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| Hiking | 2.20 Miles |
789 AEG |
| | Hiking | 2.20 Miles | 1 Hour 34 Mns | | 2.06 mph |
| 789 ft AEG | 30 Mns Break | | | |
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| no partners | | After Maple Peak, I drove into Glenwood, NM to stock up on water and noticed that I was right near the turn for the Catwalk, [which had come up in pretty much every search I did for hikes in the area when I had been planning this trip]. Despite hotter temps and a more challenging route to the summit, I somehow had a lot more energy after Maple Peak than after the previous day’s hike to Holt Mountain; and since I was right nearby and it was a short hike, I decided that checking out the Catwalk would be a perfect way to spend the afternoon.
Despite the crowds, the Catwalk is really beautiful and I thoroughly enjoyed myself. A fit looking guy at the TH informed me that it was possible to continue up the canyon, past the official end of the portion of the Catwalk that had been rebuilt/reopened after severe fire/flood damage; and I did just that; [although starting to tire from the 11+ mile hike to Maple Peak earlier that day, it wasn’t log before I thought about turning back].
A few people that were heading back out of the canyon mentioned something about a ‘really neat waterfall just a short ways up.’ Of course I had to continue! A few minutes later, I came upon the waterfall. It was a small one but still very beautiful and made for a perfect turnaround point. I took some photos and thoroughly enjoyed spending several minutes soaking in the pool at the base of the falls. The water came a few inches above my knees and provided some much needed relief for my tired muscles.
I headed back to the TH feeling very refreshed, [but also a little concerned that my 10 day mountain getaway might be slashed several days short]… while my body felt golden [for the most part] after soaking in the water pool, the same could not be said for the small area toward the front of my ankle by the bottom part of my shin. I’m not sure whether it’s muscle, tendon, ligament or something else, but whatever it is, I’ve dealt with it since my competitive track days, [over 15 years now], and it typically responds the same way each and every time: the pain peaks within a few hours if I do not rest, ranging in intensity from a full blown 10 to an 8 on the 10 pt pain scale; and whether I rest it immediately [or try to push through it] the pain ultimately becomes unbearable to the point where I am “forced” to rest. The good news is, [despite the accompanying severe to excruciating pain], all pain/soreness always vanishes without a trace within 2 to 5 days, and I do not experience [whatever the heck is going on] for another 1 to 1.5 years, sometimes longer. Go figure that it decided to rear it’s ugly head during my trip!
I left the Catwalk and headed for NM State Road 159, which I’d planned to spend the next few days of my trip. Tons of hikes, summits, and TH’s can be accessed from 159, allowing for many great options. The odds were totally against me in terms of having more than one more day to hike before the pain would force me to rest, but I was prepared to make the most/best of things.
NM State Road 159 is incredibly beautiful; in fact, parts of it are on par with Yosemite. About 9 miles after turning onto 159, the road passes right through the really neat ghost town of Mogollon. The combination of sensational views along with the super neat ghost town made this one of the neatest dirt roads I’ve driven/explored since having moved out West.
Shortly after driving through Mogollon, I was almost out of daylight and squeezed into the small pullout type of TH for the Redstone Trail #206 behind another vehicle to car-camp for the night. I didn’t want to continue driving after dark and miss out on the amazing scenery. |
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| God save the Prom Queen, cuz [reality check!] AEG's King...! |
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