Out of the Desert, Into the Mountains

New Mexico is over. We are on to Colorado. We’ve traded scorching sun for snow banks, and waterless stretches for endless mud. We took a few days off in Albuquerque to visit Chale’s family, and jumped right back into the hike. After Cuba the trail turned more mountainous. Finally we saw some amazing alpine meadows and more pine trees than cactus. The views have been incredible, the people even more so, but I am too exhausted to type it all up, so I hope this New Mexico Roudup is sufficient.

Wildlife

• Elk
• Deer
• Unknown Lizards
• Prairie dogs
• Trout
• Bull Snakes
• Horny Toads
• Hikertrash

Fun Stats

• Longest day: 34 Miles
• Highest Peak: Mt. Taylor 11,301
• Longest Water Carry: 16 Miles
• Most hikers in a hitch: 7
• Nights I had to set up my shelter: 1
• Miles hiked so far: 650ish

Audio Books

• Death in Yellowstone by Lee H. Whittlesey
• Crime and Punishment by Fydor Dostoevsky
• Alone on the Wall by Alex Honold
• Denali’s Howl by Andy Hall
• The Art of Discomfort by Jacob Debernardi
• The Push by Tommy Caldwell
• The Anthropocene Reviewed by John Green

What’s Next?

There is a lot of uncertainty coming up in the next few hundred miles. There is cold weather, high elevations, and of course snow and ice. From what we’ve heard, Colorado is stunning but slow going. With ice axes and microspikes, we feel prepared but also slightly terrified. Here we go! There are four of us, so hopefully we have enough brain cells to get us to Pagosa Springs in one piece. And so we go…