Day 025 - Continental Divide Trail - Grants to Mount Taylor

Day: 025

Date: Friday, 31 May 2024

Start:  Grants 

Finish:  Mount Taylor

Daily Kilometres:  30.3

GPX Track:  Click here for Julie’s Strava & Photos

Total Kilometres:  729.0

Weather:  Very warm and sunny.

Accommodation:  Tent

Nutrition:

  Breakfast:  Egg sandwiches 

  Lunch:  Trail mix 

  Dinner:  Noodles & tuna/Rehydrated meal

Aches:  Dave - the usual niggles; Julie - nothing reported.

Highlight:  For Dave, at least, it was calling into the local Verizon office on our way out of Grants and finally sorting out how to pay for his prepaid phone plan - pay five months in advance - it can't be done online or via phone.

Lowlight:  None really 

Pictures: Click here

Map and Position: Click here for Google Map

Journal:

We had a relaxed start to the morning and didn't leave our motel until 8am.  Logistically, this made sense as we were going to detour via the Verizon store, 4.5km away, on our way out of town and they didn't open until 9am.

The plan worked and we got there right on 9am and Dave was able to sort out payment for his phone plan fairly quickly.  There was a supermarket next door so we got a snack and drink before leaving town.  This was the last place we could get water until the end of the day so we made sure we had enough before we left.

Almost our entire day was climbing, right from the time we left our motel at about 6500’ until just before we stopped for the day when we reached 8900’.

Leaving Grants, we had a 6km steadily uphill road walk, the highlight of which was passing a large prison, with signs warning passing motorists not to pick up hitchhikers!  On either side of the road were craggy bluffs and the scenery was good.

Soon we were climbing one of those craggy bluffs on nice single track, though steep in parts.  The country was desert-like, with lots of cacti, chollas, and other prickly plants.  Some were in bloom, which was pretty.

Atop the bluff we were on a broad ridge with occasional excellent views, including to Grants and the prison, now far below.

The walking was easier on the ridge, although occasionally rocky, and we made reasonable time despite continuing to gradually climb. The desert plants became scarce and we were soon in some lovely pine forest.

Around 5:30pm, we reached a forest road crossing that had a small black pipeline running next to it on which was mounted a spigot.  The water was warm, but welcome, and we loaded up with what we needed for the night and walked another kilometre before finding a lovely place to camp beside the trail in the forest.

We are on the upper slopes of Mount Taylor, and had the option of taking an alternate route over the summit (11300’), but decided to stick to the official CDT and avoid the climb.

Day 024 - Continental Divide Trail - Grants

Day: 024

Date: Thursday, 30 May 2024

Start:  Grants, NM

Finish:  Grants, NM

Daily Kilometres:  0

GPX Track:  Click here and here for Julie’s Strava & Photos from her run and walk today.

Total Kilometres:  698.7

Weather:  Warm and sunny.

Accommodation:  Motel

Nutrition:

  Breakfast:  American breakfast

  Lunch:  Italian sub/Chicken salad

  Dinner:  Nachos & taco, icecream.

Aches:  Nothing to report.

Highlight:  None really

Lowlight:  Dave had a frustrating day dealing with bureaucratic US organisations.

Pictures: No pictures today.

Map and Position: Click here for Google Map

Journal:

Julie went for a run around town while Dave did some planning, then we walked to a nearby Denny's restaurant for an American breakfast before going to the nearby Walmart to do our shopping.

After returning to our motel room and sorting out what had to be mailed ahead we tried to organise the local on-demand bus service to take us to the post office, but they said they were too busy.  So, after lunch, Julie walked the 4km to the post office (and return) to mail our parcels while Dave tried to sort out payment for his prepaid Verizon phone service using an Australian credit card.  Harder than it sounds and still not done.

The famed Route 66 passes through Grants and we walked along some of it yesterday on our way into town.  It's one of the town's tourist attractions and Julie saw more Route 66 signage around town on her journey to the post office today.

After laundry later in the afternoon, we bought dinner at a nearby restaurant and ate it in our room before having an early night.

Back on the road/trail tomorrow.

Day 023 - Continental Divide Trail - Acoma-Zuni Trailhead to Grants

Day: 023

Date: Wednesday, 29 May 2024

Start:  Acoma-Zuni Trailhead

Finish:  Grants, NM

Daily Kilometres:  40.1

GPX Track:  Click here for Julie’s Strava & Photos

Total Kilometres:  698.7

Weather:  Cool early, then very warm and sunny.

Accommodation:  Motel

Nutrition:

  Breakfast:  Pop tarts

  Lunch:  Mexicali Sub

  Dinner:  Cheeseburger & fries, thick shake.

Aches:  Dave - the usual niggles and a new blister, probably from road pounding; Julie - her left knee still giving her some trouble.

Highlight:  After our limited menu for dinner last night, we were keen to make a Subway restaurant, where the trail crossed the Interstate 40 Hwy, by lunchtime, even though we had to cover 24km first.  We did it in good time, and were in the Subway, for an excellent and much-appreciated lunch, before 1pm.

Lowlight:  None really.

Pictures: Click here

Map and Position: Click here for Google Map

Journal:

We were on the road, literally, by 6am, now back on the “official” CDT route, having finished the Cebolla Alternate last night.

Our first goal was to reach a ranger station, 10km down the road, where we planned to get water.  The road was quiet and the walking enjoyable with continuing sandstone cliffs to the right and the austere black lava field to the left.  We made good time and reached the ranger station around 8am.  It has been closed to the public because of a problem with the water supply, but we climbed over the closed gate and walked up to the ranger station where several large containers of water had been left by a picnic table, specifically for CDT hikers.  Another thoughtful and valuable contribution to our journey.

After breakfast, we were keen to cover the remaining 15km to the I40 freeway junction and the Subway restaurant there, and continued our good progress.  The road was busier now and, although the scenery continued to be spectacular, it was tiring to be constantly observing the traffic and making sure we were safe.  Having said that, nearly all drivers gave us a very wide berth and many waved, some obviously aware of journey.

We reached the freeway around 1pm and enjoyed our lunch sub (see above).  Several other customers were keen to chat with us about our trek.

With another 10km to our booked motel, we began to think how we might get to the Post Office before 5pm and pick up our two parcels - one food sent on from Doc Campbell’s and the other winter gear.  Grants is a spread out town and the PO is 4km beyond our motel.  We were, however, aware there was a cheap on-demand bus service in town that hikers had used.  With 5km to go, Dave called to try and book a bus from our motel to the PO around 4pm, just after our anticipated arrival.  No dice.  They could take us at 3:30pm.  Eventually, they agreed to pick us up at a point outside town, about 3km from our motel, and take us to the PO, and back, at 3:15pm.

It was a little surreal jumping on the bus and being taken to the PO, picking up our mail, and then being returned to our original pickup point outside town.  The driver offered to take us directly to our motel, but that would mean that we missed 2km of our journey and we are determined to walk every step of the way.

We actually met another CDT hiker on the bus, who had hitch-hiked into Grants, reasoning that road walking was hard on the body and why not just hitch-hike along the same road rather than walk.  Each to his/her own.

In the last few days we have also been passed by a few cyclists riding the Continental Divide Trail mountain bike route, which has intersected with our route.

We finally reached our motel around 4:30pm and checked in.  Later, we bought take-away dinner from a nearby fast food restaurant.

Looking forward to a day off tomorrow.

Day 022 - Continental Divide Trail - Armijo Canyon to Acoma-Zuni Trailhead

Day: 022

Date: Tuesday, 28 May 2024

Start:  Armijo Canyon

Finish:  Acoma-Zuni Trailhead

Daily Kilometres:  41.5

GPX Track:  Click here for Julie’s Strava & Photos

Total Kilometres:  658.6

Weather:  Cold early then hot and sunny.

Accommodation:  Tent 

Nutrition:

  Breakfast:  Pop tarts

  Lunch:  Trail mix 

  Dinner:  Pop tarts/Trail mix

Aches:  Dave - very tired and the usual niggles; Julie - nothing reported.

Highlight:  Although it was road walking, the 5km stretch of road known as The Narrows, was super-impressive.  On the right were towering sandstone cliffs incorporating some awesome natural formations and, on the left, was the vast expanse of the El Malpais lava fields, black, rugged and showing how the lava had flowed before it had cooled.

Lowlight:  We miscalculated our food for this leg, so tonight's meal was the exciting mix of pop tarts and trail mix.

Pictures: Click here

Map and Position: Click here for Google Map

Journal:

In contrast to yesterday's road walking, today's hiking began with following a trail up through Armijo Canyon.  Much more interesting walking in the early morning light with the sun illuminating the cliffs and mountains around us, even if slower on the sandy trail.

After an hour we climbed out of the canyon, crossed a plateau and descended into Sand Canyon, which we followed downstream, though no water was evident.  After a while we picked up a 4WD track and followed that with the rocky bluffs of the canyon walls evident on one side or the other.

Around noon, the track reached a main road, which we followed for the rest of the day but, first, we detoured to a solar well, our only water source for the day.  We drank up while we had our lunch and then loaded up 3 litres each to see us through to tomorrow morning when we reach a ranger station.

After lunch we continued road walking northwards under a hot sun, with vehicles generally going out of their way to give us a wide berth.  Mid-afternoon, we reached a picnic area where we planned a break and were met by a woman who had passed us on the road and insisted we eat some oranges and biscuits they had, and take some water.  Her husband, knowledgeable about the CDT, was fixing a flat tyre on their trailer while we ate.

From there we walked through The Narrows (see above) and stopped for our last break of the day at the impressive La Ventana natural arch.

Both sides of the road were fenced off for the next 4km but, as we hoped, when we reached the Acoma-Zuni Trailhead, we were able to walk a little way up the track and find a site for our tent soon after 6pm.

Humourously, as we started to set up camp, three Chinese tourists, a mother, her son, and a granddaughter, returned from a short walk along the trail.  The grandmother, who turns 70 soon, was very impressed with our journey and insisted that many photos were taken.

More road walking tomorrow, but then a day off.

Day 021 - Continental Divide Trail - Pie Town to Armijo Canyon

Day: 021

Date: Monday, 27 May 2024

Start:  Pie Town

Finish:  Armijo Canyon

Daily Kilometres:  42.6

GPX Track:  Click here for Julie’s Strava & Photos

Total Kilometres:  617.1

Weather:  Cold early, then very warm and sunny.

Accommodation:  Tent

Nutrition:

  Breakfast:  Pop tarts 

  Lunch:  Trail mix 

  Dinner:  Rehydrated meals 

Aches:  Dave - the usual niggles plus a new blister; Julie - nothing reported 

Highlight:  Around noon, we reached the TLC Ranch where, on the porch of an old ranch building near the road, the owners had provided kegs of cold water, apples, tables and chairs, and a trash bin, something hikers are always on the lookout for.  We had a very welcome break there and enjoyed our cold apple.

Lowlight:  Knowing that we have no water access for the first 23km tomorrow, nor for the last 10km today, we loaded up with three litres each at a solar well in the late afternoon, adding an unwelcome extra 3kg to each of our packs at the end of a long hot day, and trudged that last 10km.

Pictures: Click here

Map and Position: Click here for Google Map

Journal:

We were hiking by 6am on another cold morning, planning to cover at least 38km of the CDT road walk ahead of us and reach the Cebolla Alternate turnoff which we plan to take.

It turned into a fairly tedious day on a dirt road through ranching country, though we saw few cattle.  The road was undulating, often straight for long periods and the ranch scrubland relatively uninteresting.  There were only two places we could get water, the TLC Ranch (see above) and a solar well feeding a cattle trough.  It was a very warm day with the sun reflecting up at us from the clay road.

The last 10km, with heavy packs (see above) was across a wide treeless basin and we were relieved to reach our Cebolla Turnoff and start gradually climbing towards the Armijo Canyon.

We found a good place to camp at the Canyon trailhead soon after 6pm, very happy that our day's hiking was over.

Water is also very scarce tomorrow again and Julie is researching our options, as she usually does while Dave writes the blog.

Day 020 - Continental Divide Trail - Martin Canyon to Pie Town

Day: 020

Date: Sunday, 26 May 2024

Start:  Martin Canyon 

Finish:  Pie Town

Daily Kilometres:  42.5

GPX Track:  Click here for Julie’s Strava & Photos

Total Kilometres:  574.5

Weather:  Very cold early then warm, sunny and windy 

Accommodation:  Tent 

Nutrition:

  Breakfast:  Pop tarts 

  Lunch:  Trail mix 

  Dinner:  Chicken pieces, macaroni cheese & vegetables, cherry pie.

Aches:  Dave - the usual niggles; Julie - nothing reported.

Highlight:  Our early dinner at the Pie-o-neer restaurant in Pie Town.  When we arrived in Pie Town, the first of the two restaurants (the only two commercial establishments in town) we tried had just closed at 3pm and we feared the other might do the same.  But, no, not only were they open, but they had an enormous and tasty Sunday dinner tray special which we both enjoyed.  Pies were their speciality, so we bought a delicious cherry pie to take with us for a dinner snack tonight.

Lowlight:  Having had a big meal and loaded our packs with three days food and a couple of litres of water each, the three and a half miles evening road walk out of town was not much fun.

Pictures: Click here

Map and Position: Click here for Google Map

Journal:

We left camp at 6am for what we knew would be a day of road walking and so it proved to be with a break mid-afternoon to eat (see above) and resupply in the tiny village of Pie Town, though not so tiny that it couldn't support four churches.

The road walk was along undulating dirt road through ranching country, with ranges of mountains visible all around.  It was easy walking and very few vehicles.  One was driven by an old rancher who stopped for a social chat.

A characteristic of the day that we will remember was the kindness from anonymous strangers that we experienced and benefitted from.  

Around 8am, we reached Davila Ranch, where a facility to aid CDT hikers has been set up just off the road in the bush.  In a series of tin sheds the following could be found - water, hot water, shower, toilet, stove, refrigerator stocked with dozens of eggs and kilos of potatoes, other food, washing machines, driers, electrical outlets for charging devices and wi-fi, along with tables and chairs.  There was nobody supervising and donations were asked for based on what was used.  All on a trust basis.  You could easily have stayed there for days, but we just stopped in for 30 minutes.  Geoff, the hiker we met yesterday had stayed there last night.

Water was scarce along the road and we were lucky that another property maintained a water cache at its front gate for hikers.

Finally, the Toaster House is an unsupervised hostel in Pie Town where we collected our mailed food parcel and left our packs while we ate at a cafe.  It was a large ramshackle house with all the facilities, including bedding, that was run totally on an honesty basis for hikers, who are entrusted to keep it neat and tidy.  It would have been easy to stay there for a few days as well.  Geoff was staying there a couple of nights until the Post Office opens on Tuesday, and it looks like he will have the place to himself.

As mentioned above, we collected our food and ate in Pie Town before rejoining the official CDT and following it north out of town.  There were ranches and “No Trespassing” signs on both sides of the road and, around 6pm, we found a flat spot near a tree on the roadside verge and set up camp.  A few cars have passed, but no trouble so far.

Day 019 - Continental Divide Trail - Hwy 12 to Martin Canyon

Day: 019

Date: Saturday, 25 May 2024

Start:  Hwy 12 (but staying in Reserve, NM although, as we learned later today, some non-resident locals call it ‘Reverse’ which may not be inappropriate)

Finish: Martin Canyon

Daily Kilometres:  35.0

GPX Track:  Click here for Julie’s Strava & Photos

Total Kilometres:  532.0

Weather:  Cool early then warm, sunny and windy.

Accommodation:  Tent

Nutrition:

  Breakfast:  Breakfast burritos

  Lunch:  Trail mix 

  Dinner:  Tuna/chicken rice

Aches:  Dave - the usual niggles; Julie - nothing reported.

Highlight:  In the early afternoon, after a long climb, we reached the top of Mangas Mountain (9700’) and its fire tower.  The firewatcher waved us to come up from the cabin atop the tower and we climbed the narrow steep staircase, blasted by a strong wind, reportedly measured at 80kph a few hours earlier.  The firewatcher, Patrick, was very welcoming and informative, and we learned and saw a lot about what he does, and admired the stupendous views.  Patrick also told us that less than four weeks ago, there was four feet of snow at the summit.  Hard to believe given how dry it is now.

Lowlight:  None really.

Pictures: Click here

Map and Position: Click here for Google Map

Journal:

Our shuttle driver, Daryl, arrived on time and we left around 8am for the drive back to the trailhead.  On the way out of town, we picked up a hitchhiker, also a CDT hiker, Geoff, from California.  He is only the third CDT hiker we have seen in the past two weeks, and he soon left us behind.

For this leg we are following the Pie Town Road Walk Alternate rather than the official CDT.  It is a bit shorter, but road walk is a bit misleading term because we were on 4WD tracks or gravel forest roads all day and only saw two vehicles.  Also, the official CDT has a 12 mile road walk along a sealed highway, which we will avoid.

Apart from the highlight visit to the fire tower (see above), we mostly passed through lovely pine forest with a grassy floor - park-like - today on undulating terrain, though there was one section across a grassy plain.

There was a strong wind all day and today was another in a sequence of Red Flag fire warning days for our area and Patrick, the firewatcher, said he would be on duty until sunset.

We have been told that the CDT is closed by a wildfire burning on the trail about two weeks hiking ahead, so we are already anticipating having to make a lengthy road walk detour.

We wanted to do 32km today so that we can get to Pie Town mid-afternoon tomorrow, leaving time to pick up our mailed food parcel from the hostel there and to get an “evening” meal at the only cafe in town, which closes at 5pm.  To that end, we hiked until 7pm tonight and found a site for our tent by the side of the road.  We may be on private property!

Day 018 - Continental Divide Trail - Wagontongue Mountain to Hwy 12

Day: 018

Date: Friday, 24 May 2024

Start:  Wagontongue Mountain

Finish:  Hwy 12 (but staying in Reserve, NM)

Daily Kilometres:  6.6

GPX Track:  Click here for Julie’s Strava & Photos

Total Kilometres:  497.0

Weather:  Cold early then warm and sunny with increasing wind.

Accommodation:  Motel

Nutrition:

  Breakfast:  Ice cream, Danish

  Lunch:  Cheeseburger

  Dinner:  Nachos, ice cream.

Aches:  Nothing to report.

Highlight:  Our first pre-sunrise miles through the pine forest on a perfectly still morning with a full moon setting behind us was magic.

Lowlight:  On our shuttle ride into the town of Reserve, Daryl, the driver informed us that the only restaurant in town is closed.  There went our dreams of an American breakfast.

Pictures: Click here

Map and Position: Click here for Google Map

Journal:

We were hiking by 6am on a beautiful morning (see above) intent on reaching Hwy 12, 7km away, before our 8am booked shuttle to the town of Reserve, 65km away.  We arrived soon after 7:30am and our shuttle arrived just before 8am and we were in the very small town of Reserve around 8:30am.

Our motel room wasn't ready, so we wandered to the village centre and found what we could for breakfast in the general store.  Reserve is a long way from anywhere and Daryl told us the nearest Costco was in Albuquerque, 3.5 hours drive away, where he was going later today taking a hiker who needed to get off trail for some reason.  While there he was going to do some shopping.

We have spent the day doing the usual chores - showers, laundry, shopping, planning, admin - and some relaxing.

We have booked a shuttle back to the trail for 8am tomorrow morning, so will have a relatively relaxed start to the day.

Day 017 - Continental Divide Trail - Long Canyon Mountains to Wagontongue Mountain

Day: 017

Date: Thursday, 23 May 2024

Start:  Long Canyon Mountains

Finish:  Wagontongue Mountain

Daily Kilometres:  33.6

GPX Track:  Click here for Julie’s Strava & Photos

Total Kilometres:  490.4

Weather:  Cold early, then warm and sunny, but with a cool wind.

Accommodation:  Tent

Nutrition:

  Breakfast:  Pop tarts 

  Lunch:  Trail mix 

  Dinner:  Rehydrated meals 

Aches:  Dave - very tired and a bit battered and bruised after three falls today; Julie - left knee is still a bit sore.

Highlight:  The late afternoon descent from Wagontongue Mountain (~9000’) with expansive views across mountains, forests and grasslands to the east was fantastic and impossible to capture in a photo.

Lowlight:  Dave's inability to stay on his feet, perhaps due to fatigue (our hiking was mainly around 8000’ to 9000’), was a downer.  He has noticed that Julie occasionally kicks a rock or pine cone off the track, but never the one he trips over.

Pictures: Click here

Map and Position: Click here for Google Map

Journal:

Our alarm went off at 5am, but it was cold and we had a shorter day planned so, after a brief discussion, we rolled over and went back to sleep for another hour.  It felt very decadent.

When we did get up and leave, around 7am, we were immediately faced with a slow grind uphill to over 9000’ on a forest road, before turning onto single track and going even higher.  It was a beautiful morning with great views and peaceful in the forest.

We stopped early for breakfast, around 8:30am, because we had phone reception for the first time in several days and we wanted to sort out some logistics. Firstly, a call to the Pie Town Post Office where the friendly lady agreed to send our food parcel to a hostel in town, since the PO would not be open when we arrive and it's a long weekend. Secondly, to a motel owner in the little town of Reserve, who booked us a room for tomorrow night and agreed to pick us up from the trailhead at 8am tomorrow morning for the 65km drive to Reserve.

With those issues resolved happily, we got on with our day's hiking.  After the road walks of yesterday, we had the opposite today, with gnarly single track, many tree blow downs, and steep ascents and descents.  All offset by terrific views.  We took an alternate track after lunch that followed the floor of two canyons but, although pretty, wasn't as impressive as we had heard.

We ended our day with a long climb up over the shoulder of Wagontongue Mountain and then a beautiful descent with amazing views.  We walked until 7pm and about 6km from the trailhead where we will be picked up tomorrow morning and found a nice campsite amongst a copse of pine trees.

Day 016 - Continental Divide Trail - T Bar Canyon to Long Canyon Mountains

Day: 016

Date: Wednesday, 22 May 2024

Start:  T Bar Canyon

Finish:  Long Canyon Mountains

Daily Kilometres:  38.8

GPX Track:  Click here for Julie’s Strava & Photos

Total Kilometres:  456.8

Weather:  Very cold early, then warm and sunny with a strong cooling wind.

Accommodation:  Tent

Nutrition:

  Breakfast:  Pop tarts 

  Lunch:  Trail mix

  Dinner:  Rehydrated meals 

Aches:  Dave - very tired and the usual niggles; Julie - nothing reported.

Highlight: Mid-morning, as we walked along a very long stretch of forest road with almost no traffic, a forest ranger came up to us in his pick-up and was very keen to make sure we were OK as hikers - enough water, enough food, etc.  Apparently he drives the road most days to check CDT hikers are OK.  In the end, even though we had just had a break and a drink, we took some bottled water from him as he seemed almost disappointed that we didn't need anything.

Lowlight:  Dave has so many to mention!  Firstly, it was freezing when we packed up our tent this morning, literally.  Julie's drink bottle had a big chunk of ice in it.  We kept putting on more clothes and our hands were frozen.  Then, when we started hiking, Dave was finding it difficult to hold his trekking poles because his hands were so cold and while fiddling with them, stumbled, fell sideways putting lateral pressure on one of the poles and it snapped.  Very expensive Leki trekking poles, just two weeks old!  Not happy!  Later, when the forest ranger stopped for us (see above), he mentioned that Pie Town, our next town, was still more than 70 miles away.  Later, Dave worried that this was further than he had calculated back in Silver City, and that he had made an error.  It would take at least a day longer to get there, even if we hiked big miles, and we did not have enough food.  We had to be in Pie Town before 9:30am on Saturday to collect the food parcel we had sent there for the next leg or, we thought, wait until Monday.  We hatched a plan B whereby we would hitch/shuttle to the little town of Reserve, have most of a day off and arrive in Pie Town on Monday morning.  Alas, Monday is Memorial Day, a public holiday, so no open post offices.  We're working on a plan C.  Then, to top Dave's day off, he took the toilet bag to dig a hole in the bush, as you do when you are hiking, and discovered the hand sanitizer had leaked badly, saturating our only roll of toilet paper!  Will it never end!

Pictures: Click here

Map and Position: Click here for Google Map

Journal:

We woke to an unexpectedly cold morning (see above) and were frozen, but hiking, by 6am, willing the sun we could see bathing the hills ahead of us to hurry and reach us.  Dave stumbled at one point and broke one of his trekking poles but, fortunately, Julie doesn't use hers and was happy to lend them to him.

Our early miles were up a picturesque canyon on a faint trail, but soon we climbed out of it and began a day of road walking.  At first it was a 4WD track across grassland but soon we joined a gravel forest road and followed it for the rest of the day, about 28km, some of it through lovely aromatic pine forest and some of it across vast grasslands.  The walking was tedious on the unchanging surface, but faster than usual.

Apart from the forest, grasslands and a handful of vehicles, we saw some distant deer early on, a squirrel, a chipmunk, and a few cattle.  Water was scarce so we had some longish carries, but managed OK.

Around 6pm we found a place to set up camp in the pine forest and, as it cooled down, were in bed as soon as possible.

Day 015 - Continental Divide Trail - Gila Wilderness to T Bar Canyon

Day: 015

Date: Tuesday, 21 May 2024

Start:  Gila Wilderness

Finish:  T Bar Canyon

Daily Kilometres:  37.8

GPX Track:  Click here for Julie’s Strava & Photos

Total Kilometres:  418.0

Weather:  Cold early then warm and sunny later, but with a cool wind.

Accommodation:  Tent

Nutrition:

  Breakfast:  Pop tarts 

  Lunch:  Trail mix 

  Dinner:  Rehydrated meals 

Aches:  Dave - the usual niggles; Julie - left knee improving.

Highlight:  For much of the morning we travelled along the crest of a broad ridge.  It was lightly forested with tall pine trees and the path was often covered with pine needles.  There was no wind and, apart from an occasional birdsong, it was absolutely quiet.  Magic.

Lowlight:  Dave didn't like the steep loose rock descent to the Gila River late morning, but managed to stay on his feet.

Pictures: Click here

Map and Position: Click here for Google Map

Journal:

We were away by 6am and resumed our journey along the Gila River High Route which we had begun yesterday after lunch.  We could have stayed on the Gila River Route, but we didn't feel the need for more river crossings, though knew we would miss some great scenery.  We had already had some magnificent scenery on the High Route, so we are happy with our choice.

The morning’s hiking was excellent (see above).  There were sections where the path was covered with loose volcanic rocks that made hiking tiring, but much of it was also excellent trail.

Around noon our route took us steeply down to cross the Gila River, again, and then steeply up the other side.  We had great views and at the top of the initial climb the trail crossed a mesa covered with open grassland.  Quite a change.

Eventually we reached a forestry campground where there were some horses wandering around and some parked horse floats, and we stopped for a break at one of the picnic tables.

After about 8km of road walking along gravel roads with almost no traffic, we turned up a canyon near the end of the day and found a spot to camp beside the trail at 6pm.  According to our navigation app we are camped at 7800 feet and have spent much of the day between 7000 and 8000 feet.  It was noticeably cooler hiking today, especially when in the cool wind.

Day 014 - Continental Divide Trail - Doc Campbell's Post to Gila Wilderness

Day: 014

Date: Monday, 20 May 2024

Start:  Doc Campbell's Post 

Finish:  Gila Wilderness 

Daily Kilometres:  26.8

GPX Track:  Click here for Julie’s Strava & Photos

Total Kilometres:  380.2

Weather:  Cold early, then very warm and sunny until the evening when it clouded over and there were a few spots of rain.

Accommodation:  Tent

Nutrition:

  Breakfast:  Breakfast burritos

  Lunch:  Trail mix

  Dinner:  Rehydrated meals.

Aches:  Dave - the usual niggles; Julie - knee problem wasn't slowing her down today.

Highlight:  Our 3km detour to the Gila Cliff Dwellings was absolutely worth it.  We were smart enough to hide our packs in the bush before making the detour, so saved some energy.  At the Cliff Dwellings there was a 1.5km loop walk that took you up an oasis-like narrow canyon beneath the cliffs, with a stream running through it.  Then, we climbed up a series of steps to reach the remains of these Indian dwellings built into a cliff overhang with multiple rooms and passage ways.  The dwellings date back 2000 years and were abandoned around 1300.  Super impressive.

Lowlight:  None really.

Pictures: Click here

Map and Position: Click here for Google Map

Journal:

While having dinner last night another CDT hiker arrived at the RV park where we were camped, Tim, from Australia.  He's an experienced hiker and we had a good chat with him as we packed up camp in the morning and then saw him several other times during the day.

After packing up we walked over to Doc Campbell's Post where they opened up at 8am, just for us and Tim, and we bought some breakfast and they mailed some food on ahead for us.  We had over-ordered for what we had sent here and didn't need a lot of it so have mailed it further ahead.

Around 9am we began hiking with a 5km road walk on a very quiet road to the Gila Cliff Dwellings Visitor Center.  There we discovered the Cliff Dwellings were still some way away and we continued walking. Along the way, we passed the trailhead where we were later to leave the road on our hike northwards and hid our packs in the bush so we did not have to carry them to the Cliff Dwellings and back.  At the Cliff Dwellings we did a fabulous walk (see above), meeting along the way an Australian couple who had lived in the US for 20 years and were likely to stay.  He had worked at Los Alamos, so was likely some kind on nuclear physicist.

After our tour we walked back to our packs and had lunch in the trailhead picnic area where there was water.  This was needed since reports indicated we were not guaranteed any water for the first 20km of our afternoon hiking.  We loaded up with 2.5 liters each then began the long climb up to a ridge with very heavy packs (4 days food plus the water) in very warm sunny conditions.

The trail wasn't too bad and our exertions were rewarded with increasingly fabulous views in all directions.  Atop the ridge we could see vast distances to the mountains north and south of us with no signs of civilization apart from the odd vapour trail in the sky.

Julie did manage to find a single puddle in a dried up creek around 5pm and we loaded up with water again and walked another hour to the crest of a hill where we found a fabulous site to camp with stupendous views to the north across the Gila River canyon.

As we were finishing dinner, it clouded over and we had some light rain, the first of our trip, but it did not last long.

Day 013 - Continental Divide Trail - Gila River to Doc Campbell's Post

Day: 013

Date: Sunday, 19 May 2024

Start:  Gila River

Finish:  Doc Campbell's Post

Daily Kilometres:  23.1

GPX Track:  Click here for Julie’s Strava & Photos

Total Kilometres:  353.4

Weather:  Cold early, then very warm and sunny.

Accommodation:  

Nutrition:

  Breakfast:  Pop tarts

  Lunch:  Trail mix

  Dinner:  Pizza, ice cream.

Aches:  Dave - the usual niggles; Julie - left knee still a problem.

Highlight:  Our journey upstream along the Gila River was a delight.  Our path meandered through woodland or grassland by the river beneath towering ochre bluffs and steep mountains.  Sheer cliffs descended to many bends of the river, forcing us to frequently ford across.  We must have forded the river scores of times.

Lowlight:  None really.

Pictures: Click here

Map and Position: Click here for Google Map

Journal:

We were hiking by soon after 6am on a cold morning.  Because of the surrounding high cliffs and mountains, we didn't see any sun until after 8am, but it took another hour for us to warm up.  Then, it became very warm.

Our goal for the day was to complete our transit or the southern section of the Gila River gorge and to reach the remote Doc Campbell's Post where we had sent resupply packages.  Although it was only supposed to be 22km, we knew it would be slow going.

And it was, at least for the morning.  Although the scenery was fabulous (see above), following the trail, such as it was, was quite difficult in parts, especially when entering or exiting the river after a ford.  It was sometimes hard to judge the river depth and there was always a strong current.  Then, many of the exits required clambering up steep crumbly banks.  We tried to see where people had crossed before, but there was no guarantee they were following the best route either.  Often, on managing to scramble up the bank, we then had to bush-bash to locate whatever trail there was.  It was an adventure, but a slow one.

In the late morning, we came across about eight hard hats and trail maintenance tools in a clearing, likely waiting for the owners to return after the weekend and, from that point on, the trail became much easier to follow and the river crossings much more obvious.  Later, we met two guys and some pack horses who were carting in supplies for the trail maintenance crew.

We made faster progress in the afternoon and were happy to reach Doc Campbell’s Post around 3pm, given it was supposed to close at 4pm, though we have been told they will open any time for CDT hikers.  While we had an ice cream and cold drink we debated where to stay for the night and finally settled on an RV park across the road.  We collected our very heavy resupply box from Doc's and adjourned to the pavilion in the RV park, unsure where to put up our tent, since no one was in attendance.

We killed time the working out our food for the next leg and having showers before just erecting our tent in what we thought was the best place.

Later we went back across to Doc’s to do our laundry and get pizza and ice cream for dinner.  They opened up especially for us.

Day 012 - Continental Divide Trail - Moore Canyon to Gila River

Day: 012

Date: Saturday, 18 May 2024

Start:  Moore Canyon

Finish:  Gila River

Daily Kilometres:  27.0

GPX Track:  Click here for Julie’s Strava & Photos

Total Kilometres:  330.3

Weather:  Cool early then very warm and sunny.

Accommodation:  Tent

Nutrition:

  Breakfast:  Pop tarts

  Lunch:  Trail mix

  Dinner:  Rehydrated meals.

Aches:  Dave - the usual niggles; Julie - painful left knee.

Highlight:  Finally reaching the much-hyped (amongst the CDT fraternity) Gila River.

Lowlight:  The very long descent to the Gila River was rough on the knee Julie injured in a fall two days ago and it was very painful by the time we reached the river.  Now on antiinflammatories.

Pictures: Click here

Map and Position: Click here for Google Map

Journal:

We were hiking by 6:15am on a beautiful cool morning with vistas across the nearby mountains and crags.

The trail we are following is an official alternate to the CDT, but doesn't seem to be maintained much at all.

Throughout our day we had a real mixture of trail ranging from sublime single-track through pine forest to very gnarly steep trail covered in loose rocks with the chance of slipping high.  Dave landed heavily on his butt once.

We often followed beautiful little valleys and canyons through the woods, but also crossed more open forested high valleys with pine-cone covered floors.  After crossing a high ridge, which was hard work, we began the long descent to the Gila River.  It seemed to go on forever, especially the last part switch-backing down steep slopes.

On reaching the river we encountered a group of male horse-riders camped in a nice spot.  We stopped a little further along for a break before tackling our first river crossing and some of the guys came past us on their way to do some fishing.  One buff tattooed he-man had a pistol strapped to his chest …. in case he got a big one, we guess.

The challenge of the Gila River Alternate is twofold.  Firstly, you are compelled to make many crossings of the river and, secondly, you have to find your way along the banks of the river between crossings and there are no trail markings, or even a trail at all in many places.

During the afternoon we must have crossed the river 10-12 times.  The current was usually strong and water up to waist-depth, but we took care and had no mishaps.  As the afternoon wore on we became better at picking the route used by others and only a few times had to bush-bash our way out of trouble.

The river has a lightly-wooded flood plain where we hike, but is bordered by magnificent high mountains and red rocky bluffs.  It is spectacular.

Around 5:45pm we found a place to set up our tent audibly close to the river and look forward to another day following the Gila upstream tomorrow.

Day 011 - Continental Divide Trail - Silver City to Moore Canyon

Day: 011

Date: Friday, 17 May 2024

Start:  Silver City

Finish:  Moore Canyon

Daily Kilometres:  31.0

GPX Track:  Click here for Julie’s Strava & Photos

Total Kilometres:  303.3

Weather:  Mild early then very warm and sunny.

Accommodation:  Tent

Nutrition:

  Breakfast:  Egg & sausage McMuffins, milkshakes

  Lunch:  Trail mix

  Dinner:  Rehydrated meals

Aches:  Dave - the usual niggles; Julie - knee still a bit sore after her fall yesterday, but getting better.

Highlight:  The rock gardens in mid-afternoon, after a long climb, were spectacular.  Orange pillars and boulders on a high and wide ledge with the mountains as a backdrop.

Lowlight:  Dave stumbled and fell early in the afternoon but didn't do any real damage.  When he got back up, we checked around on the ground to make sure nothing had come out of his pack and didn't see anything so continued on.  Five to ten minutes later, Dave asked Julie to check his water bottles, carried in the side pockets of our rucksacks, and she discovered that a full one was missing.  We stopped and Julie went back and luckily found it.  Being full, it had rolled some distance down the slope after becoming dislodged when Dave fell.

Pictures: Click here

Map and Position: Click here for Google Map

Journal:

We woke at 6am, packed and then Julie bought some breakfast from McDonalds across the road which we ate in our room before leaving around 7:20am.

Initially, we had to walk back towards town on a busy Friday morning before linking up with the road we were to follow northwards out of town.  We knew we would be road walking for a while, but it was interesting passing through the outskirts of town - some very wealthy-looking houses and some not so much.

After two hours of walking we entered the Gila National Forest and stopped at a picnic area for our morning break.  It was a lovely spot amidst the pines and there were a few people about.

From there we began to leave civilization behind and, apart from a mountain biker and one hiker, we didn't see anyone else all day.  The forest was thicker and sometimes our path was shaded, very welcome on a very warm day.

After a long descent, we reached the flowing Bear Creek, where it passed through a beautiful valley and then followed Sycamore Creek on lovely single-track trail up through Sycamore Canyon.

After the single track, some 4WD tracks, with lots of loose rocks on the ascents and descents, was less welcome but, eventually, brought us out into some awesome rock gardens (see above).

The last part of the day was spent following rock cairns across rocky shelves with some great views and the occasional spring.  We loaded up with water at one of these at 4:30pm and, having gone further than expected today, found a nice campsite at 5pm and had an early night.

Day 010 - Continental Divide Trail - Silver City

Day: 010

Date: Thursday, 16 May 2024

Start:  Silver City

Finish:  Silver City 

Daily Kilometres:  0

GPX Track:  Click here for Julie’s Strava & Photos from her jog this morning..

Total Kilometres:  272.3

Weather:  Warm and partly sunny.

Accommodation:  Motel

Nutrition:

  Breakfast:  McDonalds big breakfast

  Lunch:  Ham/Turkey salad rolls

  Dinner:  Pizza, ice cream 

Aches:  Dave - the usual niggles; Julie - painful knee after falling on her morning run.

Highlight:  None really.

Lowlight:  None really.

Pictures:  No pictures today.

Map and Position: Click here for Google Map

Journal:

We had a sleep in before Julie went for a run and Dave tried to work out in detail what our schedule would be for the next few weeks so we knew how much food to mail ahead and where.

The CDT has many “alternate” trails along its route and that is particularly the case for the next few hundred kilometres.  Most hikers choose, for scenic reasons, alternates that more or less follow the Gila River rather than the “official” CDT route north of Silver City and we will do the same.

With the planning finished we walked across the road to a McDonald's for breakfast and then trekked about 1.5km further out of town to a Walmart where we bought the needed food and other supplies.  After walking back to the motel we sorted out what had to be mailed ahead and then walked 1.5km into town to the post office and mailed food and winter gear ahead to two different towns.  We also mailed some gear we no longer need to Dave's nephew in Denver to hold until the end of our trek.

With all that done we bought lunch from the same bakery in downtown Silver City as yesterday and then walked back to the motel via an outdoor store where we bought a few more things we needed (better tent pegs and a gas cylinder).

The rest of the afternoon was spent doing laundry and packing for resuming our hike tomorrow before having takeout pizza for dinner and an early night.

Day 009 - Continental Divide Trail - Saddleback Canyon to Silver City

Day: 009

Date: Wednesday, 15 May 2024

Start:  Saddleback Canyon 

Finish:  Silver City

Daily Kilometres:  27.6

GPX Track:  Click here for Julie’s Strava & Photos

Total Kilometres:  272.3

Weather:  Cold early, then very warm and sunny.

Accommodation:  Motel

Nutrition:

  Breakfast:  Pop tarts

  Lunch:  BLT roll/Turkey salad roll

  Dinner:  Sweet & sour chicken/pork & rice, icecream.

Aches:  Dave - a few of the usual niggles; Julie - nothing reported.

Highlight:  The first few kilometres of the day, before the sun rose, along the floor of Saddleback Canyon were magnificent with the only sound being the twittering of birds as the canyon walls were gradually illuminated by the rising sun.

Lowlight:  None really.

Pictures: Click here

Map and Position: Click here for Google Map

Journal:

We were walking by 6am on our coldest morning so far, probably single digits Centigrade.  Julie doesn't like the cold at all so was willing the sun to rise above the mountains.  Of course, once it did, we were soon baking and wishing for cloud cover.

Apart from the early kilometres, it was quite a tedious day's hiking with the balance of the 26km to Silver City being along a fairly busy highway through undulating grazing country.  Vehicles whizzed by at high speed, but were generally courteous, moving well over as they approached us.  A few waved or gave us a toot.  There was also a reasonable margin to the side of the road that gave us some safety.

We made good time and took just two breaks, sheltering from the sun by a roadside embankment or a tree.

Along the way, we were passed by a CDT thru-hiker, a Frenchman, who was carrying an unbelievably small pack.  He was the first hiker (or any person) we had seen on the trail since leaving Lordsburg, four days ago, apart from those in vehicles on roadwalks.

We were speculating about how his pack could be so light.  Probably only one set of clothes, sleeping without a tent and no stove.  He had left the Mexican border three days after us so must be walking big distances each day.

We reached the outskirts of Silver City around noon and, as we walked a back road to into town, it was a bit demoralising for Dave to listen to Julie planning tomorrow’s run on the nearby trails on our day off.  Dave will be lying on the bed in our motel recovering.  Having said that, Dave did say that, today, his legs and feet felt the best they had since the start of the hike.

Silver City, whose historical origins revolve around mining and cattle, seems to be a thriving town, perhaps reinventing itself as an outdoor activities and art and alternative lifestyle centre.  The downtown was attractive and well-kept and we found a bakery on a small plaza where we enjoyed some excellent rolls for lunch watching the world go by.

After lunch, we walked to the post office to pick up some gear we had mailed ahead to ourselves, before walking 2km to our budget motel (notice in the foyer about human trafficking) on the outskirts of town and checking in at 2:30pm.

Later, we had dinner at a nearby Chinese restaurant before adjourning to our room for an early night.

Day 008 - Continental Divide Trail - Burro Mountain to Saddleback Canyon

Day: 008

Date: Tuesday, 14 May 2024

Start:  Burro Mountain 

Finish:  Saddleback Canyon

Daily Kilometres:  39.0

GPX Track:  Click here for Julie’s Strava & Photos

Total Kilometres:  244.7

Weather:  Cool early then very warm and sunny.

Accommodation:  Tent 

Nutrition:

  Breakfast:  Pop tarts 

  Lunch:  Trail mix 

  Dinner:  Noodles/Rehydrated meal

Aches:  Dave - exhausted (again) and some niggles; Julie - nothing reported.

Highlight:  The last hour or two of the day were spent walking down the magnificent Saddleback Canyon with towering rock bluffs overlooking the flat sandy canyon floor.

Lowlight:  None really.

Pictures: Click here

Map and Position: Click here for Google Map

Journal:

We were hiking by 6am on another beautiful morning, but Dave was struggling straight away with soreness and stiffness from yesterday.  Drugs (Paracetamol) were the answer and we began to enjoy the lovely single track trail through scattered forest.

There were plenty of trees, but not dense enough to shade much of the trail and, as the sun rose higher, it became very warm.  Our usual MO is that Julie hikes at her pace, faster than Dave, but stops and waits every 5-10 minutes for him to catch up.  It was very noticeable today that she was always waiting in the enticing shade of a tree when Dave arrived.

The undulating trail was lovely walking as it followed a ridgeline northwards with occasional views and it stayed that way until late afternoon.  Water was an issue, with limited availability and, at each water source, we were calculating how much we needed to carry based on how far the next water source was and how reliable it might be.  As it turned out we managed well.

Our stretch goal for the day was a cattle bore in Saddleback Canyon, but Dave really began to struggle again with leg and foot pain with 5km to go and our pace slowed.  Fortunately, when we finally descended to the canyon floor, the walking became easy and we pushed on to the bore, arriving soon after 6:30pm.

We found a site near the bore and, although there are a few cattle about, it's a lovely spot with the canyon walls towering either side.

Day 007 - Continental Divide Trail - Hornbrook Mountain to Burro Mountain

Day: 007

Date: Monday, 13 May 2024

Start:  Hornbrook Mountain

Finish:  Burro Mountain 

Daily Kilometres:  33.2

GPX Track:  Click here for Julie’s Strava & Photos

Total Kilometres:  205.7

Weather:  Cool start then mostly sunny and very warm.

Accommodation:  Tent

Nutrition:

  Breakfast:  Pop tarts 

  Lunch:  Trail mix 

  Dinner:  Noodles 

Aches:  Dave - exhausted and a few niggles; Julie - nothing reported.

Highlight:  Around 9:30am, having resupplied with water from a pond at Cow Camp about 5km earlier, we reached a road crossing and there, for CDT hikers, was a cache of many litres of water and, best of all, a drum containing cans of soft drink.  Dave scoffed two cans of Coke while Julie enjoyed a root beer.

Lowlight:  None really.

Pictures: Click here

Map and Position: Click here for Google Map

Journal:

We woke at 5am and were walking by 6am as the sun rose.  It was a beautiful morning and the first kilometres passed easily, even though they were uphill.

After we crossed a saddle to the eastern side of the range, the vegetation seemed to change and, for the first time, there were trees amid the arid scrub.  Our first goal was to reach Cow Camp, where there was a pond, to get water.  We made it in good time on nice undulating trail with plenty of views and Julie then scooped as much clean-looking water as she could from the scummy pond and filtered it for our breakfast and the next leg.  The evidence was that Cow Camp was a popular place for cows to camp, but we had it to ourselves.

Not much later we happened on some very welcome trail magic (see above) near a road crossing.  Such a pleasant surprise and so thoughtful of the anonymous benefactor.

From there the trail more or less followed a ridge line northwards towards the distant Burro Peak topped by multiple communications towers.  We didn't realise at the time that we had to climb that mountain and that dominated our afternoon.  The climb, which was steep at times, passed over seemingly endless false summits.  Dave wore out quickly and we made slow progress as he plodded upwards.

On the plus side, at the higher elevations, we passed through pine forests on pine needle-carpeted trail and often had fantastic views to the east and west.  It was near 5pm when we finally passed over Burro Mountain, just under 2500m (8000’).

There was a water source 2km ahead and Julie went ahead to get enough water for tonight and tomorrow morning's hike, while Dave descended as quickly as his shot legs and hammered feet would allow.

We hoped to find a campsite near the water source and were in luck, finding a beautiful spot amongst the towering pines with filtered views through to the valley below.

Day 006 - Continental Divide Trail - Lordsburg to Hornbrook Mountain

Day: 006

Date: Sunday, 12 May 2024

Start:  Lordsburg 

Finish:  Hornbrook Mountain

Daily Kilometres:  30.2

GPX Track:  Click here for Julie’s Strava & Photos

Total Kilometres:  172.5

Weather:  Very warm and sunny.

Accommodation:  Tent

Nutrition:

  Breakfast:  Motel continental breakfast 

  Lunch:  Trail mix

  Dinner:  Noodles

Aches:  Dave - very tired and a few niggles; Julie - nothing reported.

Highlight:  Around noon, when we were trying to follow the route across open scrubby desert/grazing land, we lost the trail and ended up following a cow pad.  We realized we were off course, but at this stage the trail is ambiguous and you spend your time trying to see the next CDT marker which, if you're lucky, are about every 400 metres or so.  If not lucky, you go off course.  Anyway, we knew we were going in generally the right direction and also knew we would hit a gravel road before too long.

The cow pad led to a cattle trough which was not marked on our map, just as we reached the gravel road.  We still had about 12km to go to the first water of the day, Engineers Windmill bore, and had carried plenty to get there.  We stopped for lunch, leaning against a gate with a groundsheet suspended to provide much needed shade.  While eating we checked our crowd-sourced navigation app and learned that the bore we were aiming at had no water as of yesterday.  Last week it was OK!

Luckily for us, after Julie had scared a couple of cows away from the trough, we loaded up with enough water to see us through to tomorrow morning and the next available water (hopefully).

Lowlight:  The 4km road walk out of Lordsburg this morning was quite depressing.  Flat, arid and dusty, we passed many trailer homes, some in good repair, but many not, dilapidated with derelict cars in their yards.  It made us feel very lucky to have the lives we do and helps us understand why so many American voters feel they have been left behind and are looking for change.

Pictures: Click here

Map and Position: Click here for Google Map

Journal:

We had a relaxed start to the day after sleeping well and left the motel soon after 8am to walk through the very quiet Sunday morning downtown Lordsburg, cross under the major rail line on the north side, and head out of town.  It is a very busy rail line with, seemingly, a mile-long double-stacked container freight train passing through in either direction about every 20 minutes or so.

It then took about 4km of road walking to reach the trail and we passed some many depressing trailer homes (see above).

We were carrying 2.5 litres of Coke/water to get us to the first water source on the trail, 24km from town.  We knew that by leaving late in the hiker season we risked encountering, in New Mexico, hot weather and scarce water, but have managed so far, though it has meant carrying more water than we would like.

Once we got off the road, the rest of our day was spent gradually climbing towards the arid mountain range we could see in the far distance.  The walking was generally good as we made our way across scrubby desert, passing some nice flowering cacti and other wildflowers.  Occasionally we passed brilliant white bones lying beside the trail, possibly of earlier hikers but, more probably, cattle and other animals.

When we stopped for lunch (see above) we discovered our target water source was dry, but were very fortunate to have an unmapped cattle trough nearby.

After lunch, the trail became steeper, mostly on 4WD tracks, as we climbed into the mountains, but it was never that bad.  There were some sandy sections which slowed us, but also more trees, giving us shade options for our breaks.

Around 5:20pm we found a nice spot to camp, at an elevation of 2170m, with lovely views, and enjoyed an early night.

Passed our first 100 miles today!

Day 005 - Continental Divide Trail - Lordsburg

Day: 005

Date: Saturday, 11 May 2024

Start:  Lordsburg

Finish:  Lordsburg

Daily Kilometres:  0

GPX Track:  Click here for Julie’s Strava & Photos from.her jog this morning.

Total Kilometres:  142.3

Weather:  Warm and sunny.

Accommodation:  Motel

Nutrition:

  Breakfast:  Motel continental breakfast

  Lunch:  Burritos 

  Dinner:  Huevos rancheros/Chicken chimichanga.

Aches:  Dave - a few blisters and niggles; Julie - nothing to report.

Highlight:  None really

Lowlight:  None really

Pictures: No pictures today.

Map and Position: Click here for Google Map

Journal:

Julie went for an early run around Lordsburg while Dave tried to get some extra sleep after a bad night with an irritating blister on his right ankle.  Not the good night's sleep he was hoping for.

We then had breakfast at the motel before working out what supplies we need for the next four days and purchasing them at a nearby little supermarket.  Not as much selection, but OK.

The motel did our laundry for a small charge (US$7) and our new water filter from Amazon arrived at the motel yesterday, solving that problem.  The next stretch of the trail to Silver City also has limited water, some from dubious sources, so we need the filter.

We'll also be climbing higher, having averaged around 1500m so far (the elevation at Lordsburg).  Silver City is closer to 2000m and should be cooler.

After lunch at the very cheap Mexican next door, we had a lazy afternoon, including a nap, before going to another Mexican restaurant across the road for an entertaining dinner with some fellow CDT hikers - an outdoor education lecturer from North Carolina and a Russian maths professor now living in NY.

Day 004 - Continental Divide Trail - Coyote Hills to Lordsburg

Day: 004

Date: Friday, 10 May 2024

Start:  Coyote Hills

Finish:  Lordsburg

Daily Kilometres:  44.4

GPX Track:  Click here for Julie’s Strava & Photos

Total Kilometres:  142.3

Weather:  Cool early with some high cloud and then warm to hot and sunny.

Accommodation:  Motel

Nutrition:

  Breakfast:  Pop tarts

  Lunch:  Trail mix

  Dinner:  Hamburger & fries, ice cream.

Aches:  Dave - totally exhausted and a few niggles; Julie - nothing to report.

Highlight:  The last ten kilometres to Lordsburg by the light of the setting sun, knowing we would have cold drinks, junk food and showers tonight.  It has been a hot, sweaty and dusty first four days on the CDT.

Lowlight:  For Dave, the last kilometre down the paved road to our motel when every muscle in his body wanted to stop.  Meanwhile, Julie was gadding about getting sunset photos.

Pictures: Click here

Map and Position: Click here for Google Map

Journal:

We got up at 5:30am, but didn't leave camp and the water cache until 6:50am after stocking up with water to see us through the 31km of desert to the next water cache.  We decided to carry three litres each.

Most of the morning hike was across a broad, mostly scrubby, dry plain on winding single track.  It is cattle country, and we did see a few cows, but the vegetation is so meagre, the land supports very few.  We also saw quite a few bones of cattle that presumably haven't survived the harsh conditions.

We had some light cloud cover which really lowered the air temperature, making it pleasant for hiking.

It wasn't so easy in the afternoon as the sun blazed down and the trail climbed through the Pyramid Mountains, mostly on rough 4WD tracks.  There were more cattle around in these mountains, but still not many.  Despite the conditions we continued to make reasonable time and began to contemplate hiking 10km past the water cache and getting to Lordsburg and a motel for the night.

We left the final decision until we got to the water cache at 5:00pm and decided we could make it before dark and Dave called the motel to confirm (we were already booked in there for Saturday night, so now we will have a day off tomorrow).

Coincidentally and happily we arrived at the water cache to find two of the hikers we started out with already there and, while we were chatting, Tim, our shuttle driver from Tuesday turned up to check the water cache stocks, so it was like a little reunion.  Generously, Tim gave us each a very welcome cold Gatorade.

We left the cache around 5:30pm.for the remaining 10km to go, and, although scenic country, Dave was a little chagrined that the biggest hills of the trip so far were left for this last 10km of the current leg.  He soldiered on with encouragement from Julie and we made it to the motel in Lordsburg at around 8:15pm.  While Dave checked in, Julie went to the nearby convenience store to get some cold Cokes then, after a quick shower, she visited the nearby McDonald's to get some very welcome dinner.

We are looking forward to a lie in tomorrow and a lazy day.  These first four days, physically, have gone as well as could be hoped for Dave and he is feeling a bit more confident of surviving the trek …. but it's still early days.

Day 003 - Continental Divide Trail - Little Hatchet Mountains to Coyote Hills

Day: 003

Date: Thursday, 09 May 2024

Start:  Little Hatchet Mountains 

Finish:  Coyote Hills

Daily Kilometres:  37.3

GPX Track:  Click here for Julie’s Strava & Photos

Total Kilometres:  97.9

Weather:  Warm to hot, sunny, gusty winds.

Accommodation:  Tent

Nutrition:

  Breakfast:  Pop tarts

  Lunch:  Trail mix

  Dinner:  Rehydrated meals 

Aches:  Dave - exhausted again with the usual niggles.

Highlight:  Reaching the water cache, and our campsite for the night, at the foot of the Coyote Hills at 7:15pm after a long day with limited water.

Lowlight:  Embarrassingly, when we stopped at a bore after 5km this morning to replenish our water supplies, we discovered that our water filter, which we used on the Appalachian Trail last year, was not working.  We should have either tested it before departure or replaced it.  Rookie mistake.  Then, when we resorted to our backup water purification tablets, which we had grabbed from a store shelf en route to the trail, we discovered that they take four hours to work.  Not good when it's hot and you're thirsty.  In the end, we waited an hour for them to work and hope that we stay healthy.  While Julie battled with the water filter, Dave used the meagre mobile signal to order a new filter through Amazon that should be delivered to our planned motel in Lordsburg on Saturday.

Pictures: Click here

Map and Position: Click here for Google Map

Journal:

Away again shortly after 6:30am on yet another beautiful morning.  We made good time to a bore where we intended to get water, only to discover our filter wasn't working (see above).

We wasted about 30 minutes there before giving up and taking a chance on our water purification tablets and set off for a water cache about 10km further on.  The morning was warm and windy, but the walking was quite easy on winding single track through the scrubby desert with the occasional cactus.

On arrival at the water cache, we drank our fill and worked out what water we would need to carry to get to the next water cache, 20km distant.

The rest of the day was spent hiking through flat desert or over the Coyote Hills on a mix of single track and 4WD trails.  In parts it was sandy or rocky, but generally hard earth.  The scenery was straight out of Western movies, with rocky bluffs, endless desert and far distant mountains.

It was the warmest day we have had and during the afternoon it sometimes felt like the heat was being reflected from the earth we were hiking over.

We were very pleased, particularly Dave, to finally descend from the Coyote Hills and quickly find a campsite and water from the cache.  There are three other hikers also camped here.

Day 002 - Continental Divide Trail - Big Hatchet Mountains to Little Hatchet Mountains

Day: 002

Date: Wednesday, 08 May 2024

Start:  CO Road C119

Finish:  Little Hatchet Mountains 

Daily Kilometres:  33.4

GPX Track:  Click here for Julie’s Strava & Photos

Total Kilometres:  60.6

Weather:  Mild early, then warm to hot, sunny with gusty winds.

Accommodation:  Tent

Nutrition:

  Breakfast:  Pop tarts 

  Lunch:  Trail mix 

  Dinner:  Rehydrated meals 

Aches:  Dave - exhausted, stiff and sore with the usual niggles; Julie - still cruising, nothing to report.

Highlight:  The variety of desert vegetation, some of it in bloom, and nearly all of it prickly.

Lowlight:  The wind has been an irritating constant during the day and howled through last night, buffeting the tent.

Pictures: Click here

Map and Position: Click here for Google Map

Journal:

After a very windy night, we woke at 5:30am and were hiking by soon after 6:30am, not bad for our first packup of the trip.  We have seamlessly resumed our camping roles from the Appalachian Trail which makes us quite efficient.

Much of the planning for our 4.5 days hike to Lordsburg from the border revolves around the availability of water, which is scarce.  The CDT umbrella organisation has put out some water caches and they are our first preference, with bores and cattle troughs running a distant second.

Today we had 16km to a cache, much of it along a 4WD road paralleling the Big Hatchet Mountains to our left.  It was a good way to start, with Dave still feeling yesterday’s effort, and pleasant watching the morning light illuminate the mountains.

After filling up on water (Dave literally drank two litres) we spent the afternoon gradually climbing onto the lower slopes of the Little Hatchet Mountains carrying extra water.

At first it was “choose your own trail” as we navigated our way through the prickly scrub trying to identify the best route to get to the next trail marker usually visible, but not always, in the far distance.  It was slow going, but there was lots of interesting vegetation, some of it in bloom, to offset the winding and sometimes sandy routes we chose.

For the last part of the day we followed a rough 4WD track along the slopes of the mountain range with frequent, and enervating, dry creek crossings which usually involved a sharp rocky descent followed by a similar ascent.  By this time, Dave was really dragging the anchor, with Julie doing plenty of patient waiting.  Finally, soon after 6pm, we found a very welcome spot to raise the tent and quickly had dinner and a wash before going to bed.  Still windy.

Day 001 - Continental Divide Trail - Crazy Cook to Big Hatchet Mountains

Day: 001

Date: Tuesday, 07 May 2024

Start:  Crazy Cook 

Finish:  CO Road C119

Daily Kilometres:  27.2

GPX Track:  Click here for Julie’s Strava & Photos

Total Kilometres:  27.2

Weather:  Cool early then warm to hot, sunny and windy.

Accommodation:  Tent

Nutrition:

  Breakfast:  Hotel Continental buffet 

  Lunch:  Trail mix

  Dinner:  Rehydrated meals

Aches:  Dave - exhausted and the usual niggles; Julie - cruising and nothing to report.

Highlight:  A beautiful desert sunset over the Big Hatchet Mountains that overlook our campsite.

Lowlight:  In strong winds, trying to put up our new tent which, although light, is of complicated design, at the end of a long day.

Pictures: Click here

Map and Position: Click here for Google Map

Journal:

We woke at 4:30am and took advantage of the hotel's early Continental breakfast put on especially for thru-hikers, before walking the mile down to where we were to get our shuttle to the border.  Only five hikers, including us, with only 27 more booked to start the CDT northbound this season.  We were allocated CDT rucksack tags indicating we were the 328th and 329th hikers to start this season.

The other hikers on our trip were two Americans and a Russian who lives in the US.  All are experienced thru-hikers and very friendly and we saw them several times during the day.

The trip to the border took three hours with the last half along rough 4WD roads.  At the border, we were told to legendary, but not validated, story about how it got its name when a ranch cook killed a ranch hand with an axe nearby when he complained about the cooking.

Counter-intuitively, the roads on the Mexican side of the border were in good condition and there were green fields, apparently farmed by Mennonites, in contrast to the desert on our side.  The border itself was understated with an open gate that Julie used to temporarily visit Mexico.  No Trump wall here, or any sign of border patrol.

We set off walking around 9:30am after the obligatory photos and the balance of the day was spent gradually ascending to a pass in Big Hatchet Range and then gradually descending the other side.  The trail was mix of single track, 4WD tracks and dry creek beds.  The latter were the toughest because of the soft gravel.  But, we were surrounded by awesome mountains and solitude.

As expected, Dave had a very tough day and was very glad to finish, but dreading the stiffness and soreness tomorrow will bring.

Day 000 - Continental Divide Trail - Lordsburg

Day: 000

Date: Monday, 06 May 2024

Finish:  Lordsburg 

Daily Kilometres:  0

Total Kilometres:  0

Weather:  Warm and sunny.

Accommodation:  Motel

Pictures: Click https://photos.app.goo.gl/XENDnVHnxkPe5bUCA

Map and Position: https://www.google.com/maps/d/edit?mid=1KZ8wIU-Y-YFdXf0Z3d6gHQZ1vZmk0BiJ&usp=sharing

Journal:

We are in Lordsburg, a remote small town in southern New Mexico, ready for our three-hour 4WD shuttle to the Mexican border early tomorrow to begin our hike northbound for 4,300 kilometres along the Continental Divide Trail to Canada.

After flying out of Sydney to Los Angeles last Friday lunchtime, we journeyed by hire car to Tucson over the weekend via the impressive Joshua Tree and Saguaro National Parks.  Along the way we also made last-minute purchases, mostly food to cover the first days of our hike and to mail ahead to a small store we'll pass in about ten days time.  We mailed off the latter along with a separate package, to Dave's nephew in Denver, of clothes and stuff we don't need on the hike.

This morning we caught a train for the four-hour journey to Lordsburg from Tucson and met two other CDT thru-hikers while waiting for the same train.  We are now holed up in a cheap motel about 20 minutes walk from where we get the shuttle early tomorrow.  It's nearing the end of peak season for hikers and, though they usually take about a dozen to the border each day, we've heard only five are booked tomorrow.  The shuttle price also covers the supply of water at several caches in the desert that we will need for the first four or five days.

As usual, Julie is super fit while Dave is relatively unfit and feeling sorry for himself with some niggles.  We have cut some weight from the load we carried on the Appalachian Trail last year, with lighter packs and a lighter tent, so are hoping that will make life a bit easier.

We expect to take up to six months for the journey and some flexibility may be required, depending on snow conditions in Colorado.  We may have to skip Colorado and return to it later in the trip.

We are both very keen to get hiking tomorrow.