Well, we’re almost at the southern terminus, but our plans have changed ever so slightly. Our friend Jupiter flew in to Phoenix to Hitch a ride with us to the border. My dad drove the three of us to Hachita on April 30th to spend the night at the community center and head to the border in the morning on the 1st. The Buddy Backpacker Outpost runs shuttles from here to there border each day, but my Dad had planned to drive us out there in his Subaru. Ultimately, he was discouraged by Dion and many locals from attempting the road, and since Dion had a full shuttle on May 1st and an empty one in the second, we opted to have him shuttle us out to the terminus instead of my Dad. It means we are stuck in town for an extra day, but we’ve made the best of it!
Before he went back home, my Dad shuttled us up to Lordsburg to get some extra food and refreshments. Once we got back to Hachita, we had a great day meeting many locals and other characters, from a local trail angel for the many bikers who come through, to a woman now working for the fire service who hiked the divide in 1981.
In the evening another hiker was dropped off at the Community Center. Piñata and Jupiter cooked pork chops and vegetables for dinner for us all, and we went off to bed early. Tomorrow morning we ride to the Southern Terminus.