May 18 Mileage 23.5 306 miles from Mexico I can't sleep. I don't know. The internet is there on my phone and there's so much to do, such a flood of bleeps and bloops and bits of data that mean everything but really nothing and oh, I can't sleep. And it's too hot in the … Continue reading CDT day 14: life is an endless dirt forest service road

May 17 Mileage 19 282.5 miles from Mexico It's cold next to the cow pond but not rainy and I sleep hard, wake up feeling super awesome. Yay! We're up high in the pine mountains and today the trail is a maze of jeep roads and bushwhacking, tracks going off in one direction and then … Continue reading CDT day day 13: And then there were ribs

May 16 Mileage 29 263.5 miles from Mexico All night the wind blows and the rain falls on my tent, then turns to rattling hail. The night is deeply cold. I toss and turn in my bag, legs cramping, unable to get comfortable or fully warm. At one point I wake and the rain/hail has … Continue reading CDT day 12: snow in May

May 15 Mileage 27.5 234.5 Miles from Mexico The storm arrives at midnight: BOOM! BOOM! Peeee-ow! Thunder cracks and echoes down the canyon. Lightning flashes, sheering the night in half. I lie awake in the dark, listening to the hail beat the fabric of my shelter. Outside I can see the lights in my friends' … Continue reading CDT day 11: lightning and hail and infinite peace

May 14 Mileage 13 207 miles from Mexico The Gila game is as such: walk in the water. Walk on rocks. Walk in deep sand. Climb over a downed tree. Walk in the water. All while in a glorious canyon that pens in the sparkling river, pink rocks rising up in the slanted light, forgetting … Continue reading CDT day 10: The Gila Game

May 13 Mileage 21 194 miles from Mexico A storm comes in during the wee hours and even though we'd planned for this, grumblingly setting up our shelters for the first time on the trail so far, there is still that bleary moment making sure all is secure for the onslaught, touching everything in my … Continue reading CDT day 9: deep thoughts in the Gila

May 12 Mileage 30 173 miles from Mexico I sleep ok, I guess. I've been waking up at four a.m. for some reason, and then sort of tossing and turning. Adjusting. I am still adjusting to the trail. On the walk out of town to the trail I stop in at the store and buy … Continue reading CDT day 8: down to the magical Gila

May 11 Mileage: zero I never meant to zero this early in the trail. Some of us are havin some foot pain and we're not tryin to get injured in the first week (it's a long trail, as they say) and so we're taking a day off. I mean I guess I could hike out … Continue reading CDT day 7: zero in Silver City

May 10 Mileage 28.5 143 miles from Mexico It's cold- I sleep curled in a tiny ball in my sleeping bag and when I wake at dawn Spark announces that it's thirty degrees. I slept amazing tho and by god, am I ready to hike. Which we do. We're up high still, walking on real … Continue reading CDT day 6: beautiful pine forest yay / roadwalk FTW

May 9 Mileage 27.5 112.5 miles from Mexico I wake in the dark motel room, not too cold, not too hot. I slept good. The heady orange light of dawn is just beginning to work its way around the edges of the blackout curtains and soon my friends are awake too, sitting up in their … Continue reading CDT day 5: and then the orcs got us