We could have stayed in Grants another day - Nick certainly wasn’t opposed. Part of me felt like it might be a good idea - my new heel blister isn’t completely healed yet and my ankle still feels tight/sore - but I simply couldn’t imagine another lazy day. My body might not be 100% but she’s close enough, and my mind is definitely ready to be back on the trail.
So we left.
The walk out of town this morning would have been fine had it not been for the freezing wind - my hands and feet were frozen by the time we got to El Cafecito, the restaurant on the trail where we planned to have breakfast.
Inside El Cafecito, however, it was warm and welcoming. Everyone there was so nice! Their coffee was superb (I lost track of how many cups I had because the waitress was constantly refilling my cup). Our meals were delicious, too - I opted for the red chili on my eggs and wasn’t disappointed.
We were just finishing up when Tesla and then Jakoby walked in! It was nice to see them both. If we weren’t almost done eating I would have invited them to sit with us.
Tesla is doing a film about why he hikes - I can’t imagine carrying all that gear! My pack is heavy enough as it is
Meet Jakoby- he’s certainly one of the toughest guys out here, and his pack also looks terribly heavy
The road walk out of town was fun- I really enjoyed walking though the residential streets. The best thing we saw was this:
As I was taking this picture some guys drove by and laughingly yelled “be sure to give it a high five!”
As we walked through town, the copious amount of coffee I drank at El Cafecito made me have to pee. No worries, there was a ranger station just outside of town so I figured I could use their facilities. Well. They don’t allow the public to use their restrooms for some insane reason, so I was forced to walk on. As I’ve said before, the danger of walking on a road is that sometimes there isn’t anywhere to be discreet, which the issue I was faced with this morning. Then I saw this marvelous tree and ran over to it. Thank you, tree, for existing.
with this beautiful tree and my pStyle (ladies, for real, they are awesome), I was able to pee without being noticed my anyone driving by
Not too long after the tree, we passed a prison. It certainly put things in perspective for me - I suddenly felt very grateful for having the freedom to walk wherever I want and my stupid blister suddenly didn’t seem like such a big deal. (The no picking up hitchhiker signs around the prison make sense but also made me sad for any hikers who might be struggling)
Shortly after seeing the prison, a car pulled to the side of the road just ahead of me. As I walked up, two people carrying guns got out. I was suddenly wary - what were they doing? It turns out there was a makeshift shooting range there, right on the side of the road, no big deal. As I walked on (feeling unsafe) I noticed the road signs in my path were full of bullet holes. And then the two people starred shooting. I just kept thinking: please don’t try to shoot one of these signs with me here! I’m not against guns but I also haven’t been around them much, so they make me nervous (if you couldn’t already tell).
As the sound of the gunshots faded into the distance, I suddenly found myself back to an actual trail!!!! It felt SO GOOD to get off the road.
It was a delightful little hike once we got on the trail - there was just enough uphill to keep me happy and just enough flat to keep it fast. It’s so wonderful to not be walking on a highway anymore! I don’t know where my mind went but I didn’t listen to anything at all today - I just hiked and suddenly I was done.
Katherine was the only hiker I saw when I was on the trail, and we leapfrogged a few times. I ended up having a log chat with her while I waited for Nick at our planned meeting place, the junction to the Mt. Taylor Alternate. As we were talking, Google showed up! I assumed he was days ahead (like Pony, who is already at our next resupply town, Cuba). It was fun to see Google again.
Once Nick and I met up, we walked the mile on the alternate together (we’re back on a gravel road, I hope it doesn’t last long). When we arrived to the water source/camp, I was pleasantly surprised to see Blink. I figured he, too, would be days ahead. Such is life on the trail.
It turns out that lots of hikers are camping here, by the water. It makes sense - it’s the first water source out of town, it’s flat (good for camping), and it was a ‘short’ 19 miles to get here. (Nobody wants to walk too far the first day out of town with packs full of food.) There’s a lot of room for us to spread out so it’s fine. I’m just still amazed at how many hikers there are out here - it seemed like they just kept coming. Blaze (formerly Hannah, we met at the hostel in Silver City) is here, too. Love it.
After we filtered water and put up the tent, Nick and I sat on a nearby log with Blink and we all enjoyed dinner together. I know I sound like a broken record when I meet hikers but it was great getting to know Blink, he’s a great guy.
Blink and Nick - having a log to sit on is a luxury!
It’s going to be very cold tonight - I suspect it will be in the 20’s - so I’m probably going to break out my puffy gloves. So far my beloved quilt is keeping me very warm, I love her.
Along the way:
Camp:
