Monthly Archives: May 2018

Day 39, 860 Miles – Slogging through the San Juan Mountains of Colorado

An update.

Well, the trail has morphed from a desert meander in New Mexico to slogging my way through the San Juan mountains of Colorado trying to find the trail under a bunch of snow and ice.

Hard going.

My daily mileage has dropped to 20 miles a day.

Mostly because of post-holing through wet snow, tree blow downs and navigational mysteries trying to figure out where the hell the trail went to.

All good fun. But taking 12 hours to go 20 miles can make you question the wisdom of such endeavors.

Now in Pagosa Springs, Colorado, waiting for my ice ax when the post office opens tomorrow. And then off for seven days of more of the same and the end of the San Juan‘s.

Hope all is well wherever you all find yourselves.

Steven “Blast” Halteman, signing off from the CDT

(Canada is only a couple thousand miles away.)

Fence that surrendered

Trail Marker

Find the bird.

Once a homestead

Man in black (trail name) on the move. A guy I teamed up with to make it through this section. Going solo would be a little silly.

A pose before heading up and over the mountains in the background.

An example of one of those challenges. You can spot the trail section in the middle of the mountain slope. The snow and ice cover either end. Which makes slipping and sliding all part of the fun. Hopefully nothing permanent. Doesn’t look like much from afar. But when you’re up there on the slope there are times when you must check your shorts.

Always north. Canada only a couple thousand miles away.

Day 27, Miles 750 – Cheated Death Again!

(On the CDT – May 23, 2018)

Well, everything was going along fine.

Which always should be a warning.

And then the wheels came off.

An irresistible side trip was to occur…wait for it…

Bearing points.

Home for the night. So far I’ve only set my tent up once the very first night because of threatening rain. Since then all dry and stargazing.

Morning trail

A valley to look forward to.

Sand river

A collared lizard. So wild and unused to humans that I put the camera about 3 inches from its head. The only cannibal lizard in the States. Eats other lizards as well as its own.

I dubbed it camel rock.

Even the cactus is in the swing of spring.

Windmill fallen from grace

Typical water source. This one is actually a spring. It was one similar to this that was to take me down.

Following the top of the Mesa

Excellent irony

Spacing out on a break

Old Indian sweat lodge on the way out of Ghost Ranch

My ambulance (see below).

Note my pack strapped to the top.

Here’s the abbreviated story. So about five days ago I came down with Giardia. Picked up from one of those water sources where I figured it was OK not to treat the water.

Giardia is an intestinal parasite that basically tears you apart inside.

Your belly swells, you constantly burp sulfur. And you projectile shit mustard incessantly. You can’t sleep or hold any water or food in.

After a couple of days wasting away by a stream I began to doubt my ability to hike forward. Which was unfortunate because there was still 70 miles to go to civilization.

I got a little gloomy about my future.

And then I heard a chainsaw in the far distance.

Managed to get up the mountain where two guys were cutting up fallen logs.

In exchange for loading up the trailer and truck with wood I got a ride to Espanola 80 miles away.

Five logs in and then out behind a tree. The two guys couldn’t stop laughing.

In Espanola an urgent care doctor confirmed my diagnosis and the fact that I had dropped 20+ pounds.

But all good now.

Antibiotics, multiple large pizzas and HBO have nursed me back to health.

Back on the trail tomorrow.

My ambulance.

Avoided.

But in Espanola I found my dream camper van. You can still make out “Bus” on the side. Going to make an offer this afternoon. Drop a 350 in it, five speed, 4 Wheel Dr. and put a bed and a little stove in the back. Would be the sweetest touring sugar shack on wheels for Klaire and I.

Found my dream camper van in Espanola.

This is Steven “Blast” Halteman, signing off.

See you soon, from somewhere on the CDT.

Day 18 on the CDT, 553 Mostly Solo Miles and Some Interesting Podcasts

(Somewhere in New Mexico, on the CDT, May 10, 2018) Hello all. Still cruising along making good time. Everything seems to be holding together. Physically anyway. Mentally though things have slipped a little. I’ve noticed hours on end where I don’t have a thought. So I’ve taken to late afternoon podcasts. Now listening to a 20 hour dialectic on the origins of World War I. Yes indeed. Have hiked solo the whole way. So far. Haven’t met anyone that matches my approach/pace. But that’s just fine. Hope all is chipper wherever you are.

And, no, I’m not captioning these yet…just some memorable moments along the trail. Enjoy!