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Davila Ranch - the hiker Oasis
Day 20
Date: 12.05.2022
CDT Mile: ?
Miles hiked: 24 Miles / 38.4 km
It was again a bloody cold night and getting out of your sleepingbag ain't that easy. Motivated to reach the Davila Ranch as soon as possible, hopefully shortly after lunch (it's a 16 miles \ 26 hike), Tiempo and I start to hike around 7.30am. The first 4 miles it's an uphill hike and I was worried all day about it yesterday, cause it looks pretty steep, up to nearly 3'000 meter's. But the app fools, it was actually really not steep and easily doable, thanks god! After the uphill it was mostly downhill or flat on the dirt road. We only stopped once to get some water, ditched lunch stop to escape the heat and to arrive at the Davila Ranch as soon as possible. At 2.00pm we made it! It's a kind of a shed, just for us hikers. There is a normal toilet, a shower! (haven't showered for 6 days😁!), electricity to charge electronics, space in the shade, a refrigerator filled with onions, potatoes and eggs, washing machines, driers and a cook corner. Amazing! This place only operates by donations. It is our hiker Oasis out in the middle of nowhere. While I showered, cooked lunch for all hiker's and washed my clothes also the rest of the groups turns up.
It's only 14 miles from here to Pie Town, the first real place since a couple of days. Pie Town (where there are more Elk than people), a little village of about 40 people is famous for its Pies and the Toaster House (legendary meeting point for all CDT Hikers as they allow you to camp on their ground for free, shower, big hiker box and kitchen, all decorated by many toasters!). However, tomorrow is Saturday and the post office only opens till 9.30am and is closed on Sunday. As it is hard to resupply in Pie Town for the next stretch we have been advised to send a resupply box there. The box is either at the Post office or the Toaster House, we don't know. That means we have to be in Pie Town before 9.30am to check the post office. 14 miles is still a long hike to complete before 9.30am, therefore Tiempo and I decided to hike as many miles as possible this late afternoon. We took pictures of passports and people to also collect their boxes, in case they were not forwarded to the Toaster House. After 8 more miles we called it a day just before sunset. That will leave 6 miles for tomorrow, which can be hiked in 1.5 hours easily.
When I got up to the nature toilet at 11pm, I could see the red light from a wildfire in the distance. The moon is full in about 2 days and it's very bright even at night. I took a picture with the tripod and my phone camera which came out surprisingly good. Looking at the picture you can glimpse the wildfire and it looks as if taken in the middle of the day. Wildfires might become a bigger issue for us in New Mexico soon. This was a very pleasant and big mileage day.
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