Tadpole Ridge to Gila River 13 mi :: 157 mi :: Cloudy and cold, sunny afternoon It’s a cold morning, hard to get out of the sleeping bags. But when we do get up we pack quickly to stay warm, and head down sheep corral canyon. It’s still cold and cloudy when we stop for…

FR506 to Tadpole Ridge 11 mi :: 144 mi :: Partly cloudy, windy When we finally reach Bear Creek, I sit down with the GPS to try to locate us in a known position on the map. It’s off again. Ann notices the bearing is off by about the same amount as the magnetic north…

Silver City to FR506 16 mi :: 133 mi :: Sunny, afternoon showers We start slowly through town with our packs on. It’s a different feeling from the days before – we’re traveling now. A ways up Little Walnut road a car pulls over to ask if we are CDT hikers. When we say yes…

Silver City 0 mi :: 117 mi :: Overcast, cool Resting is getting harder. We have lots of energy and want to get out, but also keep Ann off her feet. I run some errands on my own while Ann elevates and ices her ankles. Later we go out together to put a patch on…

Silver City 0 mi :: 117 mi :: Sunny, breezy Determined to sleep in, I’m wide awake at 7 am. Oh well. Silver City is perfectly organized for hikers. Hotel, food, coffee, gear store, laundry, and post office are all a few blocks from each other. We have a casually busy day visiting these places.…

Tyrone Mine to Silver City 13 mi :: 117 mi :: Sunny, warm, breezy The heavy machinery up in the Tyrone mine worked all through the night. We’re glad we didn’t camp any closer. Ann’s feet seem much better when we start walking past the big copper mine. The variety of colors in the huge…

White Ridge Canyon to Tyrone Mine 16 mi :: 104 mi :: Sunny, warm, breezy I wake up at sunrise, get dressed, and head back down the road for water. I find a full stock tank, but the spigot is under water, so I have to filter it. This is the first time we’ve had…

Ninetysix Ranch to White Ridge Canyon 17 mi :: 88 mi :: Sunny, warm, breezy It’s calm in the morning. We sleep in until 7:30, it feels so nice. While we’re walking the fenced corridor we stopped at last night, a bunch of gorgeous horses run up on one side. They’re part of the ranch…

Black Diamond Draw to Ninetysix Ranch 15 mi :: 71 mi :: Sunny and windy! The first half of our day is spent looking for roads that aren’t there. We even go to a GPS coordinate – nothing but fences and cows. Either things have changed since the guidebook author hiked this segment, or he…

Howell’s Ridge to Black Mountain Draw 18 mi :: 56 mi :: Sunny, warm, breezy We tried a food experiment last night – soaking macaroni and beans to see if they’d rehydrate without cooking. This morning after four miles of ancient roads and bushwacks it sounds good, so we have it for breakfast. Ann is…