Day 6: Burro Mountains

Mileage: 31.4 miles (98.7-130.1)

I started out the day with a special sort of problem: it was a Friday. Only 45 miles to Silver City and I had a package at the post office there. Unfortunately, they're only open until noon Saturday and not at all Sunday. I wanted to avoid two extra days in Silver since I'd already spent two nights there for the kickoff. So, I could either take it easy or be a little insane and try to do 45 miles in a little more than 24 hours. I figured I'd hike halfway, see how I felt and then decide, but I was leaning towards really pushing myself.

I set off at 5:30am with five hardboiled eggs and coffee from the hotel. I ate the eggs on my way out of the hotel lobby and was still hungry so I stopped by the local McDonalds (it's local) to grab a few more things to go. I got three hash browns and four egg and cheese biscuits. I ate two sandwiches and hash browns and saved the rest for two guys who had set out to do a few miles the night before. I figured I could surprise then with some McDonald's breakfast.

Only problem is I never found them. So, around eleven, after doing the first 15 miles cross-country through ranch land and dirt jeep track, I ate the other two sandwiches and hash brown. I felt a little ill from all the Golden Arches, but drank a bunch of water from the windmill and sat in the shade and started feeling better. 

With the wind in my sails once again, I decided I'd try to make it to the post office before noon, so I needed to get to Burro Peak trailhead that night. It was another 16 miles down the trail. Luckily, from the look of the water report, water didn't seem to be an issue.

Unfortunately, the water report was wrong. I arrived at the Goat camp cow tank, which was about 12 miles down trail from the last water, but by the time I got there it was mostly green sludge. I wasn't too worried though because the report mentioned another water source, a seep in a creek bed, just a few more miles up the way. When I got there I was relieved at first because I did see some water. On closer inspection though it had an oily sheen and the distinct smell of cow poop. As I walked up the creek bed a little further I realized the seep was actually dry. Scrambling back down to the nasty cow water I luckily found about a liter of clean-ish water in a rock basin and I sucked this dry through my water filter. I used the last of the water from the windmill to cook my dinner and filled my platypus bladder with some nasty cow water. 

As I walked down the trail trying to find a good camp spot, a little worried about my water situation, I wandered into some trail magic at the perfect time: two plastic gallon jugs of water stashed in the bushes for CDT hikers. I don't know where it came from, but I sure was glad to have an extra liter to get me to the next water in Deadman Canyon. 

I found a good place to lay down in a meadow near the Burro Mountain trailhead. I setup my tent and ate my red lentil pasta mush in the dark, trying not to think about the fact that I was waking up at 4am so I could catch the post office by noon.

K