Posted by 27.7 miles & 32.5 miles
These couple of days were a bit of a blur for me. Keen to get some bigger days in and be done with New Mexico for good I picked up the speed and hit the trail hard.
There were few views hiking in the thick of the trees and on flatter type of terrain with a low horizon. Tree blow downs were plentiful and I ended up with quite a few small scratches on my inner thighs trying to straddle and crawl over trees that were too big to just over and not big enough to warrant walking around.
The idea of pushing two big days was to get setup for a half day into Chama. It was a bit of a gamble. My mind was fully on board but my feet in new shoes were not cooperating developing rub points on the top of both ankles where the largest ligament travels up the leg. It’s the thicker tongue of these new shoes, a remodelled version of the previous La Sportiva’s that have seen me through many travels. If this persists I will have to resort to trail surgery – no the shoes that is, not my ligaments. There is an option to cut open the shoe tounges and remove half the padding to see if that works. If not, I’ll have to persist until I can arrange some new shoes again. Disappointing and expensive but thru hiking is not the most sustainable of hobbies.
At one point on Day 31 I passed Canjilion Lake. I hadn’t really read up on this point and just saw it as a water source. It was weird just hiking in the wilderness alone only to emerge at a carpark with around 15 vehicles and people everywhere. The lake had just been stocked with trout and it was surrounded by fisherman. I retreated back into the woods as quickly as I could.
Water was plentiful along the water and it was joy to only have to carry around 1litre, stocking up to 3 litres at the last source before making camp.
Fleeting glances of the Colorado hills were seen at times which I’m very much looking forward moving into.
Along the way I passed through Lagunitas Campground which holds the haunting tale of one ill fated thru hike. In 2016, Stephen ‘Otter’ Olshansky was caught out in a wild snow storm. Trapped, stranded and unable to retreat after several attempts the 59 year old holed up in the privvy and desperately waiting in hope of rescue. It never came. He was stranded for months. Out of food and out of hope Otter came to terms with his demise locking himself i side the toilet and scratching the words “DEAD CDT HIKER INSIDE – CALL COPS – OTTER” on the outside of the toilet door, accompanied with a lengthier hand written note. He suffered a lonely, freezing death. Tragic story that reminds all hikers to be prepared and have an exit strategy no matter how experienced. Otter was a triple crowner and this was his 5th hike of the CDT. Tragic.
Day 32 I pushed hard for my biggest distance to date. Reaching what I thought would be a great finishing point turned out to be a haven for mosquitoes and I was out of water. I had to keep moving utilising an alternative road which was know to have snow melt creek lines running – there were no water sources on the Red Line ahead for quite a few miles. Reluctantly I pressed on on tired feet, found water about a half mile down the road but it was a steep decent down on very loose rocky ground and there was no way I was back tracking. I continued on the road for another mile or so until a flat enough piece of earth was found tucked into some pines on which I could pitch my tent and call home for the night. I thought 32 miles on day 32 was quite fitting although miles for days is not a trend I will continue to pursue.
Mick Beckers 