April 16-18, 2016

Going to Fort Collins was a win-win-win-win situation for everyone involved. Corey and I benefitted because we were able to drive Duke to Dany who was kind enough to doggy sit while we vacation to the Philippines and we finally get to explore FoCo! Dany benefitted because I would accompany her during the the drive to drop Joe off in NM, and because she would gain a little furry companion for the next 6 weeks. Joe benefitted because Dany and I would be able to drop him off to start his hike. And Corey benefitted because he was able to get some rest and relaxation for the weekend without anyone there to bother him (except Duke). This plan progressively came together on its own  better than any of us could’ve hoped for. The timing was flawless and we all couldn’t have been happier!

The only hitch was an unexpected snow storm that was set to roll through Colorado the day we planned on driving to Lordsburg. Original weather reports warned of 18+ inches of snow in some of the mountain passes. Regardless of how we altered our route to NM, it looked liked we would still hit a significant amount of snow on mountain roads. Knowing that, we adjusted out plans to depart Fort Collins a day early.

TO NM:
Despite leaving Fort Collins early Friday morning with barely any sight of flurries, we began seeing steady snowfall within an hour as we approached Denver. The snow continued to pick up as we were heading south and the large amount of over confident drivers on the highways just made things worse. I’ve driven in a fair share of blizzards and the “Snowpocalypse” two winters ago, but these conditions were a whole new level of scary. Not only was there a significant amount of snowfall, but there was also the blinding glare from sun reflecting off the pure white powder everywhere!!!! My eyes hurt so badly from trying to keep them open, I gave up after a while and slept until we passed the storm. During the time I was actually awake, I saw a handful of accidents and at least a dozen cars that ended up stuck in ditches. Even after the snow cleared, there was still crazy weather with high winds, rain, and occasional hail. Props to Joe for the amazing driving skills and getting us to Albuquerque after 9 hours of continuous high grade vigilant driving.

If you thought New England weather was crazy, Colorado weather is worse. It fluctuates just as much, but at a much more rapid pace. Fort Collins saw about an inch of snowfall that day, a warm spring day the next, and then 80 degree weather by the end of the week!

Dany, Joe and I stayed for a night in Albuquerque to break up the drive to Lordsburg. We indulged in Animal Planet and coincidentally watched Dr. Jeff visit the farm that Dany would soon be working on! We had planned on watching the special at some point, but were complete shocked when the show advertised llamas in Salida after the commercial break! We had some hotel food, enjoyed a fireworks show for Albuquerque’s birthdate and then called it a night.

OFF TO LORDSBURG!

It was ONLY a 4.5 hour drive to Lordsburg the next morning! After arriving, it didn’t take long for us to see that not much goes on in this town. Surprisingly, this location is the most popular among CDT hikers, so it’s pretty safe to assume that everyone was either a local or a hiker. Joe booked a shuttle that would take him and 9 other hikers to the trailhead on Tuesday morning. The hotel and shuttle were both fully booked!

Due to its “popularity,” I think we all expected to explore the town a bit. I flipped open  the book that’s always provided by hotels to see what was in the area. There was a 1 page spread of restaurants with less than a handful of places to eat and grand total of 3 points of interests! One was ghost town, one was a trading post, and one was western wear shop… Seeing that we weren’t interested in buying anything and didn’t want to go church hopping (there were a ton of churches!), we decided to check out the ghost town.

After about 2 minutes of driving, we arrived at the ghost town only to find the fence to the entrance locked. Turns out the ghost town is only open to exploring when tours are being provided… which is twice a month. Bummer!!! With hours of kill, we decided to have a little a fun with the next best option… a drive to a Love’s travel shop (AKA a gas station) at the next highway exit!! Of course, Dany and I loaded up on some junk food for the road trip. Instead of taking the highway back, we drove along the backroad to see more of Lordsburg. It was shocking to see to the number of run down buildings that were completely deserted at this point. We saw buildings that were once restaurants and cafes, motels, apartment complexes…etc. Now they’re just empty shells that look like they can crumble at any second. I wonder what happened to Lordsburg, because supposedly this town was once bustling. Now it’s probably the closest thing to being a ghost town without actually being one. This place gave me a whole new meaning to the word “remote.”

We returned to the hotel to eat some subs and binge watch Modern Family. The next morning, Dany and I would leave Joe in Lordsburg to make our way back to Fort Collins.

I find it so crazy that people thru hike these ridiculously long trails. I can understand why people do it and why they become addicted, but it’s still a crazy venture! It’s been just under 2 weeks since Joe has started his hike, and he seems to be doing well! Actually, I’m sure he’s kicking CDT butt!