Zero in Chama

I split a room with Feral, and we decided to make this a zero day. The weather forecast for Monday is nasty with thunderstorms and the trail north of Cumbres pass is still snowy so an extra day (or two?) will not hurt. Additionally, this town is spread out, so it took some walking to do laundry, shop for resupply, and eat. (Reminder since this is confusing: I am in Chama for the first time, as planned. I hitched from Hwy 84 to the south in order to break up a long section. I still have about 85 miles of trail to reach the Colorado border, and another 7 to reach Cumbres Pass/Highway 17, which also leads to Chama, this time from the north.)

Something different for this post: a discussion about going into the San Juan mountains of southern Colorado. The big problem/discussion/decision for NOBO hikers on the CDT every year is when to attempt the San Juan Mountains of southern Colorado. The problem is snow in general. The CDT crosses steep slopes in this area which is both a hazard for a hiker sliding if you slip and fall and there is an avalanche danger as well. If equipped and experienced for the conditions, it can be done. But, most hikers don’t have that experience. Additionally, as the snow melts and re-freezes in the late spring, it creates a hard upper crust and soft lower levels. As the snow warms during the day, instead of hiking on top of the snow, you start ‘post holing’, where you punch through the upper layer and sink into the soft lower stuff. This leads to at least very slow, unpleasant hiking. The practical effect is taking longer to get to the next resupply town and needing more food. And more snow means harder conditions to camp in, needing warmer clothing etc.

Many hikers this year expected there to be less snow than normal in the San Juans based on conditions several months ago. Though that ended up to be somewhat true, some late snows (as little as two weeks ago) added to the total. As a result, there were some early hikers who spent several weeks in Chama before even making the attempt and a few turned around. Thus why there are many hikers in town.

What to do then? This could be a whole chapter in a book, so I will stick to basics.

1. Many/most hikers pick up some additional gear in Chama to help out. Items such as a heavier jacket, ice axe, and micro spikes are common. (I will discuss those when I come back to Chama the second time.)
2. Wait in Chama or plan your arrival so a lot of the snow is melted. (That is my general plan.) Notice I said ‘a lot’. It is impractical to wait for it to all be gone for a NOBO hike, or you would never complete the hike.
3. Go hike another part of the trail and come back. Some people are doing this. (Lots of possibilities here, so I won’t discuss unless I decide to do it. I am not planning on doing this — yet.)
4. Take an alternate route in southern Colorado that is lower in elevation. Some are already doing this. These routes are also shorter. (The CDT makes a big turn toward the west then back east in southern Colorado. Cutting off that section is a significant mileage reduction.) The problem with this option is that you skip what is known as the one of the top two most scenic sections of the trail. At the moment, I don’t want to do that. I am not ruling out taking an alternate, but not until timing or dangerous conditions force me to.

Why tell you this? Thus is what all the hikers talk about here in Chama.

Final note: Feral decided to hitch back out to the trail tomorrow morning despite the weather forecast. I have decided to ‘double zero’ and get back out on Tuesday. Besides not wanting to experience the line of thunderstorms on Monday, it is another day for the snow to melt north of here, right?