Our first 20!

Yep, day two, and we’ve begun kicking 20 mile days (day, so far, I suppose). And man, the trail is bustling! As far as a typical CDT year goes, there’s maybe 200 people that start out. Our shuttle folks alone have dropped off about 160, and there’s two or three other folks out there that help out hikers and are busy as well. 

After we woke up this morning, we broke down camp and made breakfast. Crocs and his wife (or partner of some degree) made it to our site just as we were getting ready to leave. It seems there were 10 or more people who ended up camping at the water cache about 3 miles back from where we were. 

We were hiking along the road and saw 5 full cars of hikers eagerly anticipating the start of their hikes, only but an hour or so away (and yes, it takes about an hour to drive the dusty roads that took us 17 miles to walk).

The weather was beautiful; cool breeze, clear skies, and not a complaint on the terrain. We continued along the trail which sometimes isn’t a trail at all. Instead of looking down and following the worn path, you’re forced to scan the horizon for trail signs and make your way towards them. There were a few times we almost got turned around. We also found another positive feature of our umbrellas — trail markers!

Baguette (who was on our shuttle to the start) said she too almost lost the trail a few times, but easily could spot Ben and I’d glistening silver umbrellas and would make her way in that direction. So our umbrellas not only save us from the sun, but also help others find their way! Granted, so long as we are going the right way...

For those of you following along new to the trail world, no one has real names. They are given trail names along their first long distance trek which becomes their identity. So I honestly couldn’t tell you anyone’s name, but we’ve met folks such as Zigzag, Helium, Baguette, Crocs, and many more. I’m sure as the trail progresses, we will get to know some of our fellow hikers a bit more and hear the stories of their trail names, but until them, that’s just who they are!

Anyhow, back to the day. 

Shortly after our horizon scanning, we were able to get to another water cache, where we took a little break, swigged some water, and “camelled up”.  Since water sources are hard to come by, there are times you have to take advantage of the water you have, and dry camp (I.e. not near a water source). Typically you try to camp near water. Makes life easier (and safer), but also, means you have to hike with less water. 

At about 2lbs per liter, water quickly adds weight and thus fatigue. We left the water cache with 5 liters of water, opposed to our normal daily allotment of 3. With about 13 miles to the next source, and 10 already done for the day, we definitely knew we had to bring as much as we could carry. 

The trail from then rolled up and down hills and in and out of washes. Definitely a bit more elevation loss/gain than yesterday, but still fairly easy walking. As the day wore own, the miles melted away. Ben made it to 17 almost without hesitation, which was up from the 14 the previous day. But eager to press on and break 20, so we did. 

We found a little slit in a hill about 6 feet wide in an old wash which is flat enough, but also gives us slight wind protection. We didn’t want to push further in search of a proper camp site, so will make do with this. 

Our bodies are definitely sore, but the excitement of our first 20+ mile day has us high spirited. And with only a few miles to the next water cache, we thankfully don’t have to be as conservative with our water as initially planned. A good day, indeed.