hard to keep your feet dry.

After a while, our trail left the old railway bed and climbed steeply, traversing a snow field which we found challenging, but not so two trail runners going the other way who bounded down through the snow whooping and hollering.

The pattern of our day became climbing through passes at 12000+’, crossing snow on the way and then descending to a valley before steeply climbing to the next pass.  It was overcast and some of the peaks were in cloud, but the scenery was still awesome.  The trail, however, throughout the day, was not awesome.  We were following the Mirror Lake Alternate, and most of it was along  steep, rocky, wet and muddy 4WD tracks.  Our hopes of making good time evaporated, especially when we encountered the flooding Mirror Lake (see above).

We did see some ATV and quad-bike riders and also met three mountain bike riders pushing their bikes up a neverending hill, who seemed to be having as much fun as us on the trail.

A thunderstorm rolled in towards the end of the day and we again ended up setting up camp in light rain around 6:30pm, disappointed with how far we had travelled given the effort expended.

Day 051 - Continental Divide Trail - Monarch Pass to Hancock Ghost Town

Day: 051

Date: Wednesday, 26 June 2024

Start:  Monarch Pass

Finish:  Hancock Ghost Town

Daily Kilometres:  29.9

GPX Track:  Click here for Julie’s Strava & Photos

Total Kilometres:  1493.1

Weather:  Mild and sunny in the morning then overcast with occasional light rain in the afternoon.

Accommodation:  Tent

Nutrition:

  Breakfast:  Breakfast burritos 

  Lunch:  Ham & cheese subs

  Dinner:  Protein bar, brownies.

Aches:  Dave - the usual niggles; Julie - nothing reported.

Highlight:  None in particular.

Lowlight:  Disappointingly, it started to rain lightly as we set up camp.  Since we were very late already, and had eaten well during the day, we got into the tent as fast as we could and just had some snacks for dinner and wet-wipes for a wash.

Pictures: Click here

Map and Position: Click here for Google Map

Journal:

Our kindly volunteer shuttle driver (we gave her money for gas, anyway), picked us up from the motel around 8:15am, a little later than scheduled and we didn't start hiking until just before 9am at Monarch Pass.

For the first couple of hours we were mostly above the treeline following a ridge that marked the back of the Monarch Ski Area, but also climbing, sometimes steeply, to 12500’ on the shoulder of Bald Mt.  The trail was mostly good and the views of the surrounding mountains spectacular, though it was a little more hazy than previous days.

From there we found ourselves descending steeply to a series of lakes and a reservoir, losing about 2000’ in elevation and encountering some difficult trail.  We had snowfields, rocks, mud, flooded trail, bogs and slippery mud.  Progress was slow, but the lake and forest scenery was very pretty.

Having descended so far, we then climbed steadily following the middle fork of the South Arkansas River to Chalk Creek Pass (12146’) on similarly challenging trail.  This took us above the tree line again and we had wonderful views over reflecting alpine lakes and to the high peaks around us.

By this time it was nearing 7pm, later than we usually hike, but we had a target in mind and, given our late start, pushed on to 8:15pm before stopping to camp not far from the old mining/ghost town of Hancock which we didn't visit, having heard there was not much left.

It began to rain lightly as we set up camp and we quickly got into our tent, satisfied with the miles we had covered on difficult trail.

Day 050 - Continental Divide Trail - Salida

Day: 050

Date: Tuesday, 25 June 2024

Start:  Monarch Pass (but staying in Salida, CO)

Finish:  Monarch Pass (but staying in Salida, CO)

Daily Kilometres:  0

GPX Track:  Click here for Julie’s Strava & Photos from her run around Salida today.

Total Kilometres:  1463.2

Weather:  Warm and sunny.

Accommodation:  Motel

Nutrition:

  Breakfast:  Breakfast burritos

  Lunch:  Ham & cheese subs

  Dinner:  Enchiladas, rice & beans, icecream.

Aches:  Dave - left calf still a little sore; Julie - nothing reported.

Highlight:  Nothing in particular.

Lowlight:  Nothing in particular.

Pictures: Click here

Map and Position: Click here for Google Map

Journal:

Julie went for an exploratory 10km run around Salida at 7am and came back glowing.  She wouldn't mind living here.  Surrounded by mountains, an emphasis on outdoor activities, bike paths and river trails, deer roaming the streets, historic town centre …. what's not to like?  Of course, it would be cold in winter and she wouldn't like that.

Later we walked the 2km into the historic town centre, calling in at the Post Office and picking up a package of winter/snow gear we had mailed ahead to ourselves.  We're going to carry it for the next four days in the high mountains and, if we don't use it, will retire it.  We then enjoyed recommended breakfast burritos at a local restaurant.  They were good, and cheap, and we bought two more to microwave for breakfast tomorrow.

Next stop was the local outdoor store where Julie exchanged, for free, her worn out Darn Tough socks for a new pair as per their guarantee.  Dave also bought a new T-shirt having worn big holes in his existing one in just seven weeks.

We grocery-shopped on our way back to the motel and Julie then walked down to the town Walmart to buy some other things we needed.

After lunch at the motel, Julie walked to the local laundromat to do our washing, while Dave did some admin and planning.

For dinner, we again visited the Mexican restaurant across the road and followed that with an early night.  Back on the trail tomorrow.

Day 049 - Continental Divide Trail - Marshall Pass to Monarch Pass

Day: 049

Date: Monday, 24 June 2024

Start:  Marshall Pass

Finish:  Monarch Pass (but staying at Salida)

Daily Kilometres:  20.4

GPX Track:  Click here for Julie’s Strava & Photos

Total Kilometres:  1463.2

Weather:  Cold early, then a calm sunny morning and partly cloudy afternoon with a bit of rain.

Accommodation:  Motel

Nutrition:

  Breakfast:  Pop tarts

  Lunch:  Enchiladas Rancheros

  Dinner:  Burgers & fries, ice cream.

Aches:  Dave - the usual niggles plus a lower left calf strain; Julie - nothing reported.

Highlight:  The hiking today was magic.  It was sunny, still and crystal clear as we followed a beautiful trail around the side of Peel Point and Mt Peck at an altitude of about 12000’ with dress circle views of magnificent alpine scenery in many directions.  This is why we are here!

Lowlight:  Nothing in particular.

Pictures: Click here

Map and Position: Click here for Google Map

Journal:

We were hiking by 6:10am, hoping that the 20km of trail we had left to Monarch Pass and Hwy 50 would be kind to us.  We weren't disappointed (see above) with magnificent scenery in perfect conditions on relatively benign trail.

The time seemed to pass quickly as each corner revealed another scenic wonder.  Mostly we were above the tree line with views and wildflowers, but occasionally dipped down into some conifer forest.  In a couple of places there was snow across the trail which provided a challenge, but nothing too dangerous.

We saw a few hikers, including two CDT hikers we had also seen yesterday, as well as some mountain bikers, but generally had the trail to ourselves.  We reached Monarch Pass, with a large parking area, a store, and a gondola to the top of an adjacent mountain (much lower than the ones we had just descended from), around 12:15pm.

We quickly stationed ourselves on the edge of Hwy 50 at the exit from the carpark and began hitching towards the town of Salida, about 35km east down from the pass.

We had only been there for about ten minutes when a car pulled up and four CDT hikers piled out.  One of them was “Beaver”, who we had last seen 6.5 weeks ago in Lordsburg soon after we all started hiking, and he greeted us like long lost friends, as we did him.  He is a regular contributor about water sources on the crowd-sourced navigation app we use, and partly because we knew him, and partly because his posts were informative and accurate, we have grown to trust his reports.  We told him so and he promised to continue.  He hikes faster than us, but had just taken six days off the trail to attend the wedding of a friend in New York.

Laura, the shuttle driver who had just brought the hikers up to the pass was happy to take us down to Salida and dropped us off at our motel at 1pm where we were grateful to be given an early check-in.

Keen for some lunch, we soon crossed the road to a Mexican restaurant where we had the best Mexican food (to our palates) of the trip so far, and at a reasonable price.

The rest of the afternoon was spent showering, sorting out and drying gear, hand washing some gear we don't want to launder in a machine and catching up on email and social media.  We have had only fleeting Internet access in the last five days.

The Mexican restaurant also sold burgers and we bought some takeout from there for dinner, satisfied with a great day and looking forward to a day off tomorrow.

Day 048 - Continental Divide Trail - Razor Creek to Marshall Pass

Day: 048

Date: Sunday, 23 June 2024

Start:  Razor Creek

Finish:  Marshall Pass

Daily Kilometres:  38.2

GPX Track:  Click here for Julie’s Strava & Photos

Total Kilometres:  1442.8

Weather:  Cold early then mostly sunny and warm.

Accommodation:  Tent

Nutrition:

  Breakfast:  Pop tarts/Snacks

  Lunch:  Trail mix

  Dinner:  Rehydrated meals.

Aches:  Dave - the usual niggles, only more so; Julie - nothing reported.

Highlight:  Nothing in particular.

Lowlight:  Nothing in particular.

Pictures: Click here

Map and Position: Click here for Google Map

Journal:

We were hiking by 6:10am on another very cold morning, but not surprising given we were camping at 11000+’.

For most of the morning we were hiking on difficult and very rocky trail through forest, following a ridge with lots of sharp ascents and descents.  It was hard work and slow going, which was exasperating as we hoped to cover a lot of kilometres today so that we have a relatively short day tomorrow to get to Monarch Pass from where we will hitch to Salida for a day off.

Late morning, after a long climb to cross Sargents Mesa, the trail emerged into a high grassy meadow with fantastic views to the partly snow covered mountains ahead.  The trail improved for a while and we had lunch by a stream in the sun.

The afternoon involved another huge climb up very difficult trail to 11700’ on the shoulder of Windy Peak from where there were frustratingly no views.  But, only a little further on, we emerged into another meadow with stunning vistas.

There had been no water on the trail since lunch and, rather than carry extra litres until we camped late in the day, we had decided that we would hike until the next water, no matter how long it took.  It was 7pm by the time we reached that water and started to set up camp nearby, so a late night for us.

We saw a number of hikers on the trail today, including Geoff, the CDT hiker we had last seen way back in Pie Town, weeks ago.  It was good to see him and he seemed pleased to see us, and we had a good chat.

Day 047 - Continental Divide Trail - Monchego Creek to Razor Creek

Day: 047

Date: Saturday, 22 June 2024

Start:  Monchego Creek

Finish:  Razor Creek

Daily Kilometres:  34.4

GPX Track:  Click here for Julie’s Strava & Photos

Total Kilometres:  1404.6

Weather:  Cold early then mild to warm and partly sunny.

Accommodation:  Tent

Nutrition:

  Breakfast:  Pop tarts/Snacks

  Lunch:  Trail mix

  Dinner:  Rehydrated meals 

Aches:  Dave - very tired and the usual niggles; Julie - nothing reported.

Highlight:  None really.

Lowlight:  Maybe the mosquitoes as we set up camp and ate our dinner.  We both wore all our rain gear as protection.

Pictures: Click here

Map and Position: Click here for Google Map

Journal:

Last night's rain stopped around 8:30pm, but everything was still damp in the morning, including the tent.  We didn't start hiking until 6:20am, and the first part of today's journey climbed out of the high plains and into the forest.

After that, we spent most of our day hiking through conifer forest with the occasional aspen glade.  The CDT has been following the route of the Colorado Trail (CT) for the last few days, and we have seen a few more hikers, though none today, although we did see a mountain bike tourer camping.

For the latter part of the day, when we climbed up to over 11000’, the trail reminded us of the Appalachian Trail - hiking through forest and enduring some tough climbs for filtered views of more mountains and forest through the trees.

Our timing was good for the last part of the day.  One month ago, the 20km of trail we are currently hiking was under feet of snow with hikers having to “post hole” the whole way.  We saw a couple of snow patches.  They also had to deal with a huge number of blow downs (trees across the trail) but, in the last few weeks, a trail crew has been in and cleared them.  One estimate was over 200 trees but, based on what we saw today, probably more than that.  It made our lives much easier.

Around 5:50pm, we found a tent site at the top of a climb and set up camp amidst the trees.  The mosquitoes were bad, and we were very pleased to finally get in the tent, and we did have the occasional drop of rain, but nothing significant.

Day 046 - Continental Divide Trail - Cochetopa Creek to Monchego Creek

Day: 046

Date: Friday, 21 June 2024

Start:  Cochetopa Creek

Finish:  Monchego Creek

Daily Kilometres:  36.1

GPX Track:  Click here for Julie’s Strava & Photos

Total Kilometres:  1370.2

Weather:  After raining most of the night, the morning was dry and partly sunny, while the afternoon was a mix of thunderstorms with rain/hail and some sunny periods.

Accommodation:  Tent

Nutrition:

  Breakfast:  Pop tarts/snack 

  Lunch:  Trail mix & snacks

  Dinner:  Rehydrated meals.

Aches:  Dave - very tired and the usual niggles; Julie - nothing reported.

Highlight:  None really.

Lowlight:  Setting up camp in the rain.

Pictures: Click here

Map and Position: Click here for Google Map

Journal:

After a very wet night we were fortunate that the rain had stopped by 5am when we began to pack up and we were hiking by soon after 6am.

The entire morning was spent following Cochetopa Creek downstream in a long valley.  Because of the night's rain, the trail was sodden with mud and some parts under water.  We soon both had wet feet.  Although the mountains either side were not as high as yesterday, they were still impressive while along the valley floor the creek rushed, fed by flooding tributaries.  We had heard that moose were frequently seen in the valley but, despite regularly looking around, we never saw any.  Just a few deer.

Around lunchtime we had to ford the swollen Cochetopa Creek which we managed although the water was very cold.

During the afternoon there were frequent storms, occasional rain and it got quite cold.  The trail took us away from the creek and we climbed through some forest and crossed grassy high plains.

Around 6pm, with thunder sounding, we found a tent site off the trail and put the tent up as quickly as possible.  Rain arrived and intensified and we ended up eating in the tent with gear everywhere.  The last forecast we saw was yesterday morning at Creede and it said the rain should stop tomorrow.  We hope so.

Day 045 - Continental Divide Trail - Creede to Cochetopa Creek

Day: 045

Date: Thursday, 20 June 2024

Start:  Creede, CO

Finish:  Cochetopa Creek

Daily Kilometres:  27.2

GPX Track:  Click here for Julie’s Strava & Photos

Total Kilometres:  1334.1

Weather:  Light rain and overcast early, then mild and partly sunny in the morning.  Thunderstorm early in the afternoon with freezing rain (literally) and strong cold winds.  Later in the afternoon, cold and overcast with an evening thunderstorm.

Accommodation:  Tent

Nutrition:

  Breakfast:  Breakfast burritos.

  Lunch:  Turkey & cheese rolls

  Dinner:  Rehydrated meals

Aches:  Dave - the usual niggles; Julie - nothing reported.

Highlight:  We followed West Willow Creek northwards out of Creede through a very narrow canyon and were amazed at the old mine workings.  The ingenuity and skill of the miners, using mostly timber and rock, was mind-boggling.  Buildings were perched precariously on very steep slopes, the remains of an old railway line clung to the side of a cliff and huge platforms had been built.  All this was done more than 100 years ago.

Lowlight:  A thunderstorm in the early afternoon accompanied by a strong cold wind and a rain/hail mix made hiking very unpleasant.  We were above the treeline and had, fortunately, at the first hint of the storm put on extra layers and our wet weather gear.  Nevertheless, we got very cold with frozen hands.

Pictures: Click here

Map and Position: Click here for Google Map

Journal:

After a leisurely start to the day, which included breakfast at a cafe owned by the motel (came with the room price), we headed out of Creede around 8:15am.  Dave was not keen, with a heavy pack (4-5 days food), and a big climb ahead of us, another day in the motel sounded pretty good.

However, as we left town and began the climb through the canyon, spirits lifted at the sight of the spectacular old mining ruins (see above).  As an added bonus, the very steep road we were following was closed to vehicles, and we had it all to ourselves.

The steep climb out of the canyon was followed by a more gradual and steady climb through forest with the occasional cabin and a few ATV’s on the road which degenerated to a rough 4WD track before we left it to join a hiking trail.  From Creede we had been following the Creede Cut-Off Alternate which, after 17km and more than 3000’ of climbing, rejoined the official CDT at San Luis Pass (11935’).  The latter part of the climb was made very unpleasant by a thunderstorm that came through (see above).

Our climbing wasn't yet done, and we crossed three more passes at 12355’, 12374’ and 12618’, dropping down between each one.  The storm cleared near the top of the first and we had truly spectacular views of the surrounding, partly snow covered, mountains.  It was breathtaking and we felt lucky to be there.  Some short traverses across steeply sloping slippery snow were challenging, but nothing too dangerous.

As we descended from the last pass, threatening clouds built up again, and we found a campsite by the trail around 5:40pm and quickly put up the tent.  There were a few spots of rain, but we managed to have dinner and a wash without a problem and were in the tent by 7:40pm.  Almost immediately, a huge thunderstorm with heavy rain and close lightning arrived.  Perfect timing on our part.  Given the weather forecast, we think we did pretty well today, especially given our exposed high altitude hiking.

Day 044 - Continental Divide Trail - Wagon Wheel Gap to Creede

Day: 044

Date: Wednesday, 19 June 2024

Start:  Wagon Wheel Gap

Finish:  Creede, CO

Daily Kilometres:  12.6

GPX Track:  Click here for Julie’s Strava & Photos

Total Kilometres:  1306.9

Weather:  Cold early then warm and partly sunny.

Accommodation:  Motel 

Nutrition:

  Breakfast:  Scrambled eggs, bacon & hash browns, toast & jam.

  Lunch:  Patty melt & macaroni cheese/cheeseburger & fries.

  Dinner:  Meatloaf & potatoes, icecream

Aches:  Nothing to report.

Highlight:  Nothing in particular.

Lowlight:  Nothing in particular.

Pictures: Click here

Map and Position: Click here for Google Map

Journal:

We were hiking by 6am on a very cold morning, intent on getting to Creede, 12km away, as early as possible.  On the northern side of Wagon Wheel Gap, the scenery was less abrupt, with rolling mountains bordering a wide green valley, some of which was being grazed by cattle.  One thing we noticed was the fence on both sides of the road had bird boxes attached every 100 meters or so, for kilometres.

We were very happy when the sun finally reached us, though it remained very cool until we actually arrived at the interesting old mining town of Creede around 9am.  It is nestled at the outlet of a narrow and spectacular canyon and has historic buildings in its main street.

We tried to get early access to our motel room but the managers were clearly very busy in the full motel and they said they would text us when it was available and that we could leave our packs there while we dined and shopped elsewhere.

After breakfast at a diner across the road we walked to the centre of town and bought what we needed then returned to sit in the sun outside the motel office.

Our room was ready at noon and we spent the rest of the afternoon on planning, admin and laundry after lunch at the same diner where we had breakfast.

We were going to eat at one of the restaurants in town in the evening but it was very busy and we ended up buying something from the supermarket we could microwave in our room.  Apart from the usual fishing and ATV touring, Creede has a repertory theatre which is well known and popular.

Back on the trail tomorrow.

Day 043 - Continental Divide Trail - Park Creek to Wagon Wheel Gap

Day: 043

Date: Tuesday, 18 June 2024

Start:  Park Creek 

Finish:  Wagon Wheel Gap

Daily Kilometres:  39.6

GPX Track:  Click here for Julie’s Strava & Photos

Total Kilometres:  1294.3

Weather:  Cold early then warm and sunny with a blustery wind.

Accommodation:  Tent

Nutrition:

  Breakfast:  Pop tarts

  Lunch:  Breakfast burritos, ice cream

  Dinner:  Rehydrated meals

Aches:  Dave - the usual niggles; Julie - nothing reported.

Highlight:  Nothing in particular.

Lowlight:  We snapped off two tent pegs, the first of the trip, as we packed up this morning.  Dave had hammered them in extra hard with a large rock last night as the wind was threatening to pull them out of the ground, and apparently he had driven them into tree roots like nails and they would not come out until we snapped them off while trying to budge them.  We have two spares, but will need to find some replacements.

Pictures: Click here

Map and Position: Click here for Google Map

Journal:

We were hiking by 6:10am, despite time lost trying to unsuccessfully retrieve two tent pegs (see above).  

We followed our forest road for another 5km until we reached Hwy 160, which was quite busy, even at 7am, and followed that northwards.  At one point we were passed by a cyclist with a number attached to his road bike, pedalling quite seriously then, shortly afterwards, by a van with flashing lights atop and multiple bikes on the back. Googling later, it seems likely he was in the Race Across the West (RAW), a qualifying event for the famous Race Across America (RAAM) which only takes 12 participants each year.

After another 10km along the highway, we reached the small town of South Fork and a recommended exotic cafe at 10am and had some breakfast.  It was good.

South Fork seems to be the world centre of summer RV Campgrounds/Resorts and we saw many, some of them huge, on the way into and out of town.  Lots of Texas license plates so they must migrate here to beat the heat.  

South Fork also offered other outdoor activities in addition to the ubiquitous ATV rentals.  Rafting, including fly-fishing from rafts, seemed very popular on the fast-flowing Rio Grande, the same river that eventually makes it way to the Gulf of Mexico and marks the border between the US (Texas) and Mexico.  We also saw that you could hire small, pedal-driven rail cars that used the old railway line following the Rio Grande upstream.

We also followed the Rio Grande upstream as we continued our long road walk, this time along Hwy 149. It was easy to forget that we were still above 8000’ as we walked along the highway admiring the high orange cliffs to our right and the huge mountains to our left, with the rushing Rio Grande below.  There was quite a lot of traffic but we had enough room on the verge to stay safe.  There were also lots of vacation cabins along the river and nestled in the woods.

After a long day on the road, we found a tent site behind some trees near the highway in Wagon Wheel Gap at around 5:40pm and called it a day.  We now only have a short walk to Creede tomorrow morning where we will resupply and have a motel room booked for tomorrow night.

Day 042 - Continental Divide Trail - Stunner Campground to Park Creek

Day: 042

Date: Monday, 17 June 2024

Start:  Stunner Campground 

Finish:  Park Creek

Daily Kilometres:  38.9

GPX Track:  Click here for Julie’s Strava & Photos

Total Kilometres:  1254.7

Weather:  Very cold early, then warm and sunny with a strong blustery wind.

Accommodation:  Tent 

Nutrition:

  Breakfast:  Pop tarts 

  Lunch:  Snacks/Trail mix 

  Dinner:  Rehydrated meals 

Aches:  Dave - very tired and the usual niggles; Julie - nothing reported.

Highlight:  The crossing of Elwood Pass (11620’) was memorable.  There were a few small lakes, vast meadows, pine tree copses and partially snow-covered surrounding mountains.  This was the highest we have been on our hike thus far.

Lowlight:  None really.

Pictures: Click here

Map and Position: Click here for Google Map

Journal:

It was a cold night and there was ice on our tent as we wiped it as dry as possible and packed up.  Both of us had frozen fingers.  We left the campground at 6:15am and were grateful that the sun reached us on the gravel forest road soon after.  Nevertheless, it remained very cold and we both wore extra layers.

Pretty much all of the first 13km was gradually uphill as we climbed from the campground at 9800’ to Elwood Pass at 11620’.  At the Pass, the views were exceptional in every direction (see above).  Here we left the Great Divide Alternate and joined the Elwood Pass Alternate which, for the remainder of the day, gradually descended following Park Creek, by which we are camped tonight.

Although the scenery remained good, Dave was over the gravelly descent by the time we camped.  It was also very windy and dust was swirling, particularly when vehicles passed.

We reached our goal for the day, a casual camping area soon after 5pm and, given there were already RVs in residence, we walked on a little further and found a spot off the road, inaccessible by vehicle, about fifteen minutes later.  It was nice to have an early night.

Day 041 - Continental Divide Trail - Conejos Campground to Stunner Campground

Day: 041

Date: Sunday, 16 June 2024

Start:  Conejos Campground

Finish:  Stunner Campground

Daily Kilometres:  40.2

GPX Track:  Click here for Julie’s Strava & Photos

Total Kilometres:  1215.8

Weather:  Very cold early, then warm and sunny with a blustery wind

Accommodation:  Tent

Nutrition:

  Breakfast:  Pop tarts/Muesli

  Lunch:  Cheeseburgers, icecream.

  Dinner:  Snacks

Aches:  Dave - very tired and the usual niggles; Julie - nothing reported.

Highlight:  None in particular.

Lowlight:  Nothing really.

Pictures: Click here

Map and Position: Click here for Google Map

Journal:

We woke to a very cold morning and heavy condensation in our tent.  This is a known issue with our ultralight tent and just can't be helped.  We usually try to camp somewhere high and breezy and away from rivers/creeks, but that's not always possible.  Anyway, some extra time packing up was spent in wiping down the tent to reduce the moisture before we packed it away.

We were hiking by 6:15am, wearing extra layers with very cold hands and could see the sun shining on the mountain tops across the valley, but it was obvious it was going to be a long time before it reached our side of the valley.  In fact, it was not until we took our breakfast break at 8:30am that we could sit in the sun.

Despite the cold, the scenery was magnificent, with the snow-melt-swollen Conejos River rushing through the valley to our left, occasional vacation cabins and ranches on the lush valley floor, and towering mountains on each side, with snow visible in places.

As we got further along the gravel forest road, the human habitation disappeared and we spent our time looking out for elk or bears, but only saw the occasional chipmunk or squirrel.

As the day wore on there was more vehicle traffic and it was obvious that the two local passions were fly fishing and ATV touring.  There was some dust from the passing vehicles, but most slowed right down to reduce that.

Around 1:30pm we reached the seasonal settlement (only open in summer as the road is closed by snow much of the year) of Platoro and called into a recommended campground store/cafe for a late lunch.  It was run by a very friendly young couple and there was also a CDT hiker who had been there for six days!  Caught in the comfortable vortex, he said, but he promised he would be hiking again tomorrow.

We had hamburgers for lunch, charged our devices and used their wifi with the bonus, for Dave, of watching the England v Serbia EUFA Cup soccer game on their big screen.  Very pleasant, and it would have been easy to stay in one of their cabins for the night …. and get caught in that comfortable vortex.  But, the trail called and we set off again at 2:40pm intent on reaching the Stunner Campground, 11km away for the night.

First we had to climb up to Stunner Pass (10500’), before descending to the Alamosa River with views to the exceptional multi-coloured mineral-rich mountains across the valley.  Apparently, the minerals leach from the soil into the river, along with some old mining chemicals, making the river water unsafe to drink, so we had to get some from another stream before reaching our target campground at 5:45pm.

Once there we found a nice spot in the sun with a picnic table and quickly set up the tent which, in turn, quickly dried in the warm breeze.

Having once again had a substantial lunch, we just had snacks for dinner before an early night.

Day 040 - Continental Divide Trail - Cumbres Pass to Conejos Campground

Day: 040

Date: Saturday, 15 June 2024

Start:  Cumbres Pass (but staying at Chama, NM)

Finish:  Conejos Campground

Daily Kilometres:  35.7

GPX Track:  Click here for Julie’s Strava & Photos

Total Kilometres:  1175.6

Weather:  Warm, breezy and mostly sunny.

Accommodation:  Tent

Nutrition:

  Breakfast:  Breakfast burritos

  Lunch:  Cheeseburgers & fries, icecream.

  Dinner:  Potato chips, Rocky road fudge

Aches:  Dave - the usual niggles; Julie - nothing reported.

Highlight:  A relaxing late lunch at the Red Bear Haus, a cafe/store in a tiny hamlet, where we enjoyed cold drinks and food knowing we had some two-thirds of our day's miles done.

Lowlight:  None really, though paying $28 for a US forests campsite grated a bit.

Pictures: Click here

Map and Position: Click here for Google Map

Journal:

Our booked shuttle back to the trail arrived on time at 8am, but the timeliness went downhill after that.  The shuttle was driven by JJ, a part-owner of the Chama outdoor store run out of a shipping container near the Post Office.  The vehicle was a white van with front seats, already occupied, and a mattress and various pieces of junk in the back along with three other hikers and their gear.  We piled in, sharing the mattress, and off we went.  But, first, we had to refuel at a service station, and then we had to wait while two of the hikers went and bought themselves coffee and breakfast at a busy bakery.  It was probably half an hour before we actually drove out of town, but everybody was laid back and we had a good chat with one of the hikers.  Most of them were getting back on the trail after a week or more off, waiting for the snow to melt.

Ultimately, we started walking at Cumbres Pass around 8:45am.  We were taking an alternate to the official CDT, which meant we had to follow Hwy 17 for about 23km.  This wasn't too bad, given there was little traffic, a wide verge, and excellent mountain scenery.  The first half followed a high valley and we stayed at around 10000’ before descending steadily for the last 10km to 8700’.

It was there that we reached the Red Bear Haus and had a welcome late lunch (see above) and chatted to the friendly owner and other patrons.

At the Red Bear Haus, we left Hwy 17 and joined a gravel forest road for about 11km which was quite busy with ATV’s and vacationers.  The road passed some dude ranches and fishing resorts as it followed the fast-flowing Conejos River, to our left, upstream.  On our right were imposing orange cliffs.

The walking did become a bit tedious at the end of a long day, but eventually we reached the Conejos Campground a little before 6pm.  It was nice to have a table, toilet, water and trash cans, but the price seemed a bit steep for two hikers and a small tent.  Having had a good lunch, we just had snacks for dinner before a wash and early night.  The mosquitoes were a nuisance.

Day 039 - Continental Divide Trail - Chama

Day: 039

Date: Friday, 14 June 2024

Start:  Cumbres Pass (but staying at Chama, NM)

Finish:  Cumbres Pass (but staying at Chama, NM)

Daily Kilometres:  0

GPX Track:  Click here, here and here for Julie’s Strava & Photos from her various activities today.

Total Kilometres:  1139.9

Weather:  Cool and overcast with a wild evening thunderstorm.

Accommodation:  Motel

Nutrition:

  Breakfast:  Omelette & hash browns/Scrambled eggs & bacon.

  Lunch:  Ham & cheese wrap/Bagel & jam and apple pie.

  Dinner:  Chimichangas, rice & beans, icecream.

Aches:  None reported.

Highlight:  None really.

Lowlight:  Julie walked to the Post Office (2km from our motel) around 9am and asked about our missing (winter/snow gear) package.  She discovered it had been mistakenly delivered to Ghost Ranch, where we were six days ago, and couldn't be retrieved by the postal service.  Fortunately, there is a thrice-daily free bus service southwards from Chama which goes past the Ghost Ranch turnoff, so Julie caught the 10:40am bus for the hour-long trip, walked to the Ranch, successfully retrieved our package and returned on the 1:50pm bus which, at first, passed her by on the highway but fortunately realised and made a U-turn to pick her up.

Pictures: No pictures today.

Map and Position: Click here for Google Map

Journal:

Julie got up early and went for her usual “day off” run while Dave did what is usual for a “day off” and slept in.

On Julie's return, we went to the nearby diner for a nice breakfast.  Interestingly, the diner owner was wearing a handgun in a holster!  Maybe they have been robbed in the past or have had troublesome customers.

Julie then walked back to the other end of town to the outdoor store to buy some new socks and to visit the post office to ask about our missing package.  The news wasn't good (see above) and we quickly improvised an alternate plan which saw Julie return quickly to the motel and then catch a bus to Ghost Ranch to retrieve our parcel.

While Julie was away, Dave did some more trip planning and TV watching.  At one point, there was a knock on the motel room door from a shady-looking guy who said he had stayed in the room the night before us and had accidentally left “something illegal” hidden above the fridge.  He offered Dave $20 to let him come in and retrieve it, but Dave declined to let him in, though did offer to retrieve it, which he did, and gave it to the guy.  Dave refused the offered $20.

For the next leg of our hike, the official CDT goes along the San Juan Mountains which rise to 12000+’ and still hold plenty of snow.  There are alternate, lower, routes which many of the hikers ahead of us have taken.  It is possible that, this late in the season, we might not encounter very dangerous conditions, though avalanche warnings were issued a week ago.  Most hikers who have gone through the San Juans in the last two weeks have talked about some “sketchy” sections and some have said crampons/microspikes and an ice axe are essential.  Some of them have “bailed out”, and found routes down off the mountains, though this can be slow and difficult.  Julie and I are not very experienced alpine snow travellers and, ultimately, have decided to play safe and take some of the lower alternates.

When Julie returned to the motel, Dave went to a nearby RV park and surreptitiously did our washing in their coin laundry after Julie had asked laundry access yesterday and was told it was for park guests only.  The only other laundromat in town is more than 2km away.  While Dave was at the laundry, a wild thunderstorm with strong winds, hail and lightning swept through.  We were glad we were not on the top of a mountain.

Later, we bought dinner from a nearby Mexican restaurant and had a reasonably early night.

Day 038 - Continental Divide Trail - Arkansas Creek to Cumbres Pass

Day: 038

Date: Thursday, 13 June 2024

Start:  Arkansas Creek

Finish:  Cumbres Pass (but staying at Chama, NM)

Daily Kilometres:  10.7

GPX Track:  Click here for Julie’s Strava & Photos

Total Kilometres:  1139.9

Weather:  Cool early then very warm and sunny.

Accommodation:  Motel

Nutrition:

  Breakfast:  Ranchos huevos/Burrito

  Lunch:  Ham & cheese sandwiches

  Dinner:  Cheeseburgers & fries, icecream.

Aches:  Nothing to report.

Highlight:  After nearly two hour's hiking this morning, we reached the New Mexico-Colorado border just before 8am.  It was just a point on the trail in the forest marked with a sign, with no road access.  Yet, there beside the trail was a cooler filled with cans of soft drink and beer with a note saying welcome to Colorado for CDT hikers.  The drinks had been carried 5km uphill from the nearest road by an outdoor store in the town of Chama.

Lowlight:  A package of winter/snow gear we had mailed ahead to the Chama Post Office was not there.  We had the tracking number and it appears to have been sent to a different PO many miles away for no explicable reason.  The helpful postmaster said he would try to get it to Chama by tomorrow.  Fingers crossed.

Pictures: Click here

Map and Position: Click here for Google Map

Journal:

In the small hours, we were both woken by something chomping on something very close to the tent.  We feared it was some little critter chewing into one.of our rucksacks, or the tent, on the basis of some food odour.  We made some noise and the chomping stopped.  No damage was found in the morning.

We woke at 5am on yet another beautiful morning and were hiking soon after 6am through the peaceful pine-scented forest, with 10km to our goal of Hwy 17.  There were more blowdowns across the trail in the couple of hours which was frustrating when we were keen to make good time, but we still reached the New Mexico-Colorado border around 8am and were very pleasantly surprised with a thoughtful piece of “trail magic” (see above).  We have hiked over 1,100km in New Mexico, one of the four states we will spend a lot of time in, and have thoroughly enjoyed the variety and challenge it has offered. It has constantly surprised us.

Soon after crossing the border we had superb views over Cumbres Pass and Hwy 17, though still 5km away.  Disappointingly, although we could see a long stretch of the highway, there were zero vehicles.  Not a good sign when we needed to hitch into Chama.

The trail descent to the pass was beautiful, with great views all the way down and we did see a couple of vehicles on the road, which we reached about 9:15am.

We prepared ourselves for a long wait to get a ride but the first driver to appear, after about 10 minutes, stopped and offered us a lift in his pickup.  He was about Dave's age and we had a.good conversation as he drove slowly and carefully down from the pass.  He told us that he always used to celebrate crossing the state border by smoking a joint, but we suspect he'd had one or two before starting his drive this morning.  Anyway, he dropped us off safely in the centre of the very small town around 9:40am.

Across the road, a tourist steam train of the Cumbres & Toltec Railroad was preparing to leave.  We saw the railway track up through the spectacular pass and it would be a good, if expensive, trip.  We walked to the Post Office and collected some of our mail (new trekking poles for Dave), while another package was missing (see above).

Chama is a very stretched out small town and we set out to walk the 2km to our booked motel and a nearby dinner for a late breakfast.  While walking along the road, another pickup stopped, driven by the owner of the town's small outdoor store, and he offered us a lift which we gratefully accepted.  It was already quite warm and there was a heat warning current for today.

After a good breakfast at the diner, we walked the short distance to our motel and sat at a picnic table there in the shade of a tree until our room was ready near noon.

After showers, we bought lunch from the grocery store across the road and spent the afternoon planning the weeks ahead and doing the usual town chores at an easy pace.

For dinner, we bought some cheeseburgers from a nearby food truck and some icecream from the grocery.

Day 037 - Continental Divide Trail - Olguin Mesa to Arkansas Creek

Day: 037

Date: Wednesday, 12 June 2024

Start:  Olguin Mesa

Finish:  Arkansas Creek

Daily Kilometres:  39.4

GPX Track:  Click here for Julie’s Strava & Photos

Total Kilometres:  1129.2

Weather:  Cool early then warm and mostly sunny.

Accommodation:  Tent

Nutrition:

  Breakfast:  Pop tarts/Muesli 

  Lunch:  Trail mix 

  Dinner:  Rehydrated meal/Chicken & rice

Aches:  Dave - the usual niggles; Julie - nothing reported.

Highlight:  In the early morning the trail took us along the edge of the Olguin Mesa at 10000’ with superb views west over a grassed valley far below where we could see a lone elk ambling along.

Lowlight:  Blowdowns!  In the last hours of the day the trail took us through forest where hundreds of trees had fallen with scores lying across the trail.  If we were lucky, we could step over them or straddle them carefully but, in many cases, they were too high to climb over and too low to crawl under.  Often logs were jumbled together and there was no easy way around.  Broken branches were everywhere.  At the end of a long day, the exertion required was significant and there was much cursing.

Pictures: Click here

Map and Position: Click here for Google Map

Journal:

We woke to a beautiful morning and were hiking by 6am.  Initially we had to descend to a grassy valley, but then we had a long climb up on to the rim of Olguin Mesa and followed that to the north.  The views were amazing (see above) and it was good to be alive.

For the rest of the day we hiked on a mix of single-track and forest roads through peaceful pine forest or through alpine meadows, oscillating between 10000’ and 11000’.  There were snow patches about and some snowy peaks in the distance.

The scenery was just great all day and, although we saw a few other people - a fisherman and a six-person ATV tour - we felt like we had all of it to ourselves.

The only “downer” was the number of blowdowns across the trail towards the end of the day (see above), but that is part of the hiking experience.

Around 6:30pm we found a spot beside a little-used forest road and camped for the night.  We only have about 6km of New Mexico left before we reach Colorado and then another 6km from the border until we reach Cumbres Pass from where we will hitch-hike to Chama, back in New Mexico, for a day off.

Day 036 - Continental Divide Trail - Rio Vallecitos to Olguin Mesa

Day: 036

Date: Tuesday, 11 June 2024

Start:  Rio Vallecitos 

Finish:  Olguin Mesa

Daily Kilometres:  40.8

GPX Track:  Click here for Julie’s Strava & Photos

Total Kilometres:  1089.8

Weather:  Cold early then warm and sunny to noon.  Thunderstorms and a little rain in the afternoon.

Accommodation:  Tent

Nutrition:

  Breakfast:  Pop tarts/Muesli

  Lunch:  Trail mix 

  Dinner:  Rehydrated meals 

Aches:  Dave - the usual niggles; Julie - nothing reported.

Highlight:  None in particular 

Lowlight:  We had to ford the Rio Vallecitos around 7am when we were already quite cold.  The rocks underfoot were slippery and Julie partially fell, knocking her knee and getting a bit wet, but avoiding significant immersion.

Pictures: Click here

Map and Position: Click here for Google Map

Journal:

We got away from camp around 6am with a slightly damp tent from intermittent overnight rain.  Our first hour involved descending steadily to the Rio Vallecitos which we then had to ford.  It wasn't that wide, but there was a significant current and the rocks underneath were slippery.  Neither of us really wanted to start out the day with wet shoes and socks, but we had no choice.

After the ford, most of the rest of the day seemed to be spent gradually ascending through forest and across huge alpine meadows.  The scenery was again spectacular.  Perhaps our only complaint was some of the trail design.  When we were hiking the Appalachian Trail last year, hiker jargon included the word PUDS - Pointless Ups and Downs - and on the CDT we plan to introduce another bit of jargon, UMS - Unnecessary Meandering Switchbacks.  Yesterday and today we have had sections on gradual hills where the trail uses sweeping curves to gradually gain height when it would have been very easy to walk a straight line, as many hikers before us have done.

Around noon, what had been a beautiful morning began to turn ugly with cloud building and regular thunder.  There was occasional light rain but what was amazing was how quickly it dropped the temperature and brought wind gusts.  This was the pattern for most of the afternoon as each thunderhead moved through.

We had our lunch at the National Forests Hopewell Lake Campground - tables, toilet and trash - where we also got water from the camp caretaker.

During the afternoon we passed the Lake, in a beautiful alpine setting, where a number of people were fishing and then steadily climbed, mostly through meadows, with the occasional patch of snow visible, and a herd of elk in the distance at one point.

Around 6:30pm we found a lovely tent site on a knoll set amongst a grove of silver birch close to a stream.  Sadly, there are some mosquitoes, but the birds are also singing.  We are at 10200’ so expect a cool night.

Day 035 - Continental Divide Trail - Mogotito to Rio Vallecitos

Day: 035

Date: Monday, 10 June 2024

Start:  Mogotito

Finish:  Rio Vallecitos

Daily Kilometres:  35.5

GPX Track:  Click here for Julie’s Strava & Photos

Total Kilometres:  1049.0

Weather:  Cold early then cool and overcast all day with occasional light rain.  Thunderstorms about in the evening.

Accommodation:  Tent

Nutrition:

  Breakfast:  Pop tarts/ Muesli

  Lunch:  Trail mix

  Dinner:  Rehydrated meal/Chicken & rice

Aches:  Dave - the usual niggles; Julie - nothing reported.

Highlight:  In mid-afternoon, after climbing steadily most of the day, we reached the headwaters of Canjilon Creek in a vast remote green grass valley bordered by pine forests.

Lowlight:  Rain, on and off, during our morning hiking along trails through sodden undergrowth and dripping vegetation, when we were already cold and a bit wet, was not much fun.

Pictures: Click here

Map and Position: Click here for Google Map

Journal:

It rained lightly much of the night but had stopped when we got up at 5am.  However, wiping down condensation inside the tent and rain off the flysheet before we packed it away made us a little later than usual and we didn't start hiking until 6:15am.

It was cold and damp, with occasional light rain showers for much of the morning and the vegetation was scrubby and wet and the trail a bit overgrown.  We were quite high and had occasional views across the valleys and hills and saw a distant herd of elk(?) running.  Later, we surprised a couple in the forest, but didn't get a good look at them before they raced off.

As we steadily climbed, the vegetation turned more to forest and the feel became more alpine.  We noticed that a lot of the downed trees across the trail has recently been cut and cleared and when we reached a trailhead with a car park there were several Conservation Corps vehicles there, along with a picnic bench, toilet and trash can … ideal.

We ate lunch and the workers returned along the trail we followed after lunch and, sure enough, more downed trees had recently been cleared.  (We weren't so lucky later in the afternoon when we had to climb over many downed trees.)

After lunch we followed a creek upstream to its headwaters in an alpine valley through some beautiful forest with occasional snow patches.  It was the best hiking of the day and we reached an altitude of 10500’.

Most of the latter part of the afternoon was a gradual descent through beautiful pine forest and across grassy meadows.  We stopped a little earlier than usual, 5:40pm, at a spot on a ridge where we hope a breeze will help dry the tent and reduce overnight condensation if it rains again.

It did start raining again once we were in the tent, but not for long.  Tomorrow's forecast is better.

Day 034 - Continental Divide Trail - Ghost Ranch to Mogotito

Day: 034

Date: Sunday, 09 June 2024

Start:  Ghost Ranch

Finish:  Mogotito

Daily Kilometres:  29.4

GPX Track:  Click here for Julie’s Strava & Photos

Total Kilometres:  1013.5

Weather:  Warm and sunny in the morning, mild and overcast in the afternoon with thunder about and some cold rain in the evening.

Accommodation:  Tent

Nutrition:

  Breakfast:  Cereal, fruit & yoghurt, eggs & sausages.

  Lunch:  Bagels & jam/peanut butter.

  Dinner:  Rehydrated meals 

Aches:  Dave - the usual niggles; Julie - nothing reported.

Highlight:  In the afternoon, we crossed some beautiful alpine meadows ablaze with blue, yellow and white wildflowers.

Lowlight:  Some cold spitting rain and wind that arrived around 5:30pm.

Pictures: Click here

Map and Position: Click here for Google Map

Journal:

It was a day of contrasts, starting out with a very civilised breakfast and a very warm and sunny morning climb out of Ghost Ranch (6500’) through orange canyons and desert vegetation, and finishing at 9200’ in grassy alpine meadows under thick cloud and occasional cold rain trying to set up camp and eat before we got too cold and wet.

Dave spent a lot of the early climb wishing we had stayed for an extra day at Ghost Ranch.  It had a nice relaxed vibe, things to do, and plentiful and wholesome food.  But, the CDT called and off we went.

Apart from the early climb, the hiking wasn't too bad and we would have got further were it not for a few navigational mishaps, one of which saw us separated from each other for a short period of time, yelling loudly to eventually find one another.

The Ghost Ranch Alternate, which we followed most of the day, was not marked.  It cobbled together a number of existing 4WD tracks and foot trails, making it easy to miss turns.  Near the end of the day we rejoined the official CDT and we are hoping that will be easier to follow.

With a break in the spitting rain soon after 6pm we found a sheltered spot, not far from a herd of grazing cattle, and quickly set up camp.  It was one of those nights when we were very glad to get into our tent.  Let's hope we don't get trampled by cattle during the night.  They have already been to visit, but Dave shooed them away.

Day 033 - Continental Divide Trail - Youngsville to Ghost Ranch

Day: 033

Date: Saturday, 08 June 2024

Start:  Youngsville

Finish:  Ghost Ranch

Daily Kilometres:  30.8

GPX Track:  Click here for Julie’s Strava & Photos

Total Kilometres:  984.1

Weather:  Warm and sunny

Accommodation:  Cabin

Nutrition:

  Breakfast:  Muesli slice/Pop tarts

  Lunch:  Snacks/Trail mix

  Dinner:  Tortillas & salad, chocolate brownies

Aches:  Dave - the usual niggles (the most chronic of which is pain below left knee); Julie - nothing reported.

Highlight:  One highlight occurred just before we planned to stop for our breakfast break after two hours of hiking along the highway.  A pickup truck going the other way slowed to a stop and handed Julie two muesli slices, which became breakfast.

Lowlight:  We were over the highway traffic by the time we reached the Ghost Ranch turnoff.  Almost invariably, vehicles gave us a wide berth if they could, but often there were vehicles coming from behind us at the same time, giving them little room.  We usually ended up stepping off the road, sometimes into the rough steeply sloping verge, for everybody's safety.  It gets quite tedious after a while.

Pictures: Click here

Map and Position: Click here for Google Map

Journal:

We slept quite well despite the nearby road traffic, although one police car went by at high speed with siren blaring in the small hours.

After a quick pack-up, we were hiking along Hwy 96 by 6am, hoping to make quick progress.  We knew we could get water at Abiquiu Reservoir, 15km away, from where we hoped to cover the remaining 15km to Ghost Ranch in good time, arriving mid-afternoon and in sufficient time to perhaps get accommodation and meals.  We were prepared to camp there, but a cabin would be better.

We did make good time, occasionally pausing to take in, and photograph, the spectacular desert scenery bordered by mountains and multi-coloured bluffs, sometimes reflected in the Reservoir.

The Reservoir Visitor Centre was just off the highway and provided everything we needed - picnic table, water, toilets, trash cans and mobile service - for a mid-trek break.  It overlooked the reservoir, on which people were boating and fishing, and was popular with passing motorists.

Soon after leaving the Reservoir, we turned off Hwy 96 onto the much busier Hwy 84, where road walking became more tedious.  However, we still made good time and reached the unique and historic Ghost Ranch just after 2pm.  The very helpful staff set us up with a basic cabin for the night, sold us meal passes, and handed over a parcel of food we had mailed ahead.  By 3pm we were having showers, doing laundry and sipping on cold Diet Cokes.  Heaven!

The Ranch is now owned and operated by the Presbyterian Church as a retreat and education centre, with a focus on the arts and history.  It sits in a canyon bordered by orange cliffs and has a colourful history of its own, including as a base for notorious rustlers and as the location for a number of Western movies.  It was also the home of artist Georgia O’Keeffe who painted some well-known pictures here.

After a relaxed and healthy cafeteria dinner, we had an early night.

We have now rejoined the unofficial CDT, as Ghost Ranch lies on the Ghost Ranch Alternate taken by most hikers.  No more highway walking for a little while, hopefully.

Day 032 - Continental Divide Trail - San Pedro Peaks to Youngsville

Day: 032

Date: Friday, 07 June 2024

Start:  San Pedro Peaks

Finish:  Youngsville

Daily Kilometres:  40.6

GPX Track:  Click here for Julie’s Strava & Photos

Total Kilometres:  953.3

Weather:  Mild to warm, partly cloudy, with occasional thunder and a few spits of rain.

Accommodation:  Tent

Nutrition:

  Breakfast:  Pop tarts/muesli 

  Lunch:  Snacks/Trail mix 

  Dinner:  Noodles & tuna/Rice & chicken

Aches:  Dave - very tired and the usual niggles; Julie - nothing reported 

Highlight:  The assistance provided at the National Forests Ranger Station near where a closure of the CDT started because of a wildfire.  The CDT was rerouted along two highways, a 50km roadwalk, to get around the fire.  To help CDT hikers, the rangers were allowing hikers to camp at the ranger station, about 3km into the road walk, and were providing water, snacks, toilets and wifi.  There was even a daily shuttle for those who did not want to do the road walk.  We arrived at the ranger station about noon and the chatty duty ranger took good care of us, even getting a couple of cold Dr Pepper’s from the staff vending machine (which we paid for).

Lowlight:  Unfortunately, the ranger support (see above) didn't extend to water along the road walk.  We had to leave carrying 3 litres each to see us through to mid-morning tomorrow, making the road walk a bit of a grind.

Pictures: Click here

Map and Position: Click here for Google Map

Journal:

As Julie pointed out, today was really the reverse of yesterday.  We started out in beautiful alpine scenery, with the odd patch of snow, and descended steadily through forest until we reached a road, along which we had to walk for many kilometres through country gradually turning into desert.  We started out at 10500’ and finished at 8400’.

Of course, there were some differences too.  We met a few other CDT hikers, including one who had passed us at great speed very early in our hike, but who had then sustained an injury and had six days off to recover.  He was planning to hike 60km today so must feel OK.

Also, on our long road walk we had majestic mountains and bluffs on both sides of the road and we also passed through some small communities that seemed on hard times.  At walking pace, you really get to see these remote places and get a better understanding, at least to a small extent, what their lives are like.

After about 18km of road walking, and at about 5:45pm, we found a place to set up camp on the roadside verge where we will be less obvious, though still visible, from the road.  Hopefully, we will have a quiet night.

Day 031 - Continental Divide Trail - Cuba to San Pedro Peaks

Day: 031

Date: Thursday, 06 June 2024

Start:  Cuba, NM

Finish:  San Pedro Peaks

Daily Kilometres:  32.8

GPX Track:  Click here for Julie’s Strava & Photos

Total Kilometres:  912.7

Weather:  Hot, but cooler at higher altitudes, and sunny.

Accommodation:  Tent 

Nutrition:

  Breakfast:  Microwaved potato, egg & bacon meals

  Lunch:  Ham & cheese sandwiches

  Dinner:  Noodles & tuna/Rice & chicken.

Aches:  Dave - the usual niggles; Julie - nothing reported.

Highlight:  Our afternoon spent hiking through the San Juan and San Pedro Wildernesses was fantastic. Such a contrast to the equally stunning mesas, buttes and canyons of the previous few days.  There was pine forest, alpine meadows with wildflowers, gurgling streams and even some snow patches, seemingly furtively hiding in the shadows to avoid their certain fate as summer progresses.

Lowlight:  Mosquitoes were a bother when we camped tonight, but we know this is just a taster of what is to come.

Pictures: Click here

Map and Position: Click here for Google Map

Journal:

We had a relaxed start to the day, leaving our motel at 7:45am and beginning our road walk out of Cuba.  It seemed appropriate that we encountered more snarling dogs on our way out of town, one of which was so determined to give us a send off that he ignored several vehicles that came close to giving him a send off.

Out of town, we had a day of climbing.  Cuba is at an altitude of 6900’ and tonight we are camped at 10500’.

We started out through arid grazing country on a sealed road before taking a minor road which turned into a 4WD track.  Once we reached the Santa Fe National Forest, the CDT became single-track and climbed relentlessly, though using switchbacks so the grade was never too bad.  Here and there we could look down and see Cuba way below and in the far distance.

The trail was through pine forest and, as we gained altitude, the worst of the heat abated and the hiking wasn't too bad.

Around noon we neared the San Gregorio forest campground and met four volunteers out working on the trail and expressed our gratitude.  From there we entered some declared Wildernesses (see above) and had some beautiful hiking, including along the shore of San Gregorio Reservoir where we were both tempted to go for a swim (not permitted).

As we passed 10000’ we even began to see some snow and enjoyed the sound of rushing creeks, meaning easy water access.  In fact, there was too much water and the trail became boggy in parts while some of the alpine meadows were more like marshes.  Dave was glad of his Goretex boots while Julie resigned herself to wet running shoes, socks and feet.

We were constantly on the lookout for animals in the big meadows but had to be satisfied with a couple of donkeys grazing in one meadow and some marmots(?).

At 6pm we picked a site on the edge of some woods to set up camp on a beautiful evening (apart from the mosquitoes), having had an excellent day.

Day 030 - Continental Divide Trail - Cuba

Day: 030

Date: Wednesday, 05 June 2024

Start:  Cuba, NM

Finish:  Cuba, NM

Daily Kilometres:  0

GPX Track:  Click here and here for Julie’s Strava & Photos from her jog and walk around Cuba today.

Total Kilometres:  879.9

Weather:  Very warm and sunny

Accommodation:  Motel

Nutrition:

  Breakfast:  McDonald's breakfast platters

  Lunch:  Burritos 

  Dinner:  Chimichanga & rice/Enchiladas, rice & beans, icecream.

Aches:  Nothing to report

Highlight:  None really 

Lowlight:  None really 

Pictures: No pictures today.

Map and Position: Click here for Google Map

Journal:

A quiet day with a slow start, although Julie did go for a run to see if she could find any more aggressive unconstrained dogs (see yesterday's blog post).  She did!

We wandered up to a McDonald's for a late breakfast, then did our supplies shopping at a small grocery before Julie returned to the motel while Dave spent some time on a computer in the town library sorting out some personal financial stuff.

After lunch back at the motel, Julie journeyed back up to a laundromat to do our laundry.

Later, we had a filling dinner at a nearby Mexican restaurant, followed by an early night.

Day 029 - Continental Divide Trail - La Ventana Mesa to Cuba

Day: 029

Date: Tuesday, 04 June 2024

Start:  La Ventana Mesa

Finish:  Cuba, NM

Daily Kilometres:  38.7

GPX Track:  Click here for Julie’s Strava & Photos

Total Kilometres:  879.9

Weather:  Warm and partly sunny

Accommodation:  Motel

Nutrition:

  Breakfast:  Snacks/Muesli 

  Lunch:  Trail mix 

  Dinner:  Cheeseburgers & fries, icecream.

Aches:  Dave - new blister and the usual niggles; Julie - nothing reported

Highlight:  The climb up Mesa Portales was special.  We could see the forbidding walls of the mesa from 5km away as we approached it across grasslands, knowing that somehow we were going to have to climb to the top although no obvious route was visible.  Dave was very apprehensive.  When we got to the base, we just followed the trail which wound its way upwards through boulder fields and short sharp pinches requiring the use of arms and legs.  The higher we got the more intimidating it was to look down, but the views were stupendous.  We gained height really quickly and, before long, reached the mesa top and marvelled at what we had done.

Lowlight:  The last 8km road walk into Cuba at the end of a long hard day was not much fun, made worse at one point by the attention of an aggressive dog which we had to fend off repeatedly with trekking poles.

Pictures: Click here

Map and Position: Click here for Google Map

Journal:

We woke at 5am, keen to get started on our long day, 37+ kilometres, to the small town of Cuba where we had a motel booked for two nights.  Although we knew there would be a road walk for the last part into town, we also knew there would be some demanding trail before then which would slow us down.

The trail was slow going but, again, the scenery was truly spectacular, almost every direction we looked.  Canyons, buttes, mesas and the occasional hoodoo.  Straight out of a Western movie.  We felt privileged to be there and, as was the case yesterday, we saw no other hikers.

Our biggest, and also most rewarding, climb was to the top of Mesa Portales (see above) and then, after walking the length of the mesa, we had a steady descent through more canyons into desert grazing land.

It was another day when we saw fresh bear tracks on the trail, but no bears, just a few hares/jack rabbits.

Our last break for the day was at a solar well, surrounded by cattle curious at our use of their water trough.  Then began our road walk into town which was tedious (see above) apart from craggy bluffs to our left.

Even when we got to Cuba, we had to walk the length of the small town, nearly 2km.  It was a dusty uninspiring place with more closed than open businesses, interspersed with vacant blocks. Maybe our view was coloured by fatigue and the fact that our motel was at the other end of town.  Finally, at 5:30pm, we reached the motel, which is fine, and checked in.

We bought take-away dinner from a nearby cafe and really enjoyed our showers after a spectacular and dusty five solid days of hiking.

Day 028 - Continental Divide Trail - Cerro del Ojo Frio to La Ventana Mesa

Day: 028

Date: Monday, 03 June 2024

Start:  Cerro del Ojo Frio

Finish:  La Ventana Mesa

Daily Kilometres:  35.7

GPX Track:  Click here for Julie’s Strava & Photos

Total Kilometres:  841.20

Weather:  Hot and sunny.

Accommodation:  Tent

Nutrition:

  Breakfast:  Pop tarts 

  Lunch:  Trail mix 

  Dinner:  Noodles & chicken/Rice & chicken

Aches:  Dave - the usual niggles; Julie - nothing reported.

Highlight:  The water cache that we reached around 1pm was most welcome.  There had been no water sources since leaving camp this morning and the day had turned into a hot one.  The trail was very exposed and sometimes challenging and we were going through water faster than expected.  We knew that the quantity of water in the cache was likely to be rapidly dwindling as there were hikers ahead of us, and we just hoped there was some left when we got there.  There was and we drank our fill.

Lowlight:  A strong wind blew all night, buffeting the tent and making sleep difficult.  It was still blowing hard as we packed up camp, which made it very hard.

Pictures: Click here

Map and Position: Click here for Google Map

Journal:

We had a bad night with the wind and it made packing up hard.  We were glad to be hiking by 6:10am and things rapidly improved from there.

Our trail all day passed through a magical landscape of buttes, mesas, hoodoos and canyons, with fantastic vistas to which photographs could not do justice, but we took plenty anyway.

Often we were hiking along the edge of mesas where a stumble would not be welcome, and there were plenty of steep climbs and descents to negotiate under the hot sun.  But all the time we were just awed by the constantly changing landscape around us.  It was a day to remember.

Around 6pm we found a lovely place to camp near a canyon rim and called it a day.  The wind is blowing again!

Day 027 - Continental Divide Trail - Cibola National Forest to Cerro del Ojo Frio

Day: 027

Date: Sunday, 02 June 2024

Start:  Cibola National Forest 

Finish:  Cerro del Ojo Frio

Daily Kilometres:  38.6

GPX Track:  Click here for Julie’s Strava & Photos

Total Kilometres:  805.5

Weather:  Very warm & sunny

Accommodation:  Tent

Nutrition:

  Breakfast:  Pop tarts 

  Lunch:  Trail mix 

  Dinner:  Noodles & chicken/Rehydrated meal 

Aches:  Dave - very tired and the usual niggles; Julie - nothing reported.

Highlight:  None really.

Lowlight:  It was disappointing to pass through such magnificent high plains country today, lightly forested or grassy plains, and see no wildlife bar a hare early on and some bear tracks later.

Pictures: Click here

Map and Position: Click here for Google Map

Journal:

We were hiking soon after 6am on yet another perfect morning with the sun slowly rising and illuminating the landscape around us.

For the first half of the day we followed a 4WD track across a plateau that was part grassy plain and partly lightly forested with pines.  It was beautiful country and we felt like we had it all to ourselves, though we did meet the female hiker from yesterday a few more times today.  She is a talkative elfin 71-y-o, with the trail name "Sticky", and is section-hiking and planning to finish at the next town.

Water was again a challenge today, with all sources some way off the trail.  In each case, Julie went on ahead as we neared the source and collected the water to help save some time.

At our lunch stop, Julie had to hike down to a small canyon to get the water from a spring which seemed so clean we did not filter it.

After lunch, we continued through the same magnificent country, but this time on lovely single-track trail.  The walking was easy and we made good time.

The last 5km of the day, however, was much slower as we descended 2000’ from the plateau with great views to the north of craggy bluffs and mesas.  Dave found the loose stone trail very slippery and sat down once near the top, making him even more cautious for the rest of the descent.  It was hard work at the end of a long day.

Near the bottom, Julie went ahead to get water again and, when Dave arrived at the trail junction, he set up camp.  A great spot, but very dusty and, as usual, just as we set up camp the wind begins to blow making everything more difficult.