- NNML 2026 Day 7, June 24, Wednesday
- Start S2 mile 46.8 near road crossing, on the CDT
- End S2 mile 70 down from rim
- Miles walked: 23.2
Although I am in a canyon that leads to the Rio Chama, we need to get over to the correct canyon. The route climbs Mesa Alta to the next canyon over.
Now the route is in a small canyon, which merges with the larger Osito Canyon. A flash flood had been through here recently, and huge cairns were built to mark the CDT route.
There was water running in the drainage, really the only water source today besides the turbid Rio Chama later.
Lower in the canyon are colorful sandstone walls.
As the route gets near the river, we enter a sagebrush forest.
Skull Bridge over the Rio Chama is now closed to vehicles, but not hikers.
The route climbs up a cliff along the river. Clouds appear while I am climbing, the first clouds since the beginning of my hike, and a cool breeze comes by.
After the climb, a brief shower barely wets the ground.
Along the top we see that the cliffs are a mesa, and the route follows along the rim of the mesa towards Ghost Ranch, with stunning views at every turn.
I climb down from the rim to sleep among sagebrush.
Finished audiobook The Ebb Tide, by Robert Louis Stevenson and Lloyd Osborne.