Tag: CDT

• CDT NM 2025 Day 14, Sunday, April 20
• Start CDT mile 367.7,  north of NM12
• End mile 389.9, on Segment 86
• Miles walked: 22.2

Snow remained in shady spots, a reminder of the crazy day yesterday.

I hiked on top of mesas for much of the day, in ponderosa forest. Trees were scorched from some recent burn, and I could still smell traces of wood smoke. This appears to be a healthy burn, just scorching the trees and removing undergrowth, necessary for the life cycle in ponderosa woods.

Lower in elevation, the forest was mixed juniper and pinon.

I got water at Cassidera Springs, the only sure source for today.

In the afternoon I reach Segment 86! 

People can adopt a section of the CDT, and go out and do maintenance on their segment; a couple of times a year. I had already worked on my 12-mile segment once this Spring.

Considering that most hikers skip my segment and do the Pie Town Alternate, the tread is looking pretty good on the southern end. I expected the path to be more overgrown with grass.

The Colorado/New Mexico border is at mile 777.2, so my trip is already half over!

Finished audiobook Plain Tales From The Hills, by Rudyard Kipling.

• CDT NM 2025 Day 13, Saturday, April 19
• Start CDT mile 351.5
• End CDT mile 367.7
• Miles walked: 5 Govina Canyon  + 9.7 CDT = 14.7 miles (plus several miles hike/hitch to recover food cache)

In the middle of the night I realized it was snow hitting the tent, and not rain. In the morning several inches of fresh powder were around the tent, but the actual snowfall was probably 2 inches.

Ummm, where’s the trail?

I decide to back up and do the Govina Canyon alternate because a small canyon will be easier to follow until the snow starts melting a little.

Later, back on the CDT, the snow is easier to follow, but hard to show in photos.

Dark Clouds portend more snow, and we do get more, with stiff wind. I need to keep wearing my shirt, down this, and raincoat all day to protect against bitter cold.

Going down Wagontongue Mountain in powder was much easier than last year when I had to climb up the same ridge in icy snow.

After Wagontongue there was no more snow on the ground. At Highway 12 I divert to get a food cache that I buried last year on a “somewhat nearby” trail. The stick marking the cache was still there

I return to the Red Line and hike in blowing snow. Most hikers will take the Pie Town Alternate, which is shorter and avoids a 12 mile road walk on US60.

At night the wind subsides and stars become visible.

Finished audiobook A Right Way to Do Wrong, by Harry Houdini.

• CDT NM 2025 Day 12, Friday, April 18
• Start GRA mile 87.1
• End CDT mile 351.5
• Miles walked: GRA 19.1 + CDT 7.1 = 26.2

Mesa Man starts early, even earlier than me.

Fortunately the cold wind subsided at night, but gusts resume today. The route goes on gravel road, and stays on road most of the day.

On Bursum Road I pass a large grassland.

Water is found at Dutchman Spring, near the end of the Gila River Route, in the cistern behind the tire. The next good water is pretty far ahead.

Hikers refer to the main CDT route as the Red Line, because the track appears red on the app most hikers are using. After several days on the Gila Alternate, I return to the red line.

The route finally leaves roads, climbing through a burn area.

Cat’s Claw is one of the first plants to grow after the burn. Several blowdowns are across the trail here.

The cairns are good for marking the trail in this section.

Finished audiobook Triplanetary, by E E ”Doc” Smith, the first book in the Lensman series.