Continental Divide Trail: Day 7 – 19.5 miles (126.5 miles from Mexico)

Posted on April 24, 2015 by sheraaaa

Today was a pain in the butt. Literally. I had tight hamstrings last night, and rubbed some arnica on my legs, but this morning when I started to walk I had a shooting pain in my left glute. What???? I didn’t know what was going on, it felt like there was a problem with my hip…and I had a flash to my friend Luigi who needs to get his hip replaced…his quality of life has been severely impacted by the bad hip…and I didn’t want to fathom that this could be happening to me too.

I took some vitamin I (Ibuprophen) and hobbled down the trail. I wasn’t going to let a little pain stop me from making some miles! The trail was beautiful and climbed up and up, trees and grasses bordered the trail and I reveled in the change of scenery. After a quick trip to a cow tank to get more water, I kept going…and found that climbing Jacks Peak and Burro peak wasn’t nearly as painful as flat walking.

Lovely

Views

I called Kirk from my lunch spot on top of one of the mountains and described my symptoms…he said it sounded a lot like a tight or pinched sciatic nerve. He used to have the same issue when he was a competitive runner, and explained a few stretches that might help.

And they did! Or it could have been the handful of Vitamin I…regardless I was able to put in some more miles and really enjoy the views all around. A few hours later however, I was back to hobbling and before long could barely walk.

Big trees!

I hobbled down Tryone Road trying to get as close to Silver City as I could so the walk in would be bearable tomorrow, but had to call it a night before it was even 6pm, I was barely walking a mile an hour.

I can be really stubborn. A woman offered me a ride, and I declined. If I got a ride from here I would have to return when my bum was feeling better and walk it again. I’m cowboy camped just off the road and will do my best to walk into Silver City (17.5 miles) tomorrow, but if I just can’t I should be able to hitch in. I’ve already gotten the name of an acupuncturist in town, and I’ve looked up a bunch of stretches that should help.

This sucks. And I can’t believe I still hiked as much as I did!

Continental Divide Trail: Day 6 – 18 Miles (107 miles from Mexico)

Posted on April 23, 2015 by sheraaaa

What a day! I passed the 100 mile mark and I got to walk on actual trail! I love the fact that the first 100 miles of the CDT are cross-country/old roads, it lends a certain bad-assitude to the trail, but when that first section of trail tread comes, wow! It’s such a treat! The flow of a well made trail is pretty awesome, banked turns, markers on trees, shade from trees…oh, and there are trees now!

Trail!!!

When I woke up this morning I made a concerted effort not to pack up as quickly as I could to start hiking… lets savor this hike.

When I got on the trail, it was a long 10ish mile cross country walk, and with the trail heading east, it was a bit challenging to see the CDT posts. But as with the previous sections I would keep walking while scanning the horizon for the elusive markers, the CDT makes a killer game of “I Spy.” I could just head straight for the spot I knew the trail entered the mountains, but with so many fences, by sticking to the posts I wouldn’t have to keep taking off my pack and sliding on the dirt to get under the barbed wire. At least the
official route usually has gates to pass through.

Can you spy the trail marker?

The day was still which made the walking hot. I used my sun umbrella for the first time, and enjoyed the shade.

I got to a windmill/cow tank around lunch time and took a 2 hour break and read more of the ebook I downloaded from the library at home. (I LOVE the Deschutes library…free ebooks, audiobooks, and music!) I met a couple of hikers (Een? I’ll have to check the names…wasn’t quite sure I caught them correctly), a father and son from Breckenridge out for a section hike. They were cruising and enjoying the hike quite a bit.

After lunch I bumbled along the route and the CDT entered a beautiful set of mountains…where I saw my first trees! Beautiful! And when the old road bed I was hiking along crested a saddle I got a glimpse to the north. I took another break and soaked in the view. Then the sweet stuff: trail!!!! I cruised down the path and decided to call it a night early in a beautiful little forest…no hiding from the wind behind a bush for me tonight!

Look at that beautiful trail!

Camp, and it's not behind a bush!

I’m really looking forward to this new section…

Continental Divide Trail: Day 5 – 4 Miles (89 miles from Mexico)

Posted on April 21, 2015 by sheraaaa

Oh town, your seductive fast food, showers, and excesses…while we thru-hikers dream of you, it’s always a relief to return to the trail. I decided to take a nero today (a nero is hiking just a few miles into or out of town…as opposed to a zero where no trail miles are hiked), and man did my feet need it. Everytime I looked at them I would discover new blisters. No lie! My feet have some catching up to do, or I have some slowing down to do so they can catch up. You need to keep those two appendages happy…the hike depends on it.

I think the pink toe nail polish matches the bushwacking scratches well

So I lounged in the hotel room all day, chatting with Kirk, friends and family, visiting Instagram and Facebook regularly, and catching a few movies on cable TV…something I don’t even watch at home! Wow, vacation rocks!

The first few days of my hike I refrained from turning the data on for my phone, but now I’m going to use it when I want…and today that means I’m streaming my Alt-J station on Pandora! I still can’t get over how much technology changes the trail experience, and again, It’s pretty cool.

I listened to Trail Side Radio on my walk out of town… Ratatouille again featured part of the interview he did with me last month in Bend…and I got to share the air with my good friend Allgood. Check out his podcast, he’ll hit the trail soon and will be broadcasting from the PCT. I’m looking forward to listening to his adventures as I hike north. It is kind of trippy to be featured on another podcast…

I’m barely outside of Lordsburg…my four miles took me about three miles down the highway (blah to walking on the side of a highway) and into one of the last big wide open spaces I’ll be hiking through in a while. Again I’m camped in cow range land behind a bush. I actually feel quite decadent out here. I packed out some cheddar and sour cream ruffles, the tunes are playing, and my feet are feeling good after all that rest.

Cowboy camping behind a bush, with chips!

I don’t know how many miles I’m going to do tomorrow, or the day after for that matter. All I know is I’m going to walk. Life is good.

The great wide open

Continental Divide Trail: Day 4 – 24ish miles (84ish miles from Mexico)

Posted on April 20, 2015 by sheraaaa

The milage is hard to gauge out here. While there is mileage I can reference when calculating how far I’ve hiked each day, within that day there are 100s of possible detours/alternate routes/and just getting “misplaced” for a while.

The route is out there. Can you spot the post? Sometimes I spend minutes scanning the horizon

I think I tacked on a few miles of “misplacement” today, at least one mile! I woke up in the middle of a cow pasture, again huddled by a couple of bushes in the hopes they would block the incessant wind. It was a calm morning, and as I made my coffee and packed up I knew essentially that I just had to walk across a few miles of open range to get to Pyramid Peak where the “trail” or route or dirt road, or combinations of the two would be. So not looking too closely at my maps I started hiking. The CDT posts were infrequent here, but didn’t worry about it too much.

I've been drinking coffee the first mile or so on the trail

After a break of drying out the blisters (yep, the blisters keep coming), I turned on Guthook’s App (luxury of all luxuries, there is a GPS enabled App to tell you if you are on the trail, or route, or road). I was quite a bit off, so then I head still towards Pyramid Peak, but also in the direction of where the CDT should be.

Dry the socks at each break...the feet get awfully sweaty

I expect much of the trail will be like this. Not quite knowing where I am, and turning on the App (and checking my maps of course) to figure it out. Now, I didn’t think I would use the App at all, but damn, once I turned it on and saw how easy it was, I was hooked. I feel very fortunate since most of my friends who have hiked in previous years had to be lost for real. No app to turn on, just good ‘ol map and compass and a bit of GPS. Times have changed, and instead of fighting it, I’m rolling with it! I mean the CDT is hard enough, the wind, the heat, the dirt…I could go on.

I just bee-lined it to the peak...and got a bit off track

In the first 85 miles it seems like well over half has been cross country with regular (sometimes not regular) posts marking the way, the rest on old dirt roads (bliss!) and 0% on trail tread. I hear that’s changing north of here and we’ll get some trail to hike. But really, that is what the CDT is. There is no intention to make a trail from Mexico to Lordsburg. The rugged, route-finding nature of this hike is what the CDT is. The new trail being built is often to take the walking off of paved roads, or heavily trafficked roads, but rugged it will always be. Brutal it will always be.

Ahhh those burrs drive me crazy

So I made my way back to the CDT after getting a bit off track, and made my way around the mountain to meet Kramers, a northbounder hiking south for a bit. He was the first person I’ve seen since the first day.

More hiking, more wind, but getting closer to my first town stop! I got to the 5th CDTC water cache and decided to take my phone off of airplane mode. I wanted to unplug for the first few days, but also wanted to see if Teresa, Snorkle & Val would be around when I got into Lordsburg later that afternoon. I found out I’ll be missing them, but get a chance to hang out with Bearclaw & Dirtmonger who rolled in a few hours before me.

Lordsburg is down there!

After a few burgers at McDonalds (I know, but when you are on the trail you DREAM about shitty food like that) and got to the Econolodge where we are holed up for the night. A quick dinner with Radar, Peru, Old and Slow & Mike from Maine, I am now ready to pass out.

Good night all! I think I’ll let my blisters air out for the morning and see about getting them on the trail again tomorrow afternoon.

Continental Divide Trail: Day 3 – 23 Miles (62 miles from Mexico)

Posted on April 19, 2015 by sheraaaa

Ramen noodles never tasted so good.

So again, I’m making more miles than I initially anticipated, and I am exhausted. No suprise there. The first month of a long hike is the break-in phase, and really, the only way to get in shape for a long hike is to hike all day every day…and I have been doing a good job of that.

My biggest challenge today was the wind. The wind is CRAZY out here. I had a great morning, made easy miles, saw a couple of coyotes, really reveled in the terrain and the trail, and then after a lunch break the wind started, and by started I mean it howled. At times I thought I would get blown over, and the decision to put on my Chacos was not a good one as I was picking my way over the rocky ledges of Coyote Hills, looking for rattle snakes and getting blasted by the wind…it just took all the joy of the morning out of me.

There is nothing to block the wind out here

Getting grumpy when you are hiking by yourself really doesn’t mean much. If you have no one to complain to, what’s the point? This is the second day in a row that I haven’t seen anyone, and all I wanted to do was bitch about the wind and terrain (yes the same terrain I loved this morning). Anyway, during this time I came up with a good anaology: If the Pacific Crest Trail is a purring kitten, then the Appalachian Trail is an angry house cat that still has its claws, and the Continental Divide Trail is a mountain lion about to take your face off with one wrong move.

The consequences are immense with one mistake out here, I’m confident in my abilities, but I’ve never been on a trail with this many challenges. Today, the wind.

A 23 mile day puts me about 23 miles from Lordsburg. Yes, that’s right. 23 miles from pizza and a shower and maybe even a bed. Right now it’s all I can think about. Ramen is tasting pretty delicious, imagine what a pizza would taste like!

Digging a hole helps when there is a lot of wind

Continental Divide Trail: Day 2 – 22 miles (39 miles from Mexico)

Posted on April 18, 2015 by sheraaaa

Whew. They say the tag line for the CDT is “Embrace the Brutality” but I think today the brutality embraced me.

I have been literally unable to sleep the past week. I must be getting some sort of rest because I am able to function, but man, it was a looooooong sleepless night of looking at the stars and trying to convince sleep to pay me a visit. I’m hoping something changes soon because I need all my energy for this trail.

I started getting ready about an hour before sunrise, making coffee and packing up, and hiked the first bit while drinking from my french press mug. I’m glad for the extra weight so far!

The first half of the day was a cross country section, marked by posts with CDT markers on them. The trail traverses just below a mountain range, and when I lost the posts I didn’t mind as I just had to keep the range to my left. Well, I did a fair amount of bushwacking while navigating up and down and around all the drainages, cactus, and pokey things. Ouch. My legs got scratched up good!

I worked my way cross country for the first 10 miles until reaching the second water cache the CDTC maintains. The day was HOT and I took a break in a pocket sized shadow of the cache box. I’m tired. That cross country section took a lot out of me.

The sun was brutal, but a pretty steady wind made it bearable. The next four miles continued the cross country, but was easier to nagivate. I was feeling slow with the sun beating down and tried to use my sun umbrella for a bit, but to no avail. The wind was just too stong.

Finally the trail became an old road bed, easy cruising, and I made my way north. I didn’t intend to hike more than 18 mile days, but I decided I could hike more. So far I’ve been hiking about an hour and a half, then take a 30-60 minute break, and hike, break, hike, break, on and on until I’m DONE. Today I aimed to reach a water source so I could camp with water. It was a cow tank with a piped spring that turned on about 7pm, so I was able to fill from the pipe instead of the dung-infested dirt tank.

I wanted to camp near by, and with the increasing clouds I decided to set up my tarp. Uggg, broke one of my stakes trying to pound it into the rocky ground, so decided to use rocks as anchors, but the wind was so strong nothing would stay. Uggggggggg. I found a spot with a windbreak behind the tank to cowboy camp, but then I envisioned getting trappled by cows in the middle of the night, so limped on a bit farther down the trail and tucked myself in between two sage bushes. I won’t set up my tarp tonight, but keep it close in case I need to wrap myself like a burrito if it does rain.

I’m terribly tired, my legs are scratched up and I’ve got a few blisters, but getting to camp, making my mac & cheese and tending to my wounds perks up my mood. There’s nothing like a full stomach and self-care to make the world right again.

It’s another day in the desert tomorrow. I hope I can sleep.

Continental Divide Trail: Day 1 -17ish Miles

Posted on April 17, 2015 by sheraaaa

Day 1 – 17ish miles

I’m on the CDT!

What a relief to finally be on trail and find my body remembers what this is all about. The walking, the sun, the water, the maps, I love it all!

After another sub-par night of sleep, I woke to my alarm at 5:30am…just enough time to pack up, hit the continental breakfast at the Econolodge in Lordsburg, and meet Teresa, Val, and Juan who would be shuttling us to the border.

Getting to the start of the CDT is not an easy task. While there are traditionally three spots folks can start the trail on the Mexican border, two are not ideal, either passing through private property, or containing looooong road walks. The Crazy Cook monument is the spot most people start, and it is in the middle of freaking no where.

The Continental Divide Trail Coalition offers shuttle service to the border, and since I’m their trail ambassador this year, I was able to catch a ride down the day before the official shuttle service started. So did Bearclaw, Dirtmonger, and True with her dog Billy. For $120 the CDTC will take hikers the 3 hour drive over nasty rutted dirt roads to Crazy Cook, and will also maintain 5 water caches for hikers along the 84 trail miles to Lordsburg. A real deal considering others offering rides charge more and don’t cache water for you.

We loaded up the vehicles and were off! FINALLY.

We rolled up to the border about 10am, and yes, the road is nasty. We all took obligatory photos, turned around, and set off!

The first few miles were cross country, but posts with big CDT symbols made it easy to navigate the great wide open. I had a perma-grin on my face the whole day. I’m on the CDT!!

Soon the trail started following a dirt road and I hiked a bit with Bearclaw & Dirtmonger…taking lunch with them in a dirt wash. Oh life! Dirt and trail food and sweat!

We all played leap-frog with eachother the rest of the afternoon, in and out of deeply cut washes. The sandy-rocky footbed was pleasent and flowers of the brightest yellow and deepest purple carpeted the desert in places.

We’ve heard the desert is greener than it has been in a while due to a wet winter. Score!

I caught up to Bearclaw & Dirtmonger once again at the first cache, and found Rambler, who had decided to hike south from Lordsburg.

Filling up on a few liters of water, I set off for an evening stroll. I had carried more water than i needed from the border, and have much too much food, but hey! Other than that the first day went amazingly.

A bit before dusk I cleared out some rocks for a place to sleep; I’ll cowboy camp (sleep out in the open without a shelter) since the sky is fairly clear. I have my shelter handy in case it does decide to rain tonight, but i want to be out in the open, I want to watch the stars twinkle into existance as the sun sets (right now!) and soak in my first day on the CDT.

Almost on the Continental Divide Trail

Posted on April 12, 2015 by sheraaaa

What a whirlwind few days! Since arriving in Silver City on Friday afternoon it has been a smorgasbord few days of connecting with hikers I’ve known on past thru hikes, meeting new hikers that will be on the trail this year, and soaking in the goodness of Silver City, NM.

Upon arriving at our destination on Friday afternoon, we immediately headed to the Little Toad Brewery where they were not only holding a happy hour celebration for us, but unveiling a special beer just for the CDT, the Divide Trail Ale! Yum.

Hikers united over good beer, a killer raffle, and a kick-ass band playing everything from Tom Petty to Heart and everything in between.

A pie from Pie Town was part of the raffle...and devoured in seconds

We danced, ate pie, and lived to tell the tale.

Saturday was a full day of vendor booths, where I sold a grip of hikertrash swag, and connecting with the community who came out in full force to see what this thru-hiking crowd was all about. And I have to say, this is one of the most welcoming communities I’ve ever hiked through (ok, I haven’t hiked through yet…that will be in a week or two, but you know what I mean.) Kids and teens and families and retirees came out to see what we were all about, and as they marveled at the weird but interesting hikers that had descended on their town, and we marveled at the eclectic, artistic, and truly beautiful community we found.

I had a chance to reconnect with multiple folks: Erica, one of my trail crew from a season building trails in Colorado 8 years ago was now working at the Little Toad; Bams, a thru-hiker I met on the PCT in 2006 was now a brewer at the Little Toad; and Restless, another 2006 PCT thru-hiker who is also hiking the CDT this year and who had already hiked into Silver City from the border of Mexico. Mint!!!! One of the things I love most about hiking over the years is running into trail friends in the most unexpected (in this case expected) times. I hadn’t seen any of these folks since we spent time on the trail together years ago. And we can pick up where we left off. Nice.

Ericotter and I built trails together 8 years ago.

Bams & Restless

Today we had a mellow start of breakfast, putzing around, and then a short hike with some folks from Silver City. It was wonderful to connect with everyone and tell stories from our numerous hikes. Snorkle, Bearclaw, and I regaled the local hikers with our experiences, and we got to enjoy a real connection to the area. Very nice.

The most excellent day was ended with a massive bbq at Carol & Richard’s dome paradise, some wonderful trail angels; the Warrior Hikers and more came together and we ate ribs and watched the sun set over the New Mexico desert. This is what it is all about.

I set up my new SMD Deschutes Cuben Fiber shelter for my first night under the tarp, and will sleep long and dark and dream of the trail which is close enough to touch.

The Serindipitious Travel Day

Posted on April 10, 2015 by sheraaaa

Leaving home is bitter sweet, especially when you have an amazing man to say goodbye to for a while. But, as luck would have it, I had a few serendipitous encounters on the plane rides over to Tucson yesterday.

I sat next to the one person I knew on the plane ride from Bend to LA; I had worked with David Rosell on and off over the past four years at Cascade Publications, and had a great time talking adventures…he’s an avid traveler as well.

On the plane ride from LA to Tuscon, just as I was getting settled in my seat, my seat-mate sat down saying, “I’m hikertrash!” I was wearing my new “Ode to Ridgewalking” hikertrash hat, and as I got to know Michael I learned he had done big sections of the AT, the Tahoe Rim Trail and more. What are the chances that the one person i sit next to on the plane is another long distance backpacker?

The day gathered steam when I arrived in Tuscon and Dangerprone picked me up at the airport. I met Dangerprone and her husband Hawkeye on the PCT when I spent a weekend near Elk Lake giving out trail magic back in 2008. At the time I was planning to thru-hike the Arizona Trail the next year, so they immediately offered their assistance in Tuscon the next year.

Ok!

In fact another couple I met that year, Slowride & Shake n Bake also lived in Tucson and had already hiked the AZT. Trail magic provides!

The two couples planned a hiker dinner last night, and as friends Allgood & Snorkel were driving in to pick me up for the CDT kickoff in Silver City, we had a whole crew of backpackers telling stories and drinking beer. Have I mentioned I love the hiking community?