Figure 8 On A Bike

* Day 1: Get out of the cabin by 6:05 AM; our easy days at Twin Lakes come to an end. Susan's mom and dad drive us the hour down to Poncha Springs , and we hug goodbye feeling so grateful that they made sure we could be part of the family trip. First step: coffee and bagel sandwiches from the FlaminGo food truck. Second step: hitchhike further to Saguache. We've barely even posted up under the highway sign when a Dodge cargo van pulls over and a van-lifer says he can take us there. He's a paramedic from Austin with a 16-year-old dog who gets to mostly set his own schedule and spends a lot of time in the area; he really likes the FlaminGo. The FlaminGo is a place of good fortune. The interior of the van is wood-paneled with care and sports a few nice paintings. The driver makes a reference to previously having a wife, but I leave that stone unturned. Susan's in the back, sitting on the floor; at least she has more space than when we were both tessellated in the trunk o...

It's time for us to crash someone else's travel plans: Susan's mom, dad, sister, and our two nieces were in Colorado for a week, so we got to join for their last 3 days around Twin Lakes and Leadville . 3 days of walking less than 2 miles a day, hanging out and recovering around the spacious "cabin" up on the hill above Twin Lakes, and eating as much food as we can. Even better, they brought a bag that had new shoes for us, and we could send a few extraneous items (like the Microspikes, no longer needed for the mostly-thawed mountains) back home. The convenience! Definitely worth it for cramming into the trunk of the Forester and trying not to bang our heads along bumpy dirt roads; who knew the Forester was a 7 passenger vehicle? 

  * Day 1: After enough watermelon and brownies in Lake City , we talked with the minister of the Presbyterian Church on our way out of the hiker center. He offered to find us a ride if we couldn't hitchhike within an hour. What a kind bunch of folks. We were supposed to stop at the store for sunscreen but after a few minutes of walking down the road a blue Subaru Crosstrek pulled over in front of us; the driver got out and shouted us over as she began rearranging luggage and the dog to make space for us. A hitch without even asking? Can't pass that up! So we climbed on in, sunscreen be damned. The driver and her friend were in Lake City for a stargazing festival, eagerly awaiting nightfall, when the observatory would open. She had some thru-hikers in her life, so was very friendly to us. Insisted we take some plums because "I know you aren't eating any fruit". Dropped back off at Spring Creek Pass about eight hours after leaving. Packs are heavy with... a kind ...

 * Day 0: Zero day in Silverton . Already finished groceries and laundry yesterday so hoping the day feels relaxed. Breakfast and coffee at the Coffee Bear. Silverton is pricey but the food is all really good. Spent almost $200 on groceries yesterday for just a 3 day section - Susan is worried I'm going to eat our savings. I eat like all the time while we're hiking and still need more calories. Susan has lost noticeable weight; I've lost some, but also seem to have new muscles in my legs. After breakfast I dunk my air mattress in the tub and think I spy the leak as little bubbles stream up from near the nozzle. Fixing gear, packing groceries, playing NY Times games, going back to the grocery store; the time goes more quickly than I want. Manage to find daytime Simpsons for most of the afternoon. Spend a solid hour sewing our shoes back together - they're in rough shape. Yesterday I looked down in dismay and found that the entire inside forefoot of my left shoe had blow...

* Day 0: Zero day in Pagosa Springs . Breakfast followed by errands followed by chores all permeated with slight fretting over the next section of trail. How will the snow be? What kind of mileage can we make? Weather? Elevation? Our next resupply spot is Silverton - will we really be able to hitch a ride on a 4x4 road late on a Tuesday? Turns out there's actually a "wilderness access" train stop we can use to board the Durango-Silverton line... But will we really be able to get there in time for an 11:15 AM train? Challenge accepted. We mostly eat in the hotel room, watching the budget and surprisingly inconveniently located for any compelling restaurants. Pagosa is a bit of a strange town, east and west parts separated by 4 miles of highway with a sparse assortment of businesses in between, including our hotel. There are no sidewalks on any of the streets and you're constantly a tradfic hazard as a pedestrian. The local bus helps and every ride is honestly enjoyabl...

* Day 0: Zero day in Chama . Breakfast at Fina's Diner with ASAP - chicken fried steak  with an egg and hash browns. ASAP is heading home tomorrow, with a pretty battered body and proud of completing the entire New Mexico section. Apparently he's been pulling 20 mile days so more power to him. We talk about family and coffee and how he's donated over 200 pints of blood. Laundry, groceries, lunch, watching daytime TV; I think every other ad is for some new pharmaceutical and every other one of those has group dance numbers. Somehow all the chores are getting done and it's not even getting too late. Sew the small hole in my pants. C4 Farms burger truck for dinner - Susan's green chile cheese steak sandwich disappears in a blink. More popcorn and cereal. We like zero days.   Six more days of food!  

* Day 1: Woke up in Chama feeling pretty lousy. Nauseous with a headache. Apparently Susan was feeling nauseous too but she complained a lot less than me. Over a little breakfast we chatted with a friendly lady from Texas who informed us that, unlike now, "back in her day people had to work". I was really slow getting my bag back together because I kept taking breaks to hunch over the toilet in case I threw up. By the wee hour of 9 AM we finally checked out of the hotel and walked down the road to the supermarket parking lot to throw out our thumbs. One driver took us a little ways to Tierra Amarilla and pointed out the Sleeping Giant, and then an old man with a poodle in a yellow 2-door pickup let us hop in his bed and dropped us at the gravel road for Ghost Ranch . We failed to get a lift down the road to the ranch and plodded along in the already-hot 11 AM sun. At Ghost Ranch we bought a couple overpriced snacks, learned a bit about Georgia O'Keefe, fantasized about...