The past few days have been hot but windy. The trail has been mostly easier to follow than I expected, but does require paying attention. It is well signed for the most part but it is very easy to follow cattle trails off in the wrong direction. Piñata, Jupiter and I have been mostly hiking together, hopping from shade to shade, which we’ve managed to find every few miles in the form of a juniper or mesquite or yucca. Our bodies are sore but nothing we didn’t expect as we toughen ourselves up again.
Day 2: 23 Miles
The day was relatively flat and easy, but we lost the cloud cover of yesterday. It was hot but generally windy, which kept it from getting unbearable. The terrain has been relatively flat. Mostly we walked through creosote, overgrown around here due to overgrazing.
Despite taking lots of precautions with my feet, I got a blister under my big toenail. It’s pretty gross, and I’ll probably lose the nail, but for now it doesn’t hurt too bad so I’ll just have to continue with lots of foot care. We camped just past the second water source of the day, a pretty big cow pond with decent water in it. We decided not to camp with the cows and moved about a half mile up the trail for the night.
Day 3: 19 Miles
May the Fourth be With You! It’s our 5th anniversary today. We seem to have gotten into a habit of spending them on trail. We woke up to a beautiful sunrise and a cool morning. The day was warmer today with less wind than yesterday. We took a long break near a tire water tank under an oasis of trees during the heat of the day.
We reached the second water cache in the evening and collapsed in the shade of the bear locker holding the water. Inside we found sodas and beer alongside the water! We’re all very tired tonight.
Day 4: 21 Miles
It was a lovely night last night and we woke feeling refreshed. The terrain today was flat, barren, and hot. At a water tank we came upon 2 other thru hikers, the first we have seen since we left the border. We stopped in the shade and ate lunch with them, happy to talk to new faces.
The afternoon was hot with few chances for shade. We again huddled under the shade of the water cache box in the afternoon before pushing on about another mile to camp near a wash. We are just a few miles out of Lordsburg, the first town and first big milestone.
