Start: Magdalena, NM
Finish: Magdalena, NM
Miles: 0 / 171.88 total
Ascent: 0 feet
I just took a zero day a few days back to wait out thunderstorms and flooding. Now here I am again. Well after the summer monsoon season normally ends in New Mexico, Pacific Hurricane Polo made landfall in Mexico and headed straight towards New Mexico. While Pacific hurricanes are common, they usually head out to sea rather than striking land.
I just can’t catch a break on this hike. It should be nice weather every day, but this is now the 4th wave of strong storms that is passing through the area. My next step is to head over a high ridge line, and then others after that, and the entire state is under a flood watch. I’ve already seen the effect of thunderstorms and flooding in this area, and it is not something I want to mess with if I can choose not to. Therefore I am taking 2 zero days in Magdalena to ride out the weather.
I really don’t want to take so much down time so early in a hike, but I think it is the only way to safely approach this route. Also, the forecast after this hurricane looks great, so hopefully I can put in some solid hiking.
After this town stop, I am getting into way more remote country with fewer resupplies and longer distances to towns until I hit Arizona, so another reason to not strand or injure myself in the wilderness now.
My resupply box never arrived, so I ended up having to do a Dollar General resupply, just like on the Appalachian Trail in the old days. Not too bad with some new food tricks I have learned since then.
It has been raining almost non stop for a day and a half here. Every local I have talked to has reiterated that the past week or so has been the worst weather they can remember. Lucky me. However, there may be some scattered showers as Hurricane Polo finishes dying overhead, but then the 10 day forecast has very little chance of rain, and highs of 70 with lows of 50 for the duration, so hopefully I can get some good uninterrupted hiking in.
I’m carrying 8 days of food out of town for my biggest haul of this hike. The going will be slow as I’ll be hitting remote and less maintained areas, and will have off-trail hiking in some not as flat terrain. I’ll also be passing through some more recent burn areas which could mean miles of blowdowns and washouts especially with all of this rain. Will see how it goes.