the southern San Juan mountains

They took so much out of me... Almost every step was a challenge. Between snow, ice, downed trees, and extreme elevation changes, I moved at a snails pace. But over and over, I looked to my right and left and said: my God, where am I? An enormous, cold and lonely wilderness. 

Here are some pictures...

Comments

  1. AnnMay 30, 2022 at 12:58 AM

    Wow! Beautiful pictures!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Michael StantonMay 30, 2022 at 3:53 AM

      Thanks, Ann! Yes, it's the dream country. Tomorrow I head in with Gargoyle, Yeti, Mishap and El Flaco for a five or six day stretch of similar country to reach Silverton in the northwest. Really excited to see it...!

      Delete
  2. T-RonJune 2, 2022 at 6:18 AM

    Looks great! Glad you're there now.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Lordsburg

Image
I've had a good time here in Lordsburg. Arrived in the early evening, found Charlie in the room and discussed myriad gear topics. We had similar thoughts on many things, for example agreeing on the importance of olive oil for warmth when sleeping, as fat in the diet at dinner time lights the big logs in the fireplace of the body. Beautiful sunset, great Tex mex dinner, then sleep. We got up at 5:30 and I walked with him to the shuttle rendezvous, meeting the drivers and other people. They took off and I contented myself with a day alone. I bought food and other supplies like ibuprofen and nail clippers. I met some other hikers in the store. Hilariously, one guy had the trail name Baby Jesus. I've met several people coming back through Lordsburg after the first leg from the border, and... Well... No one had anything good to say. Lots of sunburned legs, folks saying I'm smart to wear pants. The heat is apparently intense and demoralising. One guy said "by the end of the ...
Read more

84 miles down, heading north to Silver City

Image
Here is a picture from Thursday when we were dropped off. It was 10 in the morning, and the heat was climbing... We were eager to leave! I'm wearing the green shirt. On my right side are Ruiboos, Brock, Bass and Bad Noodle in the lower row. Bass is a chef in Portland. Ruiboos and Brock are from England, and this is their honeymoon! On the other side, Caveman is on the monument too. He's hilarious... Unfortunately, also very fast, and after today I might not see him again... He headed out tonight for Silver City. Next to him are Slim, Michael on the far left, and Brainstorm on the bottom. Slim, Brainstorm and I will head out in the morning, along with GG and Blueberry. It's amazing to see high mountains in the far distance, shimmering in the haze... And know that not only will you reach them... You'll pass even those mountains by and keep moving north. We are all dreaming about pine trees on the slopes of Burro Mountain, which we'll probably reach Tuesday...
Read more

well, shucks

Image
I arrived at the ghost ranch to pick up my food resupply, enjoy a shower and washing machine only to find that the forest service has announced that all forests in the state are indefinitely closed. I got a ride from a nice older lady with a small daschund... She also fit the Czech couple Fuego and Master Chef in, along with the Britisher Blink. Now I'm in Chama, sharing a room with fellow hiker The Jesus. I've got equipment coming here in the next days. It's very tough to find a place to stay... People are doubling and tripling up. Soon hikers from lower in New Mexico will begin streaming into town, as this is the gateway to Colorado. So...I didn't achieve my goal of walking all the way across New Mexico. Some admirable people are waking the highway for 120 miles in order to maintain a continuous footpath across the state. Me? Well, I got into those higher mountains a few days ago, and found I have no desire for that. I'll take the loss, rest the body, do some writ...
Read more