I return to my adopted segment of the CDT, south of Pie Town at the northern tip of the Gila National Forest. I arrive at the southern terminus of the segment Thursday after dark in a downpour, and car camp. The next day I first work my way to Rincon Well, now dry, trying to fix a disappearing trail by scraping grass and building a couple of cairns.
At mid-day I drive to the northern terminus and backpack in. On the climb to the heights are a great deal of tumbleweed, Russian thistle, growing in the tread, which I have not encountered before.
This makes disappearing trail even more invisible. Along the heights are a large number of downed limbs and trees across the trail, pine and juniper. Some are quite large, and I am glad to have brought the KatanaBoy.
Rain started at 6PM, so I had to quit sawing and quickly make camp, not making it to my destination of Eman Well. Sixty-seven blowdowns were cleared. Rain showers continued sporadically through the night.
The next day I started at first light and hiked back to the trailhead at Surprise Tank. (The surprise is that there is no longer a tank at that location.)
