R&R on the CDT

June 10, 2025‘Ghost Ranch Alternate’ mile 11.1Hiked today: 11 miles / 17.9 km Well, we started along the Rio Chama with some great early morning views, and spent 4 1/2 hours road walking to our next ‘town’ night, which is at Ghost Ranch. This location  has apparently been used in…

June 9, 2025‘Red line’ mile marker 651.1 to 674.7Hiked today: 23.7 miles / 38.1 km It was quite a cold night, being at a higher altitude but with down jackets and sleeping bags we stayed warm. Unfortunately my sleep mat has a slow leak. Despite multiple attempts to find the…

June 8, 2025‘Red line’ mile marker 628.0 to 651.1Hiked today: 23.1 miles / 37.2 km Since we had started walking by 5.30 am, we had completed the road walk out of the town of Cuba and were starting on the trail by 8 am. As anticipated we had a long…

June 7, 2025‘Red line’ mile marker 613.3 to 628.0Hiked today: 14.7 miles / 23.7 km Well, we had less than 15 miles to get to the town of Cuba, but we were aware that another significant climb was involved. We were up early again and started off on the track…

June 6, 2025‘Red line’ mile marker 592.9 to 613.3Hiked today: 20.4 miles / 32.8 km Today started with a continuation of yesterday’s trail, taking us up to the top of the cliffs, around to experience the views, then down again to the canyon floor before the next ascent. Although there…

June 5, 2025‘Red line’ mile marker 569.2 to 592.9Hiked today: 23.7 miles / 38.1 km This morning the sky was considerably clearer and we set off with hopes of a drier walk. After 3 miles more of the muddy road, we reached our first water stop which was a spring…

June 4, 2025‘Red line’ mile marker 547.4 to 569.2Hiked today: 21.8 miles / 35.1 km Last night, just after we had finished dinner and got comfortable in the tent, the storm started with lightning and thunder followed by steady rain that continued through the night. The tent held up quite…

June 3, 2025‘Red line’ mile marker 523.1 to 547.4Hiked today: 24.3 miles / 39.1 km Today the initial 6 miles was road walking – through outer suburbs of Grants, then further north, passing the Western New Mexico Correctional Facility. Signs along the road warned drivers not to pick up hitch…

June 2, 2025 Zero miles hiked Our first consistently wet day has beautifully coincided with a planned rest day. With a break in the weather this morning, we hurried out to Walmart, just a mile up the road, where we were able to buy all the things needed for our…

June 1, 2025‘Red line’ mile marker 502.3 to 523.1Hiked today: 20.8 miles / 33.5 km Last night, when we reviewed our progress, we discovered that we were only 21 miles out of our next town, Grants, New Mexico. It was easily possible in a day if we got going early…