CDT 2024 - Day 1, Shuttle to start and Hike

Six is a crowd and then there is one.

Runningbird in the CDTC office very ready to load up and get going. Lordsburg, NM.

Two alarms go off at 0500. Up and make coffee, eat bananas, last check of pack loading. Hiking poles? Check. Everyone into the truck. Yes, we could all feel a bit of tension in the air. But we've been here before. Beau senses something. Not sure what but its somewhat familiar to him I'm sure. A five minute drive to the shuttle spot. Slowly 9 other hikers arrive. There were two 4X4 crew cab pickup trucks as the shuttles. They had bench front seats to fit six per truck but still that's a squeeze. All the backpacks would go in back of one truck and covered with a tarp (dust). The other bed was full of gas cans and bottled water. While the hikers milled about and visited in the office, I watched as the drivers figured out how to remove the cabin air filters behind the glove boxes and pounded out A LOT of dirt and dust and then took a Shop Vac to them. Yuck! They also gave each hiker a bandana. For the truck ride or for the hike? Then there was a lot of hugging and kissing and final good-byes and then hikers into the trucks for the three-hour rough and cramped ride of 20 miles. And so it starts.

After the 5-minute drive for me back to the KOA I did laundry and packed up the trailer before the 11 AM check-out time and then moved the trailer up the road. Near where the CDT pops out on the road on its way north here in Lordsburg, I had found a Veteran's Memorial Park that is set up for FREE overnight camping. The only amenities were a covered picnic table, a barbecue, and waste dumpsters. Actually more than what I need for now and puts me in a good position for when Runningbird gets back in town. After staging the trailer Beau and I drove back into Lordsburg and found a small auto garage/tire shop that could change the oil in my truck. I had known I would be due for a change by time I got down here and this was one thing I could check off my to-do list. It was a two-man shop and they were really nice folks and took care of it right away.

Veterans Park, Lordsburg, NM

Early afternoon and back at the Veteran's camping park the wind is howling, the dirt and sand are flying, and the inside of the trailer is dusty and gritty. There are three long strips of road parallel to each other as rows of camp spots and are just loose dirt, and all on the windward side of where I am parked of course. Everyone coming in to check the place out or finding a spot to camp sends up the dust. While there are a few skimpy, scraggly trees along each row they do very little to block wind or dust. Despite the heat I had to secure the door and windows and even that did very little to help. But hey, it's free right? Hmm.

Dusty, windswept rows at campground. Lordsburg, NM.

Checking the SPOT tracker I could see Runningbird was making the best of her first day on the trail despite the late morning start. Before dark she had settled down just off the trail amongst the sage brush in the desert. No trees, no running water, no roads, high winds, clear skies, and a near full moon.