October 9th, 2024
Mile Marker: 2364.8
Miles Hiked: 0
What a day.
To make a long story short, Journey and I decided that I should head back out to trail and complete the last part of my triple crown while he stayed back with family.
It was not an easy decision for either of us. I had many tears as I was battling what to do. I didn’t want to leave but it made sense for me to go back out sooner than later and meet our tramily to finish up. I plan to start my career afterwards and getting a month off will be hard to do for a while. Journey was needed with his family and dad and felt that he could come back at a different time. We also agreed that if he needed me to come back for any reason, I’d pop off trail with ease.
So I made the trip back to Kansas City to get my belongings and spent a couple days getting ready. Today, I woke up at 3:30 AM to catch a flight to Dallas then Albuquerque.
Once in Albuquerque I had some amazing trail magic from my old REI coworker and friend Eli. They moved to Albuquerque a couple years ago and connected me with Lanae who would be able to drive me from the airport to Cuba, New Mexico. It’s so nice to have friends in different parts of the US.
Lanae was so sweet and we found ourselves chatting the whole way. I was so blessed that these plans fell into place. I also chose to skip from Chama to Cuba so that I could hike with other hikers, this was around 150 miles. Eventually I’d love to come back and finish those miles up.
I arrived in Cuba to Whatever and Aster’s hotel room around noon. It was a surreal feeling. I felt like I had been gone for so long and started to get used to the idea that I might not get back out as I settled into a new routine.
But that little voice in the back of my head told me I needed to get back out, that I wasn’t done with the CDT yet. Having to suddenly get off trail made me realize how much I wanted to be on trail, that I wasn’t yet done even though it’s been a tough ride.
I felt weird without Journey and was on the brink of tears frequently. I think we get so used to having our person around that when we are separate it feels a bit shocking. Bittersweet is the best word I can use to describe how I felt. I wish I could be in two places at once.
I did a few town chores such as picking up a fuel can and few other items then we spent the rest of the day lounging around watching TV. It was good to rest and get fully mentally prepared to head back out.
Eventually Twilight stopped by and decided he would stay with us too.
I’m doing my best to stay present and take this all day by day. I didn’t take many photos as I just felt weird but will get back on my normal blogging tomorrow.
About 3 weeks to go to finish this dang thing up.
New Mexico, here I come.
Much love,
Iz and Oz
Izzy + Ozzy 
I was in Cuba for a funeral last month. The drive from Santa Fe was beautiful! The walls of the hills held many colors and textures. We stayed in the hills at Cochiti campground.
We also were in Cimmaron, Taos and Albuquerque. But Cuba had the best restaurant. A small place called El Bruno Restaurant. Family owned and great service! We bought extra sopapillas and we had some honey along – polished them off in a hurry! GB was feeding them to me as we drove. I’d go back just for those!
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Sorry to hear you were out here for a funeral but sounds like you guys were able to see some great sites! This area is so beautiful!
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