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.