536. Wanda's Wanda-rings: Continental Divide Trail Part 3 Cabezon
Last of the CDT series carved by lionsmane commemorating not only Wanda's backpacking the CDT, but helping to build it, too!

This stamp of one of the most famous of the volcanic "necks" that can be seen for miles and miles along the CDT route between Mt. Taylor and Cuba is actually named after the Spanish word for "big head" - Cabezon, near one of the areas where we came out from RI to NM to do trail work for two years in a row to get the CDT off the nearby dirt roads that had served as the temporary route and onto a real trail section along Mesa Portales. So, if you read the official CDT Guidebook for New Mexico describing how this section was rerouted by Charlie McDonald and a group of volunteers - that would be us!!!

Anyway, we were hoping to get back all these years later to check and see how another one of "our sections" was doing, as we had done recently in CO with Mt. Flora, etc., but we got scared off by a warning for tons of rain coming from Hurricane Odile in Mexico that would prevent us from going through that area. Well, the rain apparently never materialized there, but by then we were headed past Santa Fe, so we just decided to leave this box up along Hyde Park/Ski Basin Road, where it would probably get more visitors anyway. Of course, lionsmane certainly has our permission to transplant it back nearer to Cabezon itself, along the CDT near Mesa Portales, or anywhere else he sees fit. Meanwhile, however, hopefully this box can still be found towards the upper part of Santa Fe Ski Basin Road. Simply go to the "boardwalk vista" and imagine that somewhere out there in that vast expanse between the Sangrias and the Jemez is that thick-necked big "plug head" called Cabezon. Then drive down to the next "aspen vista", park by the large stone-encrusted "Take a Hike" sign, and imagine taking a hike like I did all those years ago of over 3,000 miles along the CDT! (not to forget all those other trails I backpacked way back when: 5+ AT's , 3+PCT's and so many more!) After taking in the grand vista to the southwest, turn around and look across the road to a row of boulders. About in the middle, around 340 degrees when standing at the front of the sign, see a large roundish tan boulder with a smaller tan boulder to its left. When no one else is looking, carefully cross the road and sneak a peek behind and under the smaller flat tan boulder for a little round box with a "big head" in it!

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