Section 20: Winter Ain't Coming, It's Here (21 photos, 4 videos)

Section 20 is 93 miles long and runs from Cumbres Pass, Colorado to Ghost Ranch, New Mexico. October 28th - 31st.

Day 127, 15.6 miles to marker 2237.7

We spent the night in the back of our Prius, named Patsy, in the parking lot of the Buffalo Thunder Casino which is a little North of Santa Fe, NM. Anyway, we hit the road at 730am and then in return snow hit us on the way to Chama, NM where we stopped for breakfast. The town was a shell of what it was when I was there 55 days ago, at the start of tourist season when the Aspens began to turn. Now, with a fresh blanket of snow on the ground, this diner was the only place open in the whole city. After brekkie, we drove up Cumbres Pass and the snow resumed falling as we got towards the top. We were taken aback to find another hiker up there waiting for a hitch down the mountain. An Aussie, Hopper or Hoppaah, told me about how he just spent days freezing his butt off and could not wait to take some zero-days to warm up. He was blown away that I was heading out into this mess. Sea Lion and I said our goodbyes and I was happy that she planned to stick around for a few days in town as I tackled this section.

Cumbres Pass on October 28th looked quite different from the last time I was there back on September 3rd.

I made quick work of the 2.9 miles to the Colorado - New Mexico border and now could officially be 100% done with 4 of 5 states. I took some pictures at my final state line crossing and tried to get back in high gear. The falling snow hid the trail and at one point I missed a turn, followed a creek, and almost looped back up to the border. I tried to aim straight up a seam in the topography to get back on trail and wiped out hard on some hidden ice. I was enjoying the stillness of the landscape and soon it stopped snowing. However, the temperature continued to dip and I noticed my water bottle was icing over so I moved it inside of my jacket and kept it there to keep it in liquid state. When I stopped to fill up, the little stream was frozen and it was the last water for 11 miles so I had to stab the ice with my trekking poles to get to water below. I grew extremely cold as I stopped moving to collect my water and filter it. I also realized I wasn’t going to make it my planned 20 miles to camp before dark and it would be smarter to stop short and have time to build a fire before the chill of the night fully set in. After 15.6 miles, I was completely exhausted and cursed myself for not working out at all on my vacation, my trail legs had vanished.

The last State between me and the Triple Crown.

Breaking the ice. I frequently had to do this to get water in this section.

I set camp and in the waning light and noticed a huge paw print. I think it was a mountain lion and I was not thrilled about it. I told myself that I probably crossed their trails often but just have not seen their tracks because there was no snow. The snow was fresh, camp was made, and I was dead tired. After enjoying a fire and warming up, I went to bed in the first of three miserably cold nights.

Day 128, 28.4 miles to marker 2266.1

When I finally forced myself to get up and brave the cold, my spirits were all but crushed when I went to put my shoes on and they were solid blocks of ice. The struggle was real. I had to separate small tasks of packing up so I could warm my fingers in between by tucking them into my armpits. As I hiked, I was enthralled with all of the animal prints that were left behind in the snow. From up on Bravos Ridge there were views of endless white meadows and a couple splotches of blue sky. I got to Lagunitas Creek which again had a layer of ice on top that I had to crack through. The trail followed a rocky cliff above the Rio San Antonio for a couple miles before dipping down to the water crossing. Thankfully the heat of the sun melted the most of ice and as a bonus it left behind some interesting patterns. I cameled up here because the next few water sources were stagnant cow ponds that might still be iced over.

I especially enjoyed seeing all the animal tracks in the fresh snow.

From the cliffside above Lagunitas Creek.

After the only meaningful climb of the day I was in a wide open pasture with dried up creeks and a few cow ponds with a solid layer of ice on top, just as expected. I kept cruising on a gentle and long downhill and realized I was going to make it to Hopewell Lake Campgrounds without needing to night hike. I estimated that I even had enough time to take a break and watch the sunset which I believed was going to be great since the sky had that perfect amount of clouds hanging around in it. The campground water was shut off weeks ago so, to stay efficient with my time, and not have to hike off trail to get down to the actual Lake, I decided to boil snow for my water fill up. Boiled snow tastes absolutely terrible and I learned to avoid this at all costs in the future. Also, the sunset was kind of a dud. I arrived at the campground and there was an Appalachian Trail styled shelter right next to the road and I attempted to hang my hammock inside but the carpentry was just too good. The logs fit together perfectly and there was just nowhere to hang my hammock straps so I went a little further up into the woods and set camp.

Day 129, 21.4 miles to marker 2287.5

After some terrible sleep, I woke up around 730 to find that wind hand blown snow under my tarp and all over my shoes and pack. I grumbled to myself and managed to get back to sleep for about an hour and next time I woke up, it was snowing. I checked the weather on my Garmin and found it was going to keep snowing and keep getting colder throughout the day, bottoming out at -3°F. I debated sending a text to Sea Lion and have her drive up to come rescue me. It was unbearably cold. I cooked breakfast in bed and discovered that a rodent had chewed into my food bag. Luckily the little bastard only nibbled on one Oreo before leaving. It took a lot of fortitude to get myself out of bed, squeeze my feet into my frozen shoes, and pack up camp. Again, my fingers froze as I wound up my cords and packed things away so I had to take breaks to do jumping jacks and tuck my hands into my arm pits for warmth. I saw that over the next seven miles, I dropped 2,000 feet in elevation and that should be enough for the weather to be drastically warmer. I wasn’t hiking until 10 but it felt amazing to get my blood moving. I got to a small meadow and there was a big animal standing in the middle. I thought it was an elk but after switching to my zoom lens I saw that it was a horse. No saddle, reigns, or ear tag, so I wondered if it was a wild horse. We stared at each other curiously for a bit before I started to get cold again and kept hiking.

A majestic beast staring me down in an open field.

I was elated that the temperature climbed as my elevation dipped and I took a long break at Rock Creek. I found my groove and crushed some miles for a few hours and decided to take a network of 4x4 roads to stay in tree cover and hopefully catch a piped spring that was still running. The last comment on my maps was from 12 days ago, so flowing water most definitely could have frozen up or went dry. I was elated to find that I barely made it. A stalagmite of ice was growing upwards towards the pipe and probably would plug the pipe that night. I got tons of water and set camp nearby. Even after cooking a hot dinner and having a generous cup of tea, I was still freezing. I boiled water to put in my water bottle and keep it at the foot of my sleeping bag to keep my toes from going numb. I simply could not wait to drop another 2,000 feet tomorrow and be out of the mountains and out of this coldness.

Day 130, 27.6 miles to Ghost Ranch, NM

I was happy to have set camp such that the morning sunshine was unobstructed by any mountains or trees and helped warm me up. My hip flexor had been acting up this stretch as I struggled to get my hiking legs back and it was really hurting this morning but I kept my spirits high. It was Halloween today, I was going to make it to Ghost Ranch today, meet my fiancée today, and spend tonight in a bed in Santa Fe. I soon got to more cow pastures and it was warm enough to change out of my PJs as a lot of nearby fluffy cows watched me. The sun was on full blast, the snow was melting away, and my bones were thawing out as I dropped more in elevation. I forced myself to take a long break at the next water stop, stretch my hip, and eat tons of food.

I then took off down the alt route to Ghost Ranch and it seemed like a switch was flicked that transported me from snowy mountains to dry desert. I started seeing cacti, sage brush, and other desert shrubs. The trail went along the bottom of a gorgeous cliff and all of the scenery reignited my excitement about being on trail, which has been mostly dead during this section. I was in awe of the sights, sounds, and warmth of the desert. It was getting dark as I arrived at the final drop down massive canyons to Arroyo Del Yeso and I was a little bummed that I hadn’t hiked faster and got to enjoy this scene in better light. Once at the bottom it felt like canyoneering in a slot canyon, with steep stone walls on either side, tiny waterfalls all around, and a few hops across the water. It was pitch black with myriads of stars above when I arrived at the main stretch of the ranch. Ghost Ranch is a popular wedding destination and one big party was out on their patio, setting up for the weekend of celebrations as I, a crusty homeless looking man, emerged from the shrubs and walked by. I got to the main parking lot, saw Patsy, and gave Sea Lion the biggest embrace of a hug ever. Words cannot describe how happy I was to see her. This section was the roughest, most trying, and mentally draining stretch of hiking I have done.

Golden hour lighting up some cliffs and trees.