Well, I rolled back into Houston a couple of days ago. I'm currently sipping a latte and a Aqua Panna mineral water at the Antidote coffee shop beneath the stiff breeze of a an air conditioner working overtime. If all goes as tentatively planned I'll be back on the road in a couple of months. I'm looking into more exotic travel options. Just need to make a little money, buy a ticket or two and obtain some visa's....
My recent road trip turned out to be a good one. I was gone for 3 1/2 weeks. The first week and a half were spent in Denver visiting family and friends as well as working on my mothers home. From there I left on a two week jaunt and didn't think much about anything except what I was doing. I easily fell back into my past interests of climbing peaks, hiking trails, and general roaming about. I camped every night and fixed almost all my meals. I abstained from drinking beer and with hiking everyday I must say I started feeling pretty darned good. I kept expenses way down so it was an economical excursion.
During the two weeks I was happy to climb 4 of Colorado's 100 highest peaks that I have not climbed. So far I've climbed around 70 of the 100 highest. I started off with Clinton peak near Breckenridge and followed it up with Phoenix Peak near Creede. From there I ascended Mt Adams and California Peak in the Sangre de Cristo Range. Each mountain was different which allowed me to resharpen my route finding skills etc. After the first week I became quite acclimated with the altitude and really started to feel like my old self. The way I was back in the day when I'd easily climb 20-25 peaks in summer....
After Colorado I ventured south to New Mexico and hiked New Mexico's highest mountain, Wheeler Peak. It's located near the Toas ski area so that's where I began my ascent. After Wheeler the trip took on a little different meaning as I visited the Sanctuario de Chimayo. It's a very old chapel that is known throughout the world for it's healing attributes. Legend has it that local sand which is collected, blessed, and distributed from a sacred hole in the ground within the chapel contains healing properties. Legend? Thousands of people have visited Chimayo and attest to miraculous healings. Known as the Lourdes of America faith plays a powerful role. The chapel itself is quite amazingly beautiful with it's simple yet lavish Mexican/Spanish decor. I was actually quite moved by the place. I could sense all of those who have come to Chimayo in the spirit of faith asking to be blessed and healed. One room is filled with crutches etc. from those who claimed to be healed. I wanted to take photos of the chapel interior but respected the Priests wishes that photos not be taken inside... Before leaving I filled a small container with sacred sand and now have it sitting with some of the items I obtained while walking the Camino de Santiago last fall...
After Chimayo I continued further south to Guadalupe Mountains National Park in West Texas. The Guadalupe Mountains hold a special place in my heart as I consider it to be the place where I really became a hiker. It was there that I first carried a backpack for a real overnight trip in the wilderness. It's also the place where I hiked with a character by the name of Bob Dean who first turned me on to the Appalachian trail. I made 4 trips there during 1983-85. The first was by myself and I hiked into the backcountry with a character I met at the campground there. My second trip was with my father. We did not stay in the backcountry but I did get him to hike up Guadalupe peak. Oddly enough he was the same age at the time as I am now, 43. The third trip was with Bob Dean. I had met him through collecting beer cans and we also shared the interest of hiking. Bob and I hike up Guadalupe Peak at the beginning of a week long West Texas hiking trip during the summer of '84. We camped just off the summit in what today is still the windiest night I've ever camped. The Ranger station that night had recorded 100 mph gusts. We literally thought we were going to be blown off the mountain but obviously we weren't .... The last time I was in the Guadalupe mountains was in 1985. This summer being 2009 marked 24 years later. I once again hiked up Guadalupe Peak and considered it a memorial hike for Bob. He passed away a year and a half ago in the early 70's. In honor of Bob I flew a Welsh flag on the summit. Why? Well, I figured if he was looking down on me he'd be laughing. He was a lover of Real Ale and had made a few trips to the UK back in the day to drink beer and collect beer cans with fellow collectors. On top of Guadalupe peak I said a little prayer for Bob, threw a bit of the sand I acquired from Chimayo and watched a butterfly appear and fly away from the summit......
I finished off the road trip by seeing a West Texas Rainbow and drove it straight through to home. The 80 mph hour speed limit made the trip a lot easier than it was back in the 80's when the speed limit was 55mph!!! Now back home I'm catching up on rest and getting ready to get ready for the next thing.
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