May 5 Day 11 Silver City En Route to Doc Campbell's

It was a dew filled morning.  Chilly and damp.  That made it a tough morning to get out of the tent.  We all got moving later than expected.  It was kind of nice to sleep in a bit, especially since it is not too hot these days.  Packing a wet tent is also no fun.  It adds weight from the moisture and its gets your hands and pack wet.  Not real problems in the scheme of things, but still.

The day was a continuation of river crossings and trail finding.  Man it was hard to find that trail sometimes.  We eventually noticed a pattern that the trail was further inland, away from the river, so that helped us to find it more consistently.  You just move so much more quickly when you're on a clear trail.

(Ratna passing her pack under one of the many fallen trees to her hubby Wide Angle)

Wide-Angle and Ratna had met in Wisconsin, I discovered, doing a foreign exchange student program in high school.  I just thought that was awesome.  I really enjoyed hiking with them as they have a great pace and a good dynamic.  both of them are positive and compassionate people.  They had actually saved a man at the very beginning who had not prepared properly.  His name is Bill and he was found with nothing but an empty water bottle before the first water cache way before Lordsburg.  Wide-angle and Ratna gave him water, called the border patrol, and escorted him to the water cache where border patrol picked him up.  He would have died overnight or the next day.  He had already gone something like a day and a half without water and now he had none of that or his pack and gear.  He ended up trying a second time and doing the same thing.  Eventually he was sent home and encouraged not to try again.  Rumour has it that he wants to try again.  I hope he doesn't.  Poor guy. It seems like he was in a bad place.

(The Gila)

(Me and the Gila River)

(Ratna and Wide Angle cleaning shoes before we head to the road. Doc Campbell's next!)

We did good miles and got to Doc Campbell's around 1:00PM.  I went straight for the microwave burritos they had.  It is like a small outpost with shelf stable food and a small fridge with some sandwiches and burritos.  The other freezer had homemade ice cream!  So I got some of that too.  My food was just about through, so I was starving when I got there.  We were all very pleased to have arrived.

HoJo, a chill friend of Wide-angle's from the PCT was there with Fozzie, a British hiker who is also an avid blogger and writer.  We dried out our tents and socks and retrieved our resupply boxes from the outpost.  

(Full pack! And disorganized....)

Once organized, I headed with HoJo and Fozzie to the hotsprings!  The Gila Hotsprings are amazing!  106F and beautiful.  We soaked and chatted and I felt my legs and feet healing.  The Germans had A LOT of food to organize so it took them a bit more time before they joined us.  We all eventually set up tents in the camp sites that were set aside for CDT hikers, which was super nice of the camp ground hosts. 

(Gila Hotsprings!)

 No rush tomorrow!  We were heading to the Gila Cliff Dwellings, which open at 9:00AM.

May 4 Day 10 Silver City En Route to Doc Campbell's

I was so worried that sleeping alone would be scary and difficult, but it ended up being not bad at all.  Exhaustion will do that to you.  I fell asleep quickly and stayed asleep.  It rained a llittle bit during the night, but nothing unreasonable.  

The morning was clear and gorgious, clear skies, high elevation, great views!  A large scary cloud was threatening, but as the sun got stronger it just dissipated.  This, I have learned, is a pattern of the desert weather.  I was ready to pitch my tent if it started raining hard.  It is just too cold to try to hike through it.

(Barbed wire and gates. The CDT)

I was trucking along and doing really well today.  I even caught up with a German couple, Ratna (Indonesian woman who moved to Germany 14 years ago), and her husband Wide-Angle (lots of photos and photo equiptment). They were finishing up a lunch break by the Gila River.  

(Ratna and Wide Angle as we are rained on......again)

Our first crossing of the famous river that we would soon cross over 80 times. 

 My goal was to do 25 miles to Doc Campbell's that day to catch my friends, but I quickly realized that that was just going to be impossible!

(Resigning myself to a slower pace. Happily)

There was a really epic flood 2 years ago that destroyed much of the trail and knocked down A LOT of trees.  There was, therefore, a lot of cross country and trail finding and trail blazing.  Add in the river crossings and you slow WAY down. there were also random little thunderstorms that scared us into hiding underneath trees or overhanging rocks.  

(Or under umbrellas)

We got so fed up we called it quits relatively early when yet another thunderstorm interrupted our attempts at hiking efficiently.

(River crossing!)

We totalled 14 miles.  11 miles short of my goal, but really it was slow going. 

(Snakes. They'll slow you down too)

 I was also accepting of the lower miles to give my foot a break.  Having had that terrible arch pain, I was in no rush to repeat it. It was probably a good idea.  It also allows us to enjoy the beauty of the place.  

Flowing river, big canyon walls, lots of wildlife.  I almost stepped on a huge snake!  It wasn't a rattle snake, but it immitated the sound of a rattle snake with its mouth.  Anyone know what it was?

Overall it was a fun day!  New terrain, river crossings galore, new company, slower pace.  My arch was feeling much better due to the slower pace and the cold river water.  It was also ice to carry such a small amount of water all the time since we were walking in our source!  Weee!

May 3 Day 9 Silver City En Route to Doc Campbell's

The final group in the apartment, Pacer, Threshhold, Porsche, J.W., and I headed out early.  We tried to clean up as best we could and also drop off any extra hiker gear at the visitor's center where the hiker box was located.  I grabbed a last Hemp Milk Chai from Javalina Coffee to sip on for the road walk out of town.  I did about 22 miles today, which I was happy with.  The first long while was basically walking through the suburbs of Silver City, which was rather pretty.  I got to see some elk prancing around in someone's yard.  The babies were very cool.

(Sitting by the stream having a foot break)

The water was finally plentiful! What a treat!  We were heading toward the Gila River so the water should become more readily accessible, which was very exciting.  It's nice to not have to worry about where you're going to get your next drink of water, or how many liters you need to carry to survive the next day or day and a half.  When we got to the second water source, a nice stream of flowing water on large flat rocks, I decided to take a longer break.  I made myself some lunch, cheese and tortillas, trail mix, a Fig Bar, and lay down my tired body on the warm rocks.  Not too long after getting relaxed with my feet elevated on top of my pack, J.W. and Porsche arrived to refill.  And then rain?  Yup, rain. Very cold rain suddenly strated dumping.  At first I thought it would just be a quick drizle, but it was heavier than expected.  It didn't last too long, but long enough that I threw my pack cover on and my rain coat and got chilled.  It cleared up quickly but there was a low rumble o thunder and some not too nice looking clouds nearby.  I was not pleased.  J.W. and Porsche had hidden under their umbrellas until it passed.  I'm getting an umbrella.  Threshhold showed up soon after and then, out of nowhere, a man called Highlight popped his head around a rock!

(Porsche talking to Highlight and checking out his garden)

(He makes things grow in this desolate place!)

(So cool)

He lived in the area.  from what I understood he was part of a monestary and had a vow of silence most of the yeat, but had 2 months to break it. He chose the hiker season to talk.  And boy does he talk!  Quite the talker!  It was very interesting though.  He has been living basically in the middle of nowhere for 16 years, making it work for his needs.  Once a year he gets a ride out to Albuquerque to restock anything and everything.  Otherwise he has to be self-sufficient.  He has even developed a method to grow vegetables in the barren soil there.  He showed us and explained it all.  So interesting.

(Go this way)

The tour was dragging a bit and I was feeling the need to push more miles that day.  I was hoping to catch my friends at Doc Campbell's.  I said my goodbyes and headed back to the trail.  I got a few miles in before I heard thunder and saw lightning.  Ahhh!  Not good!  It freaked me out because this was my first time when I knew I'd be camping alone and I did not want to be alone in a thunderstorm for my first time.  I somehow managed to stay between 2 storms and found a great camping spot.  I watched the sunset as I ate some tune with spices.  I wasn't too hungry, so this was all I could manage.

More photos:

(Kissing rocks!)

(Too cool)

(My lonely campsite for the night)

(My sunset view)

April 28 - May1 Lordsburg to Silver City ~ 60 miles

Well, it's been a trip!  What a trip!  The first leg was a great introduction of things to come and a filter for those who would not be continuing on.  There have already been people to drop out or even to get sent home because of lack of preparedness and almost dying TWICE for getting lost and dehydrated.  So far I am still doing well.  The second leg was not exceptionally long.  It was a planned 2.25 days, but I ended up hitching into Silver City on the second day due to some serious foot pain in my arch.  The right foot arch was shooting pains up my leg and I was limping pretty terribly.  So here it is:

Day 5: Burly and I got up in the room we split in Lordsburg, him to rest his knee and me to rest my foot.  It was 5:45am when our feet hit the road and we had a good strong pace heading out on the 3 mile road walk our of Lordsburg.  Our goal was to do 26 miles to catch up with our friends who had decided not to stay the night, but headed out the day before.  We moved from road into some cross country (no trails).  Scrub, brush, and cow dung were the main sights to be seen for miles with mountains in the distance.  That's where we were aiming.

(Dried up water source)

(Hottttttt)

Burly has a longer stride and faster pace than me, so it wasn't long before the distance between us increased and I stopped for a break a few hours into the day.  That resulted in me having my first really mosltly solo day.  It is liberating to hike along as many will attest to.  You break when you want, go to the bathroom when you want, and make your own milage schedule.  I wasn't too sure that I would be able to catch everyone, so I decided to get to a water source and leave it at that.  I got to a windmill called Engineer's Windmill and was very ready for a long break.  The sun and heat were taking their tole, and my foot was not giving me a break from the pain.  I couldn't see how to get to the water, so I sat a bit defeated.  After a few deep breaths I took a look at my Guthook App (a great App that has the CDT route and GPS capabilities with waypoints and water source locations), and saw that there was another better windmill about not too far away, so I decided to try to make it there for my extended break.  I couldn't even make it the hour before needing to take a 30 minute break to rest my foot.  It was getting pretty bad and cripplingly painful.

(Pretty trail with trees and shade)

(Someone left water for hikers!)

(Beef jerky and grumpy at Engineer's Windmill)

I found a nice shady spot and took my shoes off and elevated my feet.  It occured to me the night before that my Pink Super Feet insoles might be exacerbating my foot issue, so I spent my break separating the hard plastic from the foam, putting the foam part back into the shoe.  It felt SO MUCH BETTER!  I was so happy I was practically giddy!  On I trudged and finally saw the Co-op Windmill.  I was about to head down to it, a bit off trail, but thought there might be a better access point a bit up the trail around a curve.  Just as I turned the curve I saw the backs of a group of hikers walking away.  My friend!!!  I gave ayell and they turned around and cheered!  It was one of the happiest moments on trail.  I had caught up to them!  I couldn't believe it!  Capitain, Burly, and Toast walked with me to the water and we all celebrated the cold well water.  They had just finished a 2.5 hour siesta to get away from the afternoon heat.  That was enough time for me to catch them with my shorter breaks.

We were aiming for Goat Camp Windmill for the night.  That would put Burly and me at 29 miles for the day!  Biggest mile day so far.  I did eventually make it, though last in the group with my hobble limp.  We all had dinner together and celebrated Toast's birthday that night with some chocolate and whiskey.  What a great day!

Day 6: It was a cold morning at 36F upon leaving at 7:50am, later in the morning than usual.  This was not the best idea as it ended up being a very hot, windless day.  The goal was 20 miles today and 7 tomorrow into Silver City, which includes a 13 miles highway walk.....Not too appealing.  Burly and I decided pretty quickly that we would hitch in to avoid further damage to his knee and my foot.  There is a very uptight environment in the thru-hiker community about hiking every single mile and step for it to count, but in the end it is what you want it to be.  It is a hike, a walk, and it is only yours to define and decide upon.  I wasn't worried about hitching.

(Shade!)

(Pretty view)

I had a hard time from the start.  I was limping right away and even though the terrain was beautiful, we went up into some small mountains, through some forests, on real trail, I just wanted to get to town. I did enjoy some amazing views and the smell of toasting pine needles.  I made the bad decision to play Band of Horses as I was dwelling on past relationships, which is a TERRIBLE idea while you feel like you're limping pathetically miles behind your friends.  Don't do that.

I did run into a day hiker named Peter who was very impressed with our hike and was heading up the mountain that I was coming down from to see some towers.  I had seen some old buildings there and a great view of the area.  He went on his way and I got to a fork in the trail.  There was a note left for me from my friends telling me they went to the right, away from the main CDT route.  On I went and soon found a direct dirt road walk that would take me to the main road I needed to get to to get to the highway.  I was in a seriously miserably painful state by then and ended up stopping a truck and catching a ride with 2 copper miners to the highway.  I hitched with the day hiker, Peter, into Silver City, where I contacted Nick Prince, a friend of friends from Chicago.  He had a whole apartment set up for me!  Wow!  What an amazing treat!

(Salmon salad at The Toad!)

I went to his work and he drove me to the brewery The Toad where he said some other hikers were.  I got an amazing salmon and strawberry salad and an Amber Ale and just hung out there for a few hours.  BigFoot and Hot Springs joined me for a drink and we caught up on the rough break-in period that is the first 2 weeks of trail.  Some of my group ended up hitching in too, which I was pleased about, and we all settled in to the apartment.  It was like a hippie 60's apartment complex with a courtyard, outdoor kitchen, fire barrel, and even a hammok.  Malarky and I snagged the king sized water bed and others found spots both inside an outside the building.

May 1-3 Silver City - Double Zero

Day 7: What a chill day.  I spent a lot of it by myself enjoying my book, icing my foot, and general maintenance.  Everyone went for burritos in the morning and running their own errands on bikes that Nick leant them.  I minded my business mostly.  I eventually joined Hot Springs for some town duties including going to the awesome natural foods co-op.  Then I hung out with Nick at his work spot and got to know his friend Marisa, who is also awesome.  I got a tour of the town and got to know Nick a bit better.  He lived at Eco, the house I was living in in Chicago, years ago with some of my friends who are still there.  We had fun connecting the dots of history and updating some stories of people he used to hang out with.  

(Nick and I in Silver City. He gifted me the Pashmina scarf)

There was a dance party that night at The Toad, but I ended up crashing early at 9:30pm, which is late for a hiker, so no dance party for me.  I had collected a few more hikers too, Pacer and Threshhold.

(Sanjay is friends with my cousin Geritt! Small world!)

(Hiker trash at the bar)

Day 8: My group headed out today in the morning.  It looked like Lala wanted to stay another day to rest her blister ridden feet, but she is hiking with her boyfriend Day Man and I think is pushing herself to keep up more than her body wants to.  The population of the apartment shrank a lot after that.  It was quieter.  2 more hikers, Porsche and J.W. joined us for the last night.  I spent most of the day with Pacer.  It was nice to have the opportunity to hang out with someone who was more introverted.  Any introvert will admit to the relief of finding another introvert to spend time with.

(Threshhold and I icing our feet)

(Hemp milk chai!!)

There was bike race happening that whole weekend and today was the day they would be doing city circuits.  So we wnjoyed all the festivities, live music, food stands, fresh lemonade, lots of people and music.  We also enjoyed a local cafe that had hemp milk chai lattes!  I was happy!  I bought a pair of crocs as my in town and in camp shoes since my makeshift insole shoes were not doing it for me.  I also invested in a pair of bigger and sturdier Merrell shoes for Colorado, so they should be shipped over to Chama soon.  That will be nice as my feet have grown a bit already.  They need more toe room!

(Bike race!)

(Burrito drive and walk through. Also where to find new arrival CDT hikers)

(Little kids race)

(Live music, local band)

(Local sellers)

Tomorrow I head out.  We'll see how my arch fares.  I hope I'm not leaving too soon.  It is still really sore, but I did get some gel insoles, which BigFoot reccomended since he was having the same issue I was having and these insoles helped.  Overall, the 2 rest days were very necessary.  My blisters healed and are doing great, my sore muscles are feeling better, and my sunburned skin is getting some TLC.