Days 24 - 28
June 5 - 9, 2023
Miles 437.1 - 528.3
After spending 3 ½ days in Grants, NM resting my injured leg, I felt much better and was eager to start hiking again. I had anterior tibial tendonitis, a common injury among hikers. With rest, kinesiology tape, and an exercise circuit provided by a physiotherapist, I felt I could return to trail safely. There were still some chores I needed to get done before I could leave, however. The Lava Flow Hostel is very much a do-it-yourself type of place, so I spent part of the morning laundering the bedsheets and sweeping the floors to make sure the room was ready for the next guest. I then made a trip down to the post office to mail a resupply box of food ahead to Ghost Ranch and pick up the Zensah calf compression sleeves I had ordered. Compression sleeves were recommended to me by several other hikers and the physiotherapist I talked to in order to help combat shin splints and tendonitis. By the time I got all these chores finished, it was time for lunch. I figured I should enjoy one last meal in town before hitting the trail again.
It was mid afternoon when I put on my pack and walked out of Grants. The first 5 miles back on trail were along the paved highway north out of town, past a prison, and then it rejoined dirt trail at the Mt. Taylor trailhead. Storm clouds brewed on either side of me as I walked along the highway, but I only got hit with light sprinkles luckily. With my injured leg in mind, I walked slowly and shortened my strides to reduce the impact on my tendon. It was a little frustrating walking slow along the flat, paved surface when normally it's a great time to make fast miles. But I remembered the pain of my inflamed tendon and followed the doctor's orders. At the trailhead, I took the 5 minutes to run through my stretches. The Physio had given me a short exercise circuit and said I should do them every 2 hours when on trail. As someone who doesn't like taking breaks when hiking, this was going to be its own challenge. But again, I remembered the pain and did what the doc told me to do.
It was great being back on trail. Somehow, after only 3 days off, I felt less in shape and had to pause several times to catch my breath as I hiked up the hill. At the top was a bell on a wooden post trail marker and, despite other hikers' warnings, I rang it. I didn't feel right to just walk away from it even if ringing it did risk summoning evil trail spirits. Perhaps the spirits were the ones to give me that sensation... Anyway, I had a last view of Grants so I waved goodbye and then continued on down the trail. It was windy along the flat open grassland, but died down as the trail wound its way into the trees.
It was beautiful hiking in the forest. I got a great view of Mt. Taylor, the first high elevation mountain along the trail so far. This peak is sacred to the Navajo people and is known as Tsoodzil, blue bead mountain. For some reason, the official CDT route goes around Mt. Taylor instead of over it. I made it to the junction with the alternate route that would take me to the mountain summit and turned off there. I wasn't about to miss this 11k ft summit. It was dark when I stopped hiking and set up camp. I was feeling good and was happy to be back on trail. My shin wasn't bothering me, although my knee was twinging. In all the excitement about my tendon pain, I had completely forgotten to ask the physiotherapist about my knee pain. Oops...
Originally, I thought I'd wake up early for a sunrise summit as it was only 4 miles from my campsite to the peak of Mt. Taylor. But when I woke up in the middle of the night to pee, I realized I hated that idea and turned off my alarm. It was nice to "sleep in" and wake up naturally to the sunrise and birds singing instead. I had a chance to do my exercises while I collected water from a slow-dripping pipe. Then it was a slow, albeit beautiful, hike up Mt. Taylor, gaining over 2,000 ft in elevation over 4 miles and I felt the effects after every step. I finally made it to the summit where it was very windy. After stopping briefly to enjoy the incredible view of the surrounding mountains and valleys and quickly do a couple rounds of my exercises, I started the descent down Mt. Taylor.
My knee really hurt on the hike down the mountain. It was very painful and I was getting worried if I'd be able to make it down okay. But then the trail joined a dirt road and got less steep and my knee calmed down a lot. Then it was nice walking along the road under the green aspens. I saw a man who had driven out here in his truck and was looking at a stump to shoot at. He was the only person I saw that day.
The trail made its way down through the forest for a bit longer. At American Canyon spring, I collected enough water for the next 23 miles plus some extra for tonight's dinner. My pack felt very heavy with the additional weight! Then I followed the trail as it left the green forest and went into drier piñon pine habitat. It was getting close to my 2 hour mark when I should do another round of my exercises so I started to look for a nice spot to take a break. Instead, I found 2 of the most massive black bears I have ever seen. Normally I love seeing bears on trail. But these 2 were so huge I actually got a bit nervous. One of them had sprinted away into the trees, but the other made its way slowly into the forest, its bulky backside swaying as it ambled away. I kept on hiking, putting a bit of distance between myself and those chonkers before I felt comfortable enough to stop and stretch.
The trail emerged from the woods altogether and became a dirt forest road in a large flat open grassland. I glanced behind me and saw angry gray storm clouds forming. I tried to outrun the impending storm and hoped that Mt. Taylor would slow them down and create a rain shadow effect. No such luck. I couldn't outpace the clouds and very soon they engulfed me. And then they unleashed their rain. I pulled out my umbrella and hiked the rest of the day in the rain. I couldn't help feel it was a little unfair to have to carry 5 liters of water while getting rained on. It felt too ironic. But I found a nice little campsite and was able to set up my tent during a break in the rain. It stopped altogether before I went to sleep.
I had service and was able to talk to my friend Bushwhack. They were in Colorado and told me about the snow and trail conditions. Most people weren't able to hike the main route and had to do alternates and road walks. I don't want to do that and miss one of the most beautiful sections of the CDT, so I started to think more seriously about flying up to Montana and hiking south.
After yesterday's full and exciting day of a mountain summit, bear sightings, and storm chase, the next day started out quite uneventful, rather boring if I'm honest. It was flat and easy hiking along the dirt road. I saw quite a few different groups of cows, which I supposed was interesting. By mid morning, I made it to the side trail to the water source. This was a beautiful change of scenery as I hiked across two small canyons to get to the piped source. I took a break there and did my exercises. While I was down there, I heard a shout from above. Looking up, I saw a man on a white horse. I waved, he waved back, and then he moved up the cliff out of sight. Huh. Alright then.
Back on the main trail, 3 cows came running towards me. They veered off into the trees as they saw me. Shortly after, a dog came running towards me followed by that man on the white horse. He stopped and asked if I'd seen the 3 cows. I told him I had and how long ago. Then he asked me if I was hiking the trail, how long I'd been out there, etc. - all the usual questions. He asked if I was hiking solo and when I told him I was, he "tsked" at me as if I was doing something wrong. My only human interaction for the day and I disappointed a cowboy. Unreal.
The CDT continued through the trees. I saw an elk briefly as she quickly darted across the trail in front of me and vanished into the trees. Otherwise, it was an uneventful afternoon and I plodded along the trail. After several hours, the trail reached a 1,600 ft descent down the mountain out to the high desert floor. With constant views of buttes, mesas, and canyons, I marveled at the beauty I was walking towards. The long descent aggravated my knee so I was quite pleased when I reached the bottom.
I collected water from a spring slightly off trail and then hiked over grassy rolling hills and through the large sandy wash of Cañada de las Lomitas. I enjoyed being back in the beauty of the open desert and I even got to see some more of my new favorite reptile, the eastern collared lizard. I found a decent enough site, set up my tent, and basked in the joy of where my life choices have taken me.
The following day was pretty easy hiking. It started out over more of the flat open desert. Not super exciting, but in the early morning sun it was lovely. The trail led into some very cool geologic features, aka cool rocks.
Trail continued over and around near desert rock formations. It followed a rock staircase up the side of a canyon wall. The rock steps were reinforced with rebar that was poking pretty high up. I couldn't help but think that if someone tripped here they could really get hurt if they landed on the metal bars.
I reached a water cache around mid morning. This is such a long, dry stretch, but a wonderful family who lives close to the trail regularly keep a well-stocked water cache here. I spent a few minutes here collecting water and resting in the small amount of shade. It was getting quite hot on the rocks. Continuing on, the trail was much of the same - going across flat grassland and winding through neat rock formations. I saw several more eastern collared lizards hanging out on top of rocks or cairns.
My feet were starting to hurt. They were getting tender from walking so much on the sun heated rocks. The arches of my feet were red and sensitive. Nothing to do but hike on though. I passed a spring and collected water from it. There was another hiker there already, Wolfman. We chatted for a bit and then hiked out together. It was nice coming across another hiker I could talk to. I hadn't seen one since leaving Grants. We came across a Southbound hiker named Whistletooth and chatted with him before continuing on. Wolfman and I then split as he needed to take a bathroom break. I pressed on up the last climb of Mesa Portales for the day before I could break camp. 300 ft up in a quarter mile was steep and slow going, but at least it was short. At the top of the mesa I found a clear spot and set up to cowboy camp under the stars. Wolfman passed by and went a bit further to camp. I made dinner as I watched one of the most beautiful sunsets I've seen on trail.
The last day of this section was only 12 miles long. I woke up early so I could get into town sooner. It was mostly flat across the mesa before it descended down into the grasslands and cows. Then it was a dirt road walk to the paved highway. Just over 4 miles along the highway brought me into the town of Cuba, New Mexico. I got there in time for a late breakfast of huevos rancheros at the Cuban Cafe. I did my laundry and resupply shopping and then got a room at the Frontier Motel. After showering, I spent the rest of the day laying in bed, watching TV, and eating my snacks. Hiker bliss.
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