Here's the link!
http://www.cibolabeacon.com/articles/2007/07/02/news/news3.txt
Monday, July 9, 2007
Tuesday, July 3, 2007
Trekker's Log, May 23-25, 2007
5/23 – 25, rest and celebration days in Truth or Consequences
I’ve already stated that Richard Epstein is a real trail angel. He demonstrated that over and over during the time we were in Truth or Consequences. We were treated royally as we took our rest at Firewater Lodge, and thanks to Richard and the other members of the Rotary Club of Truth or Consequences, the celebration there was wonderful, with more than 40 people attending.
The Rotary Club changed the time and place of their regular meeting from Tuesday noon to Thursday evening just to accommodate us! The meeting was held at the Geronimo Hot Springs Museum. A potluck dinner was provided, with great food and great Rotary fellowship. Two of Congressman Pearce’s staff members were there, along with many, many community volunteers, in spite of the fact that it was awards night at the high school.
A second highlight of our time in Truth or Consequences was having dinner with Stan and Pat Thompson one night. Stan helped us out again on Saturday morning, taking us to the trailhead of Segment 15 while on one of his regular patrol routes. The Thompsons really endeared themselves to Pem and me, and are probably on our list of life-long friends.
The third major highlight in this city of hot springs was spending time with Richard Epstein, his friend Carl, and his girl friend Rebecca. On the night after the potluck dinner and celebration, Pem and I were invited to have leftovers with the three of them. In that gesture we were made to feel like family, or at least old friends, by those good people. We keep adding names to our list of probable life-long friends.
I’ve already stated that Richard Epstein is a real trail angel. He demonstrated that over and over during the time we were in Truth or Consequences. We were treated royally as we took our rest at Firewater Lodge, and thanks to Richard and the other members of the Rotary Club of Truth or Consequences, the celebration there was wonderful, with more than 40 people attending.
The Rotary Club changed the time and place of their regular meeting from Tuesday noon to Thursday evening just to accommodate us! The meeting was held at the Geronimo Hot Springs Museum. A potluck dinner was provided, with great food and great Rotary fellowship. Two of Congressman Pearce’s staff members were there, along with many, many community volunteers, in spite of the fact that it was awards night at the high school.
A second highlight of our time in Truth or Consequences was having dinner with Stan and Pat Thompson one night. Stan helped us out again on Saturday morning, taking us to the trailhead of Segment 15 while on one of his regular patrol routes. The Thompsons really endeared themselves to Pem and me, and are probably on our list of life-long friends.
The third major highlight in this city of hot springs was spending time with Richard Epstein, his friend Carl, and his girl friend Rebecca. On the night after the potluck dinner and celebration, Pem and I were invited to have leftovers with the three of them. In that gesture we were made to feel like family, or at least old friends, by those good people. We keep adding names to our list of probable life-long friends.
Trekker's log, May 21-22, 2007
5/21 & 22/07, Monday & Tuesday, hiking days 18 & 19, Segment 14, NM 59 to NM 163: Wahoo Peak We met at noon at the south trailhead of this segment. Richard Epstein was riding with Joseph. We left Joseph’s truck there, and rode together in our Yukon around to the north trailhead. Richard then took our Yukon back to the south trailhead, and took Joseph’s truck to Truth or Consequences. It was good to have Joseph back with us! We had long discussions of what had happened to Pem and me as we hiked, and how we can avoid such predicaments being repeated as we progress up the trail. We hiked about six-and-a-half miles to a nice camp site, where we spent the first of what we thought would be two nights on this three-day hiking segment.
The hiking went very well the next day. About the time we would have set up camp, Joseph announced that as nearly as he could figure, we were only about an hour away from the trailhead! We hiked on. When we got to our rig, we decided that a bed and a bath in a hot springs tub was preferable to a tent and sleeping bag, so we drove back to Truth or Consequences for the night. We called Richard Epstein as soon as we were within cell phone range, and asked if he had space available at his establishment for the night. He did, so we had dinner on the way to his place, then stayed over with him, at Firewater Lodge, one of the hot springs resorts in Truth or Consequences.
We realized that it was a record hiking day for at least one of us, old Mat. We had hiked more than 19 miles on the second day of what was scheduled to be a three-day hike. The wonderful dinner at Los Arcos and the bath in the hot springs tub were certainly welcome ends to the two days.
Star Volunteer Richard Epstein, with Joseph Gendron and Pem Sherpa
Wahoo Peak in the distance, our destination
On the Trail
Typical stock tank, "excellent water source"
The hiking went very well the next day. About the time we would have set up camp, Joseph announced that as nearly as he could figure, we were only about an hour away from the trailhead! We hiked on. When we got to our rig, we decided that a bed and a bath in a hot springs tub was preferable to a tent and sleeping bag, so we drove back to Truth or Consequences for the night. We called Richard Epstein as soon as we were within cell phone range, and asked if he had space available at his establishment for the night. He did, so we had dinner on the way to his place, then stayed over with him, at Firewater Lodge, one of the hot springs resorts in Truth or Consequences.
We realized that it was a record hiking day for at least one of us, old Mat. We had hiked more than 19 miles on the second day of what was scheduled to be a three-day hike. The wonderful dinner at Los Arcos and the bath in the hot springs tub were certainly welcome ends to the two days.
Star Volunteer Richard Epstein, with Joseph Gendron and Pem Sherpa
Wahoo Peak in the distance, our destination
On the Trail
Typical stock tank, "excellent water source"
A few steps on the road at the end of the segment, the longest day at more than 19 miles.
Trekker's Log, May 17-19, 2007
5/17 – 19/07, Thursday – Saturday, hiking days 15 – 17, Reeds Peak to Diamond Peak.
We left Reeds Peak shortly after noon on Thursday, with a half-day head start towards Diamond Peak. We stopped at Squeaky Spring to make sure we had a full supply of water, then continued on to what we thought was Reeds Meadow. (It should be noted here that whereas we had been told that the cistern at the top of Reeds Peak would probably be full, it was, in fact, empty. Something in the collection system off the roof of the main building must have broken loose, for in spite of the wonderful rains that had fallen, no water had been collected.) We hiked in rain a good part of the afternoon, and after we reached what we thought was Reeds Meadow, Pem built us a good fire, so that we were able to enjoy our evening meal and get into our tents and sleeping bags fairly warm and dry. Just as we got to where we camped, we saw a flock of turkeys running into the woods at the other end of the meadow. Friday morning we awakened to the sound of turkeys gobbling. Pem did not know what that sound was, and thought maybe it was wild dogs barking at each other, but from growing up on a farm, where we used to raise domestic turkeys, I knew the unmistakable sound that turkeys make. It provided some nostalgic moments for me, for sure. So we continued to hike towards Diamond Peak. We found a sign that seemed to say Diamond Peak was 3 miles away, but that seemed too close, unless we had walked quite a bit farther than we thought. ~~ or did it say that Diamond Peak was 8 miles away? That seemed much too far, given the miles we were certain we had already covered. Then trail sign stopped; there were no cairns, no CDT emblems, no trail marks on any trees. Also, the hiking was becoming difficult, for dozens of trees had fallen across the trail. We found a trail. We followed it for a long while, then realized that we must be on an animal path. We decided to bush-whack across to where the trail must be. We ended that day in the middle of nowhere. We had gone from a half-day ahead to a day-and-a-half behind. On Saturday, we continued our struggle. We found a trail that we were sure would lead to the back side of Diamond Peak, based on our reading of the map Joseph had given us. Finally, about 4:00 in the afternoon, we came to a junction of trails. The sign told us the trails that met there, and we were able to find the junction on our map. The sign stated that Diamond Peak was 4 miles up the trail, and that the Me Own Fire Base was 8 miles down the trail. Now we had to study hard what to do. We were about three full days behind schedule with food for one day. We did not have time, or food, to get to where we were supposed to find our vehicle on Monday. At the same time, our satellite phone’s battery went dead, so we had no way of communicating our difficulty. We were stuck. Escape was our choice. We hiked down the trail towards Me Own Fire Base, which was an adventure in and of itself. On the way we saw our first bear. It was about 120 yards away from us, and while we were fumbling for our cameras, it ran off into the bushes. Also, the trail crossed a creek (we think Diamond Creek) a couple of dozen times. Because of the rains that had been falling, the stream was full of water. At first we tried to find stepping stones or find logs to throw across the stream, but after awhile we just splashed through each "ford" of the stream, no longer caring about our wet feet. We reached the fire base just at sundown, had our supper, and went to bed. We figured that in the morning we’d walk to a phone, make connections with our support team, and get ready for Monday. As it turned out, things weren’t quite that simple. Sunday morning dawned bright and sunny. For the first time in six days, we were confident that there would be no rain. (We hadn’t minded the rain, for we were prepared for it; it was nice to walk in the solitude of a downpour, and we had come to experience all that the Trail had to offer. We did NOT expect 60-some cool, sunny days. Moreover, the rain was filling the streams with water, so even though our food was running low, water was not an issue.) Our plan was to hike to a phone, let Audrey know what had happened, find out if our rig had been moved yet, and talk to Joseph about where to meet him on Monday noon. It turned out that there were no phones, for even though we were on a good Forest Service road, we were still in the wilderness. As we approached the first of two or three campgrounds shown on our map, we realized that these were going to be primitive campgrounds with no phones, not even "comfort stations." As we approached the first such place, we saw a couple setting up camp there. Long story short, we begged for a ride to the nearest phone, they allowed as how the nearest phone was 24 miles away in Mimbres, and they had no intention of leaving their camp site to assist us in any way. We begged to borrow their pickup, offering to leave all our stuff with them and return the truck with a fresh tank of gas; that request was also flat-out rejected. We realized that if we were going to walk 24 miles, we’d better get back on the road and hope for a passing motorist that would give us a ride somewhere; indeed, anywhere where there was a phone. As we walked back up to the road, I remembered it was Sunday, and realized I hadn’t done any worshipping of any kind on this Sunday morning. ~~ hadn’t even noticed the beauty of the remarkable wilderness through which we were hiking. In that moment, I just said, sort of to myself, "Dear God, we need out of this place." We were by then back on the road, and while we were having a drink of water and adjusting our gear, within minutes, a Sheriff’s Deputy came down the road. Wow! Did I say "Thank you, Lord!?" Sheriff’s Deputy Stan Thompson did, indeed, become one of the many, many trail angels that we met. He first agreed to take us to Mimbres to a phone, apologizing for the fact that we’d have to ride in the back of the Ford Bronco that was his vehicle. Then in conversation, he asked, "Do you people have a vehicle?" I replied that we did have one, which was supposed to be waiting for us by Monday noon at the trailhead on NM 59 north of Lookout Mountain. Stan asked, "Is it a brown Yukon?" I replied, "No, it’s a gray Yukon." He came back, "Yes, probably gray. ~~ Colorado plates?" "Yes!" "It’s there now; why don’t I just take you to it?" Suddenly all was well in our world. Sheriff’s Deputy Stan Thompson, based in Truth or Consequences, took us to our rig. We drove from there to Truth or Consequences, called Audrey who called Moni, and called Joseph Gendron, who was going to meet us at that trailhead the next day. So we failed to cover Segment 11, 12, and 13, leaving them for further make-up hiking in October. We stayed over in Truth or Consequences, did our laundry, and talked with another real trail angel, Rotarian Richard Epstein, who brought Joseph to our meeting place the next day.
Campsite at Reeds Meadow
Is that Diamond Peak?
Where is that Trail?
Hikers clearly off trail, two days late, low on food
Storm approaching
Storm behind us
Me Own Fire Base Camp site
We left Reeds Peak shortly after noon on Thursday, with a half-day head start towards Diamond Peak. We stopped at Squeaky Spring to make sure we had a full supply of water, then continued on to what we thought was Reeds Meadow. (It should be noted here that whereas we had been told that the cistern at the top of Reeds Peak would probably be full, it was, in fact, empty. Something in the collection system off the roof of the main building must have broken loose, for in spite of the wonderful rains that had fallen, no water had been collected.) We hiked in rain a good part of the afternoon, and after we reached what we thought was Reeds Meadow, Pem built us a good fire, so that we were able to enjoy our evening meal and get into our tents and sleeping bags fairly warm and dry. Just as we got to where we camped, we saw a flock of turkeys running into the woods at the other end of the meadow. Friday morning we awakened to the sound of turkeys gobbling. Pem did not know what that sound was, and thought maybe it was wild dogs barking at each other, but from growing up on a farm, where we used to raise domestic turkeys, I knew the unmistakable sound that turkeys make. It provided some nostalgic moments for me, for sure. So we continued to hike towards Diamond Peak. We found a sign that seemed to say Diamond Peak was 3 miles away, but that seemed too close, unless we had walked quite a bit farther than we thought. ~~ or did it say that Diamond Peak was 8 miles away? That seemed much too far, given the miles we were certain we had already covered. Then trail sign stopped; there were no cairns, no CDT emblems, no trail marks on any trees. Also, the hiking was becoming difficult, for dozens of trees had fallen across the trail. We found a trail. We followed it for a long while, then realized that we must be on an animal path. We decided to bush-whack across to where the trail must be. We ended that day in the middle of nowhere. We had gone from a half-day ahead to a day-and-a-half behind. On Saturday, we continued our struggle. We found a trail that we were sure would lead to the back side of Diamond Peak, based on our reading of the map Joseph had given us. Finally, about 4:00 in the afternoon, we came to a junction of trails. The sign told us the trails that met there, and we were able to find the junction on our map. The sign stated that Diamond Peak was 4 miles up the trail, and that the Me Own Fire Base was 8 miles down the trail. Now we had to study hard what to do. We were about three full days behind schedule with food for one day. We did not have time, or food, to get to where we were supposed to find our vehicle on Monday. At the same time, our satellite phone’s battery went dead, so we had no way of communicating our difficulty. We were stuck. Escape was our choice. We hiked down the trail towards Me Own Fire Base, which was an adventure in and of itself. On the way we saw our first bear. It was about 120 yards away from us, and while we were fumbling for our cameras, it ran off into the bushes. Also, the trail crossed a creek (we think Diamond Creek) a couple of dozen times. Because of the rains that had been falling, the stream was full of water. At first we tried to find stepping stones or find logs to throw across the stream, but after awhile we just splashed through each "ford" of the stream, no longer caring about our wet feet. We reached the fire base just at sundown, had our supper, and went to bed. We figured that in the morning we’d walk to a phone, make connections with our support team, and get ready for Monday. As it turned out, things weren’t quite that simple. Sunday morning dawned bright and sunny. For the first time in six days, we were confident that there would be no rain. (We hadn’t minded the rain, for we were prepared for it; it was nice to walk in the solitude of a downpour, and we had come to experience all that the Trail had to offer. We did NOT expect 60-some cool, sunny days. Moreover, the rain was filling the streams with water, so even though our food was running low, water was not an issue.) Our plan was to hike to a phone, let Audrey know what had happened, find out if our rig had been moved yet, and talk to Joseph about where to meet him on Monday noon. It turned out that there were no phones, for even though we were on a good Forest Service road, we were still in the wilderness. As we approached the first of two or three campgrounds shown on our map, we realized that these were going to be primitive campgrounds with no phones, not even "comfort stations." As we approached the first such place, we saw a couple setting up camp there. Long story short, we begged for a ride to the nearest phone, they allowed as how the nearest phone was 24 miles away in Mimbres, and they had no intention of leaving their camp site to assist us in any way. We begged to borrow their pickup, offering to leave all our stuff with them and return the truck with a fresh tank of gas; that request was also flat-out rejected. We realized that if we were going to walk 24 miles, we’d better get back on the road and hope for a passing motorist that would give us a ride somewhere; indeed, anywhere where there was a phone. As we walked back up to the road, I remembered it was Sunday, and realized I hadn’t done any worshipping of any kind on this Sunday morning. ~~ hadn’t even noticed the beauty of the remarkable wilderness through which we were hiking. In that moment, I just said, sort of to myself, "Dear God, we need out of this place." We were by then back on the road, and while we were having a drink of water and adjusting our gear, within minutes, a Sheriff’s Deputy came down the road. Wow! Did I say "Thank you, Lord!?" Sheriff’s Deputy Stan Thompson did, indeed, become one of the many, many trail angels that we met. He first agreed to take us to Mimbres to a phone, apologizing for the fact that we’d have to ride in the back of the Ford Bronco that was his vehicle. Then in conversation, he asked, "Do you people have a vehicle?" I replied that we did have one, which was supposed to be waiting for us by Monday noon at the trailhead on NM 59 north of Lookout Mountain. Stan asked, "Is it a brown Yukon?" I replied, "No, it’s a gray Yukon." He came back, "Yes, probably gray. ~~ Colorado plates?" "Yes!" "It’s there now; why don’t I just take you to it?" Suddenly all was well in our world. Sheriff’s Deputy Stan Thompson, based in Truth or Consequences, took us to our rig. We drove from there to Truth or Consequences, called Audrey who called Moni, and called Joseph Gendron, who was going to meet us at that trailhead the next day. So we failed to cover Segment 11, 12, and 13, leaving them for further make-up hiking in October. We stayed over in Truth or Consequences, did our laundry, and talked with another real trail angel, Rotarian Richard Epstein, who brought Joseph to our meeting place the next day.
Campsite at Reeds Meadow
Is that Diamond Peak?
Where is that Trail?
Hikers clearly off trail, two days late, low on food
Storm approaching
Storm behind us
Me Own Fire Base Camp site
Rescuer Deputy Thompson with Pem and Mat
Trekker's Log, May 16-17, 2007
5/16 & 17, Wednesday & Thursday, hiking days 14 & 15, Segment 10, Rocky Canyon to Reeds Peak
Joseph was good enough to hike the first couple of hours of this segment with us. Then he was on his way home to help celebrate his wife’s birthday. For the first time, it seemed, Pem and I were on our own. We did very well, hiking about 11 miles towards Reeds Peak. We found a very nice camp site trailside, and enjoyed the evening. The next day, we got to Reeds Peak before noon, and went up to the summit to view the now-abandoned lookout tower. We went up the stairs as far as we could, but at the landing just before the cabin, the planks had been removed. We took that as a signal that we were not to go further, took a few photos, and climbed back down. We were a half-day ahead of our schedule!
Joseph, Mat and Pem
Joseph and Mat taking a breather
"Natural Arch"
Work Building at the summit of Reeds Peak
Joseph was good enough to hike the first couple of hours of this segment with us. Then he was on his way home to help celebrate his wife’s birthday. For the first time, it seemed, Pem and I were on our own. We did very well, hiking about 11 miles towards Reeds Peak. We found a very nice camp site trailside, and enjoyed the evening. The next day, we got to Reeds Peak before noon, and went up to the summit to view the now-abandoned lookout tower. We went up the stairs as far as we could, but at the landing just before the cabin, the planks had been removed. We took that as a signal that we were not to go further, took a few photos, and climbed back down. We were a half-day ahead of our schedule!
Joseph, Mat and Pem
Joseph and Mat taking a breather
"Natural Arch"
Work Building at the summit of Reeds Peak
Mat on the lookout tower... Planks were missing from the last landing so our hikers were unable to reach the cabin up top.
View from the tower
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