News – The walk

It’s 6:00 am. The sun is rising. We are five hikers on the CDT ferry that takes us to the border with Mexico. The emotion can be felt. Despite the early morning you can feel the energy. The legs are ready to crush the kilometers.
We arrive at the CDT terminal. A stone obelisk in the middle of the desert, symbolizing the imaginary line defined by humans that separates two countries. You could enter Mexico or the United States and you wouldn’t know you crossed the border. What a strange place to be. You hear about this immigration problem, but I doubt that any human being can cross the deadly desert that surrounds us without support.

The beginning.
Everything is new.
The first steps.
The desert plants, the lizards.
The dry air.
The hikers around us.
The simple life was laid out before us.
Waking up, carrying our lives on our shoulders.
Cold soak oats on frosty mornings.
Midday lunch and nap.
The sun sets as we fall asleep.
Live with the elements.
Living with the length of daylight.
The strangest towns we passed through, their inhabitants with good hearts and generosity despite their limited means.
Sharing stories with hikers you barely know but already feel so close to.

The honeymoon phase. You want it to last forever. But as soon as you know it, the routine sets in. You know your pack organization and resupply plan by heart. Moving on your own two feet can be slow and repetitive.
This novelty, however. You can find it every day within a walk. It’s about the mindset and the people you surround yourself with. They are the ones who question your routine and create surprises on a day that seems too similar to the previous one.

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