At lunch in Ghost Ranch we talked with a fellow who told us of a horse packer who rode the CDT to ‘reassert’ pack access on the trail. It sounded like quite a challenge. It might be a way of putting what we are doing — reasserting bike access on the CDT.
We finally pulled ourselves away from the Ranch. We took a relaxed morning of breakfast, library time, sewing, labyrinth walking and finally lunch.
But we did leave. Riding right out the back to the Box Canyon trail. It was like riding up a new canyon in Moab… sandy dirt road and huge red cliffs. Then the trail devolved into a narrow path full of rock. I knew there would be hike-a-bike but did not expect it so early.
We fought our way up and out of the gorge, stopping to catch breath frequently and pause to slackjaw stare at the scenery. 3 days food meant heavy bikes and packs.
In between pockets of rideable trail was meadows grown in with sage and cactus. It was so narrow that in places we were ‘ghost riding’ our bikes (letting them steer themselves in front of us, while we walked behind). Ghost riding out of Ghost Ranch!
After a big push cross country up a steep and rocky hillside, we finally popped out on a rideable and contouring road. What a relief!
The rest of the afternoon and evening was spent on tiny little 2 tracks, only rarely signed as CDT, and sometimes muddy.
We caught a group of 6 thru-hikers taking a break at an overlook. They had left only a few hours before us, but probably made better time until we got on the roads. It’s been fun to meet more hikers and see some different approaches. There were at least a dozen at the Ranch while we were there.
It’s simply beautiful up here. Simply hard to navigate without a GPS, and maybe even with one.
I’m glad we dragged our bikes up the Ghost Ranch route, but I’m not sure I’d recommend it to anyone else. Hard to know without knowing what the ‘official’ route is like. (Almost all hikers go to the Ranch, because, well, it’s just such an amazing and positive place).
We watched dark and unreal clouds swirl and finally spit a few drops at us, so we finally set up the tarp for the first night of the trip.
There are rumors of mucho new singletrack on up ahead. Tomorrow is an exciting day!
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