There isn’t a single natural flowing water source in the first 100 miles of the trail. That means we rely on the kindness of others to get our water. Trail angels supply water caches and ranchers let us use their wells.
Sometimes the water flows from a tank.
Sometimes it flows into a giant tire for the cows to drink out of.
Either way, we drink it because there isn’t anything else out here.
Today was the first time I had to take water from the same trough that cows drink from. The first one was actually clear and tasted great after filtering. The others? Not so much. It wasn’t completely undrinkable, but some electrolyte powder didn’t hurt.
I also ran into two new hikers today. They’re the first ones we’ve seen headed north since we left the trailhead. We met under one of the very few shade trees and hung out to try and avoid the heat of the day.
Turns out one of them hiked the PCT in 2017 and we know a ton of the same people. My PCT friend A-Team even drove him to the airport!
After that we began our journey to find more water and camping. This section of the trail had been very different. Lots of wide open pasture with little or no trail. It’s been fun and some wind made today’s temperature a bit more bearable.
We should hit Lordsburg tomorrow for some town food and maybe even a hotel room. Not sure I need to spend another night there, but a shower sounds amazing.