CDT Days 31-33 – Views and rain

This section of trail brought us past Mount Taylor and into a beautiful high-desert basin. It rained on us multiple times during this stretch.

Day 31 – Mile 535.6 – Back on single track

As we left Grants today we stopped at a restaurant for New Mexican food. As always, it tasted great! We went to the post office to pick up a package, but it had been shipped with FedEx so the post office wouldn’t accept it as general delivery mail. That was sad — it sounds like the package is sitting in a FedEx facility in Albuquerque and we have no way to get it. As we hiked on through Grants, we got caught by a dust tornado that ripped off both of our hats and threw Renee’s about 30 feet in the air. In a matter of seconds, it was calm again. We have seen the dust tornadoes in the distance frequently since starting the trail and we knew one would catch us eventually. We stopped at a grocery store to get food. It will be Knorr sides and peanuts for protein for the next four nights… Several miles outside of Grants we encountered something amazing: A real trail built on the side of a mountain! After miles and miles of gravel and paved road walking, we almost forgot how nice a trail is on our feet! We are approaching a big volcano called Mount Taylor. It is big and beautiful and we have amazing views of it from here. Tonight we are camped with our friend Dirty Money (Barbara Willen). It is nice to have a friend out here! Our thruhiker count now stands at 17. -T

Day 32 – Mile 559.3 – Thunderstorm

Today we had a nice trail for most of the day through the forest around Mount Taylor. We saw greater short-horned lizards and an elk. In the evening the sky started to look really black and there was thunder and lightning in the distance. We decided to make camp at around 7:45 pm in case of rain. As we started setting up the drops started. We got our tarp up and Dirty Money got her tent up just in time. The rain came down hard for a couple of hours, and there was lots of thunder and lightning. We stayed dry though! -R

Day 33 – Mile 585.2 – Volcanic views

The rain was done when we woke up, but the ground was still wet. We noticed humidity in the morning — it was probably water evaporating from the ground. Before our first water break we met a trail angel named Wayne “Mosey” Moseman driving down the forest road. He offered us water, coke, and even a bag of shredded potatoes! As we chatted, we learned that he was the person who cached Gatorade back in the Black Range when we were low on water — Thanks Mosey!!! We had lunch at a beautiful spring that was off trail but worth the extra distance. It was pretty and peaceful down by the spring, and the water was great! As usual when Renee and Barbara hike together, it was hard to get them moving again after lunch, but eventually we all got back to hiking. As we neared camp we walked off of the plateau we have been on for the last several days and descended into a surreal desert landscape lined with sandstone bluffs and dotted with volcanic features like cider cones. It is a beautiful and unique site! -T