Thru-Hike of the Continental Divide Trail

[whuppinstick]

Sorry for the lack of updates on here, internet has been sparse. I'm in Grants now, which is about 2/3 through New Mexico. My feet have been a mess for the last 250 miles. I have 8 blisters right now but almost all are on the mend. I think my feet have swollen from tbe heat so my size 12 shoes are too tight. I have some 12.5s waiting for me at the next town stop, which is 110 miles up the trail.

Lots of road walking so far which is no fun. Can't wait for Colorado.

I'll try to give a more thorough update in the next town, but i am keeping the trail journal page updated at every town so gel free to check that.

Have only seen six elk so far!   (though it's been hard to.concentrate on anything but my feet.)

[elk247]

Would you mind if the mods move this to the hiking section? I was trying to check up on you yesterday and couldn't locate the thread. Your doing great man, watch out for lightening in CO. I lost a buddy there to it years ago.

[rtspring]

Holy chit! Great job! This is awesome! I use to follow a blog of some guy thst hiked the PCT. google. AS THE CROW FLIES. The guy is a little off his rocker but was one hell of a hiker!

Dont know you from adam, but if you need anything sent to a place for you let me know!!

Good luck!

Rtspring

[Boss .300 winmag]

Keep on keeping on whuppinstick ! 

[actionshooter]

Been reading about your feet, hang in there!!

[75johndeere]

Awesome job hope the feet get better when you hit Montana let me know I'll meet you up at the twin lakes if you need anything.

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[superdown]

Tag


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[whuppinstick]

Awesome, I'm reading through the blog now.  Thanks for taking us along!

Yes, those are coues down there in SW NM.  We hunt them just across the border in AZ. 

From your blog post...the cows out there in the desert eat the cactus, grass, etc.  If you see prickly pear with big bites out of the paddles, those are cows.  If the prickly pear paddles are shredded with exposed roots, that's probably from javelina.

Also, I think those quail are gambel's quail.  Like a Cali quail but with a red head.  There are also montezuma (aka mearns) quail down there, but they look quite a bit different than a Cali quail...smaller, round body, and no ornament on the head.

Thanks for all the answers!  I've been telling the other hikers all this new information and they all think I'm an expert now. 
Very interesting what you said about the bites out of the prickly pear - definitely saw that down in the southern third of the state and we were all wondering what would take a bite out of cactus?  Now we know - cows!

[boneaddict]

Javelina also feed almost primarily on Prickly pear in places.

Awesome thread to follow.  Looking forward to more adventures

[whuppinstick]

I'm in Cuba, NM now, having just passed the 500 mile mark.  My feet have made vast improvements over this last section and while I still have some healing blisters, things are looking up.  My pace has quickened the last few days and I think my 'thru-hiker fitness level' is rounding out.  I'm ready to step it up soon.  I did also just get a new pair of shoes - my third - here in Cuba, so provided those work out I'm hoping that I'm through the worst of the foot pain, the water problems, and the road walks.  I haven't worn out two pairs of shoes, but I haven't especially liked them (both Montrails).  I've now switched to the Brooks Cascadia and sized up a half-size.

I haven't removed much from my pack, but I've trimmed down some of the extras I was carrying (switched out a heavier dry bag for my camera for a lighter silnylon stuff sack and a couple plastic grocery bags, halved the amount of sunscreen I was carrying, eliminated a few batteries, gotten better about allotting my food and water).  I could probably save a pound by switching to some ultra lightweight rain gear (from my Arcteryx Theta SL jacket and OR pants), but I really like being confident in my rain gear, so that is a sacrifice I'm willing to continue to make.  I have worn my rain gear 2-3 times for 30-60 minutes each so far, plus its rained lightly on 3-4 nights.  This is a lot more rain than we were expecting for NM, but not enough to make things miserable.

Speaking of miserable.. if you missed the story on my trailjournals blog, this is a good one:

I hope I never eclipse today's water story. Last night we camped a couple tenths of a mile short of what sounded to be a reliable spring. When we got there this morning all we could find was a concrete tank with shallow water about five feet down through a man hole. The water smelled awful. Why? Because a dead rat was floating in it. We had no other options but to rake four liters and hope to come across something soon to replace it. Which we did not for about 15 miles. After straining the water through pantyhose to collect some of the dirt and hair, I treated mine with Aqua Mira, my chemical treatment of choice, then tried to hide the dead rat flavor with Crystal Light. It helped, but the aftertaste was aaawful. I ended up drinking about 1.5 liters before we came across a well at 1pm.

----

I have seen very little wildlife.  One javelina, six elk, 20ish wild horses, a rattlesnake, Coues deer, and Gambel's quail.  But I was expecting to have seen hundreds of elk by now and I must say I'm a little disappointed.  Our next town stop is Chama and I know I put in for some units up there this year, so I'm hoping to come across some elk on this or the next stint.

The terrain in NM had been pretty bland until this last section between Grants and Cuba.  Lots of mesas and huge boulder fields to weave through over the last couple days, which has been awesome.  Water has still been 15-25 miles between sources, but I think we should be getting past that problem as we approach Colorado.

I have computer access today and maybe tomorrow morning so if there are any questions ask away!  I'll try to post some pictures.

[JoeE]

Are you wearing shoes as in sneakers? Is that common for thru hikers not to wear boots?

[whuppinstick]

Are you wearing shoes as in sneakers? Is that common for thru hikers not to wear boots?

Yes and yes.  Boots are too hot and heavy for the miles we're doing every day (25-35).  We will wear shoes through all sections, including big snows in the San Juans of Colorado.

[Wea300mag]

Way to persevere, thanks for the updates. 

[slim9300]

Enjoying your posts. Sounds like you have reached 'mountain shape.' Keep us updated.


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[MLHSN]

Do you have a crew you hike with or are you going it alone?  I'm curious if there is the same culture you see from hikers on the PCT.  I stopped at a diner last fall near a junction in the PCT.  It was interesting listening to the ten or so people talk using "trail names" and referencing different places.