Melinda and Vivaldi Miles-Lindberg
May 27- June 10
Santa Fe Basin to Santa Barbara campground — May 27 – June 1
This is when my wife decided to leave the trail because of Middle Fork.
Four zero days to buy a single sleeping bag, learn Gaia, change to cold – soaking food so I could finish alone. Ingrid was the navigator and cook.
June 6 – Day hike from Santa Barbara to Agua Piedra campground – slept at Sipapu
June 7 – 10 — Agua Piedra Campground to Taos — I sped up without my wife doing about 15 miles a day
OUR EXPERIENCE: A year ago I decided I needed another mini-adventure. I have ran sled dog races including the Iditarod. I have completed a 500 mile kayak race down the Yukon twice. I thought a short through hike would do the trick for me. To my surprise, there is one right out my back door. Santa Fe Plaza to Taos Plaza.
I put off that adventure for a year mainly to allow my puppy to become a dog. It also gave me time to learn the new rules of backpacking: Light, light, and lighter.
Ingrid decided to join us because of my navigational challenges. She also has been an avid hiker in the past, including two weeks in the Brooks Range. So I watched YouTube, and updated equipment and revamped some of the old. I bought an Inreach Mini, I sawed off part of the external frame on my pack to lighten it up.
As Ingrid works as an elementary music teacher, we did the first 20 miles over two weekends just before Summer Break. Before we left the Santa Fe Plaza, the large plastic buckle on my backpack’s hip belt broke. I shoelaced it together, and realized that the old Kelty would have to be replaced.
Our planned day of departure from the Ski Basin forecasted thunderstorms, so we waited another day. Once off, it was glorious, usually. Ingrid struggled with her asthma but we were enjoying the trail — the views, the wildflowers, the Bighorns. We enjoyed it all, until the MIddle Fork Trail. It slowed us down a day. Acres of downed trees forced us to lose the trail, then refind it. We slept in the trail when we saw no end in sight at 7:30 at night.
When we strolled into Santa Barbara Campground a day late our friend and resupplier met us with Sugar Nymph dinner as well as a hamburger for Vivaldi. There, Ingrid broke the news. She was leaving the trail.
Quickly, I changed gears to my new reality. VV and I took off to complete the route without her. Four days between the Ski Basin and Santa Barbara we had seen no one. I thought of myself as a loner so I didn’t think finishing the trail alone would phase me.
Surprisingly, I missed Ingrid’s company more than I thought I would. VV is a dedicated companion, but not talkative. For four more days I saw no one on the trail. Moreover, I got lost at least once a day, only a little bit but still. Coming into Taos I lost the trail due to the diaspora of mountain biking paths. I called Ingrid to come find me at the Water Tower. She returned me to the trail sans backpack.
A mini-adventure for sure. I am so proud of myself and VV to finish. I am also proud of my wife to make it to Santa Barbara. In a year or two, I’ll do another adventure, perhaps a through hike. But if I have no friend to join me, I may choose one more inhabited, or wait for the rush of summer hikers soon to be on the trail SF2Taos.