#cdt

We are camped just below a trailhead for the CDT (Continental Divide Trail), so we had to do a couple 8 mile hikes along the trail during our stay. This portion of the trail is very gentle and easily followed. The weather was perfect for hiking. Clear skies and a few desert plants were blooming.

On our way into Reserve this morning, we had to stop to let a herd of elk cross the road - pretty cool. We picked up our CDT hikers, which went from 2 to 4 people. They didn't mind piling into the back seat, but we found it funny that they didn't let us know last night that 4 people needed a ride. Oh well, that is kind of how thru-hikers roll. They left behind a scent of weed, which we also found hard to believe - not sure I could have managed to hike if I was high. They seemed to manage it just fine. We dropped them at the trailhead and then did a little hike along this portion of the CDT. We were eventually passed by two of the group, but we never saw the other 2, even on our way back. This portion of the CDT wasn't particularly pretty, but it did provide us with a little exercise for today.

Over the course of a couple of days, we did two walks along this portion of the CDT. It was mainly to just get out and stretch our legs for a bit - about 8 miles each day. We did run across one of the locals while we were on the trail:

One of the "friendly" locals - we stopped to take a picture, but we chose NOT to introduce ourselves with a handshake!

The China Digital Times regularly carries a ‘hit parade’ of the latest articles erased by Chinese censors. Censorship in China is mostly post-publication — intimidating journalists and editors afterwards so that they be more self-disciplined in the future. And not cross the always-fluctuarting, invisible line between the permitted and the forbidden. He Qinglian’s now free online PDF book The Fog…

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