Days 2 - 4
April 28 - 30, 2023
Miles 20.1 - 83.5
I didn't feel particularly rested when I woke up for Day 2 on trail as I did not sleep well. I woke up a lot and tossed and turned between my shooting star and setting moon sightings. I tried to ignore the pack of coyotes yapping and howling before dawn, but obviously couldn't. All the same, I got up excited and eager to get back to it.
Day two on trail was another great day of hiking. For the first couple of miles, my legs felt stiff and sore, but eventually they loosened up and I was able to walk more naturally. The dirt road Bushwhack, Sorority Steve, and I were following eventually became a sandy trail. Well, sort of a trail. While there was a general agreed upon path evident by previous hikers' footprints, it was more like just trying to find the best route through the thorny mesquite bushes and shifting loose sand. Thankfully, that didn't last too long before we came upon the Water Cache #2 where we took a short break and filled our water bottles, trying to rest in the little shade the metal animal-proof box provided.
I set off again ahead of the guys and walked alone along the desert track. I saw a lot of lizards, mostly whiptails, too quick for me as they scurried under the protection of the scraggly creosote bushes. It wasn't long until the single track I was hiking on turned into a mostly flat, rough dirt road that cut across the desert floor. The air would have felt hot, but there was just enough of a light breeze to not feel overheated. I took a midday break at the next good water source since the cache, 13 miles later.
It was a cow pond next to an electric powered water tank. There was a herd of cows milling about, minding their own business. Two huge bulls were challenging each other. They made me a little nervous as they butted heads and scraped the dirt, but they kept their skirmish away from me. I found shade on the far side of the pond underneath a tree, rare in this flat, shrubby desert. It was a relief to get out of the sun and take my shoes off. I sat there for a few hours to avoid hiking during the heat of the day and ate my lunch, napped, and watched the birds. A Yellow warbler and a Wilson's warbler, two tiny, bright yellow birds, flitted about in the branches above me. It was so peaceful in the silence of the midday desert.
The guys arrived and set up underneath the tree. I hung out with them for a little while, but then felt the pull of the trail and gathered up my stuff and set out again. The plan was to hike to the next water source, Water cache #3, and camp near there. I arrived early in the evening while the sun was still high in the sky. I didn't really want to set up camp yet. I was tired, but it still felt too early to stop and I figured I could go a little further, at least to get away from the sound of cars zooming down the nearby highway. I collected some water from the cache and wrote the guys a note that I'd only gone a little further.
Of course, a "little further" turned into 2.5 miles as there weren't many suitable camping sites and the noise of the road traveled surprisingly far. I managed to find a scrape of something passable just as it was getting dark. I cowboy camped again and crossed my fingers that I would sleep better tonight. I was a little more nervous about cowboy camping alone, but assured myself that everything would be fine.
Despite being alone, I slept much better last night and felt much more rested. Coyote howls followed me as I packed up my tiny camp and set out to see how far I could go today. I had quite a bit rougher time than the past two days. There wasn't always a distinct trail to follow so I was spending a lot of time route finding. I had one eye on the ground in front of me looking for snakes and other hazards, and one eye on my map trying to keep myself on track. I would stop occasionally and scan the horizon to see if I could pick out any trail markers that would cast obvious light on the direction I should head. I knew to expect an aspect of route finding for this trail, but I didn't think I would encounter it so early on and in an environment that lends itself so easily to leaving a trail through the dusty dirt. It was confusing - I would be following a well-beaten path that matched with the trail map, and then suddenly it would just end and I would be 500 feet off from the trail. I didn't understand. Where did those people go who had created that path? It's like they just disappeared. I'm pretty confident that this is proof of alien abductions in New Mexico.
I also had my umbrella out much more today. It felt much hotter today and there wasn't much of a breeze to speak of. The small circle of shade my umbrella cast over me was a tiny relief against the relentless sun bearing down on all that could be found on that exposed desert floor. I took another long break in the early-mid afternoon under another tree next to another water tank. It was a little harder to find motivation to leave this shaded relief and head back out there. I hoped there would a trail that I could easily follow. There wasn't, and I worked my way across this landscape of cacti, dried grass, and rocks. As I stepped through grassy areas, the ground would shudder and come alive with the hundreds of crickets I disturbed. This startled me the first couple times it happened as I thought something more sinister was moving through the tall grass - I played Pokémon as a kid, after all. But it happened so often it quickly became easy to ignore.
I made it to camp again just as it was getting dark. There were a few other people who were also camping at Water cache #5. It was late and I wanted to get set up and go to sleep so I didn't have time to talk to them. I pushed another big miles day today so that way I only had about seven miles into town the next day. Feeling tired and a little worn down by this relentless desert, I was excited for town.
Knowing that I had less than seven miles to do for the day, it took a few minutes to convince myself to get up. It was supposed to be hot today and I wanted to get in as early as I could in order to enjoy the most out of this rest day. I packed up my things and while I was getting water from the cache, I met one of the hikers who also slept here, Magee. I wasn't sure if it was a Trail or given name.
Despite my desire for an early town arrival, I ended up walking slowly and taking out my binoculars for the birds more often than usual. It was a lovely morning and the dirt trail wound its way through some low grassy hills. It was nice to get this small change of scenery and pace and I wanted to enjoy it fully.
I walked into Lordsburg and met up with Sorority Steve. He had gotten in the day before due to an injury and needed some time to rest it. I dragged him to Kranberry's, the family restaurant I had been dreaming about the last two days only to discover that it was closed on Sundays. Absolutely heartbreaking. After sulking for several minutes, I consoled myself with a breakfast burrito from the Mexican restaurant. It was actually incredibly delicious and I turned grateful for the events that led me to it.
Bushwhack arrived around 11am. It was so great to have the gang back together and we spent a good chunk of time goofing and laughing with each other. The rest of the day was spent resting and doing town chores. Lordsburg is pretty small and easy to walk around which made getting our resupply easy.
I thought about heading out this evening, but realized I wanted to spend the time with the guys instead. I planned on leaving early tomorrow while they are going to take it easier so I wasn't sure when I would see them next.
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