Crossing borders: Ghost Ranch, NM to Cumbres Pass, CO (Mile 697-792)

July 25th - July 30th

I WALKED ACROSS THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO and now I’m in Colorado!

Day 1: (93 miles to Colorado)

Some friends I made at Ghost Ranch walked out with me. They did 7 miles with me then turned around to head back. They are a great group of guys and I really enjoyed the company. Once they turned around I continued on down the trail and watched the land turn from desert to forest. The landscape is so incredible, the rolling green fields and the white bark of the aspens are all over. The sound of the elk bugle piercing the silence is such a wild experience it makes you feel like you are on the frontier. Later that evening I managed to come across a female elk and a “teenage” elk. They were both eating and the wind was blowing in my favor. I decided to see how close I could get and quietly crept up. When I was within 50 yards of them she looked up and stared straight at me. I froze. I waited till she put her head down to eat some more then continued walking towards her. At 40 yards she looked up again started sniffing the air and moved so she could get a better scent. She finally smelled me and took off running across the field, the young elk following right behind. I made camp there that night and listened to the elk bugling in the woods. Looking out at the desert below from where I was on the mountain I could see a thunderstorm coming. I watched the lightning shoot across the desert till it finally made its way to me. I fell asleep to the sound of thunder, coyotes, and elk.

Day 2: The trail turned to mud from last nights rain and started sticking to my shoes. Solid clumps would build up and make my feet feel like I have 10lb weights on them. Each time you scrape the mud off and take a few more steps you end up right back with clumps of mud on your shoes. After a few miles of the annoying mud I finally got to some dryer ground. I managed to wonder into an aspen forest the white bark beams brightly with the sun shining on it and the birds sing as you walk through. Occasionally a squirrel gets mad and starts barking at you. I had lunch along side a stream in a valley surrounded by steep hills. I soak my feet in the ice cold water when I can to “ice” my ankle. After lunch I walked back up the hill and picked up the trail. Towards evening I came across a flock of 100 plus sheep. They weren’t wild, they were someone’s livestock, but they all seemed frightened at the site of me. A few miles later I made camp on top of a hill and laid there as a thunderstorm rolled in. I fell asleep to the sound of rain trickling on my tent.

Day 3: I woke up and for most of the day just followed the trail just admiring the landscape and making some miles. About afternoon I came to the Rio Vallecitos, a pretty good sized flowing river maybe about 15 feet wide. There was a tree that managed to fall and lay across it, so I tested my balance skills as I crossed the fast moving river. There were some thunderstorms building so even though it was lunch time I pushed on up the hill just incase it started raining. I was sitting against my backpack eating my lunch. All of a sudden a guy about my age with a walking stick and a small backpack came walking down the trail. He asked if he could join me and he sat down and introduced himself. His name was Jack and he’s an assistant cook at a nearby meditation retreat. I offered him some food, but he said he had plenty and instead offered me a banana from his pack. We had some good conversation and when I finished up my lunch I got up and thanked him and we went our separate ways. I had 8 more miles till I was going to make camp at a local campground by a lake. My main reason was that was the next water source. They had a spigot, outhouses, and a little lean-to shelter for hikers. As I was walking the woods seemed to become filled with four wheelers, campers, and tents. It occurred to me it was the weekend and people were taking advantage of the campgrounds. When I realized all the water spigots didn’t work I was on my way down to the lake to fill up my water when I met a real nice family. They allowed me to fill up my water from their camper and then offered me beer, hotdogs, apple slices, cheetos, and baked beans. It was some of the best tasting food after eating Ramon and dehydrated food the past few days. After sitting around the fire and talking for awhile I thanked them and moved down the road to the lean-to shelter for the night.

Day 4: Surprisingly, I woke up feeling well rested in the shelter at the campground because a family reunion was happening and they were celebrating till late in the night. I’ve come to the conclusion that I prefer the solitude of the woods rather than the noisiness of the campground. It’s a catch twenty-two because after being by myself for several days I like to talk to people, but I also like the peacefulness of the woods. I didn’t realize till midday that it was my birthday. All the days blend together out here. As I was walking down the trail I heard the sound of hooves running. I figured I just spooked some elk and they were running away, but to my surprise they were getting closer! All of a sudden two big bull elk came running out of the woods right next to me. As soon as they saw me they skidded to a halt nearly tripping over themselves. Then they sprinted across the trail 5 feet in front of me and ran into the woods on the other side. It was the most intense, but coolest experience so far! I continued on and managed to sneak up to 40 yards of a female elk eating. The bull was laying in the grass behind her. When they got up and ran the rest of the herd appeared out of nowhere. When I thought there were only two, twenty more came running out of the woods. I guess they joined the larger group, because as the day went on I ran into more elk. I came over the hill to a massive herd. The few that were in the field started running and then I heard loud cracking noises in the woods as 50 or more elk came barreling out running. As they ran across the field the sound of there hooves thundering filled the air. It was by far the best birthday. I continued on the trail up a rocky ledge and made camp in an aspen grove overlooking the valley. As I was walking up to camp I saw an antelope in the field. He snorted a few times at me and then ran off.

Day 5: The scenery continues to be breathtaking. I woke up this morning to the most beautiful sunrise I’ve seen so far. The sun was coming over the mountain causing all the clouds to appear bright orange and as the rays of sun hit the pines all across the valley they were reflecting gold. I packed up camp and got on the trail. Today was relatively uneventful, except I spooked one elk. The trail ran along a ridge line so on both sides of me were beautiful rolling green hills with mountains in the background. One of my things I like to do when walking is listen to audiobooks. Right now I have the Lord of the Rings trilogy I’m listening to. I figured it was fitting for the journey. A thunderstorm rolled through this afternoon so I put on my rain cover and took shelter underneath a pine tree. It only lasted about 15 minutes. Tonight I’ve made camp along side a stream that flows through green fields with pine trees sparsely spread throughout. The sound of the water trickling over the rocks is going to be a relaxing sound to fall asleep to. Tomorrow I have 7.5 miles left till I’ve walked across the state of New Mexico.

Day 6: Last night I went to bed and the stars were all out, but at 2am a rainstorm rolled in. It was the first time I was slightly afraid. I set up my tent in a meadow where there was no trees to block the wind and I was camped right by a stream. The wind blew so hard it was pushing the side of my tent in on me. I had a sudden thought of the stream rising and flooding my tent. About 3 am the storm subsided and when daylight came everything was fine. I packed up my stuff and headed towards Colorado. I crossed over into Colorado and had 2.5 miles to go to Cumbres pass. I could hear the faint whistle and the “chugging” sound of the Cumbres & Toltec steam engine as it was making its way up the pass. Around 12pm I got to the side of the road and tried my luck hitch hiking. My plan was to hitch hike to Chama, New Mexico. In Chama I’ll resupply and get a shower then take the steam engine back up to Cumbres Pass, Colorado and continue on! It only took about 40 minutes or so before I got a ride to Chama. Now I’m hanging around this “Train Town” and enjoying a shower and good food.