South of GILA HOT SPRINGS, NM
As I sat eating my oatmeal, Race came up the trail. I said “good morning” and it nearly scared the pants off him. Me and my tent could not have been more than 30 ft to the right of the trail in a clearing, but he must have been really focused. A little later Seth and Jenny came up and noticed my conspicuous presence.
My fingers were ice cold and I must have had some cramp overnight in my right thigh. After packing and hitting the trail it didn’t take long to warm up on the steep and long climb up Tadpole Ridge.
After I got past that I was on easier trail until I started going uphill again. Something seemed wrong. CDT hiker showed I missed the turn and was on the trail to Columbus, NM. I backtracked until I saw She-Ra and Commando at the intersection. There was a sign that was oriented in such a way that I would not see it from where I came.
I continued on and rested at another intersection. Commando and She-Ra stopped by, and I took a longer rest.
I last saw them at the Gila River. I took a swim with all my clothes on, and let them hang to dry. They took off and I swam around and laid out in the sun. It felt great.
With cleaner and mostly dry clothes I tackled the Gila. That means a lot of river crossings. Most of the time it was up to my knee, but one caught my by surprise up to my waist.
After about 20 miles I camped. Tomorrow I have 10 miles to Doc Campbell’s store for ice cream and soda. HeHo!