It finally happened.
I’ve been resisting it for a while now, because who wants to carry more weight than they have to? But today I faltered. Today I picked up a cool rock to examine and held onto it. Then I found myself putting it in my pack. It’s still there. I feels wrong to be carrying it, but I know Mark and Mary are meeting up with us soon so I can give it to them. My only issue is now I’ve broken the seal and there are so many fascinating rocks out there! Let’s just hope no more catch my eye.
Because we are a little ahead of schedule, (we weren’t due to arrive in Lordsburg until tomorrow), we planned to take it easy today. Go slow, make sure we’re nice to our feet, and maybe only walk about 10 miles to the water cache.
We got to the water cache around noon and bumped into Trail Angel Cal, who is responsible for maintaining the cache. Usually, we don’t get to see these wonderful souls so I was excited to be able to thank him (probably a little too profusely). I also gave him one of Theresa’s figures. In return, Cal gave me his number, told me he actually lives in Montana, and instructed us to call him when we got up that way. Who knows, we just might. :)
Cal maintains the last water cache before Lordsburg- very cool guy!
As we ate lunch, the lure of Town was strong. Town was only 6 miles away from the water cache.
Town.
With a shower. And chairs with backs on them. And a bed with pillows. And water we don’t have to filter.
You know, Town - an amazing oasis in the midst of sand and sun and dust.
I was hesitant because of my feet, but we decided to go. It probably wasn’t the wisest call as my feet are really pissed off now and I’m sporting another (small) blister. Even though the dirt road was parallel to the trail and seemed easier, I think it was a mistake to take it - the monotony of walking on a flat road is killer on already sore feet. The last few miles seemed endless as I shuffled along and I had to work very hard on embracing the suck. I mean, of course I was going to make it, it was just a matter of time, but it wasn’t easy.
Nick thought this road to Lordsburg was perfect - not too soft and not too hard. My feet hated it.
Along the way I met a nice woman named Polly. She was very encouraging. (Nick also passed her - I suspect he told her to be nice to the girl who passes by. It helped for sure. Love that man.). :)
Meet Polly, a friendly Lordsburg resident
Nick sporting his cleanest clothes - wind pants and his sleep shirt - on the way to do laundry
While Nick was out and about (I was stuck in the room as all my clothes were being washed), he bought me some knockoff crocs to make walking around town easier. They are incredible.
These amazing croc knockoffs Nick purchased from the dollar store are perfect for my blistered feet
Once the laundry was clean, we went to the restaurant across the street, Kranberries. Everything was delicious (town food is always delicious, though). We both started with huge salads and I was surprised to find that the green peppers, which usually aren’t my favorite, tasted heavenly (makes me wonder what nutrient I’m missing). Then we had soup. Then I ate half a burger while Nick ate a 12oz steak with loaded mash potatoes. I was completely stuffed at this point but Nick was still ravenous. He ordered apple pie with ice cream and polished that off. Once back in our room, he said he was still hungry and he continued to eat some leftover snacks from the first section. I can’t believe the hiker hunger has hit him already! Yikes.