Section 25 is 74.4 miles long and runs from Silver City, NM to Lordsburg, NM. November 26th - 30th.
Day 156, 20 miles to marker 2872.6
I was the first one up and cooked all the remaining food I had for breakfast. I waited for PS, Nightwatch, Snow White, and Sunny as I really enjoyed hiking with company after so many lonely stretches on this trail. Catalyst, General, and Ice Man arrived at the hostel right before we departed as well as SWAT, aka Dale, who I hadn’t seen since Montana. He had finished the CDT and was inviting people to stay at the hostel for Thanksgiving but we had miles to make in order for me to rendezvous at the extraction point by December 3rd. It was an absurdly windy stretch of road walking but the sun came out and some rolling tumbleweeds kept us entertained. A lady recognized us as Thru-Hikers and pulled over to invite us to stay at her place that evening, but again, mileage to make, so we declined. Soon after, a sceptic mechanic stopped in his truck to share some trail stories from his CDT hike in 2016.
Departing Silver City.
We talked about how thru-hiking changed our outlooks on life we turned off the road and into the wilderness surrounding Burrow Peak. This stretch was maintained by Carol (the Trail Angel who invited us over for Thanksgiving) and her husband Richard. I had hatched a plan to camp at Ravenswing Farms the following night, then get a NOBO slackpack from Carol the following so I could knock off a chunk of miles before their Thanksgiving feast, and then stay in their barn afterwards. They said they would be delighted to give us the ride to the South face of Burrow Peak and set up a kids table for the hikers! Nightwatch and Snow White instead opted to stick to the trail, skipping Ravenswing and Thanksgiving. The trail began to snake through a mini-canyon as it was getting dark and we decided to set camp so we could enjoy the gorgeous scenery in the daylight tomorrow.
Golden hour light kissing the tops of the rocks.
Day 157, 10.5 miles to Ravenswing Farm
I was hiking by 7am and the trail remained gorgeous! Immaculately maintained tread that mostly followed one contour line so there was no grueling elevation change, all while a textbook definition “desert scenery” kept rolling by. I quickly ticked off the miles as I was determined to make it to the farm before a torrential downpour started. A couple of locked gates and barbed wire fences later, I made it to Ravenswing. They have a huge hiker hangout in a barn that included four home-brewed beers on tap and even kombucha. I went on their “Art Walk” enjoyed a few beers, and chatted with the owners, Paige and Gabe. I messaged the SLOBO gang (our nickname for our slow-paced group of SOBOs who weren’t going to finish until December) to let them know how awesome Ravenswing Farm is and that they should reconsider their choice to skip it.
“Ussen the Creator”
Ravenswing Farms had some very unique sculptures along their Art Walk.
When PS arrived we cooked a bunch of food from the hiker box, got the woodstove going to heat up the barn, and chilled with the owners some more. The rain brought a coldfront along with it so Paige wound up inviting us to sleep inside their house since the barn wasn’t insulated. Gabe and Paige’s friends, Rachel and Willy, were over and they also let us get in on a huge pasta dinner they had cooked. It was delicious, the house was toasty warm, and their five dogs were all big cuddlebugs.
Day 158, 14.9-mile NOBO slackpack to Domenia + Thanksgiving
Carol’s husband, Richard, picked us up at 7am and drove us to the South side of Burro Peak. My new jacket had massive front pocket which could fit all the gear and snacks I would need for the day’s 15-mile slackpack. He shared history of the area and how they maintained that well manicured stretch we have been enjoying. Also, how the local mining operation was constantly polluting and refusing to let the trail be routed over any of their land but they are the biggest employer in the county and have a lot of sway. As we began the hike up to the peak, the slushy rain turned to snow and the temperatures plummeted. I saw cacti encased in ice, something I never thought existed, but the pure whiteness blanketed the terrain made the hike surreal and beautiful. I got lost on the saddle connecting Jack’s Peak to Burrow Peak and the thick layer of snow made following any sort of path impossible. I would’ve liked to enjoy the summit for longer but it was simply too cold.
Burrow Peak.
Really never thought I’d see cacti encrusted in ice.
We began blasting down the North side and the snow quickly gave way to muddy trail and snow melt waterfalls. The heavy snow also weighed down branches and a few freshly fallen logs laid across the trail. We heard many cracks and snaps of new branches snapping off but luckily we did not have to dodge any. We got to Iron Gulch which is the turn off to a shortcut that Richard told us to take. We got a little lost trying to follow a Forest Road that faded into nothing before realized Richard meant to very literally follow the creek. We found Road 819 and followed it back to their house. We pet some horses, met a friendly neighborhood dog, and laughed at some 2nd Amendment signs. They had a deep-fried turkey going, multiple coolers of beer, and food for days. They showed us around and I absolutely loved their Dome houses! They had a small outpost they planned to host hikers in but, as the trail has grown in popularity, they no longer wanted to deal with it all. The constant stream of hikers, their mess, and the inevitable bad apple who would overstay their welcome or just be a terrible guest. Anyway, Thanksgiving was amazing and it was so much fun to be warm, constantly eating, and chatting with the neighbors.
Carol and Richard live in concrete domes.
Inside Dome #2 was the location of the Thanksgiving Feast.
Day 159, 7.9 miles to Highway 90 with an emergency hitchhike to Lordsburg, NM
Carol had coffee and quiche waiting for us for breakfast and then gave us a ride back to the trailhead on the South side of Burro Mountain, the inflection point of yesterday’s NOBO slackpack. The weather was a calm mist as we took off down the trail, hoping to blast to Lordsburg, but it quickly changed. Not even a mile in, the rain picked up and soaked my hiking pants right through. The temperature dropped and the wind started howling. The rain was freezing and switched to hail, then snow, and back to rain. We began to discuss contingency plans because we were both getting dangerously cold and we very soon realized we had to bail. Hyperthermia was right around the corner. The trail crossed Highway 90 in about another mile and we prayed that cars would be passing by in this storm. When we arrived, our hands were so numb that operating the latch on the cow gate next to the road became a two man operation. My fingers were frozen in place and I could barely stick my thumb up for a hitchhiker signal.
The only photo I got today, before the weather turned and tried to freeze us to death.
Luckily, the hiking gods sent us a miracle and the very first car pulled over and gave us a ride. Matt and Kayla were an army couple on their way back from a visit to their family for Thanksgiving. When my fingers thawed out enough to use my phone, I saw a text from Nightwatch and Snow White about how they had Thanksgiving at an RV park near Burro Mountain and also had to bail out today. Even after a long hot shower, my fingers and toes were still pins-and-needles from being numb for so long. I don’t think I have ever been that cold and close to hypothermia. We cooked camp food in the room and watched crappy movies on TV.
Day 160, 19.3-mile NOBO slackpack back to Highway 90 (to connect footpath) + 6.9 SOBO miles to marker 2936.2
We arranged to leave our gear behind the front desk so we could do another NOBO slackpack to the Highway 90 crossing and connect the footpath. PS wanted to stay on the official trail which went through flat farmland that I knew was going to be a muddy swamp after the recent precipitation. I elected to road-walk the whole way up to the trail crossing, enjoying the openness and views and again not being weighed down with a heavy pack. I had music and podcasts going the whole stretch as I was just in a hurry to get my mileage back on track. My road walk was shorter and not through mucky mud so we knew I would be way ahead of PS and she told me to go ahead and hitch back to town on my own. We planned to all link up over the final section to meet at the “Sea Lion Extraction Point” on December 3rd. The retired couple that gave me a ride back to town did not seem to understand Thru-Hiking, slackpacking, or why I would leave PS behind no matter how many angles I tried to explain it. She is a more experienced hiker than me, she was fine.
19.3 mile road walk to connect my footpath after getting caught in a blizzard and bailing out down to Lordsburg.
A full 24 hours after the storm, with clear skies today, ice is still melting off of this reflector. That is how windy/cold/wet it was and why we had to bail.
I grabbed some snacks and fireworks in town before having kind of a Last Supper by myself at Kranberry’s Restaurant. I collected my pack from the hotel, resorted my food, and set off into the sunset for the final section. I got some photos of a tank and artillery at a Veteran’s Park next to the road and then made the turn off into more flat, barren desert. There were frequent CDT sign posts to keep you on track and almost every single one was riddled with bullet holes. I set camp and got lost in my head. In three days, the CDT would be over. And this time, I had no plans for a grand adventure next year as I tackled another trail. Should I go back into engineering for stability and chasing paychecks? Should I find a more fulfilling career? How long will Sea Lion and I stay in Austin? What will I “do” next year?
Just a tank chilling in the New Mexican desert.
Which route will a purist thru-hiker take??
Final days in the desert.