607.9 to Del Prado Motel in Cuba, NM (629.1) (21.2 total)

Town day. Though my average mileage has worked out as planned since Grants, it does mean getting into town later in the day. I need to work on getting into town earlier in the day so as to only spend a night and not a full zero.

The map showed several ups and downs with a very big and steep climb up onto a mesa where Cuba, resides. And, of course, the first goal of the day, was a well/water trough.

I had a critter visit during the night. I awoke sometime to hear some rustling noises from my backpack. Some small creature like a chipmunk or squirrel was exploring around. It ran off as I said something and before I could turn on my headlamp. (Side note: I recommendation I try follow is to leave no food in my backpack at night and to leave any pockets where food had been stored open. I had done that but had missed a drink packet in one hip belt pocket. The thief had tried to make off with that.)

The first part of the trail was a descent since I had camped on a mesa. The basic theme for today’s trail was to walk on rocky trail, including lots of solid sandstone marked by cairns and then descend to a sandy trail leading to the next climb to a high area.

I didn’t take many pictures on a day that deserved much more. I guess I was focused on getting to town and was worried about the ‘big’ climb of the day.

The water source was only 6 miles into the day. It was slightly off trail at the end of a little box canyon. Though the spring was piped, the flow rate was very slow. Good water, but it took longer than planned to fill up my collection bag and filter. Still, very good, clear, and cold. Thankful to have it.

A short hike from the spring and I could start seeing ‘the big one’, the mesa I was to climb. Like others, it was multi-colored, with grey, whites, reds, and yellows layered up. And it was also eroded into various formations and with large piles of eroded rocks at its base. From a distance, it was hard to see how a trail could get to the top without climbing equipment. But, it had always worked out.

This one worked out a little different than the others. The trail approached straight on at first into the scattered boulders at the bottom, then turned to the right in the grey dirt material. This led to an interesting trail dug into the side and dodging big yellow boulders. And it kept going this way for a while without making much altitude gain. The grey stuff isn’t much fun to walk on. It is a clay-like material that stays lumped together after getting wet (which had apparently happened recently) and crumbles when stepped on. Makes for a loose trail across a sometimes steep slope. But there were lots of interesting rocks eroding out as well.

It became obvious the trail designer was looking for a place to go up. And it came abruptly. The trail rapidly turned left almost straight up. Though there were some switchbacks, they were short. It was mostly stepping up into stones somewhat stair-like or simple rock-scrambling. I had to throw my trekking poles up onto rocks ahead of me several times. No looking backwards! Don’t read this mom.

Getting to the top was a relief as well as a proud moment for myself. I downed a copious amount of water and took off. And the trail was flat, so my pace picked up. Still more stunning scenery; yawn.

The last 4.5 miles into Cuba is a paved road walk. No fun but at least faster. There are three motels in Cuba and are not known for their customer service. One does not ‘open’ until 2 PM (?!), one is pretty much run by one lady (including cleaning rooms) and so may not answer the phone or return calls and only takes cash at the moment, and another that seems to not know how many rooms are available. The last one showed no vacancy so I didn’t try. The second I had left several messages with no answer. It turns out a large group of hikers were at the second one already and the lady was at the desk with one room available. Yeah! I forked over the cash and had a bed and shower in a rather dated place. No problem.

This hotel is centrally located with easy access to a grocery store and several places to eat. It was great hanging out with the other hikers. A friend of one was there cooking a large meal for everyone. Fun times. All had already been in town a day so we’re leaving the next day. I had already decided to zero the next day.