I’d like to get a thread going regarding the advantages and disadvantages of each of the southern termini options in New Mexico. Looking at various sources on the internet there’s no real consensus or comparison. Thanks
maddog
Which NM terminus?
system
#2
antelope wells is a very easy place to finish. water is plentyful provided the windmills are working. plenty of cattle in the area so it should be fine. you finish on the border at a border patrol station in the middle of no-where. it a nice place to finish. easy to hitch a ride back as the road is paved and reasonable traffic to get a lift with. Sam Hughes does shuttle services to anywhere form the border. he is hilarious and has great stories for the long airport runs. very reasonable prices. cotact him through the CDT-L.
the CDTA finish on the boot leg looks cool. its in the arsehole of nowhere and quite possibly would mean turning around and walking back out to the highway. Sam has picked people up here before. speak to him and see if he still has a 4x4 that can deal with the rough terrain. water could be an issue as is route finding by all accounts.
Columbus looks like an aweful place to finish any hike let alone a 2800 mile one. i passed through on the way to el paso airport. its a very dirty noisey border town. the only plus side being that it is easy to get out from. unless you have wolfs books and decent maps you might find a busy highway walk is your finale.
if you have spare time why not check out the boot leg terminus, very few people do and from what i saw the terrain looks cool. Sam knows the area well and could possibly point out points of interest on maps.
:cheers
squeaky
system
#3
Partly it depends on whether you are starting or ending your hike at the southern border, and what kind of transportation options you have.
Last time we finished at Palomas, and were happy we did. We were able to celebrate at a bar in Mexico and get a ride back north easily. Deming is a nice trail town, with everything in a small area. The walk south, around the Floridas, was nicer than I expected. Columbus has an interesting history and was also easy to get around since it is so small. Nice botanical garden too. It is easy to get to and from Deming and down to the border. You can catch Amtrak or Greyhound to Deming and hitch down to/from Palomas.
Antelope Wells is a long way from the nearest highway or big town. That makes it good to start your hike, if you have someone to drive you, but difficult if you don’t have a friend to pick you up or drop you off. The border patrol can’t pick you up (unless they are arresting you) so rides may be hard to find. We drove down the road about 20 miles after our hike last time - the only car we saw was the border patrol that stopped us.
I’m not sure Sam Hughes still does shuttles. We may find out in the next couple of days. Squeaky, do you still have the phone number? Do you remember how much he charged? The previous person in Hachita stopped doing it a few years ago. It’s a long way to drive, especially if you go to the official trailhead. I don’t know what kind of traffic that road gets, but I don’t think it gets a lot.
Getting to the official trailhead requires four wheel drive. Which is fine if you can get a ride there, but it would be very hard to get a ride out at the end of your hike. It really is in the middle of nowhere.
Most thruhikers end up walking the highway - and that’s a lot of pavement. Do you really want to start or end your hike on highway?
Because we did Palomas last time, we planned to go to Terra Commun this time, to check it out. Our ride fell through and now we are now looking for a way to get to the trailhead. Hopefully this thread will give us some ideas.
Ginny
system
#4
We “just” started with the columbus demming route. It was great to walk into Mexico for a beer right before hauling the packs for the first day. (If you camp at the Poncho Villa campground the night before - they have free drink tickets to the Pink Bar) Some great hiking - water is available but sketchy - I have just been carrying a boat load of good water to avoid the icky. Made our own route along the Florida mountains following the power lines to Rockhound State Park, quote “you have no car! then you do not pay for sleep” To be said with a Mexican accent. Many new fences with shiny locks and private property signs veered us away from the CDTS route. Other notes - Columbus does have a ATM. The folks at the Deming motel let us leave our boxes and extra stuff there until we hiked back through as long as we made a reservation with them. They could be a wee bit more friendly at the motel, but it was a valuable service to us. Gotta go to Super Wally World to resupply! By the way the Mexican food down this way is Kick ASS!
Blister