Today, Team South arrives in Lake Valley, after a hike across the Chihuahuan desert. Lake Valley boomed during the silver rush in southern New Mexico, but was completely deserted before the end of the century. During its brief life, it saw more than its fair share of cattle rustling, vigilante justice, Apache warfare, and other "wild west" dramas.

The Bureau of Land Management, which manages the town and the surrounding lands, made it part of the Lake Valley Scenic Byway and has worked to preserve the town, maintaining a museum in the old school house. The BLM caretaker welcomes visitors and protects the surviving buildings and old mine head frames. The trekkers will sleep here tonight & enjoy a special cookout & living history program, presented by the BLM.

The Journey, or Trek, involved two groups of travelers: one starting north from the Mexican border and the second headed south from the Canadian. Their route lay entirely on public lands, a feat that has never been accomplished before. The trek began on July 31, 2002 and ended two months later when the two teams met in Wasatch-Cache National Forest near Salt Lake City, Utah on September 27.

Read about the trek, check out journal entries and photos, and browse our educational exhibits.