We got out to the Pie Town (mile 414.5) post office for the 8:00 opening to get our boxes. We took them back to Toaster House and configured our resupply to get us to Grants.
The excess went into the hiker box much to the joy of other hikers.
We got out about 8:45. Hiked with breaks to TLC ranch (mile 436.8) & campground and had some fruit from the cooler and then had dinner and water and hiked on.
We hiked through two hours of light rain. Win grabbed five liters of water which we divided and hiked to find a campsite that would handle rain.
Then we were camped warm, dry and safe for the night.
Final count with errands, etc. was 25.5 miles hiked.
Since the post office is open only until 12:00 we will pick up our boxes tomorrow and pack up to head into Grants.
The distance varies by the route but we probably need five days to get there and Win will need to pick up new shoes there.
Toaster House had my shoes so I’m opening them up and will use them tomorrow.
The Topos were holding up well but the trail surface has been really rough and abrading the vibram sole. Pie Town was a good place to replace them.
Tomorrow we get our resupply from the post office at 8:00, pack up five and a half days of food, eat breakfast and fill up water and head towards TLC ranch 16 miles down the trail as we head towards Grants. Sixteen miles is a good goal and the last water for a while. Stopping there is spot on.
Pie Town is mile 414.5 (the mile post on Far Out shifts every year). Grants is 523.5 and also “75.3 miles by trail” (the Cebolla alternative saves a lot of miles).
So our original goal was to get to the water at 9.9 miles. Take a Nero out of Reserve. Key Lime Pie available for breakfast and some shelf stable yogurt to start the day.
We were able to get an early morning shuttle and next thing you know we are at the trail head. We tag the southern side where we had been picked up and then on the trail.
We quickly passed where we had planned to camp (but went into Reserve instead) and started hiking.
Sometimes the trail was beautiful. Sometimes it was an ugly melange of rocks and steep uphills.
Beautiful water cache midway through the day where we met Tin Man, a German hiker. He started in May and is just cruising down the trail.
We climbed from 7,300 feet to 9,600 feet (7,335 to 9,649) then started dropping. There was rain but it barely brushed us while hitting other areas much harder.
We hit a water cache and a faucet (though the faucet water needed filtering). Found a beautiful campsite a tenth of a mile or so past the faucet. Davila is only five miles away (5.0) and Pie Town is 18.8 miles in the distance.
We are set up at 7,758 feet of elevation, Pie Town is 7,773. The trail from here to there looks fairly gentle and I’m hoping the improved tread of the last couple miles holds up.
Currently we plan on breakfast at Davila and loading up there with water then on to Pie Town for pie, resupply at Toaster House (and my new shoes and gaiters) and then deciding what to do with our resupply boxes at the post office.
Then on to Grants.
It has been a long hard day, but a good one. We started sleeping at around six, I wrote this entry around seven then back to sleep.
Donated to the hiker box; dropped off all the ramen, excess bars and some backpacker pantry meals. We just had so much food leaving Doc Campbell’s Post.
Two and a half days to Pie Town with food at Davila’s. I’d rather not carry the weight.
Tomorrow morning we will be back on the trail.
I’m finally starting to feel hiker hunger.
Paid off when we grilled steaks from the local butcher with Long Haul and Piñata and then had key lime pie.
Happy has lost more than four inches from her waist size. I’ve only lost a couple or so.
With an April 26th start this is the fastest we’ve had weight loss like this while hiking.
Tomorrow we are back on the trail with a 6:00 shuttle. It is going to be a great day.
We will get an early start Monday and get to Davila Tuesday and Pie Town Wednesday.
Should get us down the trail and around the weather.
It started off really easy. A smooth, graded dirt road on the Gila Alternative. We joined up to the red line and the trail turned into a mess.
Blow downs, sliding trail, scores of pieces of rebar. We got to about 9,200 feet and had cell service that let me delete and reinstall FarOut and one map.
Frozen water on the ground.
I’ll download more maps and waypoint pictures next time I have service.
We got passed by a dust magnet who shouted out “you are off the trail”. She was wrong.
A shouted useless lie did not add much value to day.
We kept on and rejoined the red line.
We camped.
April 11 we got up. Hiked down into a beautiful canon. Then out onto rough trail and cow water.
After our resupply packages we had a wonderful surprise. Heather had arranged a special Mother’s Day dinner. We had a feast, showers and laundry and packed up.
We’ve done the local hot springs and were feeling good so we hiked out.
We got water at a campground and hiked some more with a very early bed time.
Early day
The next morning we were on the trail before five am. Got to the Gila, crossed it and set up out of the canyon at about 23 miles.
On the ninth we got a later start but had almost twenty miles by three o’clock. twenty one by the time we were set up and getting ready for dinner.
We’ve had road walks on dirt roads, plenty of miles in canyons and scrub forests, open rolling grass lands, piñon pines, and more forest.
Along the way we met horse club members doing trail maintenance. We’ve met section hikers going both ways. Other thru hikers. Found pack runner’s scarf and got it back to her.
We are camping dry. Water in six and in twelve. We will be back on the red line tomorrow.
Pie Town is only 73.8 miles. New shoes. Resupply. Pie and ice cream — and over half way through New Mexico.
Our goal for tomorrow is 16.4 miles.
Giant spiders
FarOut still freezes on me within 2-3 seconds of my loading it. I’ve tried everything and once I get bandwidth I’ll delete and reinstall.
Amazing that last night we were fifty four miles from Doc Campbell’s Post.
We turned back to take the Bear Creek alternative in the morning.
After a good night’s sleep we hiked up to State Highway 15. At the end of the hike we had a number of water crossings, a “forest road” that wasn’t wide enough for a bicycle in places and a road walk to a road.
We encountered a great couple who got us to Doc Campbell’s where most of our bubble already was.
Happy’s write up including the best Mother’s Day’s gift ever.
We rest. Resupplied at Albertsons just up the street to get us into the Gila and …
Buying Happy6 that steak.
“Silver City to Doc Campbell’s Post (resupply box). ~Mile 162 to ~Mile 194” (note the new mile point for Silver City is 157.6 as of today).
We leave this afternoon to get a few miles in.
I’m about to take a nap. Recharge devices. Rest my feet.
But it has been a good day.
….
We decided to leave at 1:00 instead of 4:00. 4:00 would have gotten us to the water at Gomez Peak area in the Gila National Forest. That would have only been around four miles.
Instead, FarOut says that Silver City is 16.7 miles by trail behind us.
We checked out of the motel and they refunded us a day. Then got soda and chicken sandwiches at a deli/gas station.
We crossed town through some neighborhoods and saw a lot of deer on the way to the brown line. Then it was a road walk to the Gomez Peak area.
We caught up with Skip and Skeeter there. Got more water as we had taken only a liter to keep things light.
Then we had a choice between two different road walks and a trail. We took the trail.
That got us to the ! On the map above. We went north to the gate and the purple line (newly cleared out by the CDTC). Beautiful trail.
That took us to the pink line. Water. Lots of great camping places. We both wanted to keep going. I’m glad we did.
Yesterday it was a ways between water. Then we reached the riparian zone.
Picture from yesterday
We got water there then we got some water at the tank and decided to get closer to the road for the next day.
This guy got my attention with his rattle. We walked around him.
We hiked to the tank and got some more water.
The junction didn’t offer a good spot so we kept going until we got close to the highway.
We set up behind the bush and Happy put our bags on top of the tent to air them out and improve the shade.
Skip came up. He had been to the road and there wasn’t a good place for him to camp. We shared our site.
By then we had hiked long enough we were worn out and had snacks for dinner.
We got up early and started hiking around 5:00 am. It was cold.
It was also almost all uphill. That is a result of a reroute of the trail to go around an expanded mining area which added ten miles and a long roadwalk.
About thirteen miles, about twelve and a half miles roadwalk we got to the hostel. Our reservations got messed up but we were able to get showers and laundry.
It was in the forties when we started. Cold, with some wind. I decided to try my Senchi Alpha Direct.
I was pleased with it.
I had three liters of water which was right for the distance at four miles per liter.
Turned out to be more than I needed after the water I drank with breakfast. Things felt so much lighter after I poured out a liter.
I still have a liter left and am ready for a zero to let my feet recover.
From the city, bridge connecting the two sides.
Best thing is we got showers and laundry. Next I buy Happy a steak.
