Another cold morning where the condensation in my tent froze. I of course got up late due to the cold. I got moving around 730 just after two other hikers passed me. They did 27 miles yesterday so no way will I keep up with them when I get wiped out after 23. I did run into them at lunch but probably won't see them till pie town.
The hike was a continuation of the road walk for the first 6 miles. The road changed to a packed dirt instead of gravel so it was much kinder to my feet. I was glad that I was hiking road since it was a long hike up a 9250 ft mountain. When I got to the top I met back up with the official CDT which was actually up on the continental divide. It was neat looking at the terrain and seeing the divide.
The next 6 miles was on trail and kept following the divide. That meant lots of ups and downs. I made a mistake when I planned my water for the day and didn't factor in the terrain. I was already going light on the water due to the 6 mile road walk and cool temperatures so I only had 2 liters for 12 miles. The first 6 miles went by smoothly. I finished with a liter and a quarter. The next six miles I made me drink that and take a detour to a cow pond to grab another liter. The first cow water I've had to drink. Ah well.
The next stretch was a Ley shortcut, Ley is the guy that put together the physical maps I'm carrying that have nice detours and useful notes. This detour took me down a canyon which reportedly had a good natural water source. It was perfect. Ice cold, crystal clear and just plain delicious. I happily dumped the cow water I was carrying and drank like a sailor on shore leave. I knew I wouldn't make the next water source in 10 miles so I grabbed an extra liter for dinner and went on my way.
When I rejoined the trail it sent me straight up an 8800 ft. mountain. On the back side just for giggles I turned my phone on and had roaming reception. Thanks Verizon for letting sprint roam. I got a hold of Bill, my friend sending my resupply boxes, back home and asked him to send an express delivery with a spare socks and my extra sport shield. I have already blown through one pair of my toe socks and my darn toughs gave me blisters yesterday. So I was forced to wear my sacred sleeping socks, which aren't great for hiking since they have very low ankles. But they don't give me blisters so. The darn toughs are for cold days not every day hiking. They are too hot for that. The sport shield is basically lube to prevent rash. I am now in my third bottle of it having left one at home, left one in silver city, and now the new one.
After getting that arranged I started hiking down the mountain to try get 4 more miles in, that way I could keep averaging 21 miles a day and get to pie town Saturday before the pie shops close. That didn't happen. I found this prefect camp spot with a 250° view. I knew right away there would be an amazing sunset and sunrise and there was no way I'd be hiking past this.
There are two hard rules hikers live by, hike your own hike, and smiles before miles. Camping on this ledge is how I fulfill those rules. I've had trail friends in the past say I do too many miles and not enough smiles. Sure hanging out with other hikers is fun. A zero or nero is great once in a while. Meeting townies and getting to know the local culture is interesting. But camps like this are why I'm out here. These are how I get my smiles more than those other experiences and this is how I hike my hike.
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