With the heat building in the desert as the day lengthens, it pays to be up and at it fairly early. As soon as there was enough light for me to see the next trail marker on the eastern horizon, I donned my pack and set off in the cool morning air. It wasn't long before the cross country had ended and I was on the dirt road that led into Engineer Canyon and cattle country. I passed several of the skittish creatures as my long strides propelled me quickly along the track. Checking the water sources, I found that the first water tank was bone dry, which reminded me of the bleached bones I'd seen lying trailside yesterday. No reason to panic though, because I still had plenty of liquid refreshment. The second tank had water in it, but I passed it up feeling confident that I'd find better quality at Engineers Windmill.
Approaching the water spot, I was taken by surprise to see another hiker who had just tanked up. That's how I first met Blister, a hiker from Nebraska, who was after his Triple Crown just like me. He headed up the road as I took my turn at the trough. Sure enough, the spring fed tank was crystal clear except for the few unlucky insects that had made the water's surface their final resting place. I plunged my liter containers well below the surface and without filtering topped off. The area had a little grove of stunted trees under which I ate breakfast. Blister and I would leapfrog for a good portion of that morning, but as he said, he wasn't doing the really big miles until he had broken in his feet. Starting a new trail in the desert with its heat, sand, gravelly pebbles and hard rock is definitely tough on the tootsies. The bottoms of my feet were already like tough shoe leather from the Arizona Trail I'd completed one week before coming out here.
The dirt road eventually came to an end on a ridge, where for the first time on the Continental Divide Trail it was actually a trail I was walking on. It contoured around the hills before descending along a power line, running to the right of and sometimes weaving in between the wooden poles. When the path emerged into a grassy clearing with a corral, the tread disappeared and I took a wrong turn. I headed right down a forest road while I believe the true path passed by the corral and the track picked up again on the far side of the yellow patch. In other words, I should have gone straight. My error wasn't apparent until I checked my map a mile or so later. Not wanting to backtrack, I realized that if I simply continued down the road it would hook up with the trail shortly before the Highway 90 crossing with little added distance. I was good to go on my unplanned alternate route.
When the sun reached its peak in the early afternoon, I started to feel the heat. Except for the juniper and assorted desert scrub, there really wasn't that much shade to be had. Thankfully, after reaching the trailhead where an alternate purple route branches off, I followed the red route up into the Big Burro Mountains. Out of the desert hills and into the shady pines, their heady scent drifting in the breeze. At one point, a snake with a small mouse in its jaw slithered quickly across my path and into the cover of a bush. Not the best animal sighting I've ever had, but unquestionably something you don't see every day. At the top near Jacks Peak, I saw the communication towers and I also passed some campsites that looked like nice places to settle down for the night. However, there was still too much daylight left for me to even consider them as a stopping point.
Dropping quickly off the back side of Burro Peak, I came to the Y junction that signaled the split between the official CDT to the left and the route that takes you toward Silver City on the right. Shroomer had given me a heads up about this junction. Don't take the official route marked with the CDT emblems because it isn't finished. You'll hike for miles on a good trail until it abruptly comes to an end in the middle of the woods. So, what did I do? I took the official route, but only as far as Mud Spring, a convenient water source about a half mile from the Y. I actually overshot it a bit because it lies fifty feet below the level of the trail and was hard to see. Coming back towards the junction it was much easier to spot. Good quality water despite the minimal flow.
Followed the trail into Deadmans Canyon until it reached a confusing intersection with ATV tracks. Again I chose the wrong path and wound up bushwhacking down a drainage until I reached the true track running alongside a small creeklet. Mmmmm.....even better water than that at Mud Spring.
Eventually the trail kicked me out at a vehicle turn around at the end of a forest road. I lay my groundcloth out next to a small fire ring and set up camp. At the end of a long day, I didn't have much of an appetite. All I really wanted to do was sleep. Later that night, emerging briefly from my slumber, I saw my camp bathed in soft moonlight and a myriad of stars overhead. Celestial glory!
27 Miles
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