CDT – Day 28 – Ghost Ranch to M724

24.8, 551.0 Trip Miles

Mostly Cloudy, A few light showers at dinner

Day’s of Snow: 4 – Day’s of Rain: 9

# of Zero days: 1

Gila Crossings Final Total:  221

Totals

119 Lizards

46 Elk

21 Cotton Tail Rabbits

13 Chipmunks

13 Squirrels

12 Deer

9 Horny Roads

9 Jack Rabbit

5 Snakes

5 Ground Squirrel

3 Coyotes

2 Toads

1 Mouse

1 Skunk

1 Rattle Snake

If I picked a word of the day it would be a tie between “MUD” and “EXHAUSTED”.

Today was brutal on me. My back is a bit tweaked for some reason but it wasn’t just that. The conditions were ridiculous. Almost the whole day was old dirt roads but they had a 1-2″ layer of mud on them. Not only did you slip with every step you had mud stick to your shoes and poles. Both would get very heavy and then you’d have to shake it off, if possible.

Some of the horrible conditions we endure today.

On top of that I think staying up to 12:18 am on the 20th caught up to me. I felt like I was running on empty all day. It’s hard to believe I made it almost 25 miles.

This mud was tame compared to most of the day.

I hiked with Rafiki who is about my pace and he’s a birder. With his knowledge I added at least five new birds to my Life List.

Early views as we hiked away from Ghost Ranch

The wind is picking up at the moment. I hope it doesn’t mean rain tonight. I would really love the ground to dry out some.

One of the few areas without mud!

It’s going to be an early night for sure.

What a tough day after a zero day.  I think this day was mentally tougher than it was physically.  I had a lot on my mind.  Seeing Jill, the prospect of snow in the high country and feeling drained from the two previous days all added up to a tough day.  It was one of those days you relish the idea of getting to camp, having a warm meal and crawling into bed.  I did all this just moments before it started to sprinkle.

Back to Day 27, Forward to Day 29

Scatman