[Cdt-l] S Nm CDT logistics

Mon Feb 9 18:48:13 CST 2015

Wind can certainly be an issue in the early sections.  In 2012 we were hit
by a windstorm in the late afternoon just after we had laid out a cowboy
camp.  We had mistakenly pitched in the several mile stretch between the
Little Hatchita and Big Hatchita Mountains.  It was so strong it blew
several pieces of gear away.   I had to chase my sleeping bag off into the
desert to stop it from wrapping itself around a big chollo cactus.  We
would have had better protection in the wind shadow of either stretch of
mountains.

The wind grew overnight and we ended up covered in blowing sand when we
awoke to a howling wind.   After hiking a mile or so that morning, however,
we got into the wind shadow of the Big Hatchita Mountains and could look
back at the huge dust plume bowing between the ranges for most of the day.
It shut down the interstate near there for a day and a half.  So seek a
more sheltered spot if the wind in the evening begins to build.

Shroomer

On Mon, Feb 9, 2015 at 11:59 AM, Mary Kwart <mkwart at gci.net> wrote:

> Hi--I used a Big Agnes fly creek tent every night. I like privacy (you may
> end up hiking and camping with others much of the time) and the security
> away from rodents and night crawling creatures. It also added a little to
> the warmth factor. I am a cold sleeper, so need all the help I can get. I
> also agree with Bob about the wind--you don't think of it as unusual a year
> later to mention because it is gusting constantly.
>
> I think you can be pretty confident others won't take your water. Everyone
> has labelled their water and the CDT people label the water put out for
> you. When I was camping at the caches, I saw no one taking water that
> wasn't theirs. One of the reasons for this may be when people have surplus
> water they don't need and leave it at the cache, they usually label it for
> general use, putting a line with a marker through their names. This water
> is available to all to use first come, first served. People also usually
> put an ETA on their containers or say something like 'Keep until XXXXX
> date". That way you know whether it is OK to use it  if it isn't yours. I
> carry a short Sharpie marker with me for stuff like this.
>
> I never saw any sign of border crossers from Mexico along the CDT. On the
> AZT and the PCT you see sign of them--old clothes, trash, carpet for tieing
> around shoe soles to obscure footprints---but I saw none of this on the CDT
> last spring.
>
> Good luck
> --Fireweed
>
>
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From:
> "b j" <xthrow at yahoo.com>
>
> To:
> "Bob Sartini" <bobsartini at gmail.com>, "Mary Kwart" <mkwart at gci.net>
> Cc:
> "CDT Emaillist" <cdt-l at backcountry.net>
> Sent:
> Mon, 9 Feb 2015 19:10:47 +0000 (UTC)
>
> Subject:
> Re: [Cdt-l] S Nm CDT logistics
>
>
> Hi Bob and Mary,
>
> Thanks for sharing your experience.  Did you cowboy camp or tent (I'm
> kindof trying to get a feeling about what's best with the cold).
>
> When you put water in the water caches, did you feel fairly confident that
> noone else would be drinking it (especially since it's so close to the
> border)?
>
> -Porsche
>  ------------------------------
> *From:* Bob Sartini <bobsartini at gmail.com>
> *To:* Mary Kwart <mkwart at gci.net>
> *Cc:* CDT Emaillist <cdt-l at backcountry.net>; xthrow at yahoo.com
> *Sent:* Sunday, February 8, 2015 6:38 PM
> *Subject:* Re: [Cdt-l] S Nm CDT logistics
>
> I did NM in 2013 and found it to be windy pretty much all the time. Also
> cold every night without exception. I guess that's a clue that every year
> is different. Also we filled our own caches (meaning we put water in the
> boxes) and 4 of five were right off of paved roads.
>
>
>
> On Sun, Feb 8, 2015 at 6:27 PM, Mary Kwart <mkwart at gci.net> wrote:
>
> Hi, Porsche:
>
> I completed the NM section of the CDT last spring. I got a ride to the
> Mexican border with the CDT van on the first day they took
> reservations--April 10th. I was staying in Lordsburg, but Teresa Martinez
> picked me up the night before and we drove to SIlver City, where we stayed
> at a trail angel's house and then picked up more hikers in the early
> morning at SIlver City. I believe they will now pickup at Lordsburg.
> Contact Teresa Martinez from the CDTC.
>
> I don't remember any major winds in southern NM when I did it last year.
> One thing I remember about NM was how cold it was north of the desert. Our
> water bottles froze in our tents and our boots wet from wading in the river
> froze on several days within and north of the Gila WIlderness. I was glad I
> had a sleeping bag rated to 15 degrees.
>
> You could leave water at the caches with your own vehicle if you wanted to
> start earlier, because they are secure metal boxes and you can label your
> containers. Your car would have to be able to tolerate some dirt road
> travel--I don't know if 4wd is necessary for any, but the ones I saw had
> decent dirt roads coming up to them. There were trail angels filling water
> containers for the caches at a market in Lordsburg. I think some were
> volunteers from out of the area, but some were locals. I don't know if they
> would cache for you outside of the CDT van shuttle framework of dates.
>
> The most important thing for the first day was hiking about 13 miles to
> get to the first cache--no water before then at all from the border.
>
>  I also did a little detour around flood debris on the Gila above Doc
> Campbell's on alternate trails. You might want to find out about the status
> of the flood debris this year.
>
> Ghost Ranch is not to be missed--I made reservations for a room ahead of
> time and stayed there for two days.
>
> Have a good hike and contact me if you have any other questions. My
> journal is at postholer.com
>
> --Fireweed
>
> --Fireweed
>
>
>
>
>
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>
>
> --
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>
>
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