ABIQUIU, New Mexico — Ghost Ranch encompasses 21,000 acres of astonishing natural beauty, from mesas dotted with pinyon pine and juniper to bold cliffs of tan, yellow, orange and lavender. In 1934, this magical place with the mysterious name attracted artist Georgia O’Keeffe. Awed and inspired by the magnificent landscape, she famously lived and painted here for the next 50 years.
Ghost Ranch is a favorite wayside not only for visitors seeking retreat and relaxation but for hikers on the Continental Divide Trail, who tuck in for a spell to rest, shower, do laundry and fill up on good food. The ranch is 690 trail miles north of the CDT’s southern terminus at the Crazy Cook Monument on the Mexican border, so for northbounders like me, it’s a great pit stop before entering the snowy San Juan Mountains. Since Silver City, I’ve followed the CDT through a bounty of public lands.
This has included the Gila, Apache, Cibola and Santa Fe national forests, and the Gila, Cebolla, San Pedro Peaks and Chama River Canyon wilderness areas. I’ve also crossed miles of Bureau of Land Management lands as well as the El Malpais National Conservation Area. Tallying official redline and selected alternate routes, my actual mileage totals around 625 miles to date.
A visit to Pietown is all about good times, good food, and – of course –lots of pie! Carey Kish photo Pietown (pop. 186) at mile marker 415 is the psychological halfway point of the hike through the Land of Enchantment. It�.
