Even though I miss being high up in the mountains, it is nice to wake up and not be freezing.  I was even able to get out of the tent to pee in only my t-shirt!

The first 15 miles of the day were pretty easy because the trail was mostly on dirt roads.  The scenery isn’t as majestic as being high up in the mountains, but it’s still beautiful.  

We again leapfrogged with Sunny D and Puddles, first seeing them at an early water source and then again at the creek where a bunch of us ended up having lunch.  

Because it was all dirt roads and either flat or slightly uphill, I made good time and made it the nearly 15 miles to the creek by noon.  Coach and Monk were already there, having a nice break, so I joined them.  Shortly after I got there, Pig Pen showed up, followed by Sunny D and Puddles.  It was great to sit and chat with everyone while having lunch.  (Nick, who doesn’t like uphill as much as I do, ended up stopping a few miles back for his lunch ).

While we were talking, Monk happened to mention that he lost his buff and was sad about it.  I told him I could help him out with that and pulled the buff I picked up on the trail two days ago out of my pack. He was surprised and very happy, which in turn made me very happy.  I love it when things work out like that!

I enjoyed a very long lunch break - I was there for over an hour.  It’s always a good feeling when I stop for lunch with more miles hiked than I have left to go, so I was able to relax (mostly) and enjoy myself.  

Monk and Coach left right before Nick finally got there.  Nick and I discussed our plans for the rest of the day, which was basically the same as everyone else’s because of water - go to Razor Creek.  

Even though Razor Creek was less than 10 miles away, it was mostly uphill.  The uphill was decently graded so it wasn’t terrible (in other words, I didn’t have to stop for breaks or count my breaths).  The only ‘bad’ thing was that it was basically a green tunnel all the way, preventing me from seeing any epic views.  The trees did a good job of shading me from the sun, though.  Still, it was a little boring to be surrounded by trees the entire time - this was my view all afternoon:

To help pass the time, I listened to a Backpacker podcast where Twerk (remember him?  I met him in Lordsburg and haven’t seen him since) was interviewed.  It was fun to listen to him and I was reminded to keep things in perspective- even though this is a lot of hard work and it feels like a job sometimes, this is, in fact, NOT a job.  Plus, I get to be active AND outside all the time AND meet new, interesting people.  When you think about it like that it seems ridiculous that someone would cry just because she had to walk through overgrown bushes.  ;)

With about 4 miles to go, I thought it might storm - the sky got dark, the wind picked up, and the energy in the air changed.  Nothing other than that (and a sprinkling of rain) happened, so I still can’t read my Thunderstorm Happy Trails letter.  I really liked the feeling of the almost-storm, though, and the cooler temps that came along with it made hiking uphill a little easier (it was so warm today that I took several salt pills because I was sweating so much.  Please note:  I’m definitely not complaining about that - you all know I’d rather be hot than cold).

When I got to Razor Creek, I was greeted by Monk and tons of mosquitoes.  I’m not ready for mosquitos yet!  Happily, even though they were surrounding him, they stayed mostly away from me thanks to the permethrin we treated our clothes with in Chama.  

There is lots of room for camping here, which means we can all spread out and we don’t have to be on top of each other (everyone has their own routines and their own crinkly bags and their own noisy mattresses, so it’s nice to have the space.)

 Along the way:

Camp: