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<p class="MsoNormal"><font face="Arial" size="2"><span
style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;">Good points… One thing I
kept in mind in NM was that
even if I was in the legal right-of-way, if I was confronted by some
local with
a gun and a strong opinion, it really didn’t matter if I was legally
right. It's too late for discussion after a trigger is pulled. <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><font face="Arial" size="2"><span
style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;">I would guess that most
people in southern NM assume person
walking down a road is either homeless, undocumented, or
otherwise suspicious and possibly dangerous. The option of “walking
across the country” probably doesn’t compute. If an encounter did
happen to spark some interest & positive passion about the CDT,
that’d
be wonderful, but people can be pretty fickle. Your dream might sound
like a
stupid waste of time, or even a bad lie to someone else. And sometimes,
by the
time they see you from a distance and drive up to talk to you, they may
have
already formed an opinion that you’re “nothing but trouble”,
and that can be hard to overcome. <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><font face="Arial" size="2"><span
style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;">Seeing all the changes in
the past few years, if I had to
hike the trail again, I’d take the official route through Lordsburg to
cRaZy
CoOk… or maybe continue from there to antelope wells (just to make the
logistics a little easier). Logistically, either of these is more
difficult
than <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:city w:st="on">Columbus</st1:city></st1:place>,
but people manage somehow. And just judging from the maps, it would
seem that the Lordsburg route is a bit more "wild". One big bummer on
that route however is missing a
swing by Keith & Mary in Deming… The <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:city
w:st="on">Columbus</st1:city></st1:place>
“route” isn’t supported by any official agency, and while
that can mean more of an adventure… it can also lead to problems. <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<font face="Arial" size="2"><span
style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;">I added the <st1:city
w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Columbus</st1:place></st1:city>
route to my maps a couple years ago because I got the feedback, and
people were
going to hike it anyway… so, why not at least have a map? At least it
hopefully
gives some guidance to avoid certain areas (and I can update it as more
feedback comes in).<br>
<br>
-Jonathan<br>
<br>
</span></font><br>
Ron Dobra wrote:
<blockquote
cite="mid:f95018100910300958s18c2590w46a28f01790b3755@mail.gmail.com"
type="cite">Having finished the hike from Helena (skipping Wyoming)
yesterday, I have some comments on the Columbus route. On two occasions
south of Emory Pass I was confronted by angry land owners, though I was
on a "public" road. The first was at the end of the Barrenca (?) creek
descent, as I was about to climb over the big, locked gate with the "no
trespassing" sign on the south side..the guy owned the property the
McMullen(?) spring was on (sorry, I don't have the map/guide with me).
His partner was packing a holstered pistol and just glared at me....the
second was on a road in the "aim for the pointed peak SSW" cross
country section, as I was walking down a road...guy comes roaring up in
a jeep, says "May I ask just what you are doing here?" I answer about
finishing my thru hike. He says "You know your on private land." I say
"My map shows this to be a county road"<br>
His reply.."That's a mere technicality" OK...I'm state highway bound
from that point all the way to the border. My point: if the 14 (?!)
sobos alledgedly grouped up in Grants were to meet one of these guys en
masse, well..."obtaining permission" is not realistic in the field. I
realize this has not been a common, or perhaps even prior occurence,
but it happening twice in three days made me wonder how stress free the
guide book route might be....homeward bound.<br>
ron zen quake dobra<br>
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