Howdy all -
I am curious about how to access the new terminus east of Antelope Wells—or is Columbus a more feasable route?
Any help would be greatly appreciated!
The Moose (of Monte Crisco)
Route to "official" terminus
system
#1
system
#2
Palomas at the border near Columbus is much easier to access. You can hitch there from Deming, if need be, or it’s a short and easy drive. The Florida Mountains and Cooke Range were pretty, and there are jeep roads that will take you off the pavement but many hikers end up walking the busy highway 30 miles to Deming, which is boring. The area near Antelope Wells is more remote, which has its advantages, too. Unless you have a jeep with 4WD you won’t be able to reach the official starting place, though you can start at Antelope Wells border station and walk the highway until you reach the trail where it crosses the highway. There’s no traffic along the highway, so it wouldn’t be that bad, but I would try to make as many miles away from the border as you can. Those who are out there may not be friendly. You will run into border patrol, fairly quickly, especially if you are off the highway. And they are there for a reason.
Ginny
system
#3
Thank you VERY much…I’m trying to piece together a hike that will at least take me to the northern NM routing, and minimize roadwalking. Much appreciated.
matt
system
#4
The real official terminus is a hoot to get to. Tex and I hiked it this spring. We got picked up in Deming by Sam Hughes (505)436-2662. He took us to Hachita and spent a night in a $20 room. First thing in the AM Sam took us in his 4X4 to the terminus. There is a Menenite Ranch across the barb wire from the terminus. There is a concrete thing that memorializes a murder that happened there. If your going to follow the real CDT you should have a GPS w/CDT waypoints, maps and compass in my opinion. Most of the hikers take the unofficial route on Route 11 to Deming. It’s a hell of a lot easier.
Superman
system
#5
And did you find, as others did last year, that all the wells and windmills were broken/disabled on the official route south of Hachita? That makes a huge difference.
How much did Sam Hughes charge to drive you? Did you cache water along the way?
Ginny
system
#6
Actually south of Hachita only two windmills weren’t working this spring. We both carried a GPS and followed the CDT exactly. The terrain is rugged and we just got by with water. We did the 20 miles from rte 9 to rte 10 and there was no water there. We camped at the Separ store and the woman called ahead to her neighbors on the Separ Road so we could get water along the way. There is water after cresting the mountain before Silver City. The actual CDT in Gila National Park was the worst for water. We went out for 30 days to hike what ever we could of it. To hike the actual CDT on a thru hike would make a big hike a lot harder to start that way. I’ve followed the journals and it just makes more sense to blast through New Mexico. Pure has a different meaning on the CDT than it does on the AT. Snow, weather, water are real concerns on the CDT and hikers have to do what they have to to "get r done."
I don’t recall what Sam Hughes charged but it seemed fair at the time.
Superman