Sandy trails
We woke to the sweet sounds of an owl hooting nearby. I eagerly wanted to jump up to see if I could get a glimpse, but instead allowed it to continue without startling it away.
All in all our day was relatively smooth sailing. Ben and I are both getting into more of a groove and did another 21 miles. The thin cloud coverage definitely helped as it shaded and cooled our sun burnt bodies, so we could continue trekking on.
As the day wore on, the clouds thinned and the heat picked up. The big gusts of wind steadily drying our sweat throughout the day, also prevented us from popping open our umbrellas, so we had to utilize our sun hats and cover our hands with our buffs as much as possible. Sunscreen in the prime target areas was definitely necessary, and applied.
I also got - and drained - my first blister yesterday. With a tiny pin prick to drain it, in hopes it doesn’t tear open while hiking, it would quickly seal up and refill. Throughout the day today, I kept draining it to prevent it from popping inside my shoe. So far, it’s holding up. Can only hope it will eventually calluses over. More than likely, it lives to pop another day.
The dusty trails turned into a Mars like sand. One step forward, half a step back. A bit frustrating, especially as the day heated up. The rolling hills soon became fissure crossings; giant tears in the earth that required us to either hop over, or jump down and then back up. So that was a bit of fun, even if only short lived.
We met the wife of a fellow thru-hiker who’s name has slipped my mind. She’s supporting him along the way with her teardrop trailer and two pups. Essentially, she hops up trail to road crossings where she meets him with supplies, and most importantly lots of water. Seemed liked a fun trip for them both. She had done a bit of the Appalachian Trail with him, but decided she would enjoy supporting from a car over the actual trek. My feet didn’t argue with her logic.
Other than that, we only saw two hikers towards the tail end of the day. Jess and Toby, who has recently left their jobs in medical fields to hop down to hike the CDT. They had started the day before us and were enjoying their new experience of thru-hiking.
As we got to our final spot for the day, a paved road and water cache, we quickly realized there was no shade or protection from the wind to be found. So we went to fill up our water and to our surprise found a couple apples and oranges! Me thinks Andrea is to thank, but whomever it was, thank you! We left a few for Toby and Jess, and one for Baguette, who we think is the next hiker, and not too far behind us.
We filled up and enjoyed our first bit of trail magic, and posted up in a little cut of a hill where the road crosses through. There we could find some shade and protection for the wind until the sun began to set and we could put up our tents.
Four border patrol officers, and even a sheriff deputy rolled by, all kind enough to stop and ask if we had enough water or if we were doing alright.
As the sun set, the gusting wind also settled a bet as well. Now we’re listening to the cars roll by (mostly law enforcement) and looking forward to our last big day before Lordsburg (and a shower!). Another 20 or so miles tomorrow, will put us about 7 miles into town on Saturday. Giving us a solid 3/4’s day rest to allow our worked bodies to recoup and prepare for the next push, to Silver City.
