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.