Left for Crazy Cook at 6:15
Got there 9:30
Hit trail 10:00
Windy, sunny but not too hot
Pretty easy hiking, but several faster than me
Got to first water cache with Birddog and Ken, had dinner
Went the official Bear Creek route along the Hachita mountains. Most stayed on the road below the mountains. On this route you needed to spot and follow wooden posts. It was a challenge to find them; sometimes they were higher up the mountain, other times down lower. As I went along the mountains I encountered ravines/washes that made me climb down and back up. These became deeper the further along I went. Eventually I was encountering what I consider to be canyons. I would see the next post across a void that had about a 50 ft drop from where I stood. It took considerable time and effort to find a way across.
I made it about halfway across the mountains to a stile at sundown and cowboy camped, since I knew I was on the trail at that point. There were clouds and wind gusts with a little rain, but not enough to make anything very wet.
19 miles the first day