The adventure began today with an early start. Gillian gave me a ride to the Wilmington airport for a 7:30AM departure. It was our first time seeing the airport there – it’s tiny! Despite there only being two security lines, I managed to get into the wrong one. The TSA agents were not amused by my morning attempt at humor.
I was concerned about making my connection from Dallas to El Paso, with only 40 minutes to do so if my Wilmington flight to Dallas arrived on time. I was not checking a bag, but the margin for tardiness was still razor thin.
20 minutes into the flight, the flight attendants paged to see if there were any “medical professionals who could assist with an emergency.” I saw two people head toward the back of the plane. I wasn’t sure what was going on, but felt bad for whoever it was. At that point I thought the plane might just turn around. But, it did not!
I didn’t hear anything else about a medical emergency the rest of the flight. My wife later said (only half jokingly) that I never saw anyone because they were dead! She said that she had read something about how airlines sometimes just pretend that someone hasn’t died so as not to alarm passengers. I think I would be pretty alarmed if I came back from the lavatory and they had propped up my seat neighbor, perhaps gluing a newspaper in his hands to make it look like he’d fallen asleep reading. I would inevitably trip over the body trying to slink by, perhaps getting entangled with it. But I digress….
The flight did not turn around and we actually arrived in Dallas early. On top of this, my connecting flight departure gate was immediately adjacent to our landing gate! I actually ended up with some time to spare in Dallas, despite thinking I would have to sprint through the airport to make the flight. I hadn’t even started hiking yet and the trail was already providing for me. Lots of rainbows and unicorns rained down from the universe today.
The flight to El Paso was pleasantly uneventful. I caught a Lyft from the airport to the Greyhound bus terminal. I was immediately reminded I was in the southwest. The lush greens of the east coast were gone and replaced with tan, beige and brown. There’s something exciting about being in a completely new landscape.
It was hot! More specifically, it was a powerful, dry heat. I was early for my 1:15 bus (El Paso is on mountain standard time, two hours behind the east coast). I walked down a few streets looking at the southwest style shops. Greyhound Bus stations are not usually in the best parts of towns, but El Paso isn’t too bad.
I wanted to find some tacos, but didn’t have a lot of time, so I ducked into a Burger King instead. Gillian has long said that Burger King can’t beat McDonald’s or Wendy’s . I didn’t remember Burger King being that bad, but it had been decades since I’d been to one, so I figured I’d give it a whirl. Whopper? More like WHOMPer! I got a Whopper meal combo and was underwhelmed. I mean, if you’re going to call yourself the King, you have to be able to back that up or eventually the people will rise up against you. The fries were equally blasé – a little too wide, not crispy enough. Gillian was right – Burger King was more like a disappointing duke.
Greyhound stations are always a bit sketchy and full of characters, and El Paso is no different. In 2019 I took the same bus to Lordsburg, NM, so I knew what to expect. There’s always someone bathing in the bathroom, someone passed out on a bench, and then a million flavors of crazy in between. I kind of enjoy it.
I got a seat at the front of the bus and the ride was fairly unremarkable. I enjoyed looking at the emptiness of the surrounding landscape. It was good to be back west again. I couldn’t believe I had actually made all of my connections!
I picked up a box of gear and food I mailed to myself at the Econolodge in Lordsburg. And got checked in. I was still on east coast time, so my belly was begging for food. I walked across the street to Kranberry’s restaurant. I ate there in 2019, so there was a lot of nostalgia for me. I had enchiladas and a piece of coconut pie. The pie and southwest food in New Mexico is definitely worth hiking for!
All in all it was a good day of travel and eating. The hiking starts tomorrow. I will wake up early and walk a few blocks to catch a shuttle to the Mexican border. The Continental Divide Trail Coalition runs the shuttles during hiking season each year.
It was hard saying goodbye to Gillian this morning. It has been a busy few weeks of prepping for the trail but also spending time with her. We tried stand up paddle boarding the other day. It was fun and only minor war wounds were sustained. But now my partner in crime is far away, and that never gets easier.
Nonetheless, I am ready for this great adventure and extremely grateful for the opportunity to do another long hike. I will update again soon.
—Hungry Cat
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