CDT YO-YO ~
PRE-HIKE ENTRY
"I
just got out of jail a few hours ago," said the man
who sat next to me. We were embarking on an 8 hour
Greyhound bus ride.
"Why did you go to prison?" I asked impertinently.
"The po-lice threw me in the pen for shooting a
man," he explained. "He wanted some of myrugs, he
pulled a knife on me, so I shot him."
And
so would begin my latest adventure. Today I will
attempt something that has never been done before:
yo-yo the Continental Divide Trail (CDT). That means
walking from Mexico to Canada and back to Mexico in
7 months or less. But before writing more about this
foolish roundtrip, let's return to the ex-con who
sat next to me.
"Is
it true that a lot of prisoners engage in gay sex?"
I asked, wondering if this former criminal would
shoot me.
"But what if you don't want to, you know, do it?" I
keep asking.
"Nah, they won't force you. If you're not
interested, nobody will bother you."
"Is
there any gay bashing?" I wondered aloud.
"Nope. People do their own thang."
"Yeah, hike your own hike," I said.
The
ex-con told me about prison life which was
fascinating. The gangs in prisons, why they hate
child molesters, how to murder one and get away with
it, and how every prisoner has a personal TV with
headphones. Although he was black, he didn't think
the law enforcement was racially biased.
"Nah, you've done somethin' bad, you gotta pay for
it. It's your time."
Eventually he got off in LA to visit his girlfriend
and take care of his 5 children (with different
women). He's 29 and was in prison for 5 years
(because he broke parole). I continued to New
Mexico.
The
bus stopped in the town of Lordsburg, which is in
southern New Mexico, about 100 miles from the
Mexican border. Every 10 minutes I would see a US
Border Patrol truck drive by, checking everyone out.
My backpack made me look suspicious, but the solar
roll gave away that I was a gringo.
Since there's no bus to Antelope Wells, the
US/Mexican Port of Entry, I had to hitchhike down
there. After 2 hours and a couple of cars, Dave and
Roxanne took a chance on me and drove me an hour to
the border. They were going to Mexico for the
weekend and dropped me off in front of the US
Customs Station.
"What are you doing here?" asked Tim, the curious
Customs Agent.
"I
hope to walk to Canada and then walk back to the
Mexican border by the town of Columbus. Do you think
I will make it?"
I
took my photos, filled up water, and started walking
to the other starting line. That's right, there is
more than one southern terminus for the CDT. In
fact, there are three:
1) Antelope Wells: This is
southernmost starting point, in the bootheel of New
Mexico. PRO: It's the southernmost point, giving you
the macho bragging rights that you walked the
farthest. CON: It's a boring 15+ mile road walk out
north of there.
2) Crazy Cook Monument: It's also
located in the bootheel of New Mexico, but in the
middle of the east side. It's in the middle of
nowhere. No border checkpoint. The monument is piece
of concrete that has inscribed the cold blooded
murder of man by a crazy cook in 1907. PRO: It's the
official southern terminus of the CDT. CON: It's so
remote, nobody drives the dusty, bumpy dirt road to
get there. For most, that means walking there,
unless you can arrange a ride.
3) Columbus/Las Palomas: It's the
most populous location of the three options (the
other two have a population of 10 and zero,
respectively). Buses go there. PRO: Easy access.
CON: Although on the Mexican border, it's not the
southernmost point.
On
this yo-yo attempt, I want to hit all three. The
first two on the way up, the last on the way down.
Therefore, I bid farewell to Tim, the US Customs
Agent and walked about 30 miles to the middle of
nowhere to get to the other starting line, the Crazy
Cook Monument. I took some photos and film there. I
jumped into Mexico briefly (nobody was there to
care). Finally, I started walking to Canada.
SPONSOR SPOTLIGHT: BRUNTON
They're supplying the SolarRoll 4.5 which should
power my phone/PDA/GPS device. Let's see how it
goes. To find out more go to:
Brunton SolarRolls.
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