May 22 Day 28 Heat Exhaustion - En Route to Cuba

(Early morning)

A bit sleep deprived this morning due to the storm last night.  It ended up hitting right after we got tucked into our shelters.  The wind picked up and the sounds of thunder got progressively louder until the flashes of lightning seemed right over us.  It didn't last terribly long, maybe an hour, but it was still intense.  Apparently the wind kept ripping Guy's stakes out of the ground and he would wake up to rain on his face!  He'd re-stake the tarp and go back to sleep only to be woken up again by a runoff stream going through his tarp or another stake being ripped out!  At some point, Guy thought he saw someone walking up the side of the area we were cmape out and called out.  No response. Kind of creepy!

Everyone fared well though, and we got our damp shelters and sleeping bags packed away by 6am to do those 30 miles.  The sky had cleared and it was looking to be a good day by the looks of the beautiful sunrise.  This was one of the most beautiful days so far. 

Many great views honored us along the tops of mesas and over canyons.  Seriously just amazing.  Northern New Mexico knows how to do it right.  They say this is sacred land, and I swear you could feel a different energy here. Time had a different meaning and there was a certain emotional depth to walking this path through these places.

At one point the trail decided to have us practically go over the side of a cliff, which I was quite amused about.  The CDT....

(That's the trail)

We were really doing some great miles and hustling, even through our tiredness.  I had to put my head phones in for the first time, usually I just listen to music on my phone's speakers, because I NEEDED motivation to keep up the pace.  I was TIRED!  We were all in our own little world's and the day was beginning to drag a bit as we hiked into the late afternoon.  I was not far behind Bear Claw when I saw her up ahead bowing down with her hands on her knees.  It looked like she might throw up.  She sat herself down and we all took a break in the shade.

She had her Wilderness First Responder (WFR) certification, as did Guy, and she asked him to check her vitals and treat her for Heat Exhaustion.  She had pushed too hard without enough sleep or food.  Hr body was really cold, but her head was really hot.  She felt like she was going to get sick any moment.  Guy, gave her water with electrolytes, made her eat some food, and read through his little WFR manual.  After at least a half hour or more she was well enough to get the mile to the next water sourced where we all agreed to eat dinner and take a longer break.

I cooked her a real meal there and she was feeling MUCH better, so we kept on for a few more miles, hoping to keep the miles lower for tomorrow's push into the Post Office.  We pushed on into the early evening and set up camp in a great field that fit all of our shelters.  We would have 15 miles tomorrow to do before 11:30am.  We had done 25 today.