WEEK 1 ON THE CDT - THE BENNETT FAMILY ("KIDS OUT WILD")
Updated: Jun 26
4/13 Tuesday day 1 —We got dropped off at the southern monument at 3:30, siesta-ed till 5:30, 4.5 miles in till camp, cows playing games with hikers by making a plethora of paths, lots of signs to follow tho, Andrea told us we only needed 4 liters, not 7! Camped at Guthook mile 4.5
4/14 Wednesday day 2—We started waking kids at 5am, on trail by 6:15, followed dirt roads and washes, chatted with Lone Wolf, Mona Lisa, and a newbie from MT, got to the first water cache at 11:30, met a lot of hikers including saved by Mtns (beautiful Instagram page), hot and windy during siesta, Kaia wishes she was in the “green tunnel” instead of the desert. Best quote of the day: “My lips feel like they are on salt fire.” 14.5 miles
4/15 Thursday day 3–We left camp at 6:15, saw a plethora of vehicles bringing hikers to the monument, at least 30 new hikers, chatted with Long Bird and Crisp after our 3.5 hour siesta at the yucky cow pond, food issues: Kaia calculated that we have 1500-1750 calories each day for this 6 day carry. It is so heavy, I can’t imagine adding more. Kids are asking for more food tho. Camped near the foot of Hachita Peak. quote “Darn it! I just knelt on my crackers!” —Sierra 15 miles
4/16 Friday day 4–We left camp at 6:30, to a beautiful sunrise, about 100 yards ahead we noticed sleeping hiker cowboy camping, it looks like we didn’t wake him but I don’t know how because we were being so noisy. We chatted with him a few miles up the trail, his name is Vince, from Canada, hiked 200 miles of the PCT as a warm up so he can push 30 mile days on the CDT. Great siesta spot. Sierra threaded Jess’ two huge blisters. Awesome sunset! quote “I’ve been hallucinating that I smell lasagna. I have no idea why.” —Tristan
camped at mile 47.2, 16.5 miles? My watch = 19.37, 42,861 steps
4/17 Saturday day 5–We left camp at 7:15, drank filtered water from a tire, I said it tasted like eggs, Kia shouted “no water should never taste like eggs!”
During siesta we met OT and Jacobie, they are 67 and 62, they told us this is the best education we can give our kids, that this will shape the rest of their lives, that nothing will be too hard for them now, that it’s all mental. Very nice guys!
A newspaper reporter/5th grade teacher from Silver City reached out to me on Facebook. I hit cell coverage and called him for an interview. He agreed that the trail is the best education for our kids.
Kaia got heat rash all over her legs so we stopped short of our goal. During Siesta she fell asleep and her legs were exposed to the sun. She was in so much pain! We camped at 13.8 miles and watched another lovely desert sunset. Guthook Mile 61
4/18 Sunday, day 6 —Late start today, it was about 40 degrees and so windy. Poor Kaia had a rough night, but was feeling a bit better. OT and Jacobie had camped nearby so I rushed over to tell them once again how much I appreciated their kind words (and asked to snap a pic). We got 3 liters each from a cow trough and headed out for 9 miles at our fastest pace yet. Muir is limping sometimes, we are all very worried about him. Stopped for lunch at high noon. 4.5 hour siesta in a wonderful shady spot, cold and windy. Met So Good and Cake, Strawbridge friends. Beautiful lava rocks and bright white rocks together. Found a camp spot at mile 74.5, just after a nasty cow trough that had a faucet with clear flowing water! 13.5 miles, my watch says 17.23 miles, 37,747 steps
quote: while it rained on our tent last night Kaia said “it’s like the universe giving us a kiss on the forehead.”
4/19 Monday, day 7– Town day! We made it the 8 miles into Lordsburg at noon, picking up a lot of trash on our way in. We put Muir’s little shoes on him and that seems to be helping him so much. He got a shower and an epsom salt soak. As I was brushing him in the parking lot, I heard someone say “Hey, I recognize that dog!” Turns out it was our friend, Crazy Eyes, that we met several times on the PCT in 2019! Adam made us a very special dinner...like a seven layer dip in our rations cups...mmmmmmmmmm. We got our food all sorted out and hope to hit the trail early tomorrow!
Follow up on Kids Out Wild adventures on Instagram and YouTube, but be sure to come back for another blog!
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