Mile 140ish- Silver City, NM

The Border Marker had toppled,
so I made my own

Some people have called the ride to the Crazy Cooke Monument at the Mexican border "harrowing".  It seemed like a less jolting ride into the field for me (from my previous job). After a surprisingly successful greyhound bus ride from Las Vegas to Lordsburg, NM, I joined up with Estero and Speed Bump for our ride to the border from a local gentleman named Sam Hughes.  Sam charges a fee and requests that we send him a postcard from the end.

A grim reminder that we're in the desert

Water source?

We then begin walking north, through canyons and open desert, the only shade for miles is under scrub oak that grow in the washes.  This goes on for days (read:90 miles). The most memorable so far being a day in which there were gusting headwinds across an open, slightly uphill walk where we came across the poor cow who didn't quite make it to water.  That's a grim reminder of how beautifully punishing the deserts in the southwest can be.



Shade outside Lordsburg

The border patrol have talked to us seemingly every chance they get, asking us about what we've seen and letting us know about the dangers of the area.  Apparently this area is rampant in illegal drug smuggling/immigration.

I've been walking with Speed Bump and Estero since the border, and they're good company.  In Lordsburg, we ran into a few other hikers who were planning on starting the Monday after we did.  All were very nice, and excited to get going, even to the point of running from a block away to talk with us.



NO CAMPING

After Lordsburg, we finally got into some protected areas, the beginning of the Gila National Forest.  There was much more coverage from the beating sun and wind, which I was very excited about.  Then there was actual trail instead of hiking from CDT post to CDT post!  It began a whole new world, and we began hiking with another hiker- Softwalker.  All together, we've made it here to Silver City and are planning on heading back into the Gila to soak in some hot springs and enjoy some more desert scenery!

The road walk into Silver City