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Lordsburg to Cow Camp

I am so happy. I am so f****** happy. We set out from Lordsburg speculating that it might be 20 miles until the next water source but betting on a source at about 8. This was our only hope before the cow pond at mile 20. A windmill at mile 15 out of Lordsburg was reportedly back up and running, but as of a few days ago the tank was dry and the trough had 6 inches of water and a dead skunk in it. We reached the cow tank we hoped for at mile 8.4 and it was dry. Completely dry. When we got there we had just eaten breakfast and drank part of our town water to lighten our load, and the day was starting to get warm. We both had about half a liter remaining and 12 miles to go until there was more water. Before we left the motel I drank about 1.5 liters and carried almost 2 more. I was pretty well hydrated already but I knew this 12 miles was going to suck ass.

And we’re here. We’re f****** here. There’s a whole damn green pond full of cow piss and god knows what and we’ve never been so happy to see something like this. I’ve already chugged two liters. We’re not making any more miles today. I’m spent.

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We’re moving again

I know we were both getting antsy sitting still for so long. We saw everything Lordsburg had to show the first time we were here.

It’s good to be getting back on the trail. The water is very far apart so the carries are heavy. I hope our feet do well.

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Phone Woes

Kylie’s Google Pixel 5a had the black screen of death this morning. Since our injuries were feeling manageable, we planned on hiking out early, but instead we spent the morning shopping for a new phone and finding a place ahead of us to send it. The next water source on the trail is now unreachable today, so we took a 3 mile walk to check on our feet. We’re trying again tomorrow.

The first week kinks are sucking. They always do.

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Onward to Lordsburg again

We rolled into Lordsburg in the afternoon, both limping a little today. By the last 3 miles, I was popping ibuprofen and struggling with the trail. I think we both forgot just how much it can suck to earn your trail legs. It looks like I have a mild strain in my left ankle and Kylie is nursing a few blisters and some achy toe joints. But we’ve been through worse on our last thru-hike, probably because we’re too stubborn to quit. We decided to stay the night and maybe an additional day to mend a bit. Hopefully we will feel better after eating the biggest burritos available on this earth.

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Kittens!

Y’all! We just saw three bobcat kittens! We were walking along a range and Chris started mooing at the cows. Out of the corner of my eye I saw movement and when I looked over there were three perfect little baby bobcat faces poking out of their den! I didn’t catch a photo because I didn’t want to spook them, and I didn’t know where the mom was. It’s been a tough day, but that made all the delays worth it! I could totally die happy now.