Silver city to Doc Campbell's

Lemonhope and I started walking from the hostel at five in the morning, pretty quickly finishing the road walk, thanks to a lively conversation. Over the next two days we talked about many things. He served in the marines in Afghanistan twice, then studied economics at university. He's also got a keen interest in comparative religion, spirituality and meditation. Finally, he's an even bigger fan of the amazing show Adventure Time than I am, and I never thought that was possible! In fact, Lemonhope is a special character on that show and that's why it's his trail name.

Lemonhope at the registree.

water tends to dry up.

We walked trail into the Devil's garden, a place with hundreds of volcanic spires and very few water sources. The trail climbed above this into a beautiful and fire scarred forest. In fact, fire seems to be a natural part of the forest here... Pine cones don't even open unless the heat is high enough. Red bark, smeared with black charcoal was the rule.

We came upon a spring, refilled water and Lemonhope added it to the FarOut app we use as a guide, so others will know water might be found here. Tiring now, a final climb with broad views over the Devil's garden got us to a high pass with flat spots for camping. We both set up our tarps, knowing we need practice in getting them up fast!

typical forest trail in this part of the Gila National Forest.

We only saw a few other CDT hikers, but none in the evening. Sleep came quickly after the 21 mile day. Even on a foam pad, which is tougher to sleep on!