Day 1 Continental Divide Trail NOBO Thru Hike

“Let’s start at the beginning. It’s a very good place to start”– Do-Re-Mi lyrics The Sound of Music.

A flight from home in Montana to El Paso, Texas and a shuttle ride to crazy monument New Mexico and I am ready to head north. I made arrangements with Tim, he’s in the Far Out guide, to transport me from my hotel to the Mexican border.

The land seems so familiar although it has been almost 25 years since I have been down here. Pavement turned to dirt roads and dirt roads turned to bumpy and washed out roads and finally after a few hours we arrived at Crazy Cook. It was a bit overwhelming for a moment as this is the point where I had intended to finish a southbound through hike on the CDT in December. Foot surgery took me off of the trail and so here I am getting ready to walk back home. I am hopeful that this journey will be without incident and that I will find the quiet beauty that I am constantly on the lookout for.

I had packed four days of food and was carrying 4 1/2 L of water as the first water cache was 14 miles away. It was close to noon when I set out and my goal for the day was 16 miles. It would be easy to turn an ankle on the loose rocks in the old stream beds, washes and gullies. Another shuttle driver had dropped off two hikers approximately 15 minutes before I started.

While walking down the trail, I noticed some items of clothing hanging in the trees and thought that perhaps someone had lost some gear. As it turns out it was a couple who were section hiking New Mexico, and they were the ones the shuttle driver had dropped off, so I stopped to talk to”Thirteen” and “Wildcat” for a few minutes and made my way on. I will warn you that about 11 miles out the trail hooks to the right through a narrow opening in some bushes. It wasn’t well marked. Instead, I went straight and cost myself a bit of time turning into a small canyon and had a chat with my anxiety monster. Another hard earned lesson.

After dark, I found the first water cache and refilled my bottles and containers. No sense in stringing too far from the water source during the night so I pitched my tent, cooked my supper, and closed my eyes with the satisfaction of knowing the first day northbound was finished. The importance of being there and taking the first step north and trekking to my True North makes all the difference.

“A desert is a place without expectation.” ― Nadine Gordimer