Day 31: Whirlpool Campground along the Rio Chama to Ghost Ranch, ~9 miles, ~557 miles total Last night we woke to a downpour of rain on our silnylon roof. Then a flash of lightning and a few seconds later the boom of thunder. Our first storm of the trail. It went on for hours, ebbing and … Continue reading Taking pleasure in a good rain

Day 30: Cecilia Creek to Whirlpool Campground along the Rio Chama, ~22 miles, ~548 miles total As of today, we've been on trail for month. Admittedly, a good number of those days have been zero days. But thinking back to the ocotillo of the Chihuahuan Desert and the hoodoos and slick rock  of the Gila, … Continue reading Prairie dog watching, red rock admiring

Day 29: Del Prado Motel to Cecilia Creek, ~22 miles, ~526 miles total Heading north out of Cuba, it didn't take Gabriel and me very long to observe that the we had walked out of the desert (at least for the time being). In exchange for mesas, ahead of us were the hills of the … Continue reading Verdant valleys and parkland

Day 28: Del Prado Motel, Cuba, New Mexico, 0 miles, ~504 miles total We woke this morning and decided why not take a zero day? We've done so in every town we've stopped in here in New Mexico.  It's good to be consistent. Besides our bodies benefit from rest. There are great hikers around. And … Continue reading A relaxing zero in Cuba

Day 27: Jones Canyon Spring to Del Prado Motel in Cuba, New Mexico, ~15 miles, ~504 miles total Already the sun is warming the fields of big sage brush as we hike toward Mesa Portales. The comforting sage brush fragrance of the West masks the odor of us two sweaty sticky hikers and the smell … Continue reading Mesas for breakfast, Cuba for dinner

Day 27: cholla flats of Mesa San Luis to Jones Canyon Spring, ~22 miles, ~489 miles total Gabriel and I are continuously in awe by the diversity of landscapes the Continental Divide Trail spans across New Mexico. Interspersed between the road walking stretches of pinyon and juniper woodlands we've hiked through the Chihuahan desert, hoodoo … Continue reading Mesa wonderland

Day 24: junction of 193 & 501 to Ojo del Dado, ~26 miles, ~442 miles total Back home, a good weather weekend often means a flurry of emails go out about organizing a trip for the upcoming dates; sometimes a trip gets moved to/or planned for a Friday. Today included a tall peak that could … Continue reading Hike on Friday

Day 23: Smith's Supermarket in Grants to Mumm's water cache at junction if FR 193 & 501, ~16 miles, ~416 miles total Town to trail days have me eating interesting breakfasts: bagel with cream cheese and a donut from the motel's continental breakfast, Belgian chocolate milk from the grocery store, a breakfast burrito and coffee … Continue reading A day on great trail

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