Day 1, The Border North Bound to Canada

CDT mile 13.7, miles hiked 13.7

My tiny hand and I touched Mexican soil before heading out

At 3 am I awoke to “Sweet Potato” moving around in the room and taking a shower, I guess we all had some pre-hike nerves preventing us from resting well. I rolled over and went back to sleep and we all rose at 5 am and got ready to head out.

The entire crew at the border before heading out

Loaded in trucks with hikers and packs we started south to the border a 3-hour drive along a rough road but manageable with the right rig. Teresa took the time to point out the water cache boxes, the route we would take, and the issues along the border with drug runners etc…

The Portland Mafia at the border ready to roll north

The border was a blast we saw our good friend Jester and there was a large group heading out with us, the 5 warrior hikers who are walking off the war by thru-hiking the CDT and then Tank and a German guy named Buttercup.

“Buttercup” has been a great addition to the crew and is giving us all free German lessons

After many pictures and saying goodbye to our friends, we started along the CDT traveling north. The day was generally easy walking along single tracks and double track trail. We enjoyed seeing all the local flora in bloom and stopped to rest in the shade and take pictures along the way. We played leap frog with the other groups and we arrived at cache box 1 there was a total of 15 of us all in one place, a huge number for the CDT. We stopped early cooked up some dinner and drank lots of water.

A good dinner is always a joy at the end of the day

We have all camped along a sandy wash now many of us cowboy camping so we can enjoy the night sky and the nearly full moon. It feels so wonderful to finally be hiking, the fact that all I have to do is now walk north for months is liberating and will allow me some solace to reflect on life and enjoy each day given to me along this trail.