On December 21st, 2016, I fly from Mobile, Alabama to El Paso, Texas, and begin walking west from International Mile Marker #1.

December 21st marks the two-year anniversary of the completion of my trek along the Texas-Mexico Border.  That walk also started at International Mile Marker #1, but the initial route led south and east on October 27, 2014. The eastern half of the US-Mexico Border trek ended at Boca Chica Beach, near Brownsville, Texas on December 21, 2014.

On the Texas-Mexico trek, I was supported by the Tex-Mex Compadres for all but a few days of the one thousand ten-mile hike.

My walk west, will be unsupported.

I will utilize my two-weeks of vacation and paid leave from LBWCC (Lurleen B. Wallace Community College), to walk the border between Mexico and two states (New Mexico & Arizona).  Much of this stretch is very sparsely populated. For example, it is seventy-five miles between my starting point, at International Mile Marker #1 in El Paso, and the next small town, Columbus, New Mexico.

I carry a pack that weighs approximately thirty pounds, before adding food and water.  To complete this journey, it will be necessary to restock supplies of food and water every two or three days. The only feasible way to carry the necessary calories is to pick up supplies at small post offices or community centers along my route.

At the recent screening of La Frontera at Constant Coffee and Tea in Pensacola, Florida, a young woman asked, “How can we support you in this trek?”  After a moment’s thought, I remembered that my good friends, Johnny Stowe, Jeff Thurmond, and Arthur Hitt had mailed packages of food for my retrieval during the Texas walk.

For those with inclination, time, and forethought, feel free to mail care packages to the following locations.  Be sure to allow plenty of time for the package to arrive BEFORE I get there.  I can’t backtrack to pick up packages that arrive after I have passed through town.

This page has some simple directions for how to address the packages, but as an example:

Mark J. Hainds
C/O General Delivery
Trail Town, VA 12345
Please hold for Border Walker
ETA Dec 2??, 2016

These are best guesses on arrival dates at these small communities, and addresses for mail drops.

• Dec 23rd, Martha’s Place in Columbus, New Mexico.
• Dec 25th, US Post Office, 26 Avenue B, Hachita, NM  88040, PH: (575) 436-2220
• Dec 27th, The Rodeo Community Center in Rodeo, NM  88056
• Dec 29th, Douglas, AZ. I will provide an address soon.
• Dec 30th, Bisbee, AZ. Will provide an address soon.
• Dec 31st, 2017:  Sierra Vista, AZ.  Will provide an address soon.

Updates will also be posted at my author pages on the Mark Hainds Facebook page.

To verify my progress, location, and schedule, contact my wife Katia at: katiabeli@yahoo.com

A little bit of direction for people who send me a care package for the trail:

Regarding preferred food items, the overriding concern is packing lots of calories into a small space.
Rigid containers are problematic, and variety is nice.