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.