Day 30: Rio Chama Wilderness into Ghost Ranch

Mileage: 12.2 miles (579.3-591.5)

I woke up this morning to call of the coyote. It's not so much a howl as it is a yip. Almost like there's someone out there accidentally stepping on their tails over and over again.

As I left camp I was surprised at the amount of cow crap along the trail. So much so that I was basically playing hopscotch to avoid it. I was thinking to myself, "what the hell, I thought isn't this supposed to be wilderness?" What is wilderness if cattle can go and shit all over it? Sure enough, ten minutes later I walked past the wilderness boundary sign and the fence. I was definitely inside the wilderness. And so was the cattle tank no more than 100 yards away from the sign.

What got me going even more is that when I hit the trailhead I saw all these notices from the forest service. Santa Fe National Forest supervisor, Maria T. Garcia, had taken the time to make a special order to ban alcoholic beverages, all-terrain vehicles, and even camping for more than 14 days within any 45-day period. But she still allowed cows to crap all over the trail. It just baffled me what our land managers are thinking allowing cattle to roam free in the place "untrammeled by man, where man himself is a visitor." Cows do plenty of trammeling, degrading the ecosystem with every plant they eat and crap they take. They cause soil erosion, decrease available food for native animals, contribute to climate change, and the list goes on. Not to mention the wolves, bears, lions, and every other creature which has been summarily eliminated to make way for these four-legged crap factories. Ok, my tirade is over now, but I'm not apologizing. 

In fact, I posted an excerpt of this on the CDT Facebook group page and some people actually defended the cattle, saying without them, us hikers wouldn't have water since the ranchers are the ones who maintain the ponds along many sections of trail. My response to that is many of the cattle tanks we get water from are totally nasty and funded by the government anyways. In fact, between the Forest Service and the BLM, our government spends nearly $200,000,000 per year on grazing. 

In my research, I found various solutions, the most promising of which would be to allot a a certain amount of money to buy grazing permits back from the ranchers especially in times of drought or low beef prices. This would be financially beneficial to ranchers and in the long-run would actually SAVE taxpayers money, without even taking into account the environmental benefits. This program would be similar to conservation easements, except once the government bought back a lease, the land could forever be retired from grazing. Unfortunately, like much good public policy, this question is less about common sense and more about politics of the West. And when you start talking about wilderness and ranching the debate immediately becomes polarized. 

Ok, now I'm actually done, but I spent a few hours researching this so I had to share what I learned.

Some great places to learn more:

http://www.publiclandsranching.org/htmlres/pp_grazing_wilderness.htm
http://www.andykerr.net/grazing-in-wilderness-parks/

Return to regular scheduled programming...

After doing some cross-country and bushwacking through some very nasty arroyos, I arrived to Ghost Ranch by about noon, which was thankfully just in time for all-you can-eat lunch. AYCE is like a dream come true for a thru-hiker, but it's also dangerous. Before I knew what happened I'd eaten seven green chile tamales, two bean/cheese/and sour cream tacos, and two enormous helpings of salad with avocado, tomatoes, beets, and whole chunks of mozzarella cheese. When I went to get up I could barely move, although I will say I've been more full on the trail.

I spent the rest of the day reading, talking with friends and family, and drinking lots of water to combat my sunburned face. More about Ghost Ranch tomorrow, it's a really incredible place, definitely not what I was expecting!