There is dust everywhere. In my ears, up my nose, in my hair, imbedded in my clothes, in the tent, on (and in) my backpack, and I’m even chewing on some grit as I write this.
We knew it was going to be windy today but we didn’t know the water source where we planned to meet would be so exposed.
But let me back up.
The hike today was fine. Seven of us left TLC Ranch around the same time, so for the first 30 minutes or so we were all bunched up. After a while, though, we each found our pace and spread out. I had the pleasure of hiking a little with Sputnik - he moved to Germany 17 years ago and this is his first long hike (of course I made him speak a little German). I enjoyed getting to know him, but when he stepped to the side of the road to pee I walked on.
I love it when I walk through a change in terrain- we went from trees everywhere to open land
Sputnik was the last person I saw until the end of the day. After the road walk we had the pleasure of hiking a bit of a trail going through the Armijo Canyon, which was nice.
I was hoping to be on a trail for a little longer, but we ended the day back on a dirt road. When I was about 2 miles away from the windmill, where we were meeting for water and camp, I was dismayed to see clouds of dust blowing all around it. I hoped that there would be some sort of protection from the wind, but when I got there I was disappointed - it was merely but a dusty cow pasture with a water tank.
The wind was about 30 knots sustained with gusts of about 70. After I filtered my 3 liters of water, I sat down on the side of an empty tank (the most protected spot I could find) to wait for Nick. There was so much dust blowing everywhere that I couldn’t really do much except sit with my head bowed in my lap.
After about 15 minutes I decided I couldn’t sit there anymore, so I went off in search of a better location. Another hiker arrived right around this time and we both thought that there might be a wash up ahead (it was difficult to see through all the dust). We investigated and sure enough, it WAS a wash. The wash offered pretty decent protection from the wind and dust and it was an instant relief to be out of the worst of it. (Although I must admit that I thought the crazy wind with dust flying everywhere was exciting and fun in a “this is such a cool adventure” sort of way.)
I had left my pack by the water while I checked out the wash - I wanted to be sure Nick would know I was in the vicinity if he showed up while I was investigating. Since the wash seemed like a decent place, I decided to go back and rescue my pack from the dust storm. My plan was to message him my location via the Bivy.
Just as I was going back for my pack, however, Nick walked up. He grabbed some water and then we both went down into the wash. We stayed long enough to discuss our options and to eat some snacks.
Obviously, we couldn’t camp there because it was so exposed. I was all for loading up on water and hiking a few more miles down the road, where it looked like there might be protection from some trees. It would mean dry camping, though, and we weren’t sure if we’d be trespassing on that land or not. (Still, I’m always for squeezing in a few more miles).
Nick thought it would be better to walk to the trees across the road from the windmill. However, this meant backtracking a little AND going off trail, two things I hate doing with a passion. Ultimately we decided to go with Nick’s suggestion, but I wasn’t happy about it. Don’t get me wrong, I think camping here is the safest bet. I just really, REALLY despise walking extra steps in the wrong direction.
we had to walk ALL THE WAY back to the trees to find a decent camping spot. So far! Haha
Setting up the tent was a fun challenge for Nick because the ground is sandy and because there aren’t any rocks to hold down the tent stakes. Even though we are in a pretty protected spot, at one point a few rogue gusts of wind dislocated some of the stakes, which was maddening because of all the dirt and debris that blew into the tent as a result. When Nick tried to reposition the stakes, he discovered there were rodent holes in the spot the stake needed to be. He improvised by tying the stake to a tree with some extra cordage and it seems to be holding. I just hope the wind dies down so I and my beloved quilt are not completely covered in dust when I wake up tomorrow.
Along the trail:
Camp:
