Follow Strider's Rambles

Day 138

The Murray hotel had a fabulous breakfast. I filled up on honey nut Chex, greek yogurt, a fruit cup, orange juice, and coffee. Then I walked one block to Tranquilbuzz coffee and spent 1.5 hours catching up with Stew. We sat in a cute, outdoor area with a bench and a swing, a fountain running in the background. I ate a GF green chili cheese muffin and drank a latte. He and ~17 others plan to road walk via Ravenswing brewery, to Lordsburg, and push to reach the border in six days.

Back at the hotel, I found Top Shelf. She & I went to Gila Hike & Bike, a gear store with an impressively diverse inventory for its small space. She got several items. I hoped to exchange my damaged Darn Tough pair for a fresh one, however they had no medium size pairs left of any style. We then went across the street to Morning Star Sports where I got a new pair of socks and Top Shelf bought a pair of shorts. I felt slightly nauseous so I got a prebiotic drink at the co-op.

Top Shelf and I walked towards the north end of town to run errands, but an urgent need to use the bathroom drove me back to the hotel room. I felt discombobulated and couldn’t decide on a shuttle, finish speed, or flight home. Top Shelf returned and I talked with her about my emotional turbulence. She felt similarly and we decided to take it easy in the hotel room for a couple hours.

As evening approached, I went to Food Basket and purchased resupply foods. On the way back, at the Ice Cream Emporium, I got two scoops of ice cream: lemon custard and honey sunflower butter. Then I dropped my resupply at the hotel room and accompanied Top Shelf to the co-op. She got dinner items and I got a small container of tempeh salad. Back at the hotel, we ate, chatted, and made a trip to the lobby for decaf coffee.

Day 139

I started the day with hot coffee and a shower. Then Top Shelf and I ate a tasty & large hotel breakfast, during which she decided to stay at the Murray another night. The desk attendant was super nice. He gave her immediate access to a one queen room down the hall. While she moved belongings via several loads, I packed my gear and made sure that I had three liters of water.

Feeling reluctant to leave town, I walked to Tranquilbuzz coffee house. In the outdoor patio, I settled into a swing seat, wrote, and chatted with a local. Inside a couple from Alaska played guitars; the woman had a great voice. Having retrieved a package from the post office, Top Shelf joined me. She got an Italian soda and I got a GF lemon bar. Tomorrow she’ll begin the Arizona Winter Traverse, with her friend Recon joining for ~12 days. As it neared 1 pm, I gave her a hug and said goodbye, sad to lose her company.

The first 13 miles of trail were an easy paved road walk. Once out of the city, I was on the shoulder of busy Hwy 180. My stomach hurt slightly and I felt a little nauseous. For nearly an hour, I chatted on the phone with a friend. I felt better after the distraction. Three vehicles stopped to offer me rides and the couple in the second vehicle gave me two apples. Eventually I turned onto a dirt road. Following directions sent by Quick Draw, I crossed a wash and pitched the Solo Plex on flat ground. I’d done only 14.5 miles, yet was ready for an early evening.

Day 140

From camp, I followed Saddlerock Canyon Road as it wound between steep hillsides. After three miles, there was an opening to the right that contained a shallow tank of clear water. I filtered three liters and enjoyed the chatter of a flock of tiny birds. A group of robins, impatient to drink, landed on the tank’s edge and I covertly took their picture. Back on trail, I went east through a canyon riparian area, de-layered on a sunny dirt road, then turned south.

Near noon, I came around a bend in the trail and saw two bears, a large one with a cub, running off. Then I noticed a third bear, browner than the other two, drinking thirstily from an unmarked desert seep. For a minute, it didn’t notice me, however when it did it turned abruptly and ran towards a couple trees. Unfortunately for it, the trail took me to the same location. The poor bear was scared and climbed an alligator juniper. I took a picture and quickly moved on so as not to scare it further. Wow, it was my first desert bear sighting!!

My trail angel pal Sprinter texted that he was headed to Lordsburg and offered a ride from the border. Thus spurred on, I decided to push toward town, which meant night hiking. Happily, around one hour before dusk, I ran into a hiker named Chew Toy. I was excited to meet her as I’d followed her low route alternate around James Peak back in Colorado. She was glad her route helped me out. It turned out we were both headed for Burrow Peak trailhead. We chatted and hiked together the entire way there. On our approach to the peak, we came across two lit tents: one contained Silverback, the other Wolf. On the descent, we saw a pair of glowing eyes that disappeared before ChewToy shone her high beam on the area.

Around 8:30 pm, we reached the trailhead and saw a campfire. Five thru-hikers sat around it. I recognized DuJour and Glitz, both whom I hadn’t seen since Monarch Pass in Colorado. Then I met Casper, Frenchie, and Audible. Casper shared marshmallows and I roasted two over the fire. I learned that Audible got tired of hiking in south Colorado and was supporting the others via vehicle. He and Frenchie slept in the truck, Casper slept in her tent, and the other four of us cowboy camped around the fire remnants. I was ready for bed after a 30 mile day.

Day 141

Overnight there was no wind and I saw two shooting stars. I was up before everyone else, as pinks and yellows bloomed on the eastern horizon. The packing went quickly and I swung by the nearby water cache to fill a couple liters of water. The trail wound amongst scrubby bushes and across washes, mostly downhill or flat. I quickly covered 7.8 miles, crossed Hwy 90, and recognized Sprinter’s van. He and Audible were seated in chairs on top.

I spent 80 minutes at trail magic. Sprinter fed me coffee, a banana, sauerkraut, and ice cream. One by one the others arrived and partook of the magic. Eventually Chew Toy and I set out again, we had 31.8 miles to cover after all. I chatted with her and with DuJour when he caught up to us. For lunch, and slightly past the day’s halfway point, we stopped at Engineer’s Windmill. It had a tank of clear water filled with floating dead bees. Casper arrived and the four of us filtered enough water to reach Lordsburg.

DuJour went ahead to catch up to Glitz. After 1/2 mile on a dirt road, Chew Toy and I hiked across a flat desert plain with prickly pear and barrel cactuses. We startled a bunny and saw a scattering of cows. Sometimes the cow path was more defined than the actual trail, though there were periodic CDT blazes elevated high on metal posts. With two sets of eyes, it was easier to navigate from one to the next. We watched rain fall in the distance and move steadily towards us. It hit, blowing into our faces and soaking the front of our legs. I had rain gear; Chew Toy was slack packing and had only her umbrella. Fortunately, it was a brief rainstorm. At dusk, we reached Hwy 70. Sprinter had parked his van there and showed us the best place to go under the barbed wire fence.

It was three miles of paved road walking, along the highway shoulder and Main St. sidewalk, to the Econolodge. Part way there, rain began to fall again, however the wind was gone so it was hardly noticeable. Two ladies in a pickup offered us a ride and we declined with thanks. Chew Toy and I stopped at McDonalds for milkshakes. We went to the pizza place to say hello to the gang, then continued two doors down to the Mexican restaurant. Inside we found Sprinter and Casper. The latter had skipped the paved road walk, though she planned to go back for the miles in the morning.

After dinner, Glitz, DuJour, Casper, Chew Toy, and I split a room at the Econolodge. It was fun to laugh and joke with a group of hikers, each of us finding a spot to spread our gear, taking turns in the shower. I fetched my resupply box from the front desk; my last one! There were surprise snacks from my sister and Dad. A huge thanks to my Dad for doing an awesome job sending my resupply boxes. Each was on time with exactly what I wanted inside. I can’t imagine doing a long trail without his support.