WalkingCarrot

After breakfast and a long walk through town we left Grants, continuing to walk north past the prison. Cholla were in full bloom alog the road leaving town. We turned up hill on real trail tread to climb to the top of the cliffs forming the edge of Horace Mesa. There is new trail which we follow insted of the road.  The nice new trail tread turns to a series of cairns and CDT signs with rougher footing.

Horace mesa is flat, but not level; it’s tilted so that the trail gradualy gains elevation as it approaches Mt Taylor. We start on wide open sparsely vegetated terrain, but as we climb more of the mesa, the trees turn into ponderosa and everything is more green, lush and thickly vegetated.

We had hoped to get to Gooseberry springs by day’s end, but our late start and a rougher than expected hike across the mesa leave us short of this goal by a couple of miles. Not a big deal except that we now need to make our limited remaining water work for camp and the next morning.  We sip infrequently and with care in the evening.

Although it began clear, the day turned to clouds overhead and all around. We hurry dinner and tent preparations so we are not caught out in the rain.

15.5 miles