Pat & Dan's Continental Divide Adventure

Tonight we are camping along the Gila River in the Gila Wilderness Area. The Gila Wilderness Area is special. It's the world's first wilderness area, dedicated in 1924. Aldo Leopold, a famous early conservationist and author, saw how special this area is and worked diligently to make sure it was preserved. The Wilderness Act was enacted in 1964 (before that the Gila was designated a wilderness area by the Forest Service. In 1964, with the passing of the Wilderness Act, it became federally designated).

Hermit Doug Last night while setting up camp, 'Hermit Doug,' a self-described Catholic monk and hermit, suddenly appeared and invited us to see his garden and shelter. He truly lives in the middle of nowhere! He engaged us in conversation, mostly about religion. We had coffee with him in the morning and he gave us St. Benedict medals, the patron saint of safe hiking. I would have guessed St. Christopher!

Mural at the Silver City Visitor Center   We took a zero day (hike 0 miles) yesterday in Silver City. My first zero day of the trip. Highway sign on the way to Silver City The CDTC held an event called Trail Days to promote the CDT. The CDTC office is in Golden, so I recognized the organizers and it was nice to see familiar faces. Pat, Dan, Marty and Kona My highlight was meeting Erin's friend Marty and spending time with him talking about the CDT and the 406 Trail. Marty (trail name Race) hiked the CDT in 2015. A couple years later he biked the Great Divide bike route. Now he's working to establish the 406 Trail across Montana.

A lot of CDT publications use the phrase 'embrace the brutality. '  Trail humor has modified that to 'embrace the moo-tality.'  Last night there were cows all around,  mooing. 😊 Today's highlight was the CDT taking us up and over Burro Mountain at 8,000 feet.   Fairly steep up and down,  but it sure felt refreshing to breathe cooler,  mountain air. Burrow Mountain Homestead is very old and enduring.   We're staying in the Roosevelt Room,  named so because Teddy Roosevelt stayed in this room!  Feels good to have a shower,  cook our own meal (they sell frozen pizza,  and we can use the kitchen) and tomorrow I'll make hot coffee and have a hot breakfast.   Then,  on to Silver City for Trail Days and our first zero day.

Tonight's campsite is at CDT mile 100.1!  Hooray.   Although today's hike was hot and dry,  we gradually gained an elevation of 5,787. The air feels fresher. We're camping near the windmill. The water tastes great.

We're back in Lordsburg for the 3rd and final time. Today went well. Hot and sunny with a soft breeze that kept it bearable. The trail from the start has a lot of ups and downs through washes and gullies.  Softball sized rocks are everywhere making it easy to sprain or break an ankle. I'm watching the trail closely and missing more scenery than I'd like. We're 85 miles from the start and we should hit 100 miles in the next couple days.

Doors opened on a typical CDTC water cache placed every 15 to 20 miles. Today we dodged a bullet and had to bite the bullet! Last night while we were in a motel room in Lordsburg,  a thunderstorm came through with a lot of rain and wind.  We found out today that it knocked a lot of hikers off the trail.   We sure dodged that bullet. Finally met a couple of Border Patrol officers.  Very friendly and accommodating.   They stopped at the c-store while we were waiting for the tow truck.  Judy's car broke down when dropping us back on the trail.  We had to bite the bullet and spend most of an excellent hiking day getting the car towed into Demming and repair.   Even though we were stranded at a remote location,  brother in law Gary lined up the tow and repair garage.   Judy dropped us off back where the car broke down and we were able to still get some pleasant evening  trail miles. 18+ miles on Thursday!  The tra...

Southern terminus of the CDT monument After a 3-hour shuttle ride from Lordsburg, N.M., 10 of us hikers were dropped off at the border with Mexico at the approximate location of the CD.  It was flat and dry with a nondescript barbed wire fence. It's called Crazy Cook (back in a  cattle drive the cook went crazy and killed a cowboy or two.) There's a monument there placed by the CDTC. The border is marked by a simple barbed wire fence and well-maintained dirt road. Day 3.  Still no Border Patrol.   We see them drive by on the highway. We were told that they would probably stop, ask some questions and then offer cold water.   Cold water in the desert would be a treat! We'll hike 7 miles Wednesday where Judy will meet us at the highway and take us into Lordsburg for the night.   I'm sure looking forward to that.  I have yet to use my tent.  No chance of rain and the stars are spectacular.  Lots and lots ...

The trail map on my desk, so I can see where they're headed. Pat and Dan hit the trail Saturday. As of Monday evening, they were southwest of Hachita, N.M. Dad reports that the water caches are near roads. They spent their first night near Highway 81, since other water sources are hard to come by. (They took a shuttle to the Mexican border to their starting point. Part of the shuttle fee included water caches for the first stretch of the trail. It got into the 80s in Hachita today, so I'm guessing this part of the trail is hot, dry and deserty). - Erin Madison Granger

Pat and Dan are heading out on their grand adventure on April 13. Follow along for updates as they make their way up the Continental Divide, from Mexico to Canada.