Daily Miles: 24.8, Total Miles: 378.9 The first water source this morning was supposed to be a spring with water running from a pipe. After some difficulty, I found it but bone dry. The second water source, a windmill and tank, was eight miles up the trail and then another 0.6 miles off trail. The windmill was turning but not bringing up water. The tank had a couple of inches of stagnant sludge. By the time I got to the…

Daily Miles: 29.4, Total Miles: 354.1 I slept well until the nearby roosters woke me up. I got to the post office just before the official opening and picked up my resupply box and new shoes. My old LaSportiva’s were on last legs – Vibram soles and lugs shredded. Headed north and walked a dirt road almost all day, leapfrogging with Track Meat, Apache and Kevin. Finally at the end of the day, turned east on a trail and entered…

Daily Miles: 16.2, Total Miles: 324.7 A brisk 16 miles into Pie Town and I stopped at the Toaster House, a hiker hostel owned by Nita. Many hikers staying here, a few new but the rest I have met along the way. Even saw Trivia and Tragic who I started with at the border. Trivia was nursing a badly sprained ankle, compliments of the Gila River. Another hiker had been there ten days trying to recover from a foot injury….

Daily Miles: 23.9, Total Miles: 308.5 John took Sampson and I back to the Highway 12 TH for a fairly late start. I entered the Apache National Forest and started a steady climb to Mangas Mountain, 9,600 ft elevation. The aspens are just starting to bud out. Down the other side and looking for water, I found a yucky, muddy cow pond and scared up a large herd of elk that also wanted to partake. I loaded up just in…

Daily Miles: 0, Total Miles: 284.6 I slept great last night and all clean again, albeit temporarily. I caught up on zero day chores and stayed in a prone position for as much as possible. Carmen’s also has good Mexican food. I also may have had a beer at Uncle Bill’s Bar.

Daily Miles: 17.5, Total Miles: 284.6 An early start and a beautiful sunrise from my tent at Farm Tank. Good climbs along the Divide in the Gila NF, bouncing between 8,000 and 9,000 ft, nice views in all directions. Had to pay attention to the trail or lack thereof, much of today, I was following tree slashes and cairns. Glad to see the storm system has blown through – sunny and cool, great hiking weather. With some phone reception an…

Daily Miles: 21.8, Total Miles: 267.1 I awoke this morning to a winter wonderland and it was cold last night. I sure wish I had brought my Marmot Helium bag rather than this ZPacks bag. Put on all my layers and followed a snow-covered road that already had shoe prints going north. I found out later this was Sampson who I leapfrogged with through much of the day. The gravel road climbed to the Divide at over 9,000 ft and…

Daily Miles: 18.7, Total Miles: 245.3 What a night – lightening, thunder, rain, hail and gusty winds. A slower start this morning hoping things would dry up a bit. I continued the journey up the Gila River, visibly smaller but still in a deep canyon. I wandered off trail twice today, up a wrong tributary canyon in the morning, then in the afternoon, looking for a shortcut that wasn’t there. After 23 more river crossings (total of 238), I finally…

Daily Miles: 20.0, Total Miles: 226.6 A great day in a pretty and wild river canyon but slow going with trail washouts, 135 river crossings and stumbling over river rock. The canyon narrowed in places but opened up at the end of the day. A CDT hiker named Sampson passed by while I was setting up camp. I heard turkeys gobbling while making dinner and thunder, lightning and rain as I settled into my tent.

Daily Miles: 15.4, Total Miles: 206.6 Rain showers throughout the night and awoke to everything all wet. I packed up and headed to Doc Campbell’s to pick up my next resupply box. I arrived a bit early so hung up my wet gear and clothes on a fence railing to dry. Very nice folks at Doc’s and enjoyed some homemade butterscotch ice cream. With a heavier load, I road walked to the Gila River Cliff Dwellings and took a tour….