Taking the Low Route: Chama (Cumbres Pass) to Del Norte

When we arrived back at Ghost Ranch, we didn’t stay long before we walked down to the highway to hitch a ride back to Chama. Unfortunately, we had miscalculated a little bit and didn’t realize that the bus wasn’t running on the weekends. Luckily, this elderly couple who were out in the fields looking for Elk Horns, drove us all the way back to Chama. It was a tight squeeze, but we were grateful for any ride. On the road, every bump had the car’s metal ass dragging on the ground. The windshield was cracked several times all the way across, and all lights were illuminated on the dashboard. We made small talk for a bit, and then they put on some gangsta rap for the rest of the drive to drown out the metal scraping noises. They dropped us off where we would be staying in Chama. We offered them some cash for gas money, and they wouldn’t take it. Sometimes the most generous people are the ones who have absolutely nothing.

Back to Chama
When we arrived in Chama, we were starving! After checking into the hotel, we walked to Subway first before even showering. Back at home, you wouldn’t catch me dead ordering food at Subway. They don’t have a ton of vegan options and who wants to pay $40 for vegetables on bread??? Well, when you very few choices, you’ll take anything!
We walked down to the grocery store and bought shampoo and conditioner so that we could have proper showers before our roommates (Packrunner and Free Will) arrived. We spent two nights in Chama, relaxing a bit, but for the most part: washing our gear, planning the next section of trail, eating lots of food, and going to the post office. I also changed my shoes for the first time as my first pair have travelled about 700 miles! We have chosen to take the low route due to the risk of post-holing for miles, and sliding down the mountain! Later we found out that we made the right choice… more on this.

The Colorado Food Tour
We left Chama on Day 40 via two separate hitches out of town and up to Cumbres Pass to continue on our continuous footpath. (Yes that’s right, I said “continuous footpath”, you can take a drink now.) Taking the low route looked a lot less exciting because we would have tons of road walking. The upside to this was all the places that we would pass by and get to stay. When we were only about 5 miles into our roadwalk, Tumbleweed from Tumble On Outfitters rolled up in his Subaru and asked if we wanted “Truly’s” (these blueberry coolers)! (We said yes.) Just over 12 miles in was a store called “Red Bear Haus”, which sold food and drinks, and allowed you to camp in their yard. Shortly after we arrived and got ourselves drinks and a container of vegan ice cream, a Canadian bike-packer arrived and came to sit with us. His “trail name” was Shua (as in the cool part of the name, Joshua). He had a friend Brad who rolled in maybe 45 minutes behind him as the owners were locking the doors. Once they saw Brad, they reopened to get him food, which was really nice. We sat on their deck and talked for a while before all setting up tents in the grass at the Red Bear.

Gold Pan Acres
The next day we would be walking about 23 miles to get to “Gold Pan Acres”, which was this little place with cabins and a general store. The sun was very bright today, and we spoke to quite a few people who stopped on the road to talk. Someone even stopped to give us Gatorade on the road! When we arrived, the owner waved us and said we could bring our backpacks. As I walked in the door, someone shouted “TBD!”. It was Little Spoon, a hiker we had met in the last section while hiking SOBO. I also recognized a hiker named “Shadow” who we had met at Ghost Ranch the first time, and a hiker named “Pesky”, who we had also met while going SOBO on the trail. The first question we were asked as we walked in the door was, “Beer?”. We were given the wifi password, and sat at a table with Pesky. The owners were sitting and playing Mario Kart with the hikers, and everyone was joyfully drinking beers and swearing at the TV.

The Low Route
We spoke to some of the other hikers about their decision to come down to the green line (the low route). It turns out that both Little Spoon and Shadow had been up on the redline (the high route), and we’re experiencing a ton of postholing and other less than ideal winter-like conditions. Later on, I would receive an email from the Continental Divide Trail Coalition (CDTC). warning of high avalanche risk in Colorado. All this information confirmed that I am glad that I didn’t decide to be a hero (although I would look very cool with an ice axe).

Two Showers
We ended up staying the night at Goldpan Arcrs in a cabin that was really huge for what we paid. In the morning, there was a pot of mediocre Folgers coffee, which I drank two cups of. We had potatoes and toast with jam in the morning. I was happy to take my second shower of the visit. As usual, we didn’t leave the place with all the amenities until about 11:00am.

Elwood Pass
The next day we would make it up to Elwood Pass, where we had initially thought we would be hitchhiking to Pagosa Springs from. Thankfully, we learned from the locals ahead of time that this was a pretty remote place and it would be unlikely to have many vehicles on it. Before leaving Goldpan Acres, I had called and re-routed my mail from Pagosa Springs to another town ahead along the trail. We stayed the night at about 11,500 feet elevation, and surprisingly it wasn’t too cold!

Summitville Mine
The next day, we decided to hike just over 33 miles all the way into Del Norte Colorado. Luckily it was mostly dirt roads, which are easier on the joints! Before noon we passed an old mining site in an area called Summitville. This was the site of an ecological disaster, and now a “superfund” site. Don’t know what that is? Neither did I… Apparently a superfund site is a place that the US government throws money at in attempt to mitigate environmental damage usually caused by idiots.

According to the US government, the water pollution from Summitville is not a problem because there are no towns with people living within 2 miles of this superfund site. What this doesn’t account for is the CDT alternate and bike route that goes through this area. This means that there are humans who may be collecting drinking water here. There were no signs informing anyone not to drink the water, and there was no warning from the CDTC regarding water in this area… Thankfully we were told by locals down in Platoro not to drink the river water, as it is poisoned by toxic levels of heavy metals. We collected water far away from this site. The next morning we met a hiker with a really small backpack, who did not appear to be carrying much water. He told me that he slept at the mine, and I can almost guarantee that he collected drinking water there. Needless to say, I am happy that we collected water well before this site.

If you’re interested in learning more about the Summitville, CO superfund site: click here.

We arrived in Del Norte quite late, and were able to get drinks and veggie burgers before setting up in the local park, where they allow backpackers and bike-packers to stay!