Through the Big Burros In New Mexico

I walked 56-miles in 36-hours. Maybe not a smart thing to do, but I wanted to catch my friends. I got a new pair of Altra Olympus 2.0 shoes, which are a delight to my battered feet. Still, new shoes different set of blisters.

CDT trail sign leading toward the Big Burros

CDT follows old dirt road through the Big Burros

The path out of Lorsdsburg continued through hot, dry desert, and I am glad I did most of it in the cool, early morning hours. The CDT ascended the Big Burros monotonically, occasionally visiting stock water tanks, providing the water I need to survive. I climbed to the high point at Burro Peak, which is just above 8,000-feet, and delighted in the exercise and occasional views through ponderosa pines and juniper.

 Taller brush provides ample, cool shade for breaks during the day through the Big Burros

I descended the Big Burros via the "old route" of the CDT, which followed forest service roads, and eventually a semi-busy highway 90 to Silver City. I rejoined my friends, and am taking a zero day to allow my feet another rest before pushing on to the Gila River. The next two weeks will take me through some remote portions of the CDT in New Mexico, and I am eager to bathe my feet in the cool waters of the Gila!

Looking back to the 8,000-foot peaks of the Big Burros

85-Miles of Pain

The first stretch of the Continental Divide Trail from Crazy Cook to Lordsburg was... a cooker, literally. With temperatures in the mid-80s and few places to seek shade, I felt like I was in an oven. My feet swelled beyond the capacity of my experimental shoes, and I hobbled into Lordsburg with terrible blisters and foot pain. I am taking a day off to heal up, and am missing the company of my friends, who hiked ahead - I will rejoin them in Silver City.

The Bootheel area of southern New Mexico is an amazing, but harsh landscape. The ocotillo, barrel, and cholla cacti were all in full bloom, and sunrise and sunsets sublime. Enjoying it!

Our crew at the Crazy Cook Monument

Ocotillo bloom at sunset in the Big Hatchet mountains.

Ocotillos in the morning

Cholla cactus welcomes hikers leaving the Big Hatchet Mountains

Hikers walking towards the Coyote Hills

CDT Kickoff in Silver City

Arrived in Silver City, New Mexico on Thursday night, and got settled into the Carter house. There has been a host of activities throughout the weekend, and I got to sit in on a thru-hiker panel. Yay!

Leaving for the border tomorrow at 6:15 am., and begin my section hike of the New Mexico portion of the CDT.  I am looking forward to stretching my legs!

Billy The Kid's childhood home was located in this spot in Silver City, NM. Ron Howard
donated this replica cabin to sit in its place, which is located right near the visitor center.

Continental Divide Trail Coalition Executive Director, Teresa Martinez, at the CDT Kickoff in Silver City, NM.

Ran into Tony (from TOAKS -Titanium cookware) and Pi, who
hiked the CDT with my housemate So Far in Wyoming in 2010.

These folks led a parade of hikers through the town of Silver City. 

Hiking New Mexico in 2016

I am excited to be hiking on the CDT through the state of New Mexico in April and May of 2016. As with my 2009 hike, I will not be alone, as I set out with Whitney "Allgood" LaRuffa, Brian "Sweet Potato" Mosley,  John "Big John" McCune, and Roger "Greg in Wild" Carpenter. Of course, there will be others starting the same day.

A lot has changed since I hiked the CDT in 2009: My hair is thinning, and turning gray. I now live in Portland, Oregon, and own a general contracting business. I rent a house with friends (So Far CDT 2009), I have a dog, and I own a car. Some things have remained the same: I love long-distance hiking and the community, I remain a bachelor, "American Idol" is still on TV, and Barack Obama is the President.

The Continental Divide Trail is largely the same still winding from Mexico to Canada, through hot deserts to cold, barren, high peaks in the Rocky Mountains. However, the trail has seen a lot of change over the last seven years. The Continental Divide Trail Alliance has dissolved, and from the ashes the Continental Divide Trail Coalition has emerged as the prime advocacy/protector organization for the CDT. Trail angels have come and gone, and the trail itself has been re-routed in several places.

Near the Rio Chama in New Mexico

I will only see the portion through the Land of Enchantment. However, I will experience nearly 180-miles of trail I did not hike in 2009. In southern New Mexico, the trail branches off through the Black Range, winding through Mimbres, Deming, the Florida Mountains, and eventually Columbus/Palomas. That's the route I hiked. This time, I will be starting from the official starting point at Crazy Cook, hiking through the Big Hatchet Mountains up to Lordsburg, then through the Burro Mountains up to Silver City, and then I will hike through the lower Gila River up to Doc Campbell's, where I split off from the official route in 2009. I look forward to this unexplored territory.

I leave Portland in about 10-days, and I am mostly prepared to go. I don't plan on doing to the full digital diary that I did in 2009, but I will make periodic updates to the blog while out there. Those periodic updates will be mostly in the form of pictures with some text. Last time out on the CDT, I found that I spent hours uploading pictures, movies, and typing updates to trailjournals.com. This time around, I plan to enjoy my time in town, and not make many digital commitments.

These next few weeks will be about relaxation, reconnecting with the trail environment, losing a few pounds, getting in shape, and regaining some focus. I look forward to hiking with friends, and making new ones out there. Long-distance hiking is experience life at its fullest, and I intend to do that.