Silver City, NM and Crazy Cook

We got a really late start due to the fact that we didn't want to freeze our feet in the fords. We bagged our feet then started out just before 9:00. We crossed through Murtocks Hole, viewing the rocks above and admiring the various trees. We saw a praying mantis neat the shore at one of the crossings. At our lunch break, we were visited by a pigeon, like one you would find in the city. It didn't seem interested in the ramen scraps I threw at it. The thing was rather creepy, just standing there staring at us. We moved on, passing below Granny Mt., coming to Sapillo Creek and our turn off. We crossed the Gila River 57 times, so including the Middle and West Forks, we crossed the river 150 times! We climbed out of the canyon, heading up Sheep Corral Canyon to FR282. We followed TR232 heading to Tadpole Ridge, then turned south towards Bear Creek.We contoured through sharp chaparral (which punctured the Nalgene canteen on my pack, which forced us to shift water around) and headed to a patch of pine. The campsites were awesome here, so we cowboy camped in the duff.

Comfy bed, cold wind. Ate breakfast and had coffee, then headed out. The trail ahead was supposed to be overgrown and thorny, but when we got there it looked recently cleared out. The way was steep and rocky, but very do-able. We continued on TR234, which was really a dry creek bed with cairns. We followed small cairns through scrubby desert, getting lost only for seconds at a time. We passed Devil's Garden, following an old ATV track to Horseshoe Bend. We picked up RD506, which connected to Little Walnut Road, which led all the way to town. About a mile out of town, we found a fruit stand that was only open on Tuesdays from 3-7. We for there at 3:15, and picked up a couple of apples and pears. We walked to the Food Co-op, for coconut based ice cream, got a room at the Palace Hotel, grabbed dinner at Jalisco, a light night decaf from Javalina, then retired to do some chores in our room.

We ate our continental breakfast, mailed some stuff home from the PO, resupplied from the Co-op, then got sandwiches to go from Diane's Bakery (delicious!) We headed out of town going south on Highway 90. The road walk was hot and exposed, and we weren't thrilled, though we did try to entertain ourselves by watching grasshoppers commit suicide by jumping into oncoming traffic. We also had a laugh at the Calvary Chapel, because it looked like a giant warehouse, so we joked that it was where you stored your Christians (no offense to anyone, we were just trying not to be bored.) We passed the Covenant Community of Tyrone, and the Tyrone Mine, which was a terraced hillside with many sprinklers going off. We think it was to keep the dust down. We broke for food under a nice shady tree at Mile Post 29, hiking in the long grass. It would have been perfect except for the highway. We eventually came to Separ Road, where we turned and walked on dirt road. The sun set on us, but we walked until 8:00, stopping once to check a windmill for water, then found a decent spot by a small bush to get out of the wind for the night.

We were moving before dawn. A coyote yipped at us until it figured we weren't other coyotes. Lots of cows and nothing for most of the day. We stopped by the Pitchfork Ranch to get water, and what an oasis that place is! No one was around, but we still felt a welcoming feeling as we walked toward the house. We filled out bottles and aired our feet, then pressed on. As we walked, I got pains in my right leg that got progressively worse as the day wore on. I'm hoping it's nothing serious, or that I can just power through it. We stopped for a short break at the junction with Gage Road and as we sat we hear a whooshing sound behind us. We turned and saw a dust devil tearing up the plants and heading straight for us. I watched as DP put one hand on his visor and the other on socks he was drying. The dust devil passed us by just two feet to our left and whipped up more plants as it headed west. It was bizarre. We were now getting disgusted by the grasshoppers, who are cannibals, as it turns out. Once you've seen a pile of them eating the dead, they don't seem so funny anymore. We eventually came to Separ, where we ate microwave pizza hot pockets, ice cream, nachos, soda and refilled our water bottles. We headed south, chasing a herd of cows down the road until they came to a cattle guard and veered away from us. We found a place to set up camp off the road, but the ground was too hard to put the stakes in, and we could find no rocks to use as hammers, so we tied up the tarp to what plants we could.

Today did not start well. We knew we would be 'shwhacking cross country, so started while it was still dark was not in the plan. So we waited for light, packed and moved out into the grassy plains. More like pains, as our feet were constantly being stabbed by grass seeds that make their way into our shoes and socks. It was agony with every step. We made it to a dry lake that was filled with moist plants and saw five javelinas munching away. As we got closer, they ran away in an awkward rocking motion. They really do look like hairy bowling balls with legs! We left the lake and back into grass, trying our best to ignore the pokes. We finally came to Highway 81 and say on the side of the road picking the seeds out of our socks. A trucker honked at us on his way past, and a border patrol truck pulled over to see what we were up to. He warned us about "dopers" in the area. We really weren't that concerned, but thanked him for the heads up. We walked down the Highway, with DP picking up one of the large, brown tarantulas we saw. CREEPY!!! We were stopped again by another border patrol woman who wanted to know what we were doing. WE eventually got to Hachita, and went to the food mart for a cold drink. We were informed by the cashier that a regular customer of hers, who was a trucker named Jamie, would pick up our tab! We were shocked, and so grabbed a couple of sodas, a few snacks and thanked the trucker via the cashier. We got to the PO to pick up our last food drop, then walked over to Sam Hughes home. Sam is a very generous and interesting man, who immediately made us feel at welcome. After we were checked out and approved by his dog Bear, he invited us to sit in the shade and rest our feet. He then offered some pomegranate wine, and let us boil water for our dinner on his stove. He showed us some turquoise and silver jewelry he made, then we set up out tent in his yard for the night.

We started at first light, grabbing a cup of coffee Sam had made. We continued down Highway 81, getting stopped by border patrol a few times. At least 15 patrol trucks passed us on the road. We turned onto Hatchet Road and followed the dirt track the rest of the day. We wound our way through the Hachita Valley following BLM Public Access signs so we wouldn't stumble on private ranch lands (and possibly jumpy ranchers.) After a few hours of walking, we heard a car approaching from behind. We turned, and there were DP's parents. We got hugs and smiles, as well as ice cold water. They took our packs and the last eight miles or so was hiked as a slack pack. We were picked up at the mouth of Sheridan Canyon and driven to Deming for a night in a motel!

Ah! Our last day! We were dropped off around 8:30 and started out with very light packs. We walked up the wash of Sheridan Canyon, then followed a dirt road and CDT signs. We decided to follow the wash, since there were no grass seeds to be had there. WE lost the trail as we came out at Upper Sheridan Tank, but made our way back to South Sheridan Canyon and picked up the road once more. We came to the junction with the dirt road and saw a note from DP's parents. We saw signs for the trail, but finding no tread and not wanting to pick grass seeds out of our feet, we opted for the road. We came upon the monument at 2:00 and DP let me touch the stone first, making me the first SoBo to finish the trail (we think). We had our little celebration, DP drinking three small Crown Royal bottles for his Triple Crown, while I only drank two, since I still need to finish about 600 miles on the PCT. We went back to Silver City, stopping in Lordsberg for dinner, and stayed once again at the Palace Motel. We're done! We are through hiking!!!