Day 22: Grants, NM, zero trail miles, ~400 miles total Today is a day of rest. Sleeping. Eating. A few errands. Blogging. Gabriel ate 1.5 pints of ice cream this afternoon. Smart man. While I ran over to the Northwest New Mexico visitor center in hope of finding a lightweight field guide. No real luck. … Continue reading Lounging in Grants

Day 21: upper Bonita Canyon to Grants at the Smiths Supermarket, ~16 miles, ~400 miles total So far, during our hike, New Mexico has been colder than it has been warm. We woke to frozen water containers and frost on the tent. (Later we learned that the night had been below 27 degrees (F) in … Continue reading Walking to then through Grants

Day 20: a mile up the Narrows Rim Trail to Upper Bonita Canyon, ~21 miles, ~384 miles total Gabriel declared today no hurry Monday. After all, as Gabriel often likes to think: we're on vacation. Per dictionary.com, vacation is defined as an extended period of recreation, especially one spent away from home or traveling. Ahh, … Continue reading Admiring sandstone, playing on lava

Day 19: Wild Horse Canyon Road to the ridge above The Narrows, ~26.6 miles, ~363 miles total It is so lovely to wake up to pinyon pines and juniper. This morning we opted to stay on the off trail, less road walking route. One of the many aspects of the CDT that I love is … Continue reading Sand in our eyes

Day 18: the Toaster House to Wild Horse Canyon Road, ~22 miles, ~337 miles total Pie Town is hard to leave! Amazing people. Great hiker community. And the pie! Walking away from Pie Town on gravel road did make it physically easier. Still, road walking TO something is mentally different than road walking FROM something. … Continue reading Up the road

Day 18: Pie Town, NM to a to be determined spot further north, ~315 miles total Woke to sunlight filling the cedar paneled room upstairs at the Toaster House. The windows look out to pinyon and juniper forest to the west and north, in the distance, I can see the peaks we will climb in … Continue reading A quiet morning in Pie Town

Day 17: the Toaster House, Top of the World, Pie Town and Quemado, 0 miles, ~315 miles total Today was amazing in so many ways. I'm still trying to compose and articulate what I have felt about living for a day in Pie Town. I'll leave at this for now: -it's not everyday you go … Continue reading For the love of pie!

Day 16: a half mile beyond the Mangas Peak Lookout at ~9500 feet to the Toaster House in Pie Town, ~24 miles, ~315 miles total My goal had been to get to and beyond the Mangas Peak Lookout yesterday for two reasons. One, I wanted to see at least one if the lookouts administered by … Continue reading Pie Town or bust

Day 15: Golina Canyon to a half mile beyond the Mangas Peak Lookout, ~26 miles, ~291 miles total New Mexico is in a severe drought and it's been a very dry spring, say the locals. Water sources along the trail are something a hiker relies on, but can't depend on. For instance, last night found … Continue reading Playing water roulette

Day 14: the Ponderosa flats at 8400 feet to Golina Canyon, not back to tracking daily miles yet, ~265 total I've heard it takes 14 days to create or break a habit, maybe longer. Likely that phrase is fallacy. But it's day 14 of our CDT hike and Gabriel and I have a rhythm to … Continue reading How many days does it take to form a habit?