[Day 7] Silver City

This morning was a bit nippy as I transitioned from a light sweat in my sleeping bag to the 28°F canyon air. I let the desert air dry my skin, downed a liter of water, and started along. After a small climb out of the canyon, the trail continued the theme of rolling hills marked by junipers and piñons.

The 12 miles to the highway breezed by. I passed through a riparian restoration zone. It seemed ATV vehicles previously damaged the small natural seepage through the Saddle Rock slot canyon. A small stream seemingly spurred itself from the sand, flowed for about a mile, then seeped into the sand again at a dispersion terminus of the creek.

The trail continued down a sandy ATV road, winding around some interested rock formations.

I had anticipated this I-180 highway walk for a while. About a mile from the highway, my Garmin must’ve rebooted or accidentally stopped. I typically leave my activity running in the background while I’m on the time face of the watch, so it’s sometimes tricky to tell if I am still recording. Anyways, my Garmin trip isn’t complete, but the miles are easy to calculate by map.

I hit the highway running and didn’t look back. With cars flying by at 60 mph plus, I didn’t see much point in distracting myself from getting to Silver City. I arrived into town round 1pm, early enough to catch the tail end of CDT Trail Days festivities. Trail Days is a gathering of people from the CDT and local trail community to celebrate the natural area and all that contribute to it.

At the Readywise tent (a competitor to Mountain House and Backpacker’s Pantry), I met a living “Legend” — Jeff Garmire (his trail name is actually Legend). I’ve been following his blogs and media for sometime. Among many more accomplishments, he holds the fastest known times on renowned adventures like the John Muir Trail and the Colorado Trail, he is a Calendar Year Triple Crowner, and he completed the Great Western Loop. It was a privilege to meet him, and I bought a copy of his book to get signed in true fan-boy fashion. After all this, I woofed down a green chile and carne frybread.

I did the usual hiker chores — wash, shower, and resupply — before tomorrow’s start into Gila National Forest. Despite the Gila River’s reported high flow, I plan to initialize on the valley’s low route and evaluate once I see the river. As the river navigates north, the river forks and the flow becomes less voluminous. Hence, the most dangerous crossings will be the southern portions where I first meet the river.

I am crashed tonight in the Silver City Motel 6. I look forward to be traveling riverside soon enough.

Signing off,

Zep