Day 23: Back on the trail north of Grants, NM after another road walk out of town. From the left is Burnie, Jacklin, Patience, and me. We all stayed together at Motel 6 the night before and decided to head out together.
We found this critter greeting hikers less than a mile from the trailhead.
We had a decent assent up out of Grants before hitting this plateau. That is Mt Taylor in the distance and we decided to take the route that goes over the top.
By the mid-afternoon, we were in the aspens and starting our assent of Mt Taylor.
We found a great place to camp about two miles below the summit. There was fresh water near by and we were low enough that the temperature stayed above freezing all night.
An awesome ending to another great day on the trail. The plan for tomorrow is get up early and try to be at the summit for sunrise. 23.4 miles, 7:25 hiking.
Day 24: Moon setting in the west. The lights in the distance on the left is Grants. I headed out at 5:20 so I could try to summit as early as possible.
Double Magic who we had met in Grants passed us last night and camped up here in the cold. Frost everywhere but I was working up a sweat going up and could feel the altitude after several weeks in the desert.
Sunrise on Mt Taylor. The sun was already up when I got there at 6:20. It was windy and cold but I stopped to have breakfast and wait for the others.
Heading down the north side of Mt Taylor we ran into snow. Deep and steep in places but it lasted less than a mile and we managed fine.
Great views to the north all morning as we walked down some old forest service roads. No traffic at all so it was pleasant!
Trail ends and road begins again. Down here the road was pretty rocky and rough so my ankles got a workout. There was a water trough out here with incorrect GPS coordinates that we spent almost two hours trying to find. After finally locating the algae filled tractor tire another half mile down the road, it was past 3 PM and we were still about 15 miles from the next water source which was our goal for today.
A lot of this for the remainder of the day. We ran into Colorado Pete headed southbound from Ghost Ranch and he gave us information about some rain water that had collected in some rocks about half way to the spring so we headed there, watered up, and camped for the night. Because Patience and I had spent so much time looking for water earlier in the day, we figured Burnie and Jacklin must have passed us on an alternate route. Hoping to catch them tomorrow. 25 miles (+3 looking for water), 9 hours hiking on trail.
Day 25: Headed out alone today, Patience is taking a zero on trail because it is Saturday. I met some motorcyclists first thing in the morning but they were not very talkative.
Finally made it to the spring trail. It was a steep hike down into the canyon and then back out but the water was so clean and cold and delicious!
Spent most of the morning and part of the afternoon hiking on a mesa. Easy hiking and a great change of scenery from the dirt road yesterday afternoon.
I reach the north end of the mesa and start heading down into this valley by mid-afternoon. Some awesome views but the trail down was steep in places.
Looking back after crossing the river chasm. It was deep and sandy but dry. Lots of salt in the river bed from recent rain.
Later in the evening I look back at where I was just a few hours ago and realize how fast the miles are going by. It would be nice to slow down and enjoy the scenery more but the urge to keep moving pushes me forward.
It is getting late but I am across the valley now and headed back up. I have not seen any hikers today, only a large rattle snake. I wonder where Burnie and Jacklin are...
I find a place to cowboy camp behind a large shrub tree to block the wind and watch the moon rise while eating supper. Another great day on the trail, looking forward to what I will see tomorrow. Hiking alone seemed like a more enriching experience today. 28.4 miles, 9:30 hiking.
Day 26: Some interesting terrain this morning...
I thought these looked cool. They were probably 40 feet high or so.
All of these little peaks were north of me yesterday afternoon, now all are to the south.
Trail magic!!! Thank you Trujilla family! Much needed clean water should last me until Jones Canyon Spring this evening.
In the afternoon, there was a lot of walking on uneven sandstone. Ankles and feet were really started to bother me. I realized later that the sun was making the rock so hot that it was cooking my feet. No permanent damage but my shoes were still hot to the touch several hours later when I took them off at camp.
The last mesa before Cuba. I'll camp near the base tonight and go into Cuba, NM tomorrow. 26.8 miles, 10:20 hiking.
Day 27: Near where I camped last night. It is still early and I can already feel the heat.
Up, up, and away. Steep climb up the mesa but the BLM had built steps and chiseled steps into the rock. The trail has been easy to follow the last couple of days.
Almost to Cuba, NM. Mountains and trees in the distance so I'm looking forward to exploring that tomorrow.
Welcome to Cuba! I got a room at Del Prado Motel where Mrs Yang was holding my resupply package. Ate a huge lunch at El Bruno's (3 entrées) which was delicious! Burnie and Jacklin ended up joining me in the evening as I had an extra bed. Great to see them again! They ended up having trouble finding the water trough also but arrived in Cuba only an hour behind me. 12.9 miles, 4:35 hiking.
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