Author: kaulua26

Tuesday Apr 13th, 2021, 0630-1030Duck Canyon solar water tank to HWY 52, then road walk/hitch to Winston, segment 27, mm 49412 miles All was quiet overnight, save for some coyotes. We got an early start, eager to get to the road to maximize our hitching luck…perhaps we could hit rush hour into town? Sunrise over the San Mateos was fantastic. We walked a series of farm tracks and some cross country to get to the road. The landscape was open prairie, with views for miles. We saw a herd of about 40 elk along the way. They ran all over the hills, in and out of sight. We could follow their movements behind the hills by the dust cloud they[…]

Saturday Apr 10th, 2021, 0830-1800Gila Visitors Center to MeOwn complex, end segment 22, mm 42523 miles It did indeed get very cold overnight…the thermometer read 27 degrees F in the morning and my skirt was frozen stiff. Luckily my socks and shoes had mostly dried. I packed in the dark and moved into into the RV trailer to charge my phone and get good wifi. It wasn’t much warmer in there, so I drank lots of coffee and hot water. Too bad I couldn’t combine hot pools and device charging very easily. Just as planned, Tinman was at the hot springs to take us to the trailhead at 0730 am. I still can’t get over just how wonderful people can[…]

Friday Apr 9th, 2021, 0715-1000West Fork Gila cliff dwellings to Doc Campbells and hot springs, end segment 21, mm 400.63 miles I slept very well in my humble nest under the trees, like a little squirrel cradled in the pine duff. I really am becoming feral I think. We had a short walk to the trailhead and cliff dwelling monuments, but we immediately had to cross the river, over and over again. It’s pleasant in the hot afternoons but the mornings, when it’s in the 40’s, not so much fun. Where I slept seemed to have trapped some of the warm air from the previous day, but as I walked down the valley, it became even colder. We got to[…]

Thursday Apr 8th, 2021, 0715-1900Mogollon Baldy to West Fork Gila cliff dwellings, segment 21, mm 397.525.5 miles The wind howled all night, sometimes even shaking the metal container. It was a bit drafty, doing little to trap our body heat, but still far better than our tents would have been at keeping out the cold! Plus, we were well protected from flying objects, bears, and vampires. Ghosts still might have been able to seep through, I’m not sure. The sunrise on top the mountain was beautiful, if a bit frigid and blustery. I was glad we spent the night up there but also ready to get down to lower and less burned climates. The notes indicated that the trail ahead[…]

Wednesday Apr 7th, 2021, 0700-1800Mogollon Ghost Town to Mogollon Baldy, segment 20, mm 37220 miles I joked before we went to bed that the Mogollon town folks might come alive as vampires at dusk, preying on innocent hikers that had wondered into the area. Or maybe they were simply straight up ghosts that would haunt us. An axe murderer to boot? When you’re camped in the woods next to a ghost town, these things go through your mind. But there were zero disturbances overnight and I slept very soundly. Maybe the ghouls and vampires just couldn’t find me in my camo tent. We hit the road and made 7.5 miles in just 2 hours. The road was dead quite and[…]

Tuesday Apr 6th, 2021, 1300-1900Alma to Mogollon Ghost Town, segment 20, mm 35314 Miles This day was all about dragging our feet and being tourists. In fact, it was my favorite day yet! We started with a lovely and relaxing breakfast in the garden, followed by more play time with Mocha the dog. I didn’t want to leave this refuge but didn’t really have an excuse to take a zero. It’s always good to take a break but I find it hard to relax in the middle of a hike. Town days are usually more stressful for me. Plus, we’d only committed to one night and preparing meals for guests takes a lot of prior planning in an area so[…]

Monday Apr 5th, 2021, 0600-1900New Mexico Border to Alma, NM, mm 3419.5 miles We had a short road walk into town, where we planned to have a big breakfast and again lunch at the Alma grill…the only restaurant around for miles. Just as we set out, we saw a herd of elk and immediately after another herd of mule deer…like they were all hanging together. Oddly, a lone cow was running after them, comically too slow to keep up. Town was as expected: a few houses and trailers with their requisite junk collections and the Alma General Store and Grill. Top priority was breakfast, then checking out the store. It was a proper general, with some livestock supplies, a gifts[…]

Sunday Apr 4th, 2021, 0600-1900Pigeon Creek to New Mexico Border Seg 18, mm 331.524 miles We made camp in a wash after reaching a graded service road the night before. We passed one guy car camping but saw no one else the rest of this day. We got another early start and decided to make it easy on ourselves by just following the service road all the way to the Blue River. The official route left the nice road for some more cross country stuff. After the previous day, I needed a little break. Plus, anticipating a dry stretch of up to 25 miles, we planned to carry water from the river to last us the rest of the day[…]