Hiking the final piece of the 2nd Section of the CDT, between Lordsburg and Silver City, NM,
Had to leave the CDT trail last time at Red Rock Road instead of the planned Saddle Rock Road, so this time we will complete this section.

This piece of this trail was about 10 miles more or less, so I figured I could do it in one day if I got an early start. I really don't like overnighting this time of the year
as the hours of darkness are so bloody long. You can only sleep for so long, then you are stuck waiting for first light. And NO, I DON'T do night hiking. I think it is patently stupid, that
is, unless you have a latent desire to experience a bear gnawing on your femur (right or left... they are not particular).

You can tell that I got an early start by the long shadow of the photographer	One thing NM has in plenty, are rock outcroppings of all sorts and colors
Not only are there are lot of colors due to the fall changes, but the early morning light is especially rich	This photo overlooks the same desert northeast of Lordsburg, where this adventure had its beginning... on the very far side of this area in the center of this picture
Looking east from the same position on the trail as the Lordsburg picture above	Lunchtime it seems...
The one mountain on this piece of the trail, Bullard Peak, 7064'	I met this gentleman quite unexpectedly as I was going to sit a spell on these rocks. In fact, I damn near stepped on him before I saw him. As you might expect, I made a somewhat loud exclamation as I presumed that he would not take kindly to being stepped on. He underscored that assumption by doing a number of bluff strikes. I told him I would be very happy to take my 'sitting' business elsewhere. He hid his head in the shade, so his head is not visible, but as you can see, he was uncommonly rotund. Most are not eating that well in the desert.
What these are is anybody's guess, other than plant life. I'm clueless as I have never seen anything like this before	Yep, a rock. Not a special rock. But one I thought was a bit photogenic
Nothing special, just looking east as I was closing in on Saddle Rock Road
Rocks, rocks,	and more rocks. :-)