Sprout CDT Day 4 (March 22, 2018)

We got on the trail a little bit earlier than the other days this week but the heat was still an issue for us. Part of the problem is that we went from intense winter to a hot desert real quick! The heat is really pounding on us around 11:00 to 12:00. It almost feels unbearable! It’s a different heat too, a dry heat, which makes it easy to get dehydrated. You don’t even realize you are losing as much water as you are until it’s a little too late.

Right now we’re at 45.4 miles! That’s a little over 11 miles a day average and I’m totally fine with that!

We got to the water cache early and decided to stay there for the day, drink a lot of water, and get up around 3:30-4:00 a.m. Our plan is to get miles in tomorrow before the heat hits us. It was way too hot to set up the tent right away and even when we did it was way too hot to sit inside the tent.

We ended up opening the doors to the cache box and duct taping our umbrellas to the doors to sit under the shade. We kept rearranging positions and eventually ended up laying in the ground with our legs under the cache box holding our umbrellas haha! I bet we looked like a couple of weirdos, good thing no one was around. It was really cool under the box and so was the little space where we were laying in front of the box.

We saw one day hiker pass us throughout the day, other than that there is only a little bit of traffic on Highway 9 right in front of us.

We hope we get enough rest and can get up really early tomorrow. I don’t want to hike in the heat and the next water is 12.9 miles ahead.

Miles hiked: 6
Total miles hiked: 46

Animals seen:
Cows
Jackrabbits

Bubbles CDT Day 4 (March 22, 2018)

We woke up today and walked the rest of the way to the water cache. It was about 6 miles away. It was so hot that we decided that we are going to change our sleeping schedule and do something different.

We stayed at the cache, set up our tent, then went by the water cache box and put our legs under the shadow from the box and our sun umbrellas up over our faces. We covered our mid section with tie back and just laid there.

It was a little breezy so it was nice even though it was so hot. We hadn’t eaten much over the past few days so we made a couple meals, relaxed, and I took care of my blisters. They were hurting me so bad that when I was hiking I was limping and whimpering like a sad puppy. Sometimes I was almost in tears, not because I wanted to cry but because my eyes were welling up with tears because it was so painful. I popped some of them, put neosporin on them, and let them sit out of my socks all day so that they could breathe. I need different shoes and need to figure out something different for my desert hike. These New Balance shoes are just ripping to shreds.

We are in bed now (early) because we will be getting up in the morning early.

Miles hiked: 6
Total miles hiked: 46

Sprout CDT Day 3 (March 21, 2018)

Before I talk about what happened during our day today I need to talk about last night.

We could not set up the tent because of the soft sand so we had to cowboy camp. The actual cowboy camping part wasn’t that bad because the stars were out and it’s so bright without the light pollution you find in the city. We saw a few shooting stars and fell asleep to coyotes howling in the mountains around us. It was incredible and I love the howling off in the distance.

Here’s where the crazy part started: at about 11:00 I woke up to the sound of bass bumping. At first I thought I was dreaming but then I saw headlights too. Before I knew it a truck was driving parallel to where we were sleeping, shining a spotlight throughout the desert. I honestly had no idea what to do. It shined our way and I just acted like I was sleeping. It drove all down the desert looking for something or someone. It was crazy!

While hiking today I saw a border patrol agent and he said it was one of them looking for footprints and signs of illegal aliens. Believe it or not, he said they found a group of six people a couple of days ago right around where we’re staying tonight! He said it’s been people just escaping their countries lately and they haven’t had a drug mule in months. He said the mules are the ones you’d want to stay away from.

It was a crazy experience and a just “what the heck (edited for kids) moment” all wrapped up into one! Before we left camp this morning we did see signs of illegal immigrants, it had to be. There were two Adidas backpacks and there were cans of tuna with different language labels, blankets, and clothes. He said they ditch the packs sometimes and continue on.

While hiking today it was super hot and it was uncomfortable for awhile. I think we learned our lesson and realize we really need to get up early to beat the heat. If we can be on trail by 6:00 a.m. we will be able to get at least ten miles in by noon, rest for a few hours, and go some more once it cools off. That’s the smartest way we can get through this desert hiking because the heat is only going to get worse as time goes on.

We ran into some spotty cell phone reception today and we were able to call and send some texts to family. It was a great feeling to hear from home!

It’s 9:20 and well past my bedtime because we have to get an early start tomorrow. Until then, happy trails!

Miles Hiked: 14

Total Miles Hiked: 40

Animals seen:
Cows
Jackrabbits

Bubbles CDT Day 3 (March 21, 2018)

Today was a real eye opener for us. We’ve been getting out of camp relatively late but the desert is no joke. Even though it’s March it is extremely hot and the sun feels like it’s burning your soul. We did not feel great, it was taking us a long time to do relatively easy hiking.

We ended up taking a break midday, got under our umbrellas, sat down, and rested. Robby wasn’t feeling right and neither was I. We realized that we need to be drinking more water and be getting out of the hot sun during midday. We are still in the desert and conditions can be rough.

The next water cache was 20 miles from our starting point. We knew we weren’t going to make it. We stopped at 14 miles where there was a water source. We weren’t sure if we would need it so Robby did go down, check it out, and get some water (we ended up dumping it out because we didn’t need it).

Miles hiked: 14
Total miles hiked: 40

Sprout CDT Day 2 (March 20, 2018)

It’s only our second day on the CDT and we have to cowboy camp! Haha what a way to start the trail. I actually don’t mind it right now because the stars are really bright and we heard coyotes about 20 minutes ago. I thought a lot today about Native Americans. It’s not even 9:00 and I’m already ready to fall asleep.

The CDT is hard! We got to the second water cache and ran into army guy. He was so happy to see us. I was surprised the other hikers weren’t with him. He hasn’t seen them since yesterday but we thought they were ahead of us with him. We chatted while we tried to set up our tent. However, the ground is nothing but sand and the stakes are not able to get a good enough grip to stay in while we put up the tent. After struggling and trying to get the tent to stay up we eventually accepted the fact that we were going to have to cowboy camp. We left our tent laying flat and put our air pads and sleeping bags down like we would if we were sleeping in the tent. Right now it’s not windy and the sky’s are clear ... let’s hope it stays that way!

Today was a brutal hike. The terrain was rough and it was hot. At the beginning of the day the direction of the trail was really hard to see and there were a bunch of little ups and downs over ankle twisting rocks. We kept reminding each other to drink plenty of water because it’s easy to forget in a dry heat. We can dehydrate without even realizing it.

I really hope the other hikers are ok. They are a little bit older but they seemed like they were ready to move down the trail. Right now there are five other people on trail and we have no idea where they are. I’ve heard that happens on the CDT. It’s really easy to get separated from other people.

This water cache is close to highway 81. We’ve already seen border patrol drive three or four times down the highway. The army guy said he was getting up at 5:00 and I told him we were trying to do the same thing. I really want to get up early and try to get 10 miles by noon like we were doing on the AT, especially being that we are in the desert. I wanna get miles in before it gets hot.

It’s supposed to start getting hot tomorrow (and I already thought today was bad!) At one point I thought my water was leaking but it was just sweat, lol. Bubbles just saw a shooting star so I think I better put the phone away and star gaze.

It’s absolutely beautiful in the desert. Beautiful but brutal. We did another 13 miles today, got a late start and got even more pushed back because we decided to put our sleeping pads inside our backpacks instead of the usual outside on the side strap. There are too many pointy cacti everywhere. Tomorrow is going to be tough with more ups and downs and 20 miles to the next water cache. There will be an opportunity in 13 miles to get water but the water quality it supposed to be pretty horrible. We might pack extra water out and dry camp.

Miles Hiked: 13
Total Miles Hiked: 26

Animals seen:
Cows
Rabbits

Good Morning!

Looking good with my sun umbrella

Smudgy Cheeks Day 67 (Thursday, June 2nd, 2016)

I hiked 17.3 miles today and it was my longest day yet.  It was physically demanding because it was mostly up!  The hills are getting longer and steeper.  Connecticut is very challenging for how long the mountain climbs are.  I drank, by far, the most water as I was sweating all day because the summer temps have arrived!  I'm happy to be at Pine Swamp Brook Lean to where I'll be spending the night.

View from on top a mountain

Look at how steep this is!

Day:  67

Miles hiked:  17.3

Total Miles hiked on the trail:  549.5

Bear: 1

Chipmunk: 1
Deer: 1
Lizard: 1

Snakes: 3
Toads: 2

Vulture: 1

Zoo Animals:   2 foxes, 1 porcupine, 1 bobcat, 1 turtle, 2 bears

Smudgy Cheeks Day 54 (Friday, May 20)

I hiked 17 miles on the trail today (plus 2 out of Vernon, NJ so really a total of 19 miles!)  It was so hot today!  I drank five liters of water!!

The hike today was tough.  There was a lot of climbing up rocks to the top of mountain ridges.  Even though it was tough, I saw some amazing views!!!  I also crossed from New Jersey into New York!!  Another state bites the dust!!

It was so beautiful today!

State line!!

Those are huge metal staples put into the side of the boulder so you can pull yourself up like a ladder.
Lots of climbing today!

Day:  54

Miles hiked:  19.1

Total Miles hiked on the trail:  439.2
Bear: 1