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Friday, May 25, 2007

One In, Two Out

Yesterday, Team 5 pulled safely off the trail into Cuba. From team leader Pat Kinney's initial reports it was a fine time, and everything went smoothly. The only potential stumbling block came when a supposed water source turned up dry; luckily, one team member had a bar of cell reception and called in to Dr. Dick Kozoll, a Cuba local and trail advocate who often volunteers for the CDTA. The good doctor was kind enough to drive down and place an emergency water cache for the team, saving them an uncomfortably dry stretch of hiking. Dr. Kozoll has offered to assist other teams hiking in the area, so watch the blog for an upcoming, more proper introduction.

This weekend two more groups are out, Team 1 and Team 3 (aka The Gila Monsters). Both teams are heading to the Gila National Forest--the Gila Monsters will be joined by area rangers on their hike as they cover 65 miles from the Coyote Peak stock tank to Mangas Mountain.

Team 1 will strike out into the remote Aldo Leopold Wilderness, originally designated in 1924 as a part of the Gila Wilderness (the two areas were split when an administrative road was built in 1931). The complex was the first to be protected simply because of its sheer wildness, which Aldo Leopold recognized as a young ranger in 1909.

The team covering the wilderness will carry an Iridium 9505a satellite phone, so their journey will be logged here via podcasts. The phone is actually a little lighter than the Globalstar we sent with Team Southern Terminus, weighing in at 375 grams (0.83 lbs). We should have first word of their trip by Sunday, so once again, stay tuned.

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