The stars were gorgeous overnight, and I woke up to a beautiful sunrise.
There were two hikers that passed our tents before we ever got out of our sleeping bags. They must have gotten up really early to hit town today!
We started packing, slowly, and then got to hiking just after 8am. It was already hot.
We came across another 2 hikers will walking and then 3 more at the water cache. Everyone is so confused about us hiking southbound right now, all of them have asked if we’re section hikers! Haha. Oh well. We hung out and talked at the water cache awhile, swapping trail names and hiking stories.
Eventually, Marquis and I carried on southbound while everyone else continued north. There were some gentle hills, nothing terrible. Mostly wide open landscape with shrubs and cacti and little lizards scurrying all over the place.
We basically just went from safe water source to safe water source-there were tons of cows and cow troughs. Pretty gross looking water and loads of floating algae. We took a mid morning pitstop in the shade of a water tank, did some stretching and resting of our legs. Marquis is worried about his tendonitis coming back that caused him to have to separate from Margot and I on the PCT at Crater Lake in 2023, so he’s making sure to do all of the stretches Blaze Physio (a traveling PT for thruhikers) told him to do back then. And I’m all for breaks, so it works for me!
We hiked a few more miles and then had lunch under a tree. It was glorious with a breeze. I had some Uncrustables and pretzels, which are pretty filling. We stretched again and kept relaxing the feet.. we’re breaking ourselves in easy and trying to not overdo it.. so all of these breaks feel both incredible and like we’re behind all at the same time. But we already booked our shuttle for a specific day, so there’s really no need to rush anywhere.
After lunch, we walked to the next water tank and sat in its shade for a while, and chugged lots of water. We then went to the next water source-which was a tire surrounded by cows. We must have maneuvered through 75 cows.. to find there wasn’t a spigot, it was just nasty water-with cows literally standing in it and peeing. Eeeek! We just couldn’t do it. We knew there was another one nearby, so we pressed on to it-which was gross with algae but we got it anyway, we’re really relying on these water filters to do their jobs! We packed out 4 liters each and walked another mile to set up camp.
It’s only 5:45pm and the sun is still blazing. Since we’re easing into it-theres no need to go farther. I did get my first blister on my left heel-I had no blisters during either marathon and here I am after my first full day of hiking with one. And yall, it’s pretty tender. Oh well, such is life I guess. Our tents are set up and we’re going to hang out, stretch some more, and then eat dinner and watch the sunset.. you know, enjoy the simple things in life. Hope yall do, too! Love yall!
Long time, no update.. but.. Guess what? I started the Continental Divide Trail today!! I know I’ve been horrible at updating this, but, life has been a whirlwind.. so, I guess I’m picking up right here!
I ran the Boston Marathon on April 21st, for the Cam Neely Foundation-in honor of my friend Nancy, who we lost to pancreatic cancer in 2019. I was able to raise over $17,000 for the foundation, and I can honestly say, there is nothing I’ve done that has ever felt as rewarding as raising that much money and then crossing the finish line on Boylston Street, all while feeling Nancy’s love, and the love of all of my family and friends during every step.
From Boston, mom and I went to London, and on April 27th, I ran that marathon, too! Wild ride, for sure, and I’m praying all of that marathon training is going to help with this hike. I was only back stateside for 3 days before leaving today to fly to Tucson, Arizona. I’m already missing family and friends so much, normally before these huge hikes I have time to catch up and say my farewells, but this one was so rushed, it’s kind of surreal that I’m even sitting here in a tent typing this.
I was woken up by my mom this morning at 6 something, for her to hug and kiss me bye before she left for work. She has a key to my house and lives right down the street, and I’m so so happy she popped by to do that! Then, my aunt Kathy called at 7 on her way to work to tell me bye too! I’m not sure how I got so lucky.
My uncle Keith picked me up at 7:30 and took me by my favorite biscuit place for breakfast and then on to the airport, to fly into Tucson, Arizona. I am so grateful to have gotten that time with him, to chit chat and catch up before having to dart off again. I really do wonder why I do this to myself sometimes. Like, I could be home with all the folks I love and not off exploring the world for long periods of time. How can your heart always want to be in two separate places?
Anywho, when I landed in Tucson, I found Marquis, AKA Pebbles, at baggage claim! He’s been planning this hike with me and keeping me somewhat organized during all my chaos prior to the hike. We plan to hike the CDT together, since we both hate snakes (mostly rattlesnakes in New Mexico, but pretty much all over), I’m scared of the grizzly bears in Idaho, Wyoming, and Montana.. and he’s leery of the lightening storms on exposed ridge lines known to pop up in Colorado.. soooo, basically the whole trail!
I think I found a lot of relief going into this one, knowing I wouldn’t be doing it alone and completely on my own. It’s exciting to have a friendship like ours and know that we’ll probably be just fine hiking day in and day out together, since we did it for a good half of the PCT. This hike will be anywhere from 2,700-3,100 miles, so slightly longer than the PCT.. but it’s a trail that has many alternates connecting to it, many with better views, so the mileage all depends on which way you decide to walk. It’ll be interesting to see the total!
The CDT goes from New Mexico at the Mexican border up through Colorado, Wyoming, Idaho, and ending in Glacier National Park in Montana at the Canadian border. Marquis and I plan to go northbound the entire way, except for the first 82 miles. There’s not much at the Mexican border, and it’s a 3 hour-one way trip from the city of Lordsburg, New Mexico. There’s a shuttle a service that takes 6 hikers from Lordsburg to the border every day to start their northbound hike. They pick you up at 6am and drop you off at 9:30am.
The day we wanted to start was full, so we decided to hike from Lordsburg to the border and then take the shuttle back to Lordsburg at 9:30am since they’ll be there regardless dropping off hikers. We still had to pay for the shuttle ahead of time, as they also provide water caches at 5 different spots along that section of otherwise dry, desert land. So, it’s definitely worth every penny!
Anyway, my phenomenal friend, Ashley, picked us up from the airport, gave us a mini tour of Tucson (REI and an awesome Mexican restaurant for lunch), and then drove us the 2+ hours to Lordsburg. She’s a saint for doing this for us, to keep us from getting there at midnight on a bus, especially since she JUST moved to Tucson 3 weeks ago!! She’s just now settling into her new home and routine, then I pop up needing a ride to the next state! Thankfully, the desert views are gorgeous and she seemed just as exited as we were for them.
Ashley got us to the EconoLodge just after 6pm, where their staff graciously allowed us to leave our next resupply box. Then, we drove down about a mile to Veteran’s Park to snap some starting pictures and head on our way to the beginning of our CDT journey. We only went in about 4 miles on the trail, as the sun was starting to set. The views were gorgeous desert sand, with mountains all around in the distance and cacti of varying varieties all over. We also passed some cows at a trough that didn’t look too thrilled to see us. They were cute though!
Setting up my tent took a little longer than normal, and my pack isn’t packed just right yet-always a few growing pains at the beginning-remembering what works and what doesn’t, what goes where.. bla bla. I’ll get the hang of it again soon enough!
It’s pretty chilly, somewhere in the 40s, and the moon is shining bright. My sleeping quilt is cozy as can be, so I’m thinking it’s time to turn in. Ps: I’m having some issues with my WordPress app-so, things may come very sporadically and very late. Sorry about that!
We had a later morning than the previous-but we still had to be up and ready to leave the hotel, after eating breakfast, by 6:30am. Do y’all think any of us are morning people yet? Hint: we’re not! Lol
Right at 6:30, we met Ahmad, our tour owner and our guide for today and tomorrow. We loaded into our van and started the 4 hour journey to The Oasis, a home/gathering spot/restaurant out in the middle of the desert. It was a long 4 hours, but once we made it there, Ahmad introduced us to our host, Akmed. He owns the Oasis and will be our driver through the White and Black Desert. He is a Beduin and knows this area well.
We were served a nice lunch with salad, veggies, soup, rice and beef. The beef tasted like pork roast to me, but I seemed to be the only one in our group that enjoyed it. I really can eat just about anything. After eating lunch and getting together our overnight bags, the four of us, Ahmad and Akmed got into the Toyota Landcruiser and started our trip into the desert.
The first time Akmed went off the paved road into the sands of the desert, I was a little nervous. He was a great driver though, and it ended up being a blast. He’d fly through the straight aways and then slide and drift into the sands.. we were all laughing and holding on for dear life. The speedometer needle didn’t work, so I never knew exactly how fast we were going, but I definitely let out quite a few squeals!
Terri put her airplane pillow around her neck like a brace and we all cried with laughter while getting jostled around. We stopped in the Black Desert, which is black from lava rocks on top of the tan/orange sand. Apparently thousands of years ago a volcano erupted here. Even the rocks are ancient. We also stopped at Crystal mountain, a mountain made of gorgeous crystal like rocks.
We passed the sandstone formations carved in odd forms from the wind. We also saw the area where the ancient ocean flowed, long since dried up now. Apparently archeologists found fossils and whale bones out here! That’s pretty spectacular to think about. There were formations with names like Mushroom Rock, Chicken Rock, and Camel Rock, all for obvious reasons. All of them were neat to see up close! The scenery was like being on another planet all together.
We got to sandboard down a huge sloping sand dune.. Andrea and I did it twice! As fun as it was going down, it was a workout coming back up-but totally worth it. Terri went down the slightly shorter side, so she could slide right down to where the truck was parked-can we say genius? Lol
We then went to where we were going to be camping for the night. The White Desert is called that because of the white sandstone chalk covering parts of the orange/yellow sand. The contrasting colors make it absolutely stunning to see in person, I hate that my phone is incapable of really capturing its beauty. We watched the sunset in the most vivid pinks and oranges-with the most clouds I’ve seen in Egypt to date. It was truly special.
While we were walking around and snapping photos of the sunset, Akmed and his team set up our tents and started making us dinner! When we walked back to camp, there was a large Beduin tent and our 3 smaller tents to sleep in. There was a bonfire going and chicken being cooked on a grill over the open flames. It was a lovely site!
We all sat around chatting until dinner was served, chicken, veggies, salad and soup. I’m not one for picking food off of bones-it’s something I struggle with-I literally get nauseous with it at times, but I think I managed my piece of chicken well. I loved the flavor and all of the other food too. When I was getting peer pressured into eating another piece of chicken, I almost lost it. I did my best to keep it together and remain polite-but I just don’t like eating off the bone. It’s wasteful to continue to give it to me. Ha.
Anyway. We sat around our fire and a couple from Australia came over to join us. Akmed made us tea to sip while soaking in the beauty of the desert at night. The stars were all out, the tea was fantastic, the experience was unforgettable.
Mom didn’t last too much longer after tea, she went and got in our tent and fell fast asleep quick. Terri was a little ways behind mom. Andrea and I laid on our backs watching the stars for another hour maybe, and then decided to follow suit. The tents are 2 person tents with screens to see out from. There wasn’t much airflow inside, but I was glad I could still see the stars from my bed.
Mom and I slept through sunrise. Ooops. I did get up at 5am to go pee, and was dumbfounded for a good 10 minutes out there alone, watching the sky in all of its starry glory. Pretty incredible stuff. We all ate breakfast together before making the drive back to the Oasis. There we gathered our luggage and transferred to the van, with lunch packed for us. We said our goodbyes to Akmed and started that long 4 hours back to Cairo.
Along the way- IT STARTED RAINING!! We got to see rain in the desert! How neat is that?! We napped, we listened to our phones-music and audiobooks-and eventually we made it to our hotel for the night. Thankfully, this hotel is connected to the airport-so we just have to walk down a hallway to connect to our airport terminal in the morning. Wahoo!
We said our goodbyes to Ahmad, checked in, stored away our stuff in our new rooms-and then decided to go eat right away, before any of us showered and got comfortable, because without a doubt, after a shower we knew we wouldn’t be getting dressed again and leaving those rooms until it was time to leave for our flight!
We ate burgers and fajitas at the restaurant by the gorgeous pool. It had stopped sprinkling, but the skies were still cloudy-the perfect excuse to go shower and fall asleep early. The food was fantastic, Andrea and I had some red wine (also great) and Connie and Terri had a beer! I guess they needed that after our off roading and 4×4 sand dude and camping experience!
Now, I’m showered, clean, and cozied up in my bed. I’m sure the second I sit this phone down I’ll be asleep. We head to our beach resort in Sharm El Sheikh tomorrow and I for one CANNOT WAIT. Sleeping in, all inclusive foods, pools and the Red Sea. Yes please! I think it’s time for some downtime! Goodnight
