I slept in until 8:30am at the dated Frontier Motel in the town of Cuba. All in all, it was a nice cheap, quiet hotel that fulfilled everything I needed — I can’t complain.
Cuba had a few cafes, but a walk down the street showed one closed. I returned to the motel, downed a quart of chocolate milk, and decided to wait for lunches (notice the plural). After checking out at the motel, I hit the Subway first: a turkey-bacon Footlong, chips, three chocolate chip cookies, and a fountain drink. I loitered at the Subway for an hour, then moved to find a hidden Mexican joint. Inside the Phillips 66 gas station lived El Chaco, a small Mexican food operation. But, it was apparent this was the deal in town by the number of locals.
I got a carne asada burrito (note, these were miniature burritos) and fry bread, and I ate those slowly as my phone charged up. I put in a to-go order for a bean burrito and chicken burrito to carry out for dinner. After sipping down a Mexican Coke, it was time to get walking.
| 🗓️ Date | May 9th |
| ⇢ Mileage | 14.5 |
| 📍 Trip Mileage | 588.4 |
| ⛅️ Weather | Crisp 80°F, cold night |
| 🏞️ Trail Conditions | Highway to gravel to trail with some snow walking |
I exited town at 2pm and walked the five miles of highway and semi-paved roads to the trailhead. The climb got going quick in San Pedro Wilderness area. Soon, I was surrounded by large pines and navigating meadows. I hit Clear Creek both north and south of the San Gregorio Reservoir, and it was flowing with some ferocity. The melt has begun. The trail was often a creek itself or a boggy mud puddle.
North of the reservoir, I followed Clear Creek’s snowy embankment. Many sections had straight snow slides into the creek. Plenty of blowdown obstacles compounded the fun.
I am camped out at 10,000 feet. I get the feeling it’s going to be cold tonight and I was into camp early, so I pitched my tent. I am munching on the heavy burritos I carried out of town, looking forward to some snowy terrain tomorrow.
Signing off,
Zeppelin
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