Course Correction

I wrote four more posts from the trail, and I'll post them over the next few days. Before I do, I thought it would be good to share my decision to take a break, let my feet heal, strengthen my ankles and shins and begin hiking again in 4-5 weeks. The hike out of Pie Town, New Mexico was dirt roads for 42 miles, but the final 34 miles into Grants, New Mexico was paved highway, and when I reached the pavement, I knew it was time to take a break. Pavement is very hard to hike on! I hitched a ride into Grants with a Navajo family that lives on a reservation just outside of Gallop, New Mexico. I spent a night in Grants and endured a 23 hour bus ride home on a Grayhound bus.

In addition to my injuries, hikers have been reporting serious amounts of snow in northern New Mexico and southern Colorado. Posts in the CDT16 Facebook group by hikers ahead of me report conditions requiring snow shoes, crampons, ice axes and winter clothing. The most recent group to attempt the San Juan mountains in southern Colorado, turned back after three days. My plan is to return to the trail at the Canadian border and hike south back to New Mexico. By the time I reach Colorado, the snow should be gone and I should have a much more pleasant and safe hike.

A 2015 CDT hiker went missing last year and on Friday, May 13, his body was found by 2016 CDT hikers in a restroom in a remote campground near Chama, New Mexico. It appears he died of exposure. Here is a link to the local news article. It's a sad story and a reminder that hiking the CDT is a serious undertaking and not without risks. This is another reason I want to return to the trail in top physical condition and avoid the current snow conditions in Colorado.

I want to say thank you to everyone who has been reading my blog, praying for me and leaving me encouraging notes. It has been a real blessing to read your comments whenever I have cell service. I am not giving up, just taking time to rest, heal, and regroup. I am disappointed that I could not proceed with a continuous thru-hike, but the CDT is not an easy trail and flipping to Canada and hiking south is a common practice. The strong El Niño weather conditions this season have created a late snow season for the southern part of the trail and I expect many hikers will also be flipping in the coming weeks.

On the plus side, I'm home and with Eva for the first time in 21 days! It was great to see her, and I look forward to her great cooking, excellent back rubs, and sleeping in a bed! While I'm home I plan to write some additional blog posts about the trail and share some theological ideas I have pondered while hiking. It's so much easier to write when you have a keyboard!

Butter Fingers