canyon Lands
I once again woke up before my alarm, around 5:45. I think I’m just waking up when it starts to get light out these days. Although I have my watch alarm on, I rarely wait till it vibrates on my wrist to wake up.
With no water to cook breakfast or drink coffee (oh, yeah. Drank the rest of it last night), I was able to rock outta camp by 6:30. I knew I’d have to take a longer than anticipated break in only about an hour, so figured the earlier I could start, the better.
With about 3.4 miles done in just about an hour (smooth, flat, dirt roads make for quick hiking), I reached the turn off for the water trail.
With AT vibes strong, trees were marked with blue circles (slightly different than the blue blazes on the AT, but close enough) which I would follow down, up, and back down the canyon I was hiking along.
As I got down there, two full troughs of water glistened in my eye. The pipe from some undisclosed location where there’s a well, a pump, a whole in the ground, or just a magical elf pouring water into it, flowed freely with crystal clear water. Glorious.
With over three miles of hiking, and pretty dry night, and my knee not very happy with the ups and downs that just ensued, I sat there and purified my water and chugged two liters; one of propel mix, one of pedialite sport mix.
As the skin on my hands began to bounce back, so did the rest of my body. I filtered the rest of my water for my bladder, and safety liter in my extra bottle, and head back to the top.
As I barely had any service the day before, I caught a glimpse as I rounded a corner and gave Lauren a quick call. With spirits down due to my bum knee, and lack of water, hearing her voice was able to cheer me up and give me the inspiration to continue onwards.
Once I got back up to the top, I chugged the backup liter of water I had as it was banging around and not fun to carry (an extra 2+ pounds of weight, also!). I would have to be cautious with my water moving forward, as the next semi-reliable source is a water cache 25+ miles up trail. Well, I suppose there was one more that had a bit of water along the way, but reports of it being situated next to a dead rotting cow carcass made it a hard ‘nope’ for me. Even with all the purification and filters in the world, that’s playing dangerously.
The day found wonderful trail from the water source. A local trail crew really cared for it. Smooth, unobstructed, clearly marked, along beautiful lands, and a bit through an old burn area. Then BOOM, views of epic canyons and masa’s ahead, and very much below.
At about 8000+ feet, I was still riding high. But had to drop down at least 2-3000 to get on par with what was below. 2.5 miles of descent laid in front of me. My knee wincing at the thought. So I began, but shortly after starting, I decided to take a break and let my knee rest, already 12 miles into the day, it was getting a bit tight. I can easily tell when it’s getting that rubbery feeling. I just press my fingers to the side of my knee and bend a little. It feels like it should would like a creaking door.
As I sit there, another hoot and holler comes from behind. I definitely had not thought there was anyone anywhere close to me. 12 pack and that crew were the last hikers I saw, and they were only pulling about 20 miles a day, so should have been 8ish miles behind. Roger That rolls up, and we have a quick chat. He’s from Oregon and has been pushing 30ish mile days for a while. Definitely on the ultralight side, and cookin strong. He scurried off, and I remained a bit longer.
Finally I continue onwards, with the rest really helping the knee. No more creaking, but definitely not enjoying the descent. But I was able to make it work and got to the bottom.
The great part about the lands down there? Beautiful. Big canyons and washes wide open. The bad? Quite hot, and I had to go in and out of the canyons for the rest of the day. Up and down and up and down and up and down. Granted each climb/descent was only between 50 and Max 100 feet, but one after another got old, quick.
Soon, I look up, a WAM. A creature standing on the mound ahead. A big, dark grey horse just standing there. Not moving, almost as if an illusion. I didn’t want to startle it, or have it charge me, so just walked along trail. As I got closer, it still hadn’t moved. Maybe a tail whisp, or a nod of its head flicking off a fly. But it stood fast on that mound and was solidly planted.
I got up closer and eventually walked up to about 20 feet away. Still without it moving an inch. Very odd, but also beautiful. With still many miles to go, I said my goodbye and continued on up and down.
Wow, the canyons and mesas were gorgeous. Unlike anything seen on the trail yet. But my feet were tired, and my knee sore, so rather than play around and explore a bit, I trekked on.
Reports had 6 gallons of water left at the cache, but that was two days ago. Confident there were only two, maybe there, hikers ahead of me in that time, I believed there would be a gallon for me to keep going. But ya never know. People sneak up on the trail and fall behind and unless you see them, they could be anywhere.
Finally, I made it. A paved road (with lots of cars!) and the cache. I walked up to it to find it freshly updated. About 20 gallons of water laid neatly clipped in (to prevent empties from flying away in the gusty wind), a trail registered to see who had been around the last few days, and a white jar (like a protein powder size) with “trail magic provided by the Green Party of ABQ”. Oh thank all the gods to which anyone prays to. Abundant water, and a giant jar filled with candy, apple sauce, and a ton of other pouches of snacks. I opted for the Reese’s with pretzels, grabbed a gallon of water, and wandered off nearby to setup my tent. 28.7 miles today was enough for me. It is only 6:15, but I had no desires to continue onwards.
I was surprised to see Roger That hadn’t signed in. 20 minutes or so after I setup my tent, he rolls in. Apparently he got off trail a bit, reviewed the maps and bushwhacked it a few miles to get off trail, so must have passed him there. It was easy to get lost in the last few miles as the canyons were rocky and only marked by cairns. Not much of a path to follow since there wasn’t much dirt. To my surprise, he said he passed Beanie and Prince along the way. Which is kinda funny because I was thinking about him earlier and how this must be a dream land for him. Apparently, I didn’t see them because they were off exploring and enjoying the spires and mesas around the trail. Sadly, they didn’t make it into the cache tonight, but as I’m taking a zero in Cuba to rest the knee, I’m hoping to see them there. Good people I met in Pie Town.
And now I sleep. 29 miles from Cuba, I’m guessing I’ll make it in without much issue. Not nearly as much descent as there was today, so don’t think my knee will prevent me from making it in. Also the excitement for a bed and real meal will push me to get there. Coyotes howling in the (not so far) distance has me hoping they won’t try and sneak a mango or like sitting by the cache, about 100 feet away from me.
All in all, beautiful day. A bit hot, but great trail and wonderful a scenery.
Besides it being Mother’s Day (happy mamas day you!) my sister also graduated from college. Yay, Genevieve!
