Sagebrush personal hiking blog
Continuing to climb, Baldy Mountain becomes visible, at a stately height of 12.4k.
Down below, at my destination of Eagle Nest, the town and lake have a blanket of clouds.
The route today follows cross-country and along faint two-track, along creeks in meadows, from Cabresto Creek to Bitter Creek to Gold Creek, Comanche Creek to Vidal Creek.
The meadows remind me of Valle Grande, with small creeks winding back and forth on their way through the field, narrow width, with grass right to the edge, no transition to a dirt bank.
Clayton Camp on the map, Philmont Cabin on the sign, has just started a restoration project, with workers on site.
Rain starts at 1:30 and goes hard until 4:30. I decide to keep hiking rather than wait it out, probably for the best since it would have been such a long wait. My rain coat gives up eventually, though I keep warm by hiking hard, and try to dry off after the rain by hiking hard and long again.
Camp is up pretty high, on the approach to Baldy, over 11k, so expect a cold night in the tent, and yes, rain starts again as dark falls.