May 19
Start: near canada de las lomitas
Stop: near cerros colorados
24 miles
Total miles: 460
The lighting and thunder play all night and I am slow to rustle to life. It’s a 7 am start as I make my way to “the cliff,” as I’ve been calling it. I arrive at the edge of the mesa that we’ve been traveling on the last 2 days and my world stops. Total fucking beauty and wonder. I start to make my way down into a valley filled with all sorts of eye candy. Sandstone mesas, volcanic domes, desert wildflowers and cacti, winding mud river. I can not stop taking pictures. This is the most breath taking morning of the whole trip so far.
We dry our wet tents at our first stop which is near a spring. Just over 3 miles by 10 am is probably our slowest start ever. We work our way across the valley, muddy river and up the side of the next mesa. I manage to lose the trail and then cross country back to it.
After a quick lunch the heat really starts to kick in as I rollercoaster up and around the mesa fingers. I can feel myself baking. I drag myself into the next water source after 5 pm. How could the last 7 miles take so long? Was I abducted? Luckily there is good water and I pack up for another few hours of hiking. Beads finds a sweet cowboy camp on the edge of a mesa ledge. The eyelash moon is just setting so the stars twinkle brightly tonight.
Journey Return 
Interesting thought – I don’t think I have heard of a tent being struck by lightnig. Thank God! I imaging the CDT is more prone to T storms than the PCT. Those high mountains tend to attract the weather.