“As long as I still got all my hiking parts”- Poncho, 2018 AT Thru-Hiker. (CDT miles 85 to 161.7)

The first town most CDT thru-hikers come to is Lordsburg NM. It’s a decaying town of the old west. It was once a major train stop along the Santa Fe line, and technically still is. The problem is that when the major passenger line service ended so did the need for much of Lordsburg. There are far more shuttered businesses than open and Main Street is starting to look like a ghost town. There is one restaurant that is consistently open and a few others that apparently open whenever they feel like and pass the word along the local grapevine. I attempted to get pizza from one of these but was unable to figure out its schedule. I even incorporated the help of a local but we apparently missed out by 10 mins or so.

So, I ate at the one consistent restaurant, Chatterbox, and it was good. I got to town Sat a little before noon and elected to stay till Mon so I could mail some stuff home from the post office. The Holiday Motel gave me a room with a huge king size bed for 40 bucks a night. On Sun I walked down to a local breakfast place called Ramona’s that the motel guy said was good but it was closed so I went to the dollar store for some snacks. The lady at the Dollar Store told me “of course Ramona’s was closed, it was open last Sunday”. So I relaxed in my room and around noon I walked back to Chatterbox knowing the pizza place was on the way and that according to its official schedule it should be open so maybe I’d get lucky. It was closed; but I saw a couple of backpackers crossing the street to the Econo lodge and walked over to see if I knew them. It was the older couple that had been dropped off at the border with me; they had made it town.

We ate lunch together at Chatterbox and they told me they had been stopped and had their packs searched by the border patrol for drugs or maybe little illegal aliens? They said they were going to stay in town for a few days and let their feet heal up. We ran into Radar who apparently fills the water caches and he revealed to us that so far this year over 25 percent of the people that the shuttle dropped off had to be picked up before they made it back to Lordsburg, and several more had quit after they hiked into town. On my way back across the city, after eating enough for nearly three people at Chatterbox, I noticed the pizza place was opening up.

On Mon I packed up, and hit the post office, where I saw Dare-Bear also mailing some stuff home. She had apparently made it to town Sat not long after me. Then I headed over to Saucedos the only supermarket, which had been closed the day before, and resupplied.

Finally it was time to get back on trail. I headed out of town and the first few miles was a road walk, then it was time to return to the desert. The trail seemingly randomly veered straight right directly into a barbwire fence and then out into the waste. Nothing to do but crawl under, It was time for me to return to my new home.

When I left Lordsburg,I knew it was 15 miles to the nearest water source, a cow trough, so I was prepared. I also knew I would be heading into the mountains, and could see them miles away. I randomly weaved across the desert, checking the map and seeing a CDT sign every half mile or so aiming for the purple hills sweltering in the distance.

Overall, it was a nice day in the desert. I hiked through draws,in and out of washes, saw a few buzzards and an owl. I was well fed from town and feeling good. At mile 100 of the CDT I made it to the cow trough. The water was pumped out of the ground by a windmill and fed by a pipe into the trough. There was cow manure galore and big black flies. I looked at the green water sighed,and filled up my sawyer bag. I filtered it into my bottle and repeated until I had filled every vessel I owned.

I then hiked a further three miles to an old windmill that was once a water source, now marked dry, and set up camp. It was a beautiful spot with actual trees and after carrying it for 103.4 miles and not using it I set up my tent. The store in Lordsburg had sold instant dehydrated refried beans , which I was only able to find once on the AT, so I made bean burritos with beans, string cheese, and tortillas.

The next day I started the long climb up and over Jack’s And Burro peaks. It was my one week trailaversary and I was in high spirits. At 8023 feet Burros peak would already be over 1300 feet higher than Cling mans dome the highest point of the AT, and it pales in comparison to the 14000 footers I will be facing in Colorado. I hiked up and up, my goal for the day was 20 miles to Burro Homestead where I heard there was sodas, free camping, and water. I made it 11 miles before noon and stopped for lunch at the parking lot for the Jack’s Peak trailhead. On guthook’s it said, last year there was a cache of water and trailmagic here but no luck for now.

Still I was enjoying the day, feeling strong; thinking that I had survived my first week and over 100 miles on the CDT already. Overall I was having a good day; then I bit into my chocolate chip cookie and my front tooth broke out.

Ok, so I admit it sounds worse than it is, as there’s no pain. My front left tooth is fake. Years ago I knocked it out with a steel bar, cinching down a load of steel during a tropical storm when I was hauling flat beds out of Texas. I was the last load out before they evacuated and the rain was blowing in sideways at 100 miles an hour, my hand slipped on the wet bar and kapow: I’ll admit it hurt a bit then. But with a job to do; I spit blood into the wind, finished cinching the rolls and headed for Oklahoma to deliver the load.

After I dropped off the steel, I hit up a dentist. They gave me a root canal with no pain meds, since I had to drive, glued a new tooth in and 2 hours later I was piloting my rig toward California. That tooth lasted quite a while, I broke it out biting into a McDonald’s fry, while I was running a Ferris wheel in Florida, some years later during my Carnie days. I haven’t eaten McDonalds since except under a very few special circumstances when there wasn’t much choice.

Anyhow I bought a new tooth after Florida and it cost me a considerable chunk of change and now it was broken here on the CDT. I knew quite probably I would be hiking the rest of the trip with one front tooth. But trusting the trail to provide, I shouldered my pack and marched on; the trail will take what it takes; I’m hiking to Canada. I hiked up to Jack’s peak and took a break at some old foundations left over from more affluent days. There’s still a cistern there that’s full of water and I filled up my bottles and ate a snack.

The hiking on the high desert has been much better. There are way more trees, and there’s actually a trail to follow. It meets up with old gravel and dirt roads quite often and you have to be careful to notice when the trail leaves the road but overall it’s not bad hiking. Plus there are trees; beautiful shady trees.

I hiked the twenty miles to the cutoff to Burro Homestead and walked the point 9 miles down to the park. It was a great place: they let me camp for free, use the toilet, and microwave. They also had glorious deckchairs with cushions which were heaven sent. I sat in the chairs for hours made bean burritos and read on the kindle app on my phone.

Upon leaving my chair, a little after dark and walking towards where I had set my tent I saw a few folks setting up tents by headlamp. I somewhat loudly said hikers? And got a couple of affirmations and a Wallace??? back. It was Dare-Bear and her newfound friends setting up camp for the night.

Dare -Bear is on her first thru-hike and already consistently hiking 20s. We talked about the brutality of the first 85 miles and she said “yea, it was awful I bawled for hours the second day.” She had already learned one of the secrets to a successful thru-hike, sometimes it sucks, and it’s ok to cry but you have to cry while you walk. I retired to my tent and prepared for a relatively early start the following day as it was nearly 25 miles to the nearest guaranteed water source.

I woke up at 6 but was feeling lazy. I packed up and wandered over to the activity center and met Nightcrawler. This was his third trail in 3 years and he was aiming towards the Triple-Crown: My own goal, hoping to hike the PCT next year in 2020, if I manage to finish this one. He was also trying to hike some shorter days as his girlfriend was starting in a week and he wished to wait for her but the water holes were not our friends. I also met a kid, him and his family are hiking the CDT and he is the oldest child at 12. He was carrying a huge camera with a giant telephoto lens and a laptop. He said the rest of his family was still in the tent and I haven’t met them yet. Though I hope to in the next 2800 or so miles. I could see from Dare-Bears tent that she had yet to stir, so again I trod off alone.

That day was all about making miles. I made it back to the trail at mile 123.7 and knew the next quaranteed water source was at mile 146.5 a 23.1 mile day plus the mile back to the trail. So, I hiked and hiked and hiked. It was a good day , it was high desert so there were scattered trees and for the most part a trail to follow; somewhat confusing at times but a trail. I watched the sun rise and set and saw a few horny toads;not a bad day at all.

I hiked to the trough and filled up my water, but the cows seemed to take offense to my presence; so I hiked a couple of miles more all the way out to highway 180 at mile 148.6 for a 24.9 mile day.

From there it was a 13 mile road walk into town (on trail the CDT ain’t quite finished yet). The next morning, I woke up early and started walking down the highway to a beautiful sunrise.

An older couple offered me a ride all the way to town ,12 miles up, and gave me that often seen crazy look when I politely declined because: sorry, I have to walk to Canada. Since this road walk was still officially part of the trail I had to walk it. I walked all the way to town at mile 161.7, and found an RV park where I could camp, do laundry and shower for less than 20 bucks.

My journey continues, and I may be down a tooth but in the words of my friend the great, Poncho, ” As long as I’ve still got all my hiking parts”. Oh and you have to read that in a Boston accent.