The Land of Enchantment - New Mexico

Greetings from Grants!!!!

 

Boy has New Mexico truly been a land of enchantment.  The flowers are gorgeous, the weather hasn't been nearly as unpleasant as it could be, and we are certainly not just walking through a boring desert.  Beautiful sandstone cliffs and even lava fields from Mt. Taylor (to the north) have filled the days recently.  Many of the places we travel through know the hikers are heading north and like to support us.  I've even had a police officer stop to ask "what are all the hikers doing in town?"  and of course I got the chance to tell him all about the Continental Divide Trail and how we are all crazy enough to try and walk to Canada in 5 months.  It's so much fun to see their faces when they hear about the trail for the first time, and then take one look at me and ask... "so how long have YOU been out?"  It's a fun life walking from place to place making my way northward.  I just looked at a map of New Mexico and had a WOW moment when I realized how far I had walked already.  I still have a lot to go but it sure is amazing to realize how far a person can walk just by doing a little bit every day. 

 

So far there have been a few small climbs but overall the "trail" has been a gentle grade.  Burrows Peak and Mangas Peak and a few 1-2000 foot climbs have been it, a nice introduction while my feet get stronger.  Just to the north of Grants is Mt. Taylor, some hikers choose to do a short side trip to climb the mountain (I'm not sure yet if I will do this) but between here and Cuba, NM the mountains really start to stretch upward and Lion Heart and I will have a bit of work cut out for us.  I do like it when the trails go upward, the views are always worth the effort!

 

There have been a few hikers so far that have had some serious stress injuries... a reminder to take care of ourselves and rest when we can.  It is amazing that we can literally walk from dawn until dusk with a few short breaks and be able to get up and do it again tomorrow.  Even when our bodies are stiff and sore at the end of the day we can still keep walking once we loosen up and keep going for just a few more miles.  Swollen knees, tibia fracture, metatarsal fractures, plantar fasciitis, Achilles tendonitis. 

 

Fun trail culture factoid: A Trail Angel is anyone who helps hikers.  Sometimes this generosity is a surprise and sometimes the hikers know of an Angel in town ahead of time.  Trail Angels do things like offer water by a hot road, offer rides, set up surprise food stations, even just offer a cold beverage to a hiker as they drive by!  It is absolutely amazing how many genuine loving experiences hikers have from complete strangers.  Apple is an Angel I met on the Appalachian Trail in 2007 and guess who I met in Lordsburg helping hikers!?!!  It was truly a surprise to see a familiar face out in the middle of the desert cooking hotdogs and handing me a cold Gatorade.  Nita in Pie Town is an absolute Angel for offering her Toaster House Hostel to hikers as a great safe place to relax and recoup.  Sheridan is a local rancher in Pie Town who happens to travel along the road that hikers use to walk into town, he keeps a small cooler of drinks in his truck and boy is it a nice treat in the middle of the day on a hot road walk!!!  Even heading north of Pie Town we met Ann and John Thomas who have a sign up at their gate inviting hikers and bikers in to get water from their well.  In the midst of countless "No Trespassing" signs it is a welcome site to see a friendly driveway and of course we got much more than just water.  Ann and John are a very sweet older couple that very much enjoyed telling us their stories and adventures and clearly loved just taking care of the hikers coming through and making sure no-one needed anything.  Plus it's all part of the hiking experience to meet the locals and learn a bit about what it's like to live here =-)  THANK YOU!!!!!!!!

 

Happy Trails!

~beads

 

Prickly Pear Cactus Flower

Going off trail a bit (oops) allowed me to find this weather transceiver from NOAA!  (on top of my pack). They send these things up in weather balloons to learn about our atmosphere and then they come back down to earth when they're done.  By sending the device back to them they may be able to use it again =-) Glad to help NOAA!!!!

double rainbow on the Gila River

Amazing Sandstone Cliffs at the El Malpais National Conservation Area just south of Grants