Follow Strider's Rambles

Day 142

Chew Toy and I woke before the others and went downstairs to the lobby for coffee & first breakfast. I still had one GF bagel and there was cream cheese! She checked with her uncle, who was fine dropping me in Tucson on their way to Phoenix. Finally, I had a departure city from which to buy a plane ticket to Bozeman!

The more hikers you have, the slower things move. I chatted on the phone with Quick Draw then had a second breakfast at Ramona’s with Chew Toy. She expressed a desire to hike alone on the way out of town, to recharge her social batteries. Back at the hotel, all of us packed our gear. Outside, we conferred with Frenchie, Audible, and Sprinter. Due to the vehicle support, we agreed on a spot 22.8 miles south, an ambitious goal considering that Glitz, Chew Toy, and I were the first to leave town, at 11:30 am.

For several hours, I hiked and chatted on the phone. After 6.6 miles, I came across a water cache: a bear box filled with six, 6-gallon containers. I took enough to reach the camp site. Around me, the desert was a vast, open expanse filled with tarwort, agave, and cacti; ringed by hills. Warmth, sunshine, open expanses, and reptiles are all reasons that I love deserts.

As dusk approached, I belatedly realized that chatting had slowed me down. I tried running to cover more distance, until I hit a patch of rocky ground. Plus, the trail petered out and I wandered a wash in an attempt to pick it back up. This happened multiple times over the next hour. The signs that marked the trail every 1/4 mile or so were hard to see until I was almost upon them. As I begin to get frustrated, I hit a clear section of trail and from that point on it was easier to follow. When I got onto a faint dirt road, I pulled out my cold-soaked dinner and ate as I hiked. Chew Toy texted that she, DuJour, and Casper kept losing the trail in the dark and were stopping for the night.

About one mile out, the flickering light of fire lit the side of the van. Sprinter and Glitz sat in chairs near the coffee can fire and I accepted a proffered Klondike bar. Soon we saw another light in the distance and bet on the hiker’s identity. I won as it turned out to be Frenchie. Unfortunately, Audible was unable to navigate to our location, but Sprinter fed Frenchie a solid dinner of salad, chicken, and potatoes. We hung out until past 10 pm, then Frenchie and I set up our tents. Sprinter had set up a large Walmart tent, which Glitz rightly claimed upon being the first into camp.

Day 143

All of us slept in until sunrise, which I eyed through the mesh strip on the side of my tent. Sprinter delivered freshly brewed coffee to Frenchie and I, handing it under our vestibule doors. Glitz received hot tea. When Sprinter said the eggs were ready, I quickly left my tent for the circle of camp chairs. Glitz was also eating and wearing her cow onesie, left from Halloween.

After we packed our gear, we continued to hang out and chat, waiting for the others. Sprinter sat atop his van and called out when he saw the first hiker, far in the distance. It turned out to be Chew Toy. Soon everyone had arrived and we sat in a circle, snacking and drinking beverages. Considering that they had already hiked seven miles, we decided to hike only 21.4 miles to a dirt road crossing.

It was another late departure, around 11 am. Initially I hiked with Chew Toy, though after a pee break I hiked alone for several hours. I wanted to soak in the desert. In the midst of a long dirt road walk, I encountered three section backpackers and they congratulated me on my near finish. Then Sprinter hiked in to meet us and I hiked with him for a couple miles back to his van. He commented on my long stride and we discussed Peg Leg.

I ended up doing an hour of night hiking and arrived to find Frenchie, Audible, Sprinter, and Glitz seated around the camp fire. Audible shared ER nurse stories and told us how he’d encountered Stew and a couple others who finished that morning. I was happy to hear of Stew’s finish. After the last hiker, Casper, straggled in, Sprinter revealed his surprise: a large cake decorated with the CDT logo and a three candle in the corner. The four of us who will triple crown took turns blowing out the candle and making a wish. Then the others ate cake while I ate a Klondike bar.

Day 144

I was up early and dug a cat-hole in the dark, happy to find my bowels back on track. By the time I ate cold-soaked oatmeal and took down my tent, a couple of the others were up. To get an early start, I passed on coffee. My goal was to complete the day’s 27 miles in daylight. I left camp with Glitz a short distance in front of me.

To begin, the trail was marked by blaze signage that felt unnecessarily dense. If it were up to me, they would be thinned, with the extras placed in the section where we all got lost in the dark. I got slightly off trail at a scenic, half algae-coated cattle pond. Then the trail rose and fell as it skirted a series of hills. A brief spattering of rain caused me to put on my pack cover and jacket. Ahead, I saw Glitz stop and shortly after I came upon a double headlamp lying in the road. At a dirt road, I handed them back and she was abashed to have almost lost them.

While we stood on the dirt road, a pickup slowed and a man stepped out to offer trail magic. His name was Sir Breaks a Lot and he’d thru-hiked the AT earlier in the year. It might sound spoiled, however, I felt topped off on trail magic. Still Glitz and I each accepted a drink and snack. Sir Breaks a Lot planned to cook brisket plus mac & cheese for lunch and I hoped he’d find hungry hikers from our group. I was too determined to avoid night hiking to stop long.

At the Hwy 81 water cache, Glitz & I stopped to get a liter each. Then she sped off and I put on an audiobook. A rainbow appeared in the distance, followed by ominous, dark rain clouds. I hoped to avoid the latter and even did a little running, but I was hit by a wall of rain that soaked my pants within a minute. Luckily, it was brief and I mostly dried before the next spattering of rain. When I reached our rendezvous point (in light), adjacent to the last blue line water cache, it was windy and raining. I sat in Sprinter’s van and ate tortilla chips and cheese. Frenchie arrived and Glitz moved from Audible’s vehicle to the van.

There came a break in the rain so I set my tent up in a flat, non wash, spot that Glitz noticed on her way in. Sprinter assisted me, holding one end of the tent while I staked the other, and putting rocks on five of the stakes for extra holding power. This would turn out to be fortuitous. Back in the van, Audible cooked bratwursts on the induction cooktop and we talked about nuclear weapons vs. nuclear power. A couple hours after dusk, the other three arrived and I directed them to the flat area near my tent. Then I vacated my van spot so they could eat dinner and warm up. I got cozy in my tent.

Day 145

Overnight, we got hammered by wind and rain. It was a great test of the Solo Plex! In the early am, I saw headlamp beams and heard Casper & Chew Toy fixing stakes that had pulled out of the sandy ground. I thought my tent was unscathed then realized the one stake not reinforced by a rock was out of the ground. I didn’t want to go outside so I put my full water bottle in that corner and called it good. When daylight broke, I was dry and cozy in my sleeping bag on my XTherm pad, then saw my pack lying in a puddle of water. LOL, I guess the four stakes that I neglected to use have a purpose after all.

After I ate breakfast and packed, I stopped by the van. Glitz, DuJour, and Chew Toy were eating cheesy eggs inside. While I got an update on Glitz’s night in the palace, I drank a cup of coffee. Frenchie showed me the triple crown she’d made for me, to match those she’d made earlier for herself, DuJour, and Casper. I was touched and gave her a hug. We took a group picture before setting out on the last 14.3 miles to the US/ Mexico border.

Initially, I hiked and chatted with Chew Toy. Then I hiked solo, listening to “South of Santa Fe” and a couple other songs. I felt a deep connection to the countryside and a sadness to soon be leaving New Mexico. In a wash, Frenchie & Casper caught up and the three of us walked together for a while. Briefly back to hiking with Chew Toy followed by a solitary final five miles. There was an area of tall grass and nothing to demarcate the NDA zone. Then suddenly I was at the monument, hugging it tight… a journey of 145 days at 2700 miles was at an end.

Glitz was the first to arrive at the monument. Miraculously, Sprinter got his van to the terminus; Audible riding with him for the last six miles. Tim Sharp was there in his pickup to give most of the crew a ride and to escort non US citizens Frenchie & DuJour. Soon everyone reached the monument! Chew Toy’s dad joined her for the last 2.2 miles and happy tears wet her eyes.

We did three tequila shots: one with salt & lime, one with maple syrup & lime, one straight up. Frenchie shook up and sprayed a bottle of champagne. At that point, I was buzzed and things got silly in a good way. Glitz – in her cow outfit – knighted us via trekking pole before placing a crown on each triple crowner’s head. We clung onto the monument and launched into the air. We made a six person pyramid and DuJour had two then three of us on his back. Eventually it was time to go, in order to get through the rough road sections before dark.

In the van, Sprinter drove, Audible sat in the passenger seat, and Frenchie and I shared the table’s bench seat. Everyone else was in Tim’s truck. Only a mile or two down the road, we got stuck in a big mud puddle. A guy headed to the border in a Toyota pickup pulled us out. We dropped Audible & Frenchie at Audible’s vehicle; Sprinter skirted several more puddles by driving over bushes and hard-packed desert sand. Tim followed until we were through the worst terrain. All in all it was 30ish miles on dirt roads, then easy driving on pavement through Hachita back to Lordsburg.

Casper met her mom in Hachita. Chew Toy and family dropped Glitz at the KOA where her Dad waited in his RV. The rest of us went to Los Victor’s Mexican restaurant for dinner. There were eight of us around one circular table, five of us dazed by the day’s events. Audible commented that it was like the scene from the Avengers’ movie; I knew he meant the Shawarma one. After dinner, we walked next door to the Econolodge. Chew Toy’s dad got her and I a room, while he was in another with her uncle.

Day Zero 1

I woke with a bad headache and took ibuprofen. When 7 am rolled around, Chew Toy, her Dad, and I went to the hotel lobby for first breakfast. It turned out he and I had both climbed Kilimanjaro, though decades apart. DuJour, Frenchie, and Audible wandered into the breakfast area. The coffee was bad so I held off on a second cup.

I guess non-hikers don’t eat second breakfast, Chew Toy’s dad stayed behind when we crossed the street to Ramona’s. Glitz and her Dad arrived and he generously bought us all breakfast. DuJour only had time for coffee and hugs, then ran to catch his bus to Austin. We chatted and lingered after the meal, reluctant to say goodbye. Audible told Glitz & Chew Toy to reach out without hesitation, the post trail adjustment being hardest for those finishing their first long trail. We all hugged and said goodbyes.

Back at the hotel, Chew Toy and I gathered scattered items. We loaded our packs in the trunk of her uncle’s car and her Dad drove us towards Tucson. Almost immediately, we began snacking on potato chips and mandarin oranges. At a truck stop, we got frozen treats at Dairy Queen. Our bodies thought it was a zero day and our hiker hunger was full force! They dropped me off at my Tucson hotel, conveniently located less than a mile from the airport. I hugged them goodbye; solo again.

For my final mission, I walked to the post office and mailed Quick Draw his tent and knife. I smiled at saguaros and winced at traffic noise. It was time to transition to town life…