Palomas, Mexico to Deming, NM

Photos - click here

We decided at the last minute to begin our hike at Palomas, Mexico rather than our original plan of beginning just South of Antelope Wells New Mexico. Palomas is approximately 70 miles northeast of Antelope Wells and is a more populated border town with fewer concerns about drug smugglers and illegal immigrants trying to cross the border. We felt that this was a safer option than Antelope Wells.

After getting a ride from Roy at AW Taxi (the only cab driver in Luna County) from the Holiday Inn (our breakfast venue that day) to a less expensive motel across town, we arranged to get a 30 mile ride down to the border, 3 miles south of Columbus, NM the next morning. The population of Columbus is approximately 1,800 and is located 30 miles south of Deming. After the cab ride, views of desolate and beautiful land (no services between Deming and Columbus) and some interesting stories about the area including javelina's (wild pigs) in the Floridian Mountains nearby, Roy dropped us on the U.S. side of the border. We thanked him and waved goodbye. The three of us discussed the pros and cons of crossing into Mexico and then having to take time to come through US customs. We decided that a trek from Mexico to Canada must include walking physically into Mexico, but there was one other concern…

I had back surgery about 2.5 years ago and we had prescription-level opiate pain killers with us “just in case” of a serious re-injury to the back. Our concern was that because we didn't have the prescription information and because the pills were mixed in one bottle, customs would view the medication as illegal and possibly peg us for smuggling. We decided to talk with U.S. Customs before entering Mexico and let them know the situation. They were very accommodating and said it would not be a problem. They even offered us advice about where to eat lunch in Mexico - The Pink House. We crossed the border and went to The Pink House and had a delicious Mexican Brunch. With stomachs full of enchiladas and burritos we left the restaurant, had our pictures taken and moved through customs.

This was the beginning - finally we were hiking the CDT. Due to our route change and starting a day late, we were walking on the road that Roy drove us from Deming. Packs were heavy, but our spirits were high. The temperature was in the mid 80's and it was getting hotter. We stopped in Columbus after a few miles for Gatorade and a bathroom break. We then strapped on our packs and began our hike north again. Only 2,997 miles left!

The two lane highway seemed to go on forever in the desert. Two lonely bone-dry mountain ranges were located to the northeast (Tres Hermanes) and the northwest (Floridians). The road was surrounded by desert cacti such as prickly pear and chollo that stood ankle to knee high and desert shrubs. The soil looked more like dust that had not seen rain in years. The temperature really started to rise and I felt reassured that we were protected from the sun because I had reminded David and Leslie to put on sunscreen. Our Watership Trading Hats also offered great protection from the sun on our heads and faces.

Throughout the afternoon people in the cars and trucks headed south on the road to Columbus waved to us. It felt like they knew what we were trying to do and they were supporting us. At one point several hours after Columbus a border patrol vehicle stopped and pulled into the dirt trail area next to the road where David and Leslie were hiking a few minutes ahead of me. The border patrol then drove his vehicle down to where I was sitting and adjusting my shoes. He got out and asked me if I was thirsty - he then opened the back of his vehicle and filled my water bottle with his 20 gallon water supply. This was the first a very generous help given to us by the people of New Mexico. I thanked him and he left for more patrol work.

We continued hiking late afternoon and it was very hot – now in the 90's with heavy packs. The asphalt road had heated all day and was sending additional heat back to us. We were getting cooked from above and below. At one point at 12 miles I felt very, very tired and generally very strange. I suggested to Leslie that we sit down for a minute- I was actually overheated. Leslie used the footprint for our tent and created some shade by hanging it on a shrub. I put my sleeping pad on the desert floor and laid down under the shade. Leslie put water around my neck and on my head and slowly I began to feel right again. At that point we realized that night hiking might be the best option for desert travel.

Because we were hiking the road back to Deming and the land to the left and right of the road were private we decided that at 14 miles we should return to Deming, get a room and continue hiking the next day. This was better than camping on private property without permission. We stopped after dark and began hitching. There were about 2 cars that passed every 10 minutes. After about 20 minutes a small pickup stopped and the driver asked if we were going to Deming. He offered to take us all the way to town, which was a relief. We were all feeling the effects of the sun and were slightly burned (so we thought) and the cool evening desert air felt refreshing. The stars were brilliant that night. The driver dropped us at the motel where we stayed the previous night, and as we got out of the truck we noticed an Appalachian Trail Conference sticker on his bumper. This guy is sympathetic to hikers and has hike part of the Appalachian Trail. We said thank you and he left.

We were exhausted from our first day and looking forward to showers and not walking another step. I went to get a room and, yet again, there was no vacancy. In fact the only vacancy we found was a couple miles west of town. I called on my cell and asked the motel owner to hold a room and we began walking. Leslie was beginning to feel the effects of the sun on her legs and was beginning to hurt. I reached the motel first and Leslie’s legs progressively worsened. They began to hurt so bad that she was behind me by about 15 minutes. By the time we got in the room the back of Leslie’s calves hurt so severely that she screamed with the lightest touch. Leslie remembered that she forgot to put sunscreen on her calves. She had second degree burns. Leslie had also been fighting a cold since the beginning of the trip and this cold was also beginning to take hold and cause sinus problems.

The next day- only our second day- we decided to take a day off because Leslie could not walk and her cold had turned into a sinus infection and bronchitis. We had some antibiotics with us that Leslie started taking and I hiked to the local pharmacy to buy some lidocaine and aloe to cool Leslie’s painful burns. The hike to the pharmacy was a couple of miles but I ran into Roy at the pharmacy and asked him if I could commission a ride back to our motel. He said sure and we began the drive back to the motel. We stopped at his house on the way (he had to pick something up) and I met his dog Spike who was cooling off in the shade and Roy gave me some bottled water. Roy also mentioned that he almost offered us a place to stay the previous night but wasn’t sure about our plans. Roy dropped me off at the motel and I went to pay him. He said “You don’t owe me anything; I was headed this way anyway.” Another very generous person from New Mexico. I thanked Roy and got his email address.

Leslie’s legs and lungs were in such bad shape and her bronchitis that we decided to take a second day (our third day total) off as well. Both of these days off I had to help Leslie stand up whenever she wanted to move or go to the bathroom. She didn't leave the room either day.

On the fourth day we were ready to go. We were all concerned about Leslie's health, but we were all stir crazy- including Leslie. We had been in this town for 5 days now, and had only hiked one day. With Leslie on the mend, we decided to hike southbound from Deming to the point in the road where we stopped hiking three days prior. We all lathered up with sunscreen and began our 19 mile hike for the day. Because we were not staying in the desert that night we only needed food and water. This made our packs light and our pace faster.

Leslie had taken her antibiotics earlier that morning and was feeling very good. Her sunburn was surprisingly improved, though she wore long pants to prevent further burns. We finished our hike in the afternoon and began hitching. Almost immediately we got a ride from a man who started the first gay and lesbian club in Deming as well as founding a local church. Not something we expected in this small town, but interesting nonetheless. He asked if we minded if he stopped and dropped off some cigarettes he bought in Mexico at a friend's house- it was his weekly cigarette trip- and he gets them for cheap over the border. Overall we had an interesting conversation with our driver. He talked about how down here they follow "the code" of the old west. The locals are good people but they follow "the code". Help out your neighbors, but stay off my property!! He also warned us of the javelina’s that inhabit the area. Apparently he knew a guy who almost lost a leg from an altercation with the wild pigs.

After dropping us off at our motel we began assessing our sun damage for the day and we were surprised that Leslie’s legs didn’t hurt more than they did during our hike, but that her sinus infection and bronchitis had gotten worse. Her only medications all day were 3 ibuprofen and the antibiotic. I asked her more about the antibiotic and it turns out that she had accidentally taken the vicodin, which looks similar and was in the same container. No wonder she didn’t hurt during the day.

We had finished our first leg of the CDT thru hike. Next stretch will be Deming to Silver City. We were so happy to be leaving Deming not because we didn’t like the town but because we had so many mishaps and so many delays it felt more like “Damning”.

~Dave

Info on Palomas, Mexico and Columbus, NM from: http://www.wnmu.edu/paquime/history.html and http://www.southernnewmexico.com/Articles/Southwest/Luna/Columbus/Columbus.html

"Palomas was founded in pre-revolutionary times to establish a border liason with Columbus, New Mexico, USA. It is historically recognized as the crossing for General Francisco "Pancho" Villa during the Columbus attack."

"Columbus has had an unusual and colorful history. The village was first established in 1891, just across the border from Palomas, Chih., Mexico. In 1902, when the El Paso/Santa Fe Railroad Line, connecting El Paso to the West, opened its Columbus station, the residents moved themselves and their village three miles north to the present location.

The site of the last foreign invasion into the U.S., Columbus was attacked in the early hours of March 9, 1916. Francisco (Pancho) Villa and his army of 500-1000 men on horseback, crossed the Mexico/U.S. border and burned the sleeping village. Reportedly, a total of 18 Columbus residents and members of the U.S. Army were killed. Over 100 of Villa's men were found dead. A retaliation was led by General Jack Pershing, commanding U.S. Army Troops. The action was the first time airplanes and/or motorized vehicles were used in U.S. warfare. Pershing and his troops pursued the Mexicans far into Mexico, but Villa and his troops disappeared into the mountains."