I lay under the stars this morning at 4am. The New Mexico night sky has been pleasant. The Milky Way hasn’t been quite visible, but I’ve seen more shooting stars than I can count on my fingers. I had a mouse messing with my camp last night. The little bugger climbed on my head and proceeded to jump off. It was quite an interesting occurrence. Luckily, there were no signs of food or gear tampering in the morning.
| 🗓️ Date | April 18th |
| ⇢ Mileage | 26.8 |
| 📍 Trip Mileage | 71.9 |
| ⛅️ Weather | Cool morning, warm afternoon with wind out of the southwest, felt like 80°F |
| 🏞️ Trail Conditions | Flat with minor dirt road walking, quite the amount of path finding throw bush and fields |
By 5:20am, I was hiking to avoid the heat. I made it 12 miles before a 9am break at the next water cache. Ten miles of hiking before 10am is a good rule of thumb to make the mileage easier.
The trail transitioned from undulating Coyote Hills to the Playas Valley. The Pyramid Mountains dominated the skyline today, and Lordsburg sits in the valley on the other side.
I came across a large snake in the middle of the trail today. I’d estimate the snake was about 4 feet in length at full extension. I am not too familiar with the snakes of southern New Mexico (at least not the rattlers), but it sure was a beauty.
I hiked another 12 miles to the next water source — an old tire source used for watering cattle. I was joined by plenty of cow friends as I took a drink and ate dinner.
After dinner, I went another two miles to a wash with good wind protection. I am cowboy camped under what I figure is a juniper tree. The bugs are a bit bothersome tonight, but I’ll survive. Tomorrow, I arrive into Lordsburg where I will resupply and get ready for the section to Silver City.
Signing off,
Zeppelin
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