The Dago Diaries

CDT mile 418.5, miles hiked 16.5

Buttercup in full facemask mode to deal with trail smells

We started the day with a hearty hotel breakfast and then scrambled around to get our packs all loaded, our final boxes packed and our hotel room cleaned before the shuttle arrived for us at 10 am.

A quick trip to the PO was the last town chore before we all started the 6-mile road walk out-of-town.  The road took us to a grocery store we all stopped in for a final soda and there in the store was Greg in Wild.  The band was back together again and we all hiked out the Magnificent 7 were back on the trail as a team.

We walked the road and stopped in at the ranger station for water.  Even though we only had 14 miles we loaded up 4 liters it was a particularly hot day and still as could be.  The road walk took us by a prison, seeing the folks in their red jumpsuits makes you appreciate even more the freedom we have to be out here walking the divide on our own terms.

We arrived at the trailhead that would take us up the Mesa and toward tomorrow’s climb of Mt Taylor a peak of 11,300′ taller than Mt Hood back home in Oregon.  After laying in the shade of a cliff eating lunch we loaded up to climb the Cibola Mesa.
Even with a heavy pack, I felt great going up the climb.  The desert flora is all in bloom right now and I was reminded of how much I do miss the Cascades this time of year with their wildflower displays.  But seeing numerous cactus in bloom, sage bushes with purple flowers and Indian paintbrush kept me smiling as I climbed.  When we reached the top of the Mesa we were in a sky island.  First, we walked through a grassy meadow and then a forest of Piñon pine.

Up the way, we found Zorro laying under a tree eating his lunch.  Today is Zorro’s birthday so we all wished him well.  A few minutes later we met up with the three girls.  We have such a great bubble these days just the 11 of us is all we see, no drama, no fussing just laughs and pleasent conversations when we meet.

After a short break Buttercup led us in a good cardio hike pushing us harder and harder with his pace.  Me, Freefall and Buttercup arrived at the spot where the spring should be.  We couldn’t find any water so we fanned out, Freefall a few minutes later gave out a whoop that he had found Gooseberry Spring.  We climbed the drainage to find cold clear water coming out of the ground.  Bandit and Buttercup found a piece of plastic pipe by the spring and piped the water so we could easily fill our bottles.  One by one everyone arrived except for Big John, I have no idea where he is and now it’s dark.

Zorro and “the girls” enjoying a break on the climb

We convinced the girls to cowboy camp tonight they have never done so and we told them how amazing the night sky is when you do.  There are now 10 of us all camped in a lovely forest next to a great rock outcropping.
Tomorrow we all will rise early and head up Mt Taylor, it is going to be great to climb a high peak.  Today was a great day overall, seeing the top of the mesa was a highlight for me and I can’t wait to see what tomorrow brings.

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.

CDT mile 362 miles hiked 24

Suzy, I found us a house in New Mexico

We woke to tater calling us to get going it was 6:30 I looked at Buttercup and we both rolled over and went back to sleep for 20 minutes.  It was so nice in the RV and it beat sleeping in the rain and wind storm last night.

We hit the road and kept moving on our way towards Grants.  It was pretty cold we all stopped to actually later up in warm clothes and headed to the first water source for the day a large metal tank with a solar pump.  There was a hole up top and with the strong wind it was raining down.  Zorro arrived and he had a great idea how to capture the falling water by using his groundsheet. We all put in our rain gear and jumped right in.  It took a few tries but we finally filled out bottles and headed on.

It takes a team to get water out here

We walked the if the road with Zorro, we chatted about home the career I had, my wife and her job and artwork, my pets etc… He told me of his travels around the world and his hike on the PCT.

We finally hit Sand Canyon and back into a wilderness.  The canyon was a single track and quite a pleasant change form the road.  We walked through the canyon and came upon an old pueblo home.  It was worth an investigation and we hung out there for 15 minutes before heading on.

We came to Cibolla Canyon and back on a road we made quick time to the last windmill for the day.  The windmill was pumping out clear cool water from far below.  We filed our bottles and chugged water before deciding to go camp nearby behind some sage bushes.

Nothing makes a desert hikers heart sing like the first glimpse of a windmill

We ate and we’re just getting settled in our bags when a black pick up came down the road to the windmill.  We all were on alert and a guy got out after seeing us.  He asked what we were doing and we explained and he said, “I was going to fire a few rounds from my rifle towards the hill is that ok?”, “Sure” we said.  A few minutes later a large riffle with an extended clip was out the back and he let the lead fly. The muzzle flash looked like a mini burst from a flamethrower and our otherwise peaceful spot for a few minutes sounded like a war zone.  When he was done he loaded his gun in the back and told us to be careful out there…..well it’s too late to leave so we are just going to pass out and hope that is it for the evening target practice.

nothing like a warm quilt on a cold night to enjoy cowboy camping at it’s finest.

CDT Mile 338.5, Miles hiked 15

When I rolled out of bed I noticed that Wild Feather had already cleared her bunk on the bottom and was packing up outside.  I moved my gear to the lower bunk and started sorting my food and my pack so I could leave.  Now truth be told I didn’t want to go, I have been loving pie town and the pull to stay was strong.  We packed up and waited for the girls to arrive with my camera.

At around 9 they all showed up, Spirit had my camera that Cerveza had miraculously found in the Gila.  I was overjoyed to get it back.  We then learned there were about 15 hikers all rolling into the Toaster House we all looked at each other and decided it was time to go.

Buttercup and I were loving our Mont-bell rain jackets on this stormy day

We rolled up to The Gathering Place for breakfast with the new arrivals but with everyone there, it was so crazy we decided to go to the Pie Town Cafe.  We showed up and were the only hikers there.  I repeated the menu from the day before and enjoyed another burger before we set out.  I enjoyed my meal, more pie and called home for a bit, right as we walked out the door to go Nita showed up to say goodbye.

I could have stayed and eaten pies for days

It was sad to say goodbye but I know I’ll see here in the fall at the gathering.  We rolled down the road towards Grants with threatening skies.  We got about a mile down the road when the first drops fell.  For the first time on this trip, we had to suit up.  The rain turned to a mix of snow and we walked along with hoods on in the weather knowing the call of the toaster house with its warm interior was still within our reach. Buttercup kept us on track though and we walked north leaving the vortex of Pie Town behind.

All day we rolled along the dirt road taking it easy and joking around.  We came to the Thomas ranch to get water and camp.  Zorro met us at the spigot and told us we were free to camp in the RV’s on the property.  We chose the 1989 Allegro a sweet piece of RV love.  We are now warm inside the RV, with a full belly from our dinners and the storm outside dropping rain and blowing hard.  What a special treat to sleep in a bed and not have to pack up the wet gear in the morning.

Now that’s roughing it!

CDT mile 406, miles hiked 21

Bonita Canyon

A shiny new windmill provided us some water to get to town

The day started with me waking from a terrible nights sleep, after 400 miles my sleeping pad has finally had it and leaked all night basically being useless. I also have a super luxury item a pillow that inflates it too sprung a leak and my night was spent waking on the hard ground and deciding if I should reinflate things.  One nice aspect was I laid under the stars in awe of the Milky Way and the constellations.  At one moment I saw a huge shooting star streak the night sky.

We started up Bonita Canyon a wonderful broad canyon mostly walking through pine forest and meadows.  Since the terrain was easy, our packs light with no food and just extra water, we made good time cruising along just over 3.5mph.  We took our first break and choked down on our food, my nipples were chaffing bad and each step was like having sandpaper scrapped against them.  I gave it the good old stuff lip and knew town was within reach so I just went with it.

Bonita Canyon came to an end and the next ten miles were spent rolling down the road of Zuni canyon.  The Zuni Canyon was amazing giant sandstone cliffs with big lava fields below.  The colors were an artist pallets of reds, grays, tans, and whites.  Every mile made you feel like a cowboy heading to town for some fun.

We arrived in Grants a large spread out town of 9,000 people along historic Route 66.  We hit up McDonald’s for some McNuggets and what not.  The local trail Angels Carole and Hugo Mumm not only stash water for hikers along the road walk they also take time out their day to provide shuttle rides in town.  Carole came and got is at McDonald’s and drove us to the post office to pick up our boxes and then drove us to the Travel Lodge so we could get a room and enjoy the pool and hot tub.

We spread out in the room, did laundry and showered.  Carole and Hugo then came and got us all for a great dinner at the Wow Dinner.  The two of them are so sweet they bought me dinner as a thank you for all the hard work I have done the last few years as President of ALDHA-WEST it was an honor to be treated to a meal by such giving people.

this type of gluttony should only happen on the trail

We ended the day with a long soak in the hot tub before turning in for the night.

Miles hiked 0

After 400 miles its time for new shoes

We woke early apparently all those early mornings on the trail have all is awake by 5 am.  We lied in bed playing on our phones and catching up on the outside world.  The 5 of us enjoyed a large and healthy breakfast in the lobby and then it was time to get to work.

I spent a few hours online updating the blog, responding to emails and getting in touch with home.  Then it was a trip to Walmart to get provisions and also a Verizon phone, AT&T has abysmal coverage here in NM so I am biting the bullet and carrying an extra phone so I can stay in touch with Suzy.

We all scrambled to get our bounce boxes back in order for the PO as we had a shuttle picking us up at1 pm to take us back to McDonald’s so that we could walk the CDT section through town and preserve our continuous footsteps from the border.
As we strolled down the road Big John called and said, “hey man you just walked by the Mexican resturant I am eating in”. We agreed to meet at the hotel but first me and the boys had a muesum to visit.

We all dropped $5 to go to the mining muesum in Grants.  It was here that we would watch a movie of the history of uranium mining in the region.  The movie was great images from the 1960’s of workers mining uranium wearing no safety gear, not even respirators.  We then took the elevator down to the “mine” where we learned all about how a line operated and how the ore was extracted.

Buttercup is all ready to have some mining time

After our tour we rolled down the rest of the way and then caught the shuttle for $0.50 back to the hotel.  We spent the afternoon swimming in the pool, soaking in the hot tub, and visiting with the Bubby Backpacker Team.  It was great to see buddy enjoying the pool and swimming around.  It brought back so many memories of going to a hotel as a kid and enjoying the pool.

One of the old signs along route 66

Afterwards Big John, Freefall and I went to the Chinese buffet by the hotel.  It was a straight up east coast style buffet.  After 3 heaping plates of dumplings, spring rolls, spare ribs and what not we rolled back to the hotel to sort out gear and get ready for tomorrow.

My good friend Dirt Monger and I connected for a bit on the phone.  He is currently hiking the PCT for the third time and it was great to catch up and hear how his trip was going.  DM was one of the most encouraging people beige my hike and he was so happy to hear how much fun I am having.

Now it’s time for bed town always has me staying up too late and leaving exhausted from all my twin chores.  With so many behind us we are motivated to get back on trail and avoid the herd, but we all agree we need a double zero soon and Ghost Ranch is sounding like the spot.

Miles Hiked 0

The Toaster House

I woke up at 5 am to the neighbor’s rooster crowing, I had slept in the backyard because the house was too loud the night before and I was too amped up to sleep.  Nita said she would be there at 8 for breakfast but we needed to make a quick run to the PO. we headed there and met Nita at the cafe.  I ordered up a 1/2 lb green chili cheeseburger for breakfast, got online and connected to the world for a bit, called home the usual stuff.

Nita asked for our help to get an old bathtub to use for rainwater collection at her home.  We jumped in her 1983 ford F 350 crew cab and loaded it up.  She took us by the local large baseline array and then we headed to her home.

The hiker wagon, nothing like a big old pick up in ranch country

Nita’s home was magnificent, just the type of place I see Suzy and I someday soon.  Her home had art and memories among the walls that you could get lost for days looking at.  We had a nice visit and then we borrowed her truck for the day to go take a field trip.

About 45 minutes to the east of Pie Town lies the Very Large Array, which most folks will remember from the movie Contact with Jodi Foster.  Nita told us to go and just fill up the truck.  I rolled the truck to the toaster house and we gathered up a group.  A mattress from the house was put in the bed of the truck and we loaded up 8 hikers and went on a field trip.
Nita’s truck is awesome but driving a 6,000lb truck with sloppy brakes and old 4 speed on a highway at 70mph after only walking at 3 miles an hour for weeks took a bit getting used too.  Once I got comfortable though I was able to float the crew safety to the VLA.

The Very Large Array

We went to the visitors center and learned this was the biggest VLA telescope in the world.  We learned about the discoveries made by the VLA and all about how it worked.  The walking tour outside was fun, we even got up close to one of the arrays it was very cool.

We rolled back to Pie Town but first stopped at the store in Dactil.  There in the back is some of the finest aged beef you have ever seen.  They gladly cut it to order and we all loaded up with meat and potatoes for dinner.  We stopped in a the Pie-o-Neer where Nita was playing live music.  We walk in and there is Big John in all his glory playing the guitar, singing and just living life.  We had some awesome NM green chile pie and then headed home for dinner.

We enjoyed one of the best trail town dinners ever.  Buttercup made a huge skillet of potatoes, onions and corn.  We cooked our giant slabs of beef over hot wood coals and washed it down with beer.  After sleeping in cow dung for the last 3 weeks I can say I was happy to be eating one of those cows and getting even with them.

After dinner I and the boys went to the house, after the past few days it was a mess.  We got to it in true team fashion- the dishes were all washed dried and stored away, Freefall fixed the shower and pulled out a hair clog was that could have been there from his thru-hike in 2009.  Then we gave the kitchen a proper scrubbing of Clorox and all to make sure it was nice and clean for the next crew.  We burned the numerous empty hiker boxers left from weeks of resupplies, and the Nita showed up to take us to a star-gazing party.

We loaded up in the truck 6 in the bed and another 6 in the crew cab.  We drove out for a good 20 minuets to the middle of nowhere and were greeted by our host.  We were led down a path to the home and there in the back was an 8′ tall telescope and 4 other binoculars for looking at the stars.  The next few hours we saw stars, galaxies and planets like nothing I have ever seen.  It was an amazing way to end out day of space education.

A chilly ride back to the toaster house found us all hungry, apparently hiker hunger has kicked in.  We raided the hiker box and made a pile of Mac and cheese, then quickly turned in for the night.

Who knew that our time in pie town would help us learn more about the universe than any classroom we ever sat in.

Trail Angel of the Year and my favorite lady of the CDT Nita, with freshly cut and cooked squash flowers