Double Zero

It felt great to sleep in and have a liesurely breakfast.  But we both felt antsy and restless, ready to get back on trail.  So we waited up at the office for UPS to arrive.  The truck pulled up at 2 pm but my package was not in it!  What??  A few phone calls later, my package was being returned to sender and a new package is being sent to Chama.  It's fleece pants that I ordered for the cold nights.  By this time it was dinner and friends had hiked in so we got sucked into the vortex of staying at Ghost Ranch another night.  

It was a good thing to because a big storm came in and it rained all night.  We stayed dry and slept well in the RV.  Tomorrow we will head out first thing.  Sometimes you just gotta roll with it.

An Unexpected Zero

My package did not arrive as expected but UPS assured me that it will arrive tomorrow.  And so we are taking an unplanned zero.  There have been a lot of zeros!  But Ghost Ranch is a great place and cheap.  Due to snow ahead there's no hurry and since we have packages in Chama there's no point in getting there on the weekend.

I had a delicious breakfast in the cafeteria, toured the Paleontology and anthropology museums, and checked out the library.  

The museums detailed digs on Ghost Ranch property including a small dinosaur excavation that is international recognized as the largest and very significant.  Cool stuff!  Also lots of ice cream provided for hikers from Kale, a cook here.  Also fun to see friends hike in.  

Best zero ever!

Here is a video shot at our campground. Film credits go to Pounce.  Ok app won't let me access my video so go to my Facebook page to view.  

Food

One of the most common topics of conversation amongst thru hikers is food.  Yes, it's all about the food.  What are you eating for dinner? For lunch?  Can I taste that?  Yummy, this is the best of my dehydrated dinners yet!  What are you craving in town?  I can't wait to get ice cream.  And on and on.  I like to make up silly songs about food.  This hike I added dehydrated veges from Harmony House to my dinner creations and used a variety of spices.  I've been very happy with the results.  My favorite dinner so far was a yellow curry dish.  My favorite town food is the green chili cheeseburger.  My favorite trail snack is the salted caramel hazelnut spread on a granola bar.  Hiker hunger is a beast but it's great to be able to eat as much as I want.  I try not to go to overboard though.  I lost 25 pounds when I hiked the PCT but I learned a lot from it so this hike I've been able to stay at a healthy weight.

Pounce and I ended up taking an unanticipated zero day in Cuba.  By the time we got our town chores done it was afternoon and more thunderstorms were coming in.  We weren't going to hike out in bad weather.  So we will be getting up very early tomorrow to make tracks.

Introspection

My hike got off to a rough start.  I got sick, hiked alone for a week, was homesick, wasn't "feeling it", and my heart wasn't in it.  I didn't understand why.  I'd been wanting to hike this trail for two years and here I was!  Why wasn't my heart in it?  In hindsight there were many contributing factors including preconceived ideas since this wasn't my first through hike.  Once I threw it all out the window, kept an open mind and found my "people", it started getting better.

A few mornings ago I woke up with a memory of my sister Lori and I playing "let's explore" with Cheetah and Rufus (stuffed animals).  It brought a smile to my face and gave my heart a profound flip.  Instead of a groan at the hard section ahead I felt anticipation.  This trail is all about exploration.  It's not one continuous path.  It's multiple routes.  Pick one.  Pounce has been telling me about an alternate route through Yellowstone.  The official route cuts the western corner and follows the Idaho/Montana border.  The route we want to do goes through the eastern part of the park by Cody and reconnects with the CDT near Helena.  It's more scenic, passes through some cool towns, and is a tad shorter.  I'm soo excited about this plan!  And the whole trail is this way which appeals to my sense of adventure. I've found my groove, gotten into the rhythm of trail life, getting stronger every day, and falling in love with the CDT.  This is fun!

How to filter yucky cow water:  1. Pour water through bandanna several times to remove floaties.  2.  Treat with bleach or chlorine tabs.  3.  Squeeze through filter.  4.  If really bad boil the heck out of it after above steps.

The End