After Lordsburg, the route is no longer about crossing open basins. It is about gaining height. The stage takes NM 90 north and leaves the I-10 corridor directly. At first the road stays exposed and dry, with long views over low ridges and open ground. Then the climb into the Burro Mountains starts. It is not one sharp ramp, but it adds up over many kilometres: from roughly 1,320 metres at the start to almost 1,900 metres at the high point. After that the road stays rolling and high, with juniper, rock, dry cuts and more distance from the low desert. Near Silver City, mining becomes part of the view: Tyrone, access roads, tailings and open scars in the land. Silver City sits above 1,800 metres and marks a clear shift after the previous days: higher, cooler, more mountainous.
