Aside from this being Takoda's 11th birthday, this was the day I got to set eyes on the CDT southern monument at Crazy Cook. I was told that logistically speaking, these first 5 days would be the hardest of my ride. So I think the horses and I passed with flying colors.

In the morning, the wind was still blowing something fierce and taking down my tent without losing it to the wind was a real challenge. I essentially had to just stand on the tent as I took out the stakes and poles to keep it from blowing off into the desert. I was so proud of myself for hitting the trail by 7:30. Normally we get going after 9am . . .

We continued our rugged cross country route finding for the first 5 miles before joining a wash that then led to a dirt road. I only had to do 17 miles this day because I wanted to meet my mom before 2pm at the monument. My mom was driving from Los Angeles to bring me Tuna Can, our other truck and trailer rig, before flying back to LA for work until June. We knew she had at least a 2 hour drive over rough dirt road between the highway and me that she would have to cover with the trailer. Not far from the highway she ran into a local from Hachita named Jeff who said she would never get our trailer down that road. He suggested that she ask for permission from a local rancher to cross through their ranch. Thankfully, they graciously allowed her to use their property, and the road was far better. Unfortunately, though, mom didn't have a map for this new road and spent several hours lost in a maze of dirt roads; they just drew some directions in the sand for her and then sent her on her way!

She finally found the horses and me at 4:30. Then we had to make our slow way back out the same dirt roads, but at least this time we knew where we were going. Still, we had to drive carefully with the horses in the trailer as we navigated our way over ruts and rocks and washes. After stopping for a shower and dinner, we made it to a horse hotel in Deming, New Mexico, by 10pm. It was a very long day for everyone but we were so thrilled to have made it to the Mexican border. I dropped my mom off at the Albuquerque airport on Saturday and will be hitting the trail again just north of Silver City on the 23rd.

#2018CDT