Day 22 (May 17, 2021)

TLC Ranch to Cebollo Alt mile 12.0 (Redline mile 430.1 to 442.1 then 12.0 on Cebollo Alt. 24.0 mile total)

The rooster at TLC Ranch is a hard worker. He started crowing early and persistently. I get up early anyway on the trail. So I got up, ate, and packed up, the first one out.

I saw several sets of deer early, which was fun. No good pictures though. The road walk continued. The first water source was a solar well only seven miles away, which made for a nice short water carry to start the day. I was disappointed when I reached the well since the sun was shining bright but no water was coming from the hose. Sure, I could collect from the muddy cow poop infused pond with my filter, but I would prefer the good stuff. A little investigation turned up an electrical switch. Sure enough water gushed out. I had to be sure to turn it off when done so as not to make the rancher unhappy.

The scenery changed from there to open sage brush plain, including prairie dogs by the hundreds. There was even some traffic on the road, mainly pickup trucks from the ranches in the area.

A note on my food today: it was great! The hiker who left his resupply at Pie Town had packaged his food by the day and it was self made based on recipes from an app/website called BackCountryFoodie. I had looked into this before my hike but didn’t persue it, well, because I am lazy. Maybe a bad decision. This stuff was delicious and easy to prepare. For breakfast I had a oatmeal-strawberry yogurt (based on dehydrated yogurt and powdered milk), followed by toffee coffee. Lunch was carrot salad. It is calorie packed stuff using things like the powdered milk, olive oil, coconut oil etc. Tomorrow night looks like apple cobbler for desert. Can’t wait....

There are several alternates available starting today. After lunch I started the Cebollo Alternate, mainly to avoid some more road walking and reports said it was scenic. The reports were correct. The trail (not a road!) led up a sandstone canyon that was muti-colored. I even saw a coyote in the trail ahead of me. The only bad news was that the trail was sandy. Not only does it get in your shoes, it slows you down a bit, like walking on the beach. Just life on the CDT. I was feeling tired and found a great little cove of piñon trees to lay out my foam pad under for a power nap. I have done this several times and it really helps out.

At the end of the canyon the trail went up and over a ridge to Sandy Canyon, aptly named. The climb over was not long, but steep and rocky, with a combination of sandstone and volcanic rocks. The trail turned into a Forest Service road at this point down the canyon. I stopped for a break where several hawks were flying around a cliff. Fun to watch.

My goal was the next water source, a solar well. However, it was now overcast and my predicted time to get there would be an hour before sunset so it wouldn’t wouldn’t be running. It turns out I camped about a mile short of the solar well because the canyon was opening back out to flatter land with no trees. It was a little windy and I wanted some cover so I camped in the last set of trees. It turns out I selected a spot with somewhat sandy soil. That means I needed rocks to help anchor my tent stakes. A quick look around, and no rocks nearby. There have been rocks everywhere on this trail but I had selected the one spot in New Mexico without them! I went searching for them, with a bemused group of cows staring across a fence at me. I was able to find six capable stones spread around the area and got set up. That’s a first. Usually I am clearing rocks away from camp.

The overcast sky gave a great momentary show as the clouds broke just enough for the sun to burst out right at sunset, lightning up the opposite canyon wall. It happened so quick I wasn’t able to grab my phone from the tent for a picture. But what a memorable moment.