CDT 2024 - Day 10, Silver City and then Gila River

Runningbird gets back to the hike, Beau plays with Augie

Thistles, Gila National Forest, NM.

Not much sleep for me last night. I don't get it. I woke almost every hour despite having poor sleep the two nights before, having some wine, and taking Melatonin. On a positive note, I woke at 0450 and thus didn't have to listen to the alarm clock at 0500. We quickly got things together and had instant coffee and got underway.

We drove the 30 minutes to the trailhead in the early morning light. This spot is a four-way trail intersection so Runningbird got her bearings and headed out on the trail. It was a bit comforting to know I would hopefully see her the next day. On this section Runningbird will have "a lot" of river crossings as the trail tosses back and forth over the Gila River.

Below is a report on Far Out from another hiker, Boomerang, with his comments about river crossings. It doesn't make me feel warm and cozy as Runningbird is only 5'4".

Back at the campground I had breakfast and a second coffee and then Beau got to play a good long while with a neighbor dog named Augie, Augie Doggie (think Hannah-Barbera 1959-1961), a white-gray collie with brown ears. Not quite two years old and full of energy but well-behaved. They ran all over the open area here and just had a blast. At least Beau should sleep well tonight. He hasn't been eating a lot lately. Not sure if Peggy's coming and goings has him confused or its the warm weather. But the vet did say he could use to lose more than a few pounds. After the doggie play date we took the truck back into town and I bought a new doggie brush and some people vitamins and then put the truck through a car wash. I know, I know. It's just going to get dirty again but it was getting pretty bad and the bug build up just bakes on. Anyway...

My afternoon was a bit boring, filled with housekeeping stuff. Dinner was even more boring: Leftover baguette, packaged chickpeas and potatoes, broccoli with fig balsamic vinegar dressing. But hey, fig bars for dessert! Checking the Spot in the evening I saw that Runningbird had continued hiking into the dark hours and had also started the crossings of the Gila River. I was surprised to see that. Maybe that was in lieu of an evening bath. Hope it went well.