May 13th & 14th
Bonita Canyon(382.7)-Grants, NM(400.6)
17.9mi

I got going by 6:40am this morning. It felt great to have Dot there and to have had a relaxing evening. The “hike” into town today was really simple. Just a dirt and gravel road that wound through canyons to Grants, NM. I was able to charge everything fully in Dot’s car, so I was fully entertained on the way in! It was easy walking so I was able to multitask. I got to listen to plenty of music, answer some emails, and even watch some shows! I finished an episode of The Office and watched an episode each of New Girl and Modern Family. LOVED IT! Oh yeah, the view wasn’t bad either…

It got pretty hot in the canyon and felt like it was in the 80s. The sun was strong, so I was stylin’ with my CDT bandana over my neck and ears. I also took this opportunity to eat my special Snickers bar from London with no trans fats that Jeff sent me. Mmmm! Thanks again Jeff!
As I got into town, I could see Mt Taylor clearly. The alternate route I’ll be taking out of town will take me right over the 11,000+ft summit. I’m looking forward to that!

In Grants are two of the most well known trail angels on the CDT. Carole and Hugo Mumm. Grants is very spread out, so hikers send their resupply boxes to Carole and Hugo. When we are on our way into town, we call Carole and she leaves work to meet us at the McDonalds where she has our packages and is willing to shuttle us where needed. She took me to where I’d be spending the next two nights, at a friend of a friend’s apartment. Here I am with Carole.

While I was waiting for Carole at the McDonald’s, a man introduced himself to me and asked if I was a CDT hiker…I think the smell and layer of dirt gave it away…Well, it turned out that he worked for New Mexico State University and he let me know that if I needed good wifi for my journaling, I was welcome to come over to the University library. I had bounced my laptop to Grants to upload a lot and get a lot of things done. It turned out that the wifi where I was staying was too slow to upload my videos, so I spent half my zero day at the library where it was nice and air conditioned and I was able to get a lot done! The library is right off where hikers hike through town, so Harry even said other hikers coming through town were welcome to use the computers and super speedy wifi. He is in touch with Carole and hopes to connect more with the hiking community in the future. It is just amazing to me how giving and welcoming people are along the trail! Here I am with Harry in front of the NMSU Grants Library. THANK YOU SO MUCH Harry! 

The day went by way too fast and I could definitely spend another zero catching up on things…like tv shows! I’m seriously addicted and will get through them as the summer continues. Many have had their finales and my goal tonight is to hopefully complete Survivor. I’m so excited and hope the wifi cooperates! I am two episodes away from finishing!

I want to give a special THANK YOU to Lily and Kim who are friends of a friend, and let me stay at their apartment the last two nights. It was really nice to have a quiet space to myself. They both work a ton and Kim actually is sick with a fever, so we didn’t get any pictures…but I definitely want to thank them for opening their home to a stinky stranger!

An update on me is that I’m feeling great! I got blisters on the balls of my feet from the lava walk and the road walking, but they are just annoying and healing. I am feeling amazingly energized and strong, so I’m not going to question it and just keep doing what I’m doing. We are hitting higher elevation, so I know that will be another adjustment for me. I am looking forward to this next section and will be reunited with the group and Team Mirage, who I’ve been with along the way. We are all meeting at the McDonalds tomorrow morning to start this 5 day leg off together and summit Mt Taylor together. I’m really looking forward to it! Many of you have realized that I have caught up to Balls and Sunshine much earlier than expected. They were delayed because Sunshine has had the stomach flu the last few days and they will also be setting off tomorrow. So exciting! Only catch is that the official route that they are doing goes around Mt. Taylor, so we won’t be doing the same route out of town…we may overlap during the leg, but if we don’t we should get to the next town of Cuba the same day and hopefully our paths will overlap more. We know we will overlap in Colorado and that’s why we plan to do the San Juans together. It will be fun! Recharged and ready to go!