Day 117

The boys never caught up to me last night. This morning the same hunters that blinded me yesterday drove by and told me they had all camped together and “finished a bottle of tequila”. So maybe I won’t be seeing them until the next town 🙂

The hiking started with 3 hours of descent and then a big climb after lunch up Wagontongue Mountain. The rest of the day was up and down on pretty rough terrain, sometimes with a trail, but often just cross-country. There were lots of trees to shade me but it still got rather hot.

When I got to my afternoon water source (a pool deep in a canyon), I discovered that one of the parts of my chlorine mix had sprung a leak. The stuff only works when you mix two parts equally, so that was it, no more treating water in this section. With visions of Giardia dancing in my head, I gathered the water I needed from a trickle above the pool, and then hiked off. It probably took an hour before I took a sip.

I think I’ll be OK, I’ve drank a lot of untreated water on this trail. The only thing is that southern NM has a reputation for poor water quality, so this really isn’t the place to be without a treatment method. I’m not sure how I’ll get something at the next “town” either, as its really just a tiny store. Problems for later I guess!


Daily Summary
Date: Oct 18, 2011
Day 117
Daily Distance: 32.6 miles
Trip Distance: 2353.9 miles

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