A two-person thru-hike of the Continental Divide Trail hits its stride in New Mexico, and a recent trail journal from The Trek makes a strong case that this state is more than a flat warm-up for the Rockies. Starting from Silver City with fresh shoes and blister-damaged feet, the hikers were quickly tested by a hail-and-thunder storm, then rewarded with one of the trail's best-loved detours: the Gila River alternate.
The Gila section trades open desert for shaded canyons and requires roughly one hundred river crossings — not a rounding error, an actual count. Midway through, hikers resupply at Doc Campbell's Post and can camp at nearby Gila Hot Springs Campground, where a goat farm, fellow thru-hikers and a soak in natural hot springs come standard. The idyll has a catch: further upstream the trail vanishes into a punishing bushwhack through tall brambles, which is why many hikers bail back to the official CDT route after a few days.
Back in the desert, trail magic saves the day more than once. A giant rubber bladder parked in the middle of nowhere provides cold water and shade, and Davila Ranch — a ramshackle desert oasis with an outdoor kitchen stocked with potatoes, eggs and beans — turns into an impromptu dinner stop at sunset.
The town of Pie Town lives up to its name. After a long road walk (or a lift in the back of a friend's truck), hikers beeline to the Gatherin' Place for personal ten-inch pies, then bed down at the Toaster House, one of the very few hostels on the entire CDT, marked by an arch hung with old toasters. From there it's more desert miles, a detour up the switchbacked summit of Mount Taylor — the writer's first proper Western climb — a stop in Cuba, and a scenic alternate through Ghost Ranch, an old ranch museum with movie-set relics. A surprise offer of a ride to Santa Fe turned into a zero day at a Best Western, complete with a visit to Meow Wolf, the city's wonderfully strange immersive art exhibition.
By the time the hikers reached the Colorado border, the takeaway was clear: New Mexico looks flat on paper but is genuinely hard — long road walks, scarce water (one tank came with a dead cow alongside), nightly leg cramps and relentless sun. It's also full of character, from hot springs and alpine meadows to tiny towns that exist, seemingly, for hikers.
For anyone considering a section hike rather than the full 3,000-mile trail, this stretch is a sweet spot: Silver City, the Gila, Pie Town and Ghost Ranch can be sampled in a week or two of walking, with resupply points spaced generously and a hiker community that keeps the magic coming.
