Breakfast across the street at the Cuban Cafe was great.  As per usual, we saw quite a few other hikers there and ended up sharing a table with Blink and Tall Son.  We had great some great conversations and I’m really happy we sat together.  I ended up hanging out with Blink and Tall Son for a bit after breakfast, too.  I needed to find good Wi-Fi to send the blog info to Theresa and decided to walk to McDonalds; since they were going there, too, we all walked together. 

Other than breakfast and sending in blog info, most of the day has been spent figuring out what we want to do about the Santa Fe and Carson National Forest closures that start this Thursday (two days from now) at 8am.  With the closures, essentially much of the CDT north of Grants will be closed.

(I’m so glad we were able to get through this last section because I loved it so much.  I know we’ll be missing some pretty amazing country up ahead, but at least we got to see what we did.)

Some hikers, like Google, Blink, and Tall Son, are simply hitching to Chama.  Many others, like Blaze, Sin Nombre, and Shredder, are going to try to get to Ghost Ranch (the next resupply) before the closure takes effect, and from there they will walk or hitch to Chama.  Nick and I, well, we decided to road walk from here (Cuba) straight to Chama.  77 miles.  On a road.  77. Miles.

Why?  Well, we want to try to maintain a continuous footpath for as long as we can.  Also, even though we could hike the trail and get across any major roads (i.e. places we’d be stopped) before the closure takes effect, we’d still be in the forest illegally.  At this point, pleading ignorance about the closure would be ridiculous since it’s all everyone is talking about; this makes it feel wrong to hike the trail.  Further, we’d still have to road walk 44 miles from Ghost Ranch to Chama.  If we have to walk 44 miles anyway, what’s 33 more? 

The biggest issue with doing a road walk like this is that we’re not sure about water.  There aren’t a lot of towns on our route (the ranger said it’s like the Wild West out there) and we won’t have the benefit of an app that tells us where we can even find water.  

Don’t worry, we’re making a plan.  While it’s annoying to have to do this, I must admit that it’s exciting, too.  This is the sort of Adventure I thrive on.  :)

Will I complain about new blisters?  For sure.  Will new and crazy things happen to my body?  Most likely.  But that’s all part of this, right?  Right.