- CDT NM 2025 Day 19, Friday April 25
- Start mile 473.5
- End Bonita Zuni Alternate mile 4
- Miles walked: 26.3
My water bottles froze again. That has been happening a lot lately.
Soon the route goes by spiky lava, very different from the viscous flow from yesterday.
I believe this is called A’a, a Hawaiian word that is said to be what you would yell if you were walking on it in bare feet.
After a short highway walk I come to Bandera Volcano, the largest of the Chain of Craters.
A short walk allows a view of the volcano caldera.
As a tourist spot, Bandera offers wifi, snacks, water, and latrine for hikers.
After another short roadwalk, I arrive at the El Malpais Monument Visitor Center, closed long term, sadly. El Malpais comes from the Spanish for “bad country”.
A path follows an old railroad grade, possibly for hauling lumber.
The path starts passing several areas of lava, typically weathered into rocks averaging 10 inches or so. Here is a rock showing gas bubbles during formation.
Here is a slab of lava in the process of breaking into several rocks.
Soon instead of walking past volcanic rock, we are hiking on top. Several caves are visible, from collapsed domes.
Walking on the lava is treacherous: a spill could be quite painful. Ask me how I know.
I wish these photos could convey the deep variations of black of the rocks, mixed with red and orange highlights from minerals leaching out, and the colors of lichens on exposed rock. You will just have to come see for yourself.
The route passes by several collapsed domes that are quite long, hundreds of feet.
The edge of a cave gives some idea how thick the lava flow was in that area.
Eventually the lava tour ends, and I go on the Bonita Zuni Alternate, up a wide grassy canyon.
Finished audiobook Five Continental Op Stories, by Dashiell Hammett.