Subsidies to Cuba-Entry to the Colorado Plateau

Our day zero in Grants involved eating a lot and relaxing. Ron, the owner of the Southwest Motel, told us the most extraordinary story of how he came to own the motel. He earned the money to buy the motel by winning a scavenger hunt. He and his partner found hidden genie lamps all over the country!

We met Peach Pit and Voyager at the post office. We had a wonderful impromptu dinner with Coffee Break and Pudding.

Day 1

Miles Traveled: Original Plan:

Elevation Gain: Elevation Lowering:

Schedule between camps:

Weather: Mostly sunny, much cooler and windy

Terrain: 6 kilometers of paved road. The rest of the day was smooth singletrack and some hard hitting climbs at the end of the day just to keep it interesting.

Today it was easier to find water. More water reserves and, at the end of the day, a beautiful spring that fed a cow-piped water trough. We were able to collect clean, cold water from the pipe instead of dipping it into the trough.

Animals: First mountain fox squirrel. Beautiful yellow birds. Many cows.

People Found: We met Denver walking from Tasmania and Shaggy walking from Mississippi.

Day 2

Miles driven Originally planned

Lift Gain Lift Lower

Schedule between camps:

Mood: Good, ready to go, feeling strong in the morning. Tired, exhausted at night.

Terrain: Rolling dirt roads, easy trails all day.

Animals: cows, hummingbirds, crows, quails, hares.

Gear: On my Aarn backpack, two different shock cables that were holding the backpack together broke today.

I texted Jonathan at Exoticpack from Starlink and he’s setting me up with a custom Brazos for when we get to Chama. Thank you, I feel very supported!

Physical: Sidewinder’s right outside leg is still numb. Lots of blisters on my right heel. Fred red and growing.

People found: none

It takes a long time between water tanks, but how wonderful it is to drink clean water!

Today I reflected again on Holly’s question about what people like about the desert. It is such a deep question that I will make a special post on the topic.

Day 3

Miles Traveled: Originally Planned:

Elevation Gain: Elevation Lowering:

Schedule between camps:

Climate: Cool and calm in the morning, hot, windy in the afternoon and evening

Mood: Excellent and fresh in the morning, irritable like a small child in the evening.

Terrain: What a pleasant surprise today. We started in a piñon forest at a higher elevation of around 8,300 feet. The trail quickly descended a couple thousand feet and opened up to a view of a mini Monument Valley. The views all day were spectacular and gave the day a real boost. The trails were a lot of fun and reminded us of Canyonlands National Park in Utah. We were a little slower going down the singletrack, but it was very scenic.

Today it is easier to get water. There was a spring-fed cow trough, a tap and a hiding place.

Animals: turkey, rabbit, some kind of big cat tracks on the forest path. I pet the head of a young white bull at one of the water stops. He was very gentle and curious. I’m sure many hikers have pet this sweet bull as well.

Today we passed the 600 mile marker.

Physical: I developed such intense irritation under my right armpit that I had to do a quick mid-day wardrobe change and wear my urban bra. Weasel was kind enough to bandage my armpit with leukocytes. As for my cute cap sleeve bra, it’s now demoted to the bounce box.

The big surprise today was the CDT Camp Oasis. This was a group of volunteers from Albuquerque that set up a huge tent, tables, camp chairs, snacks, water, fruit, trash pickup, portable toilets, and ate fresh, hot food on demand! It was truly a magical trail.

Today we met many other hikers. Alpine, Blackberry, Spook, Peach Pit and a few others whose names I still didn’t understand.

We will probably see them in Cuba in the next few days.

We are rushing to get to the post office since Monday is Memorial Day and we don’t want to spend extra days in Cuba.

I can’t wait to see what creation Jonathan from Exoticpack is making for me. We are both planning to bounce our extra bear bags to reduce weight for the push into Colorado.

We arrived at camp a little later than usual as we spent too much time relaxing and visiting Camp Oasis, but it was worth it.

Day 4

Miles Traveled: Originally Planned:

Elevation Gain: Elevation Lowering:

Schedule between camps:

Climate: hot, sunny

Animals: Hummingbirds visited during our morning coffee. White rabbit, star jay, cows

Terrain: Surprisingly a combination of Monument Valley and Canyonlands National Park. Singletrack most of the day, lots of slow climbing, lots of deep sand. The miles were slow today. The last 5 miles were roads paved with pain.

We are satisfied with the landscape today. We had no idea this area had so much nature with beautiful hills and Hoodoos. Today was one of the most scenic and fun parts of the trip so far.

Collecting water today was easier than earlier in the trip. We had an early morning 14 mile water portage, the morning ones are easier due to the cooler temperatures. The last was a treacherous balancing act with a bucket to get Weasel into a cow trough fed by a cleaner spring. I am currently developing an acquired taste for bovine saliva and seaweed.

Our motel is very clean and has free laundry service. First thing in the morning we are going to wash the waterproof suit clothes.

Physical: We both have stage 3 monkey butts and have been using Desitin non-stop since Grants. Blisters and monkey butt were a fairly legitimate and lengthy topic of conversation with the other hikers yesterday. We are definitely not alone in our ailments. I have three blisters on my left ball of foot that still need taping. My right heel has had blisters for a month. Fred is stable in the pocket Weasel created for him in his hipbelt.

Equipment: My Aarn backpack is self-destructing. All the electrical cables are breaking. Our Glacier Gear gloves have some small holes in the seams that I think I can sew up.

Today I had to throw 3 tablespoons of fine sand out of each shoe every 4 miles. This is the first time that frequent sand spills have occurred. My socks were so crusty, dusty, and hard as rocks that I couldn’t wear them today. I think hard socks may be the cause of my blisters at the end of the week. Socks from my town were available, but that meant there were no clean socks in town. I kicked my city socks after the first shower in town and a swirl of dust exploded from them. I’m ashamed of the big pile of sand we created in our super clean motel room.

We are both eager to get to the mountains so we can rinse our socks and underwear in the streams. This water shortage is difficult to face.

People found: here and there a couple walking around in matching beige hoodies. We met them yesterday at Camp Oasis but we didn’t know their names.

Day zero in Cuba. There will be many feasts and errands. The post office is only open for an hour and a half, so there isn’t much time to work.