The last week from Silver City has been pretty eventful. I can’t believe that I’m already half way through New Mexico. I started to string together consecutive 30 mile days and my body is now telling me to slow down and take some time off and heal. It’s so beautiful here though it’s really hard to sit in one place. Maybe I’ll take a zero (0 trail miles) in Grants NM about 100 miles up trail.

From Silver City, Driver and I started on the low route of the Gila Alternate. After about half a day, we descended into the Gila Canyon.

The Gila was a huge change with its lushness. Such an incredible contrast over the desert from just a couple of days before. It rained down nearly everyday. The trail followed the Gila River and you cross this river something like 150 times if you do the low route like we did.

On day 2,we made it to Doc Campbell’s (a little hiker friendly store in the middle of nowhere) where I had a food drop waiting. Driver decided to nero there for the rest of the day while I decided to push on to see the Gila Cliff Dwellings Visitor Center and push on. We met Ant and Rat just as they were leaving. They and most others were taking the faster high route while I decided to continue the low route through the river.

This was the most beautiful part of the Gila. It started with a hot spring. It was actually a bit too hot to do anything but stand in for a few minutes.

The Gila low route is one of the most beautiful places I’ve ever been. The river snakes through a beautiful lush canyon and and you have most of it to yourself.

If your not next to the ever, you are walking through open vanilla scented Ponderosa Pine forests.

On the next morning, I made it to Jordan Hot Springs. This is what I’ve always envisioned as a natural hot spring instead of the concrete pool shared with 20 strangers that is typically advertised as”natural hot springs”. It was beautiful and I didn’t want to leave.

On leaving, I met Armstrong and then went on my way.

The canyon just became more beautiful until we popped out at Snow Lake.

As we dried out our gear at the campground at Snow Lake, a storm move in and it started to rain and snow and pelt is with freezing rain. We rushed under the cover of the pot toilets to seek shelter until the storm passed.

On leaving we started the miles and miles of road walking over the wide open mesa. It was during this time we somehow took a wrong turn and went over 5 miles round trip in the wrong direction. This was the first of several 30 mile days.

The route we chose took us past Davila Ranch.

John and his daughter build this for CDT hikers and is in the middle of nowhere. You can wash your clothes, use the bathroom, take a hot shower, cook up some eggs, bacon, and meat from his own cows. It’s all supported by voluntary donations. He even has a beer fridge which has a keg in it he had to special order and drive 170 miles each way to get. What an amazing and generous gentleman. I spent most of the day there talking to John and cleaning up after the mob that had just left as we arrived then pushed off for the outskirts of Pietown.

After a beautiful night cowboy camping, I reached the Toaster House in Pietown early in the morning to collect my food drop. Once again there was too much food so I took the opportunity to forward the extra up the trail to Ghost Ranch. Someday I’ll get the food thing right.

There is not much in Pietown besides the Toaster House which is a hiker hostel, a post office, and a place to get pie. The Gathering Place was open and was filled with thru hikers. Our waiter was packing lead and I found myself saying “Sir” more than normal. Guns seem to make folks extra polite. I had a delicious smothered burrito followed by an entire apple cranberry walnut pie with ice cream all to myself 🙂. After a call to Vanessa, it was time to push on.