Day 16 - Low Point on the High Route
Date: Fri May 3
Start Mile: Gila High Route Alternate Mile 7.7
End Mile: Gila River Alternate Mile 80.4
Total (Alt) Trail Mileage: ~23mi
Highlights: low lights
Today was a low point for us. It was cold. Then hot. Our packs were heavy. The scenery was mostly uninspiring. The trail in general uninspiring. Hot Mess was nursing some foot and ankle issues. There was just a lot to bring down the day.
Waking up, we could hear wild turkeys off in the forest somewhere. And I could see my breath. Brrrr.
It would stay brrr for quite awhile actually - the first two hours of the hike very cold. Even with gloves, my fingers needed extra TLC and I pumped my fists in attempts to warm them.
Around 8am, we made a brief stop at a river for a quick break and so Hot Mess could grab a bit more water. There were a couple of guys camped nearby. They were just out for a four day backpacking trip. Their trail names were Ace and Lunk.
Ace fired one question after another, his mouth moving about a mile a minute. “You doing the CDT? Have you done any other long trails? Why did you take the High Route? What kind of water filter bag is that?…” On and on this went. As soon as we got a brief break in the questioning, we moved on.
The morning mostly plodded through forest, the trail filled with pine needles. It was fairly monotonous.
Around 15 miles in, we took our lunch break at a junction with the Gila River, where we also collected and filtered more water for the afternoon. It would be about 8 miles to the next water source and we hoped to camp not too much further afterwards.
Our afternoon started with about a knee-high fjord of the Gila, before climbing us back up the opposite canyon for the high route. After a rocky 3/4 mile climb, we topped out on a mesa, which was mostly flat and exposed, save the shade of some sparse trees along the trail.
After 3 miles, Hot Mess stopped and waited up for me in the shade of a tree. I plopped down next to him when I arrived. He was hating the day and worried we would get to camp late. I had my own aches and pains and was ready to be out of the sun.
Luckily, after a short climb to saddle of Loco Mountain (aptly named and how I’m feeling out here), the trail made a quick descent to a gravel road, which we would walk along for most of the remainder of the hike. We are no fan of gravel road walks, but at least it was easy walking to finish up the day.
Walking the mesa.
At the end of the road, we rejoined the Gila River Alternate, which at this point was also just a gravel road walk. About half a mile up the road, we stopped to collect water and then continued on to find camping. The spot we were originally aiming for had several car campers, so we waved and continued on, not wanting to camp around a crowd that would likely be up late on a Friday night. We were ready for a good night’s sleep.
Shocker, another road walk.
About half a mile up the trail, we found a mostly flat spot to set up camp. I tried out a Knorr creamy pesto pasta mixed with tuna for dinner - definitely a win. After dinner we made quick work of organizing ourselves, anxious to get in our sleeping bags as it quickly grew colder.
Jumping down in a ditch to collect some water.
Other than the backpackers this morning, we hadn’t seen anyone all day. Though we don’t need hikers around all the time, it is nice to run into other thru hikers for breaks, meals, or quick chit chat. It’s a fun part of the trail experience, which we feel has been lacking on the CDT. Now that we’ve rejoined the Gila River Alternate, we’re hoping we’ll run into more people.
But for now, sleep.