My mom, uncle, and I left Santa Fe around 8am, headed northwest on New Mexico Highway 84. After turning onto Highway 554, we connect Forest Roads 137 and 20, bringing me to within a mile or so of where I decided to get off trail.
| 🗓️ Date | May 19th |
| ⇢ Mileage | 23.5 |
| 📍 Trip Mileage | 690.7 |
| ⛅️ Weather | 40°F gloomy with half a day of rain and rain through the night |
| 🏞️ Trail Conditions | Muddy, wet |
We said our goodbyes, and I was off, traversing muddy fields towards trail. I merged at the Rancherilla Spring. When I last was here, it was blue skies and 65°F. The heavy clouds and 40°F gave a dark tone. Today’s walking was muddy, boggy, and wet. The new trail put in by the CDTC was a stream or sitting puddle from melting snow and the rain.
The rain started around seven miles in and became heavy after 10 miles. There was some relief at mile 15, when I started the four mile stretch of snowfield. The remainder of the day was rainy with patches of snow — repetitions of transitioning from water-logged earth to slushed-out snow and vice verse. I chose to follow dirt roads paralleling the trail where possible: they had better drainage and provided more options to avoid the muck and mud.
Forest Road 274 leads to an access bridge in an open valley well east of the trail crossing. I decided to make camp at the intersection of 274 and the CDT. Tomorrow, I’ll likely follow the road direct to the bridge in the interest of mileage.
It wasn’t my best day on trail, nor was it my worst. I look to find a groove over the next few days as I finish off New Mexico and enter Colorado.
Signing off,
Zeppelin
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