Welp, I had hoped that the second I got out of Colorado that the weather would suddenly improve. That has not been the case. In the mornings I still wake up to frost and this state has managed to hit me with the trifecta of snow, hail, and rain in the same day. Creating a thick layer of slippery mud that added pounds to my shoes.
New Mexico hasn’t been all bad though. For the first section I hiked with Frenchy and Du Jour while Audible played support in his car. Bringing much loved donuts into the middle of a 150 mile section. We also used a rather peculiar method to get up to the pass leaving Chama, NM 🙂
And man, can I just say that the desert can be really beautiful. Even if the water carries are a bit longer.
Unfortunately, the desert is also home to things that make me bring my shoes into my tent.
And speaking of my tent, I have been having some gear issues. One of the sliders on my tents fly zipper broke after trying to tighten it one to many times. A new slider is being sent to the next town but for now one of my doors will not close. Luckily, I’m not too worried about rain. I also have been having issues with my sleeping pad and a replacement is being shipped to Pie Town. My last pair of shoes for the trail and food are also being shipped there. I am sorry post office people, unfortunately there was just a confluence of issues that all had to be fixed in your town.
But like I said, despite all this the desert has been stunning.
And as one final note, there is a mountain in New Mexico, Mt. Taylor. On the advice from some farout comments I hiked it without stopping and while exclusively listening to Taylor Swift music. So you could say that I hiked Mt. Taylor swiftly 🙂
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