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.