Hiking up Mt. Taylor

Sunday May 23, 2010

Camp 21 and 22:  Days Inn, Grants New Mexico

We're relaxing here in Grants, taking a zero day so our feet can heal.  After the lava field and road walk from hell, yesterday, our feet are aching.  I have three blisters that are not healing as we walk 20 miles a day. It will be nice to take a break.  Today we're resupplying, calling family and plan to be back on the trail in the morning.  Oh, Eric found an arrowhead a couple days ago!  Awesome!

Monday May 24, 2010

Camp 23:  near Mt. Taylor

We are sleeping at 9,000 feet tonight and it's supposed to be record lows!  We're actually on a real trail and not a road...exciting!  The trail is funny and frustrating; it comes and goes so we have to search often for cairns or CDT markers in the trees.  We had a good day, went to the Post Office this morning and got back on the trail at 12:30pm.  Eric found another arrowhead today that was made from obsidian and I found a piece of one!

sunflower

hi: found a piece of an arrowhead

lo: I screwed up baking cinnamon rolls this morning

little g

hi: waking up with sunflower after a good nights sleep

lo: CDT went by a prison and a landfill on the way out of town

El Malpais National Monument

Friday May 21, 2010

Camp 20: in a canyon, heading towards Bonita Canyon

It feels great to lay down. We hiked through El Malpais today.  At first it was awesome to be hiking through an old lava flow, but the mood quickly changed as the black rocks soaked up the heat from the sun at 2pm and the trail was brutal on the feet.  There is a lot of history in the area.  The Acoma-Zuni trail we hiked today had cairns that had been there, marking the trail for the two tribes of Pueblo, for 700 years! After a long walk through the lava we got to a parking area by the road.  I tried to yogi some water from a man that pulled into the lot, trying to quickly tuck his shirt in and zip his pants...more than  a bit odd.  Unfortunately, he looked at me like I was the strange one and rolled the window up in my face.  Not knowing where the next water source on the trail was, we hitched a ride with a guy in a pick-up truck down the road to a Forest Service office.  The building was closed but there was a hose outside with running water.  The water tasted like the hose, rubbery and disgusting, so we unhooked the hose and got water directly from the faucet.  After a candy bar break we walked across the road and through a gate hoping the forest service road would hook us back up with the trail.  The roads are a maze out here but we always seem to work things out.  We are in a side canyon right now that leads to Bonita Canyon and eventually into Grants for resupply.  We saw a huge heard of elk tonight as we were winding down the day.  My feet ache and I'm nursing three blisters right now  There are actually blisters underneath blisters which is really hard to treat.  Anyways, time for dinner and sleep. 

“Remember to take everything in moderation, including moderation.”

Thursday May 20, 2010

Camp 19: Sand Canyon

We're finally finished hiking for the day.  It has been a good one, but long.  This morning we started with a road walk which turned into dirt leading into Armijo Canyon.  We are in cattle country so our water sources leave a lot to be desired.  This morning we walked over to a large tank, hoping for a pipe with some cold, delicious spring water.  Instead we found the tank surrounded by mud and cow manure with a small seep.  It smelled of decay and manure, rancid and disgusting.  Eric dug out his bandana to filter out some of the excrement and chunks and we worked to filter a couple liters as the cows watched from afar.  We masked the first liter with kool-aid as we were a bit dehydrated and hoped for better water at the next source.  The trail was long and hot, we could see for miles and miles with what looked like nothing before us.  We explored Pueblo ruins dating back to 1200 a.d.  We found shards of pottery and various structures that were still halfway standing.  What an incredible piece of history.  The downside, there were signs everywhere that threatened a fine and imprisonment if you removed the pottery but meanwhile the area is open to free range cattle who trample the sacred ground.  We proceeded down the hot, dry, dusty canyon, past a dead bloated cow with her feet in the air, hoping to find water.  We detoured to Armijo Spring only to find it completely dry. We did stumble upon an old stone house built into the hillside.  We explored for a bit, finding a  religious shrine inside.  It was quite interesting, really.  We hiked off trail up the side canyon past the spring, over the ridge and back down the other side where we connected with the CDT.  By the time we go back to the trail it was 6:30pm and we still had 4.5 miles to hike to the next possible water at a windmill.  We picked up the pace as the sun disappeared behind the cliffs and we found some nasty looking water in a cattle trough.  It was getting dark and we really didn't have any other option as we needed water to drink and to cook.  So we filtered, better than nothing, right?  We found a rather lumpy camping spot in the middle of cow pasture.  It smells of cow manure but it's beautiful nonetheless as the colors develop in the sky.

Daily Pie Cafe

Wednesday May 19, 2010

Camp 18: yet another pasture, signed No Trespassing, Private Property

We walk into the Daily Pie Cafe and the bell on the door jingles.  Heads turn and nod to greet us as we take a seat by the window.  Old glass bottles line the sill along with a postage stamp keepsake giving an overview of the Sante Fe Trail, an old blue speckled cup and a tiny glass bottle with a wooden arrow inside, just the point of it sticking out the top, impossible to remove.  The server brings us coffee and returns to her chair to finish breakfast. The cook finishes writing the specials on the chalkboard and recommends the apple fritters with eggs and bacon.  I accept!  Eric orders and we sit in silence sipping our hot fresh coffee.   The morning is cool and windy; we are at 8,000 feet and the actual divide is just up the hill.  The sky is deep blue and cloudless and it is difficult to tell what day of the week it is as locals sit around laughing and talking at 9:30am.  Conversation revolves around the summer solstice plans and I pipe up saying, “for hikers, that's hike naked day!”  Odd glances result in laughter from the four men sitting at the table beside us and it will prove to be an ongoing joke for the remainder of the discussion.  An old man in overalls sits quietly by the window, in the same spot as yesterday.  He listens but does not join conversation and scratches off his lottery tickets.  I smile as it reminds me in some ways of a scene from Dad's feed store when I was a little girl.  Our food arrives, delicious home cooking.  Eric offers a bite of sausage in exchange for an apple fritter.  What an excellent way to start the day here in Pie Town, New Mexico.

Longest Wild Hair Kool-Aid Makin' Video Ever