CDT trail in the San Pedro wilderness, NM Video

**frenchycamp** · 04-01-2014, 20:06

Well, 2 weekends in a row backpacking. After last weekend solo trip in Bandelier, https://www.hammockforums.net/forum/...ing-trip-Video I hooked up with Priller whose ankle was feeling better, and jrs62284 who just moved to New-Mexico from Wisconsin, for a little trip in the San Pedro wilderness. I am planning this summer to do the the 200+ miles CDT section from the same start to Pagosa Springs, so I thought it would be nice to be familiar with the first few miles. I think we were, at least I was, expecting a nice spring hike with some snow on the trail here and there and a low in the 20's. What we got after the first 5-6 miles was postholing knee deep on unbroken trails and a low of 12ºF. The further we went the crazier it got, so we decided to do a one night versus two, considering we didn't have snow shoes, or boots for that matter, and it would have been all postholing (see the last minute of the video) for the last 10miles or so we were thinking of doing on the second day. It certainly was a little challenging at times but a lot of fun! Hope you enjoy....

P.S The car shots at the very beginning is probably 20 minutes from the trail head. Who would have thunk we were gonna hike in 2+ feet of snow! That's what I like about New-Mexico. Oh and elevation were we slept was around 10000ft

**TallPaul** · 04-01-2014, 21:29

Another beautiful area.
That's one part of the country I haven't been to.

It looked like some tough hiking - at least the part you were post holing.
Did the conversation go something like "you first", "No, go ahead, I insist".

**frenchycamp** · 04-02-2014, 08:42

Originally Posted by TallPaul

Another beautiful area.
That's one part of the country I haven't been to.

It looked like some tough hiking - at least the part you were post holing.
Did the conversation go something like "you first", "No, go ahead, I insist".

Yeah pretty much! Actually I volunteered for this one, it was on the way back and I realized I didn't have any footage of us post holing, so I asked Jesse to film me. But yeah, on the way up we all took turns being the first one in line.

**priller** · 04-02-2014, 09:40

Whooo buddy another signature hike.

So I called this trip, and was pretty bummed with the conditions, was hoping for much better. At the very least I expected the park meadows to somewhat devoid of snow since it is fully exposed for many many hours of sunlight, which would allow us to roam around; in fact the CDT stays on those parky areas for a good while. Nein. Instead there were insulating layers of ice/snow that created tricky slabs. As soon as we started hitting the snow on the way up, I was pissed haha. The postholing was even more epic than what made it into the video, waist deep through the trees. We got to the top of the parks around 7pm, frantically searching for water and a place to hang....ugh. Coyotes were awesome at night....

Was good exploration trip, and I think I will use that trail from now on to gain access to that wilderness area....much better than San Gregorio lake, and very cool to walk on the CDT. I'm thinking of hitting it again in 30 days, see how it is then.

Ya I don't think who was going first was really a problem, we all took turns plowing. Route finding would be more accurate as sometimes we needed to get off of the trough trail to make traveling somewhat more efficient....Frenchy says "give me a signal before you are about to fall through the snow so I can take a video!" haha.

most common phrase: "where is the trail?" "oh here it is" kind of like this video which is awesome https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uU21JAyQAmM

**frenchycamp** · 04-03-2014, 09:14

most common phrase: "where is the trail?" "oh here it is" kind of like this video which is awesome https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uU21JAyQAmM

Yep, we weren't lost just misplaced!

**priller** · 04-03-2014, 09:39

Haha, yup, thanks G.

I mentioned it before, but I think that hikes like this are really good for you. It's a gear shakedown, but for your body and mind. Take you out of your comfort-zone, and force you to push through nagging thoughts, or tired legs. You have to have a decent head on your shoulders to head off-trail in most situations, never mind this situation.....just keep going up....at least this climb was pretty straightforward, not "around the next bend" type of thing. Hiking this summer will be a literal breeze.....I think it took us almost 4 hrs to top out at the Parks, in the summer we will do it in like 2 hours I bet.

Didn't mention it before, but it was very cool to have another HF guy on the trip. It's fun to sit around with people you just met and each of you is immediately familiar with:

SHUG
super cat stove
carbon felt
Skurka
ULA
dynaglide
DIY stuff
CDT

**jrs62284** · 04-04-2014, 06:08

Yeah, it was great to get out! It was a rough hike, but good for the spirit. The video definitely doesn't do the postholing justice... Should have had the video of me laying my chest across the snow to get out of the waist deep stuff. "G" good luck on the through hike... looks like you might get "lost"... if you end up in Wisconsin instead of Colorado give me a call, I know a great burger joint lol. That hike was amazing with those mountain views. I can only imagine how nice the summer hike will be.