Purgatory - Durango - Ignacio - Arboles - Pagosa Junction - Lumberton - ...
The kindness of the country people, the cultural diversity, and the beautiful scenery bring great warmth to the frosty weather. The route so far has been pretty true to the original path, and comfortably along an old railroad bed. Ironically, it seems, the rail line superseded the wagon trail and the highway to the north superseded the rail line, which was ripped out by the end of the 1960s. The towns have shrunk or disappeared. Seeing on the map that the distance between Arboles and Dulce (3 miles before Lumberton) is just over 40 miles, I suspected that there might have been another stopover in the middle, to maintain the pattern of a day's walk between villages. Sure enough, Pagosa Junction is pretty much a ghost town now, but when the rail line passed through, it was quite a thriving little spot. A few secluded houses remain and posada arose right where it was needed.
All the folks have been supportive and wonderful to me and for better or worse, the failure has been the lack of network coverage for my phone service preventing me from uploading photos. When I return, I'll post them in proper sequence. For certain, a photographer would enjoy the scenery, both the natural landscape and the tranquil remnants of former times - a nice old church has been preserved and an old cemetery is particularly photogenic, but my phone-camera doesn't seem to function below the freezing point, so much has been missed.
Onward now toward Chama, though it's a bit east of the original path. The land around here is very much unpopulated and after seeking counsel at the tribal offices in Dulce, I decided to take the more reliable deviation to ensure there will be shelter for the next several nights. Sometime soon, I should get into T-Mobile service area and post some photos and messages; if not, I'll find someone with an internet connection.
buen camino
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