Friday, May 18, 2012

Ghosts of Artists Past

Hi all, writing today from Ghost Ranch, NM, a resort most well know for hosting Georgia O'Keefe in her prime.  Naturally, the view is pretty spectacular, with everything tucked away into a valley coming down off a multicolored mesa, and adobe structures fronting a green swath of hay fields.  Aside from the usual cabins and such, there is also a large mess hall (all you can eat meals, huzzah!), a palentology and archaeology museum, guided tours of all things O'Keefe related, a bluegrass festival, and some sort of school outing.  All in all, it feels more crowded here than it has even in the towns, but it is relaxing either way.  Given that the next major town, Chama, is only 44 miles away, and that I need to pick up packages at the post office, which will be closed by the time I get there if I leave today, I figure I'll chill here for the night and let my knee continue to heal.  

Seeing as the hike from Cuba was so short, one would think there would not be much of interest.  Instead, this last section was a bit of a surprise as the path climbs to over 10,000 feet over the San Pedro range.  The vegetation quickly turns into dense pines at that height, and we saw our first real signs of lingering snow cover.  In that sense, the long delay in Grants might have been a good thing; 2 weeks ago this area was much more blanketed.  Now, however, the high meadows that the trail crosses near the peak are simply flooded, creating wide open marshes that require getting your boots wet to cross.  Ugh.  Fortunately, these areas aren't too far across, and give nice views complete with small groups of elk off in the distance.  Upon coming down from the mountain, the terrain quickly turns drier and heads off to yet another colorful mesa before crossing the Chama River and heading towards the ranch.

There has finally been some other hiker info to report.  Gale, another thru hiker is here as well, though on her way out for the moment; she hiked part of the trail last year and is going to flip up to finish some bits she missed then.  A few other guys who passed me by while I was in Albaquerque also showed up briefly, as they had just taken some time off in Santa Fe.  They seemed pretty determined, but having been down that road before, constantly racing with one another and pushing all day long, I don't really envy them.  With so few people on the trail, its much easier to relax and take time to enjoy the sights, even if motivation is more of an issue when your boots freeze, etc.

Lastly, Crystal, Celine, and Frog should be showing up tonight.  Only Crystal is human (and a French one at that).  Celine and Frog are her two mules that she has bought along the way here, and they are her riding and pack animals, respecitvely.  We've been hearing about them right since the get go, so it was nice to finally meet up and put a face to all the trail rumors.  Even on a path as sparsely populated as this one, news has a way of getting around.  Anyway, going to hit up the shower and hopefully do some laundry, talk to you all later.

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