CDT mile 385, miles hiked 23
The top of the narrows Rim Trail
We woke up to a heavy coat of frost on our sleeping bags and a good chill in the air. We lounged in our bags making hot coffee and oatmeal. We finally broke camp once the sun was above the canyon rim and then we loaded up and headed out, all of us were excited for the day because we would soon be off-road and back on some trail.
The morning road walk went by quickly even being in blacktop, we arrived at the narrows picnic area and decided to take the narrows rim trail. We climbed to the top of the escarpment and we’re back in sand and desert plants. Our old friends the barrel cactus were in full bloom, the cholla were there and even some mesquite bushes. We hiked along the rim stopping to take photos standing on the edge. Eventually, we had to cut cross-country to the other side and then found a chute that is off the trail to climb down to the valley.
At the base of the downclimb was the beautiful Ventana Arch, a large sandstone arch out that raised high above us. It was a stunner if a geological monument and we all stood in awe of it. The arch had a small picnic area where buttercup yogied some water for all of us but alas we couldn’t score a soda or a beer.
Ventana Arch
We walked the pavement for a couple more miles before heading up the Zuni-Acoma canyon which took us over 8 miles of lava through the el malpais which is Spanish for badlands. The lava fields were amazing: deep fissures and various types of lava. It was similar yet different to our lava fields at home, but it was such a cool change of pace.
We saw collapsed lava tubes, sunken calderas, and rippling lava. There was even some lava that looked to be still wet, most likely due to how it cooled. One thing in NM apparently anything somewhat liquid whether it is lava or cow dung, tends to dry quickly and leave the original form it was in.
Sweet Potato crossing one of the fissures in the El Malpais
As we wrapped up our lava walk we ran into the buddy backpacker team. Buddy is 7 years old and on his way to completing the triple crown. We hung out with Buddy and his parents in Pie Town and on another small world occasion his mother and I found out we both went to the same high school but a decade apart.
The final push for the day was a 2-mile walk up a dirt road that led us into Bonita Canyon. I stepped in some really loose mud and coated my shoe like no other all of us nearly fell over laughing at it. After that, we strolled up to the windmill and our last water until Grants in 21 miles.
I am so glad we took the route we did, I want to say thank you to Swami, Virgo, Snorkel, and She-Ra who all helped me prior to this trip with must-sees along the way. Today was such a highlight that I can’t imagine how bummed I would have been to miss the sights if I had stuck to the official route and walked 22 miles to Grants on the blacktop.
