[Day 29] Mud

The trail was either a mud pit, a stream, or a bog today. The lack of traction and often slipping or sinking into mud cost me at least two to three miles of travel.

It rained most of the night. The morning was foggy and heavy, but rain wasn’t on the agenda. I woke up to a kit of wet gear, excepting my sleep essentials. I stuffed my wet tent (dripping inside and out) into its sack around 7:30am, cinched my pack, and got on my way.

I followed Forest Road 274, which detours trail towards a downstream bridge for a safe crossing over Rio Vallecitos. After five miles, I reached the bridge. Seeing the flow in person, I was undecided. It likely would have been torrented, belly-button high crossing at the trail. There is a good chance I cross safely, but I can not deny the risk, especially as a solo hiker.

I crossed the bridge; now it was time to get back to trail. I scurried up a steep hillside following no trail — maybe a tenth of a mile after the bridge. After a half mile of vertical, I hit a ridge at 9,000 feet and walked my way along the favorable topography to some decommissioned forest roads. I split my mileage back to trail between the intermittent roads and off trail navigation. At one point, I reckoned I must be the last person to navigate a portion of this forest in the last 50 years. A couple hundred feet later, I came across a crumpled Coors Light can.

There was some slow going. I was cliffed out by about 200 feet when I got near trail. I rock scrambled to a more lenient grade down to trail. Surprisingly, many animals trails provide occasional course through these remote woods. The spur trails were in better shape than most of the CDT to this point.

Coyote, cow, elk, and deer prints (and scat) often litter the CDT. Animals use the trail it seems more than humans.

I hiked my way to Hopewell Lake where I ran into a couple section hikers, Nigel and Hendricks. I chatted with about the Rio Vallecitos; they had crossed at the trail. The river was about crotch high on them (they were both about 6 foot, 3 inches) and seriously forceful. Both of them agreed that it was not a crossing to attempt alone, and they deeply considered backtracking to the bridge route.

After all this, I felt a bit chewed up and spit out. I expected a quality of hiker on the CDT where information was honest. I’m not saying the hikers who turned back were liars, but their information and its means of travel by word of mouth blew the situation out of proportion. I won’t distrust the few hikers I’ll be seeing ahead of me, but I will do my diligence to find first hand sources who can answers questions without embroidery.

Hendricks noticed my snow gear and mentioned that he hiked the Colorado section of trail last year. He made note that many of the steep, technical sections of the San Juan’s come in first 60 miles between Chama and Pagosa Springs. I studied the topography later that night, and it agreed. I may need to do some extra planning and route finding in Chama for before I continue north.

Today finalized with mucked trail, wet snow patches, and lost of postholing. I have 30 miles to Cumbres Pass where I will hitch into Chama.

Signing off,

Zeppelin