Day 5: Zero in Lordsburg

Mileage: 0

Again, I was up a lot last night. But instead of border patrol it was a big storm that seemed to just sit right on top of me for a few hours. I could see the dark, ominous clouds rolling in when I was setting up my tent, but there was essentially no shelter from the wind since the landscape was so flat and featureless. The only thing I could do was pitch the tent with the door facing away from the wind and hope for the best (..and that the wind didn't change direction in the night).

Starting at about midnight the wind howled in gusts of 40-50 mph causing my tent walls to flap vigorously. Flashes of lightning lit up the sky and I started to get worried. I'd never slept in my Hexamid tent in a storm, and was worried because the only thing that holds it up is one trekking pole and some stakes. The pole shook a bit and walls kept flapping, but I'm happy to say the tent held up against everything the storm threw at it! Even when the sheets of rain came in waves I didn't get even a little bit wet. Of course, I didn't get any sleep either, but I don't think I would have regardless of what kind of shelter I had in a storm like that.

What was strange is that in the morning the ground wasn't wet at all, almost like I'd dreamt the whole thing. But I just think the desert is so thirsty it just soaks it right up. Anyhow, I got all packed up and sat around reading my kindle and waiting for the shuttle, hoping they'd give me a ride back.

Right around 9:45am the shuttle arrived and a load of very clean and heavy-laden hikers piled out of the humongous white Suburban, caked in mud. I talked with one hiker I met at the kickoff named Race. I asked him where his dog, Kona, went and he said he left her in Lordsburg for this section because it would have been too rough on her paws (the dam thorns!)

I asked the driver, a stout Native American man with long black hair, if I could have a lift back and he said, "right on man, no problem!" and proceeded to hand me two bags of chips, some grapes, and bottle of water. After we all took our individual and group pictures at the monument, we left them to hike and we headed back to Lordsburg in Juan's suburban. I was very thankful I wasn't walking the section again, especially the thorny, snake-laden part.

It turned out Juan was an old hippie, who "had hair down to his ass" back in the '70s and lived in a teepee on a commune near Santa Barbara. After I told him I was from Nebraska, he related how he hasn't been back to the state ever since he got pulled over 25 years ago for driving a u-haul of "furniture" across the state. Turns out it wasn't furniture. On our 3-hour drive back we jammed to John Prine and he told me a bunch of other stories I probably shouldn't relate here.

In Lordsburg, we went to the Econo Lodge which is literally the best hotel on the planet. They have special hiker rates for $20/night and this includes them doing your laundry (not just doing it, but even folding it and asking you what kind of dry cycle you'd like!) I ended up sharing a room with another hiker, Giggles, who gonna take the shuttle the next morning. Giggles is a young guy in his early 20s from up in Portland and we got along well.

I showered, ate, and then ate some more and prepped to leave for Silver City the next day. I gave Giggles all the tips I had for the next section and we went to sleep after sharing a beer with some other hikers. All and all, a great zero! Ps a zero day is when you hike, you guessed it, zero miles. Bonus, a nero day is when you hike almost zero (e.g. less than five).