{"id":114,"date":"2016-05-03T06:36:46","date_gmt":"2016-05-03T06:36:46","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/montybillpct.net\/blog2016\/?p=114"},"modified":"2017-02-07T15:49:17","modified_gmt":"2017-02-07T15:49:17","slug":"pyramid-peak-day","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/montybillpct.net\/blog2016\/2016\/05\/03\/pyramid-peak-day\/","title":{"rendered":"Tuesday, May 3 Pyramid Peak Day; LORDSBURG"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"may-3-11\"<\/strong>SUMMARY:\u00a0 We started hiking at 6:20 am today and finished at 6:45 pm in Lordsburg.\u00a0 Lots of miles!\u00a0 Basically we spent the morning in very bare desert on the approach to Pyramid Peak, and the afternoon we spent circling around its base.\u00a0 To our amazement, there was trail magic at the lst water cache, and we got to meet the rancher who owns all the cow critters around the Peak.\u00a0 After that, it was one final walk, and we were back in Lordsburg.<\/p>\n

DETAILS: What a day!\u00a0 By 6:20 am, we’d eaten breakfast and packed up for the 1\/2 mile walk to the next water cache, where we loaded up on water for 18 miles of desert hiking.<\/p>\n

Today was pretty much dominated by Pyramid Peak, a dramatic cone-shaped mountain near Lordsburg.\u00a0 In the early morning, it was on the horizon, and all day long we were getting closer, until in the afternoon we were circling around its base.<\/p>\n

Today we also got lots of practice in crawling under barbed wire fences, and were very grateful whenever there was some sort of gate available.\u00a0 The gates were quite varied–but mostly the good ‘ol loop of baling wire over a post\u00a0.\u00a0 Cows were everywhere, many of them a Hereford\/Angus cross, with black bodies and white faces.\u00a0 Lots of cute calves were scampering about–a lively bunch.\u00a0 (We found out later that there was plenty of rain this winter and plenty of grass, so as one rancher put it, “The calves are just blooming this year.”)<\/p>\n

There were some cow skeletons and remains, though, so I guess not all the cows have had a good year.<\/p>\n

On the approach to Pyramid Peak, we were in very BARE desert, with hardly any plants of any kind.\u00a0 But there were quite a few prairie dog towns, some quite impressive.\u00a0 At one point in the morning’s hike, though, we were totally baffled as to where the trail went.\u00a0 We finally “fired up” the Guthook app (it’s a big hassle to get to it, and our iphone battery won’t let us do this more than about 8 times before there’s no battery left, so we are very cautious about going to Guthook).\u00a0 Yay for Guthook!\u00a0 It pointed the way, we discovered that the trail went through a cow corral, and we needed to crawl under another barbed wire fence to continue.<\/p>\n

We got to eat lunch in the shade of a lone tree–the only one for miles–it was wonderful to be in the shade, with\u00a0 the temperatures\u00a0 in the upper 80’s.\u00a0 When we took our packs off, we discovered that the backs of our shirts are not just wet with sweat, they are also ringed with salt deposits.\u00a0 Yikes!\u00a0 We made sure to drink some electrolytes to make up for that.\u00a0 After lunch, I indulged in a few minutes of admiring the brave wildflowers that were growing near the tree.\u00a0( I need my “flower fix”!)<\/p>\n

As we got closer to Pyramid Peak, the trail got very rocky, and involved some scrambling.\u00a0 We were very glad when we reached the dirt road that would take us around the Peak–much easier on the feet!\u00a0 By 4:00, we’d reached the last water cache before Lordsburg, and to\u00a0our amazement, there was trail magic!\u00a0 Gatorade!\u00a0\u00a0 Apple pie!\u00a0 All provided by a trail angel from Ohio appropriately known as “Apple Pie”.\u00a0 Stummy and Masshole were there, and also the rancher who owns all the cows and solar\u00a0cow water tanks around Pyramid Peak.\u00a0We had a great time talking to him and Apple Pie.\u00a0 “Do you just hang out here, waiting for hikers?” we asked.\u00a0 And it turned out that no, Apple Pie has some kind of sensing device up the trail, and when a hiker goes by, it lets him know, and he goes out to the cache to meet that hiker.\u00a0 The rancher sometimes comes too, just to hang out.\u00a0 He said his family has been ranching here for generations.\u00a0 “The 1920’s were pretty tough, though,”\u00a0 he said.\u00a0 “My grandpa had to go to work punching cows for somebody else, and my grandma took a job being a teacher for the kids\u00a0in one of the big\u00a0silver mines up by Pyramid Peak.”\u00a0 Wow.\u00a0 That’s determination!\u00a0 We mentioned to him how frustrating the CDT “trail” had been, with so many marker posts fallen over and lying on the ground.\u00a0 “Yeah, I figured that would happen,” he said.\u00a0 “Those CDT people hired a bunch of college kids one summer to come out and put up posts.\u00a0 The kids didn’t know what they were doing–should of asked the ranchers like me.\u00a0 The wind blows so hard here that if you don’t dig a really seriously deep hole to put your post into, it’s gonna blow over next time there’s a big wind.\u00a0 And it’s no joke trying to dig holes here–the ground is really hard and rocky. \u00a0Those CDT college kids dug little holes and stuck in the posts and that was it.\u00a0 No wonder they blew over.”\u00a0 Sounds like the CDT crew kids needed a bit more determination!<\/p>\n

But there were still 6 more miles to walk in order to reach Lordsburg, so we had to exercise some determination and get going again.\u00a0\u00a0So\u00a0we\u00a0shouldered our packs and headed into town, even though\u00a0 we were tired from “pushing the miles” all day, and a little bit\u00a0footsore\u00a0 from the rocky trail.\u00a0 Boy are we glad for our La Sportiva shoes!\u00a0 The shoes we used to wear would never have coped with trail that rough.<\/p>\n

We made it back to the EconoLodge\u00a0 by 6:45, and met Zippy Morocco in the lobby!\u00a0 He was actually just leaving, after taking a break to rest up a bit.\u00a0 We headed for our room and SHOWERS!\u00a0 Oh man, did it feel good to be clean again.\u00a0 Between sweating and crawling in the dirt under fences, we were pretty gross.\u00a0 Then I went in search of something for dinner, and the only thing I could find were the last 2 hot dogs from the Valero gas station next door to the motel, plus some ice cream.\u00a0 No problem–we were happy to eat anything we could get.\u00a0 Then we collapsed.\u00a0 We’ll get back on the trail tomorrow!<\/p>\n\n\t\t