Cuba to Ghost Ranch-Music and Shelter in a Pit Toilet

We had nice visits to Alpine, Pit Stop, Peach Pit, Blackberry, Here and There while we were in town.

I bought an urban bra to match the underwear I bought in Lordsburg at the local Family Dollar. Two comfortable bras for 10 dollars, it doesn’t get any better than that! The underwear is amazing, it doesn’t slip, they wash well in a sink and are dry in the morning. I’m thinking about getting a few more bra and panty sets when we finish the trip. Who knew it, Family Dollar!

In the hotel hiker’s box was a beautiful black linen dress that fit me perfectly. If it wasn’t so heavy I would have kept it. Although I did wear the dress around town and to dinner. The dress went back to the hiker box for the next lucky girl.

We had several meals at Del Prado restaurant and Yesinia was our smiling and happy waitress every time. We had no problem ordering so much food.

I repaired the mesh on my Burstin’ trekking poles again. I also sewed the cuff of Weasel’s glove and a thumb seam onto my glove. The sewing kit we bought at Doc Campbell’s comes in handy.

Day 1

Miles driven: 30.73 Originally planned: 21.2

Elevation Gain: 4,565 feet Elevation Decline: 3,260 feet

Hours between camps: 12 hours 36 min

Weather: 82 F Much cooler at elevation, cloudy in the afternoon. We were wondering if it was going to rain.

Mood: Great, full of energy after our day of rest.

Animals: hare, rabbit, many birds. Cat footprints on the trail that were 4 feet apart between the front and back paws. Squirrels in our camp that were alarmed barking very loudly and insistently. They sounded like they had anti-aircraft machine guns and lasers. It was curious, they even sent a scout to see where we kept our food. No squirrels will enter our bear bags.

Terrain: Paved road 5 miles outside of town. The trail became a hard single trail for the rest of the day. There were some downed trees that we had to climb, but definitely not pick up avalanche debris like sticks. We ascended to 10,000 feet among tall pines and aspens. Today we saw our first patches of snow.

People Found: Peach Pit, here and there in Wisconsin, Anton currently lives in Olympia. Anton has the most incredible leg tattoos. We also met a super nice guy from France whose name I don’t know how to spell, so we called him Evian, like water, for ourselves.

I think my tracking stages are moving forward. We are in our fourth week and today’s hike should have been brutal due to the distance and elevation changes, but it wasn’t that bad.

We had Fritos as a snack and added the rest to our Instant Pot Refried Beans with Green Chile tonight and it really was delicious. We’ll add that ingredient again.

Day 2

Miles Traveled: 32.44 Originally Planned: 21.2

Elevation Gain: 2,943 feet Elevation Decline: 4,621 feet

Hours between camps: 13 hours 7 minutes

Weather: 77 F Much cooler, cloudy all day. Cold rain in the late afternoon and evening.

Here and there they camped next to us during the night. They arrived after dark and didn’t see our tent until they were camped. It didn’t bother us at all. They were stealthy like ninjas when they saw our store.

We woke up in the forest next to a beautiful stream. We escaped from the camp before Here and There came out of their tent.

We walked on a beautiful trail all day. We hiked through a couple of wilderness areas like Mesa Alta and Rio Chama Canyon Wilderness. Many spectacular views of colorful banded cliffs. We were in the sage, juniper, and piñon biome for most of the day. The trail was fast and had some moderate climbs. More descent than ascent, it sounds easier but it is harder on the knees and legs.

We walked through a burned area that had recently flooded in a narrow canyon. It was scary as we had to cross the water several times and there were fallen trees several meters above our heads that still had green tips. The green tips were concerning because the last big flood wasn’t that long ago. We covered that stretch as quickly as possible and with our fingers crossed for luck.

We arrived at Rio Chama around 4 pm and laughed that the day was easy, only 23 miles and we were finishing early at 5 pm. We joked about what we were going to do with so much free time.

Around 4:30 pm the clouds parted and it began to rain cold and torrentially. We didn’t have a chance to put on our rain gear until we were well soaked. Weasel saw a toilet and we ran towards it for cover. It was surprisingly clean and didn’t smell too much for an hour. The strange thing was that we could hear two voices and some kind of musical instrument playing in the next cubicle.

After the rain subsided, we emerged from our shelter and laughed with Temu and Spook, who were also sheltering in the bathrooms. We hikers will take refuge where we can.

It was 45 degrees and still raining, we were soaked, shivering, and our best prospect for camping was in a muddy spot. We had to make an important decision. It’s 5:30 pm, do we camp cold and wet in the mud or walk 9.5 more miles to Ghost Ranch for a chance at a hot shower and a dry bed?

We chose to keep walking, at least to warm our shivering bodies. We found out about a secret water tank about 5 miles from the toilet and thought well, when we get to the tank we can decide to stay or move on.

The rain eased but continued, and the dirt road turned into a skating rink of thick, red mud that stuck to our shoes like heavy cement.

It was slower, but we kept going and couldn’t find the secret cache. We both argue as usually happens when we are both uncomfortable and in a bad mood.

The afternoon became dark and cold. We skated through mud in 10-pound shoes the last two miles to Ghost Ranch. The Ranch had a room with its own bathroom available and we splurged for another night.

We met Wilt, Journey, and Prison Mike sitting on the porch next to our room. At 9:30 pm we finally made it, took off our wet clothes, muddy shoes and took our first hot shower. We cooked our dehydrated meals on a camp stove in the room and collapsed into bed at 11:00 pm What a Yin Yang day!

Day Zero at Ghost Ranch

Lots of rest and food in the dining room. Prison Mike gave us lavender shampoo and handmade sandalwood soap. So luxurious it smells good. We washed our clothes, including our shoes and muddy rain gear, and prepared for the next segment of the trail.

Today we had great conversations with Alpine, Prison Mike, Wilt, Journey, Joker and Trash Lobster.

Next stop is Chama in about four days, not including a 30-mile hitch.

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