25th April
22.4 miles (36km)
Roadside Camp (127) to Highway Camp (149.4)
I woke to the yelping calls of the nearby coyotes. But I was still tired, very tired. I had to force myself out of the warmth of my sleeping bag. The others were likewise tired and slow. Day eight and we are exhausted.
It was 7.30am when finally we hit the trail. There was a distinct lack of footprints. It seems most hikers took the shortcut route into Silver City. We chose to stay on the official CDT. That’s 20 extra miles of hiking.
Gentle rolling hills with ample tree cover was the call for the day. Until, that was, when the trail ran out. It stopped. It is incomplete.
We routed ourselves along a series of forestry roads. One of which followed a dry river canyon. It was the most stunning scenery of the whole trail to date. There was even flowing drinkable water. Our first flowing water of the trail so far. I was reminded of the gorges at home that are very similar. I shall return to them one day.
After hiking through the gorge we had dinner at a water tank. The hundreds of cows to keep us company. We decided to make some more miles. For one reason, I was not tired yet. And for a second reason to get us closer to town tomorrow. To do so we had to road walk into the late afternoon.
Our campsite was less than gracefull. A dry sandy river bed within 100 metres of the highway. It was the best we could do and we’re only 12 miles from the resupply town of Silver City.
Read Next – Day 9 Silver City equals Pizza
Everything you need to know about hiking the CDT:
Complete Guide to Hiking the Continental Divide Trail
CDT Resupply Guide
CDT Gear List
Incredible pictures today! Thank you for sharing. I bet you can’t wait to eat pizza!! So interesting about the water tasting better the worst it looks. Very happy you are hiking again and posting daily. One of the highlights of my day!
It’s very strange about the water. I think I’ll continue to look for horrible looking water. Oh and I just had the pizza. And I’m full, finally.