We decided to try to get an early start so that we might have a chance to separate ourselves a little from all the hikers. It’s not that I don’t like being around other hikers, I just don’t like feeling crowded on the trail. We did ok, leaving about 30 minutes before our usual time. I’m glad it wasn’t any colder outside - as it was, it was tough to get going before the wonderful sun crested the mountain and touched our tent.
As we hiked out, we passed three more tents a little further down. That means at least 12 people were camped in the small area. It didn’t look like any of them were up yet, though, which made me feel like we had a chance to get ahead of the bubble.
Lieutenant Apples nearly blew it, though - not too far into the morning, I completely missed the turn for the trail and ended up nearly summiting a nearby peak. As I was going up I kept thinking, “this is ridiculous, who would design the trail like this?”. Nobody, that’s who. Near the top, after cursing under my breath for the hundredth time, I decided to check the FarOut app to see just how much further I had to go. There is nothing worse then seeing you are off trail, and off trail by almost a mile. My heart sank.
I was just about to satellite text Nick to tell him what I did when I saw him, diligently following me up the mountain. I yelled down that we were off trail and he turned around. I led him astray and felt terrible, but when I finally caught up with him he said he didn’t see the turnoff, either (it wasn’t marked and the trail wasn’t visible).
All day I kept thinking about how much precious time I wasted by going off trail. I kept thinking everyone else would catch up to us and getting up early would have been for naught. Then I thought that at least we DID get up early because that extra 30 minutes was what we ‘lost’ by going off-trail.
Once back on trail, it was a pretty easy day all things considered. We essentially hiked in a valley, so it was either flat or downhill most of the time. While I do miss being up in the mountains, it was beautiful - we hiked most of the day amidst aspens.
Besides going off-trail, another thing I failed at was managing my water. Once again, I nearly ran out. Both the creek and the pond I was planning to refill from were dry (or, in the case of the pond, nearly dry and full of mud). Luckily, about 2 miles further down the trail, I noticed a spot that looked like it might have water. It did. Nick stopped there to refill, too, and we both took a little break while we were at it.
so glad this little stream had water - it was just a trickle but that was enough
We leapfrogged with Sunny D and Puddles most of the day. They are having so much fun together and they exude good vibes - it always makes me smile when I see them. It seems like they’ve been friends their whole lives, but it turns out they’ve only known each other for two years. They are a good reminder that this is supposed to be fun.
We were going to stop hiking after 23 miles, but the water there wasn’t great. Plus, there was a dead coyote and I wasn’t sure how I felt camping next to it. Plus, we would be camping out in the open next to a road and I always feel weird about that. We hiked on.
poor coyote, I wonder what happened. Maybe poison?
Along the way to our second choice of campsite, we passed 1000 CDT Redline miles. If we hadn’t taken the Gila Alternate and if the forest in New Mexico didn’t close, we could be celebrating that landmark. Soon. We’ll celebrate 1000 miles soon. :)
we can’t celebrate 1000 miles yet (we weren’t on the redline the entire time)
So now we are here, at Ant Creek, and as of 8:30pm nobody has joined us yet. Despite going off-trail, I think it’s safe to say we were successful at getting ahead of the group.
Along the trail:
Camp:
