Follow the blog

I added a box in the right column that allows you to receive emails when I update the blog.  Add yours if you would like to know right away when I reach civilization.

Lordsburg to Silver City

We have reached Silver City.  I am still hiking with Brooks, as have yet to go Lewis-and-Clark.  We took today off to rest up and get resupply packages ready for the next couple weeks.  It is a neat small town with everything a hiker could want within easy walking distance of our hotel (built in 1882).

The trail has improved greatly.  There is actual trail to follow much of the time (not dirt roads or cow paths!), regular trees for shade (even some pine forest!), and more interesting topography.  I have been enjoying the geology, as it is nothing like the PNW (there is a copper mine just south of town).

All my gear and food has been working well, except for my shoes/insoles.  I finally realized I needed to cut out the area below my little toes from the insoles to give them enough room, but not until I lost a toenail and spent several days limping along with significant assistance from ibuprofen.  Hopefully things heal up within a few days.

I will be heading north from town tomorrow.  The 'official' CDT goes through the Gila Mountains, but I am choosing a common alternate along the Gila River, as it will be a nice break from the desert.  I will also be able to visit the Gila Cliff Dwellings.  I should be in Pie Town within a week and a half, and to Grants in about two.  

The walk out of Lordsburg.

A beautiful campsite with water, shade, and cell phone reception.

The first real hiking tread of the trail!

Nearing the end of the 12 mile road-walk into town.

Mexican Border to Lordsburg

I am finally on the trail!  

The drive to the border went smoothly, with a few stops to cache water along the way.  Border Patrol was on high alert, as we received a helicopter fly-by within ten minutes of reaching the fence.  After the requisite photos, we began the dry, shadeless, 83-mile hike to Lordsburg.  

This part of the trail was fairly straightforward: Follow the posts/signs in the desert scrub or dirt roads, as there is not actual tread.  The GPS came in quite handy when the posts were knocked over or the roads intertwined.  

We received visits from Border Patrol when taking a siesta in the shade of an informational kiosk by the highway (at 4'x4', it was the best shade for miles).  The first officer was just saying hello, but the second pair was much more formal, as they had received a call that it appeared a couple border crossers had given up and were waiting at the road to be picked up (I hope we did not look quite that bad...).  At least they are being vigilant.

Crazy Cook Monument, Mexican Border

Posts are the only sign of trail 'construction' for long stretches.

Brooks looking for the next sign.

BYO shade

Locals

Working windmill water source.

Lordsburg

I have made it safely to Lordsburg from the Crazy Cook Monument (Mexican Border).  I have been hiking with Brooks, another thru-hiker I caught a ride to the border with.  We are all cleaned up after a very hot and blister-inducing stretch and will head to Silver City in the morning.  I will write a longer post with pictures when we take a full day off there.

Tucson 2

The view from Signal Hill

We took a short hike up Signal Hill to view some petroglyphs and visited the San Xavier Mission this afternoon.  The cacti were starting to bloom, including abundant buds on the saguaro.

San Xavier Mission

Ocotillo in bloom

Tucson, Resupply, and Food

I made it safely to Tucson.  I was upgraded to first class, which was quite pleasant.  The TSA checkpoint scanner operator spent a long time staring at my stove on his screen, but much to my surprise did not ask to see it.  My checked box full of metal poles and pills (trekking poles, tent stakes, ibuprofen, etc) did appear to have received a thorough looking over, however.

I am staying the night with my mother's friends before taking a bus to Lordsburg tomorrow evening.  On Sunday morning, I am catching a ride to the border with another thru-hiker.  We will be caching water along the way, so I expect to get started from Crazy Cook Monument (the Mexican border) sometime in the afternoon.

If I take the 'official' trail back to Lordsburg, I should return to civilization in four or five days.  I am also considering skipping it and taking an alternate straight to Silver City, which would be six or seven days.

Resupply

I am frequently asked how I resupply.  The answer varies based on what city, town, or middle-of-nowhere post office is nearby in a given area.  Ideally, the trail walks right into a town with a well-stocked market, in which case I buy enough food to get me to the next ideal town (including fresh food!).  When that does not happen, I can either hitchhike to a sufficient town when the trail crosses a major road or mail myself a resupply to a rural post office or friendly backcountry store, lodge, etc.  I put the resupply boxes together as I go from the larger towns, as Yogi's CDT Handbook includes great information about the amenities offered at each town or resupply delivery point.  I also have a "bounce bucket" that I send to myself at intervals of several weeks along the trail that contains items that I will need later, but do not want to carry now (such as my rain pants), and items to restock my first aid kit, etc.

These two resupply methods are much preferred to sitting up late at night over the winter making spreadsheets of projected usage, calorie needs, and destinations in order to pre-pack supply drops for the entire trip.  Invariably most things will be wrong.  Why on earth would you think you wanted to eat macaroni and cheese for three months?  What if you decide to take an alternate route, but your box is sitting along the route some jerk's blog recommended?  What if you do not finish, and are stuck staring at three months of supply boxes, reminding you of your failure?

Food

I try to refrain from counting the number of calories I am carrying or calculating calories per ounce.  I do not bother with fancy dehydrated meals, but instead purchase whatever suits my fancy at the grocery store.  The picture is pretty typical, with the addition of bagels and my noxious breakfast shake mix (vegan protein powder, powdered superfood, powdered soy milk, Nesquik, Nescafe, and oatmeal).  In the baggies are: olive oil, textured vegetable protein, couscous (a good filler if the Pasta Side won't be quite enough), Gatorade, chia seed (drank with the Gatorade), and powdered hummus mix.  I am attempting to make wiser diet choices than I did on the PCT, where I once bought Nutter Butters and a jar of frosting for dipping in an attempt to get enough calories.

I make no attempt to feed myself from the wilderness, apart from nominal berry picking.  I am not a fisherman and am unfamiliar with plants in this area, so experimentation with either seems impractical.

Overview Map

This is a map of the CDTA route.  Each hiker's CDT is different, but this gives a close enough approximation for the non-hiker.

Gear: Part 3

Footwear

 As mentioned in Part 2, I wear normal running shoes with debris gaiters.  I will be starting out with the Nikes that I have had for quite a while, as I could not find any new shoes that felt quite right.  I did add new Superfeet insoles.  The gaiters are made by Dirty Girl Gaiters (also perfectly acceptable as menswear), which are popular with thru-hikers.  The spandex is not waterproof, but is instead quite breathable and keeps out pebbles, dirt, seeds, etc.  The pattern also helps me hike faster.

Water Treatment

My primary water treatment method will be the Sawyer Squeeze Filter (3 oz).  I carry Aquamira drops as a backup and to double-treat sketchy water sources (ie. cow pond with dead cow floating in it, when there are no other sources for miles).

Electonics

In addition to the Garmin eTrex 20 GPS and super-fancy watch mentioned in Part 1, I will be carrying my cell phone with cable (not 'smart', but quite durable), Panasonic DMC-ZS6 digital camera (with spare battery and charger), and a Tikka XP headlamp.  I have considered picking up a small radio (ie. one that takes a single AAA battery) for the flat, open sections, but I have had difficulty finding one that is not integrated with this newfangled mp3 business.

Gear: Part 2

Not a good look.

Clothing

As you can see, my PCT clothing choices left something to be desired.  I have made several upgrades for the CDT (to be fair, I did not always look that horrendous).

I will be hiking in a new REI Sahara shirt and ExOfficio convertible pants that I have had since I was 14.  I like the flexibility of full coverage for sun and bug protection, but the sleeves easily roll up and legs zip off if I want more air flow.  On my feet I wear medium weight SmartWool hiking socks (one spare pair), running shoes, and light debris gaiters.  Yes, I will be wearing underwear (ExOfficio boxer briefs, one spare).

I usually do not wear a hat, but do have a bandana and a very flattering Sunday Afternoons Adventure Hat.  Normally, sun protection will be provided by my GoLite Chrome Dome Trekking Umbrella.

My outwear will include a Eddie Bauer First Ascent BC200 shell and Marmot Ether DriClime windshirt for the entire trail, with a light REI Revelcloud synthetic vest and cheap rain pants added during the more mountainous sections and in the fall.  I have a light Mountain Hardware fleece cap and old REI fleece gloves when it is colder.

As my hiking clothes may be wet and will certainly smell awful, I will have separate clothes to sleep in: full body long underwear, a light balaclava, and light socks.  When it is colder, I can add any or all of my other garments.

Most of my clothing will stay with me the entire trail, although I expect to wear out five pairs of shoes and at least that many pairs of socks.

Navigation

Clockwise from upper left: Yogi's Trail Guide pages,
BCS map book, and Ley maps.

The CDT is not well-blazed like the Appalachian Trail nor well-signed like the Pacific Crest Trail.  It is newer and lacks consensus on a "correct" route, so hikers must make many of their own decisions and be prepared to navigate relatively unmarked trails of varying conditions (and states of existence).  Fortunately, there are many excellent resources put together by those who have gone before.

Jonathan Ley has assembled maps covering the entire trail and common alternates, which he gives to hikers on a CD to print themselves.  Most map pages also include notes on trail conditions, the merits of alternates, water sources, etc.  I chose to print the maps as 11x17 for better readability, although many choose 8.5x11.

A recent addition to CDT map options are the Bear Creek Survey map books that cover the Continental Divide Trail Society 'official' route.  The majority of this route overlaps with the Ley maps, but does miss a few common alternates.  The advantage of the BCS maps is a more accurately plotted trail line and a labeled GPS grid.  I have spent several hours annotating both the BCS and Ley maps so I can easily reference between them on the trail.  I do not know which I will use primarily.

I am carrying a Garmin eTrex 20 GPS with a 100k base map, based on a recommendation from StarMan.  His website also includes GPS waypoints for the trail, including alternates, and water sources in key areas.  The GPS is also loaded with waypoints of the BCS route.  To conserve batteries, the GPS will only be used to check my location in cases of uncertainty.  I should be able to "stay found" with maps and compass most of the time.

Yogi's CDT Handbook is an invaluable resource for pre-trail planning and on-trail logistics.  I will be carrying the Town Guide in sections in order to plan my time between resupply.  The Planning Guide includes advice from several recent CDT thru-hikers and was very helpful in making gear and route decisions.

I will be carrying a week or two of maps at a time.  New batches will be included in resupply boxes (more on that in a future post), limiting unnecessary weight.  Once I have hiked past maps, I plan to use the back of some to journal and the rest to start my Bushbuddy stove.

Gear: Part 1

Stripped down Gregory G-Pack. 

Pack:

I will be carrying a Gregory G Pack that I used for the second half of the PCT in 2006.  It is nothing like the G Pack sold today, which has a bunch of unnecessary pockets, straps, etc and weighs nearly 3 lbs.  For the PCT, I removed the lid (top pocket), the metal stay along the back, and cut off several extra straps.  It now weighs ~1 lb.

The only changes I made to the pack were having the hip belt reinforced by Rainy Pass Repair (highly recommended shop), touching up the seam sealant, sewing a strapless $10 watch to the shoulder strap, and making my own GPS holster out of elastic.

GPS with homemade holster.

Watch sewn to shoulder strap.

Stove:

Based on a recommendation from friend and thru-hiker extraordinaire, Lint, I am carrying a 5 oz. Bushbuddy stove.  It burns wood very efficiently and can be stored inside my Evernew cookpot (~8 oz) from the PCT.  The stove is cushioned with a lavender bandana that also functions as a pot holder and dishrag.  The color guarantees I will never accidentally wear it.  It weighs slightly more than the alcohol stove I used on the PCT, but I do not have to carry fuel (nor find denatured alcohol in trail towns), making the weight worth it.

Bushbuddy stove stored inside cookpot.

Shelter:

Gossamer Gear SpinnShelter with storm flap deployed.

Lint also recommended the Gossamer Gear SpinnShelter.  It is similar in size and setup to the Integral Designs SilShelter I used on the PCT, but only ~9 oz (plus 8 stakes).  The spinnaker cloth is also less prone to stretching than silnylon.

I am reusing my 32F Marmot Hydrogen sleeping bag from the PCT (24 oz for a long).  It does not have quite the same amount of loft as it once did, but I should be warm enough.  I am also reusing a lightweight silk sleeping bag liner, which adds a bit of warmth and is easily washed, keeping the bag cleaner.  A 9 oz RidgeRest short pad and light groundcloth complete my sleeping system.

The shelter can also be setup tight to the ground in foul weather

Quite a bit of room for ~9oz