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MM 18: Met a guy named ‘Dog Dad’. He resides near the trail and told me where I could find some trail magic (food and a water cache). He let me know that it’s best that I’m getting this section out of the way because it is the worst part. He said I’ll basically be walking through the heat of the desert through unenjoyable terrain until I get about 10 miles past Lordsburg. It actually made me super excited to hear because I LOVE it so far. The desert is one of my favorite elements to be in since I’m naturally cold. I love witnessing the diversity of perceptions on trail. What makes one hiker unhappy makes another one ecstatic. 👣🏜
I now understand what previous CDT hikers meant by “you kinda just make your own route.” The trail will be perfectly there and then out of nowhere it’ll just stop and you’ll be trying to look for the trail marker that’s hundreds of feet away. I’m usually half a mile off trail most every time. 😅
I found the water cache Dog Dad told me about and I felt deeply grateful to open it and find several gallons of water, pop, some knorr sides (my favorite) and a pineapple (?). 😂 I took a siesta while drinking some Dr. Pepper in the middle of the desert. 🌵
I found a sweet little cowboy spot tucked neatly beside the trail so I stopped early so I could read my book and make some ramen. I snacked on a marshmallow as I waited for the water to boil and I thought to myself, “everybody needs to walk 20 miles in the desert just to experience the sensation of a eating a marshmallow at the end of the day”.
I fell asleep to the melody of the desert wind whistling between the needles of a tall cactus beside me. 🌵✨🌖