The wind did indeed die down last night. The tent stakes held just fine and I didn’t wake up covered in dirt. All good things.
Nick was very slow getting packed up this morning. I was all ready to go and he didn’t have anything in his pack yet. I wasn’t too worried, though, because we were only planning on hiking 22 miles - 13 miles on a highway and then 10 miles or so to a water source on the Bonita-Zuni alternate.
When we got to the highway we noticed a hiker (Napoleon) at another solar well (this one wasn’t noted the FarOut app). Since it was pretty close to the road, we decided to stop to get a little more water. Despite the cold, I also took the time to rinse out my other pair of hiking socks, which turned out to be a smart decision.
Even though Nick had a slow start this morning, I couldn’t keep up with him. My ankle and lower back were being a little bothersome and I felt a hot spot on my heal. Nothing crazy, mind you, but it was enough to keep me from walking as fast as I wanted to.
Surprisingly, I didn’t care. I just walked and enjoyed the morning. The scenery was beautiful (even though we were on a road) and I was enamored with the bluffs.
As we walked, the wind started to pick up again. It was mostly at our backs, though, so it wasn’t a big deal. I’m sure I’d be saying the opposite if we had been walking into the wind, though - some of the gusts were so strong that they pushed me around!
After about 10 miles peaceful miles, I saw a turnoff to the La Ventana Arch. Since my hot spot was quickly becoming a blister, I decided to take a little break to tape it up. Having use of a legit bathroom was nice, too.
Much to my surprise and delight, Nick had stopped there, too, so we took a break together and discussed the rest of our day. The wind was blowing pretty hard at this point and neither of us was keen on having another night like last night. Our options were A. go with our original plan to hike the alternate or B. stay on the redline (aka the traditional CDT route) and walk 24 more road miles to Grants.
I was torn and honestly didn’t care either way. The alternate would be prettier and would be off the road, but it would mean camping in the wind AND hiking about 3 miles on a lava field (walking on lava fields SUCKS).
The redline was all on a highway, though. And it was 24 more miles, meaning we’d have to walk a total of 34 miles for the entire day. I know many hikers do this on the regular, but the longest Nick and I had ever hiked before was 29 miles.
We decided to let fate decide. Since we had service, Nick called the hotel to see if they had a room for us. If they did, we’d make the push to get there. If they didn’t, we’d hike the alternate as planned.
They had a room. I was secretly pleased - I was weirdly excited about hiking more miles then I’ve ever done before. I was also excited about sleeping on an actual bed and about being able to wash all the dirt off myself (and off my things).
We planned to meet again for water at a ranger station about 12 miles away and set off. Once again, my body just didn’t want to walk as fast as Nick. And once again, I didn’t care. Since I had service, I used the time on the road to talk to friends and family and to catch up on messages. It was wonderful. When I wasn’t catching up with friends/family I had music to keep me going. Also, I had PLENTY of snacks since we were getting to a town a day earlier than planned. And, last but not least, the people who drove past us were pretty awesome. Only one person didn’t move over or wave back to me, but everyone else was courteous and friendly. One guy offered me a beer, but it was too early in the day for beer so I declined. However, later in the day, just as I was thinking I should have grabbed more from the ranger station, a lovely couple stopped to offer me water. I eagerly accepted and wish I could have hugged them. (I’m bummed I didn’t even get a picture.)
At the ranger station, in addition to getting more water and eating a second lunch, I changed my socks. The ones I rinsed out and attached to the back of my pack this morning were dry from all the wind, and fresh, dry socks always feel great. I also took some Vitamin I (ibuprofen). I usually never take pills because I think it’s important to listen to what my body is telling me, but my ankle and new blister were becoming pretty intolerable and I wanted to be able to get to the hotel before it got dark. My ankle feels absolutely great right now, even after 34 miles on the road - we’ll see how she feels when the drugs wear off.
Even though it was a tough day, I loved it. I felt peaceful and calm and happy the entire time. Most of this is because I was able to reconnect with so many people, but part of it was because I was challenging my body in a new way and she seemed up for it. (And I’m sure the abundance of snacks helped, too.)
As I expected, muscles started to really fatigue with about 3 miles to go. When I was running marathons I always found the moment where the body starts to protest to be fascinating; it was no different today. I love the feeling of pushing through the discomfort and finding you still have more to give.
All I wanted to do was make it to the hotel before the sun set. I was on track to make that goal until Nick texted me, saying he had stopped at the Junkyard Brewery. I wasn’t surprised - the brewery is on the road we were walking and I figured the temptation to stop would be too much to pass up. Inside, he met a wonderful couple, Scott and Madelyn. Scott and Madelyn had seen us walking the road earlier in the day, so when Nick showed up at the brewery they bought him a beer.
I was about 15 min behind Nick, so I stopped at the brewery, too. Scott and Madelyn were great to talk to! They would have bought a beer for me, too, but I couldn’t drink one at that point. I was just delighted to meet them, they are very interesting people!
While it was wonderful to sit and chat with our new friends (well, technically I didn’t sit, I mostly stood and stretched), we had another 1.5 miles to walk before it got dark. As the sun set, we left the brewery and the company of our new friends. It was a little rough to start hiking again, but Nick and I were both excited about the hotel so we easily ignored our protesting muscles. We walked together and talked the rest of the way there. We even bumped into a new hiker, Catchup - we traded info and might try to get together since we are all taking a few days off here.
After an amazing shower (who are we kidding, they are all amazing), Nick went to Taco Bell for dinner (it’s right next to the hotel) and I ordered a pizza. Delicious.
I feel so accomplished at the moment, sort of like I did after my first marathon. I know that 34 miles isn’t a big deal to many hikers (ex Canary was doing 37 the day I met him) but it was something new for me so I’m going to celebrate it. I also feel a little sore, very exhausted, and extremely excited to sleep in this legit bed!
Along the trail:
