Once again, my hiking plans had to be reconfigured. Yesterday, of course, Ed and I made very slow progress, due to downed trees and some challenging terrain (long uphills, slippery scree, etc.).
Today, we had high hopes for making up lost ground. Unfortunately, that’s not what happened. It rained this morning while we were packing up, then hailed. While the terrain wasn’t too bad, relatively speaking, we had to stop a lot to take on/off rain gear – and those pauses add up. We also got off-track once (there are lots of other trails on these mountains).
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Leaving the Stream Behind
Ed also was having issues. He caught some kind of bug, probably on the plane, and had a bad night last night. Today he was feeling better, but not great. He also was recently diagnosed with a hernia, and that started bothering him.
So when the trail hit a gravel road after a few miles, he decided to take that instead of the trail. I joined him, in part because his phone wasn’t working and so it would be impossible to communicate our whereabouts. But this road is also part of the Great Divide Alternate (yes, another CDT alternate), so it was still an official route.
At first we were quite excited, as the road unspooled downhill for miles. Our goal was the town of Platoro, about 16 miles (25.8 km) away. While the road was a mix of gravel and larger rocks, it still was far superior to the trails.
More Snags, Of Course
While we were making good time and figured we could make it to Platoro or its outskirts by 6 p.m. or so, both of us started having issues with back pain, especially me (I have some scoliosis, so my back is always an issue). Still, we were doing well until about 3:30 p.m., when it began to rain once again.
Now with rain, mud and fast-cooling temps, the hike became a slog. With about 5 miles (8.1 km) to town, and both of us feeling miserable, Ed flagged down a construction vehicle and asked for a ride. The guys were super nice and dropped us off at the first lodging we passed.
So tonight we’re staying at the Sky Line Lodge. The only “room” available is an Airstream trailer with twin beds. Fine with us! We were starting to get a little hypothermic, and if we’d have had to set up our wet, muddy tents in the wet, muddy grass – dressed in wet, muddy clothes – it would have been awful.
Plans in Platoro
So we had wonderfully hot showers, ate burgers in the lodge’s cafe and are ensconced in our almost-too-warm trailer. Now the trick is to see if we can find someone to drive Ed to his rental car at Cumbres Pass tomorrow, while I slackpack along the rest of the Great Divide.
If I’m slackpacking (carrying just my backpack with some food and water), I can knock off the miles with ease. But we’re in a tiny town, so finding someone we can hire to drive Ed may not be that easy.
I guess, as always, we’ll have to play it be ear and be ready to pivot.
Snowshoe
Today’s Miles: 19.5 (31.4 km)
CDT Miles to Date: 667 (1,073.4 km)
CDT Miles to Go: 2,433 (3,915.5 km)
