Sagebrush personal hiking blog
One may not purchase the °hiker special° tickets on the Cumbres Toltec narrow gauge coal-fired train up to Cumbres Pass the day before, so I showed up early when the ticket office opened and reserved my seat.
An amiable couple from Texas sat in front of me, and we had good conversation as I did some trail ambassador public relations work.
The train departed at 10 and reached the pass at 11:30. Continue reading “Starting Colorado”
5:30AM Socorro NM shuttle departs to Belen train station, fare $2.25
6:30 NM Rail Runner train departs Belen station for Santa Fe, fare $10.00
Hit a cow just out of Kewa station, disconnected a couple of air hoses, paused several minutes for repair. Scheduled arrival 9:00, actual arrival 9:xx. Connecting shuttle to Espanola notified of delay, and asked to wait.
The shuttle did not wait. Now I have time to explore Santa Fe before next shuttle at 11:45. This shuttle does not leave from Capitol Station, so I have to go to Marcy Street bus stop near the plaza.
I could take a bus to the plaza, but there is a pleasant walking trail that nearly spans the distance from Capitol Station and Santa Fe Depot Station near the plaza.
During the hike the Farmer’s Market is in session, so I look for a cyclist buddy I met on last year’s hike, who tells fortunes at the market. He is not there today.
I pass the train at depot station, and see evidence of the unfortunate collision earlier.
On the way to market street a sign displays a walking tour of the plaza area given by the NM Museum of History, just about to start. Sure, I go on the tour. Continue reading “On Road and Rail to Trail”
(PDF download of trip journal)
June 13
An early start from the motel might allow me to find wifi before heading up the mountain, so the start was 5:30am. The library wifi was closed when the building was closed, unlike many other libraries I have tried. Hiking while looking for open networks was finding no good sources. Finally while passing the little college I did manage to get signal, though only had time and patience to grab a few podcasts before hiking on.
Traveling on Lobo Canyon Drive past the correctional facility, I arrived at a signed trailhead with a work-crew adding on to the entrance gate.
Rare road sign marking CDT in New Mexico
Trail looked good, and I hoped to actually stay on “official” trail most of the way to Cuba– except I would be climbing to the summit of Mount Taylor today.
Trail stayed on a broad mesa, and climbs seemed to be moderate.
Climbing towards Mount Taylor
Shortly after leaving the official CDT I found a water cache left by the Mumms. One should give credit to these trail angels– they left caches for each trail alternative. Considerate.
They day was cloudy– for a change, so no siesta seemed to be necessary. Closer to the summit the trail seemed steeper, or perhaps I was more tired.
Cows grazing near the summit seemed unexpected. Rain threatened at times, though mostly an empty threat, since I had seen plenty of rain fall but evaporate before hitting the ground, in the past several days.
From the top I was rewarded with a panoramic view, though visibility was lessened by clouds. The temperature was noticeably cooler at 11301 feet elevation at 5pm.
Mount Taylor summit
Linger I did not, due to coolness. The forest road I was following seemed to stay high along ridges, but finally plunged low enough for me to seek camp, after passing some wild horses.
