Wednesday, June 3, 2015

Dark Canyon, Sacramento Mountains- Lincoln National Forest
















This is not the Dark Canyon Trail ( FT 5700) which winds around on the ridge between Dark and Wilmeth Canyons, but an off-trail hike in Dark Canyon itself.
I devised this hike last October while visiting Cloudcroft. The name Dark Canyon, although it is used all over the west,  intrigued me.  I was imagining another tucked away place where the beautiful big tooth maples could flourish. Well, I'm glad I checked it out before October. Dark Canyon is neither dark, nor very canyon-like( although "canyon" is more a generic term in New Mexico for a low place between two higher places). It is a long, mostly wide,  and at times very open valley sporting a nice shaggy springtime growth  of grasses, wildflowers and weeds,  bordered by second growth firs, pines and spruces with  occasional aspens and oaks thrown in. It was nice to see the Sacramentos greened up early this year compared to the deadly dry and hot spell that preceded the monsoons last year. Anyway,after taking FR 223 ( Benson Ridge Road)  almost to its end ,we turned down a shorter, rougher road that accesses the FT 5700( Dark Canyon Trail) and parked just before a locked gate( bicycles, motorcycles, ATVs , horses and hikers can go around the gate. Trucks and jeeps can not and should not.

    Instead of continuing on the road/trail we headed jauntily northeast, down into the canyon itself. Hitting the main valley shortly after crossing a road( FR 223 A), we turned to the east where another old unused road comes in( FR 5596 A, I believe). It was little warm even at 9200 feet, and after passing a dry stock tank, I began to worry if the springs indicated on maps would be running. Well, I needn't have. The first one was doing fine, gushing out of pipe into a long ago rusted away drinking trough and then down to a murky little tank. Seamus drank and cooled himself and then we moved on. The second spring( Bird Spring) was flowing as well- emerging from hole beneath tree roots tucked away on the wooded edge of side canyon.



  From this point on, the canyon narrowed, more springs appeared, and the central trough of the valley was a mushy, deep green wet meadow. Seamus enjoyed the cooling amenities, but was surprised several times when he unexpectedly sank in. I stayed above on the cow trail, which eventually became the remnant of an old two track.  A short ways below Wilmeth Canyon's entrance on the south,where a large oak tree took center stage in the now leveled out valley, I could see a few buildings in the not too distant distance and knew we were coming to private property and our turnaround point.


 On the way back up I noticed, how, if one weren't being  too careful one could easily walk up Wilmeth which is equal in size  to Dark Canyon perhaps without noticing until several landmarks would fail to appear. Then I realized going up Wilmeth would make for excellent loop hike with only about a mile of road walking to get back to the truck. I didn't take it this time however, even though maps indicate springs in Wilmeth as well, it had been a warm day in the sun for my pup and myself, so I went for the sure water  and shorter distance.
 These two larger canyons are an oddity in the Sacramentos. They are without official roads or trails and there  weren't any unofficial ones either.They weren't even any cows, although cows,elk, deer and bears surely created the path we trod on. We saw abundant elk sign , brilliant blue stellars jays, a red headed western tanager, chipmunks,  and a brilliant yellow and black bird that I only caught a glimpse of flitting about in some of  the very few clumps of willow trees.  The whole place had almost a real wilderness feel- which got me to thinking. Would it possible to have a few pocket wilderness areas in the Sacramento District of the Lincoln NF? I'm now looking at some other possibilities for off trail hikes like this one.
 It was a Friday afternoon. We saw no one until getting back to our truck, where two slow going ATVers went around us- out to conquer the Dark Canyon Trail no doubt. In fact I only saw one camping trailer on our return drive, which had me wondering if more would arrive as the evening wore on, or is this sometimes popular place( Benson Ridge) really pretty sleepy most of the time, even on summer weekends?



10 comments:

  1. Have you hiked to Sleeping Lady Ridge southeast of Alamogordo?

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  2. No. We have the Sleeping Lady Hills here west of Las Cruces, but I haven't heard of or seen that name on maps of the area. Where is it more exactly?

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  3. I did a little research. It looks like, instead of being one ridge,it is made up of 2 or more which when viewed from Alamogordo take on the profile of a reclining lady. I think the ridges involved are Long Ridge(which includes the prominent Steamboat formation), Burleson Ridge and Mule Peak. I'm not sure about this,if you find more information let me know.

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  4. Hey Devon! I really enjoyed this post! I'm heading up to the Dark Canyon Loop Trail in a couple weeks. Should we worry about bears? Is the weather unpredictable? Did you see a lot of people, atv's, or dirt bikers on the trail? Any advice that you would give? Thanks!

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  5. I haven't seen a bear out there. There's always a chance of an isolated shower this time of year. You might see some ATV riders out there on a weekend. I haven't encountered any dirt bikers out there. Hiking down Dark Canyon itself is a much nicer trip and there are several flowing springs along the way. The Dark Canyon Loop can be a little hot, but there are flowing springs in Wilmeth Canyon that you can detour to.

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  6. I really appreciate you messaging back so soon! My friends and I are new to the backpacking scene, so we have a lot of questions. Would you recommend cooking and eating in a different site than where we camp? Do you think it would be necessary to hang our bags of food? Would you drink directly from the spring source or would you treat the water first? What landscape should we expect up on the trail as opposed to the canyon?

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  7. I would recommend cooking and eating in a different site at least a hundred yards away from where you sleep. Hanging your food is a good idea or have some kind critterproof container. There are pesky raccoons up there as well as bears. I have seen far fewer bears in the Lincoln National Foreat up there than in the Gila,but that doesn't mean they are there in lesser numbers. They are probably just much more wary of people. I would still treat the water. There are few old timers who might say you don't need to, but since the entire area is grazed by cattle, why take a chance?. Up on the trail it is dry, and you are basically walking on an old abandoned logging road. You would have to go into either Wilmeth or Dark Canyon for water. I don't really like the trail on the ridge and there's enough of use trail in both canyons to follow and the walking is easy. Here are two more blogs about the area.
    http://southernnewmexicoexplorer.blogspot.com/2017/06/dark-canyon-trail-loop-hke-ft-5700fr.html
    http://southernnewmexicoexplorer.blogspot.com/2015/09/wilmeth-canyonsacramento-mountains.html

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  8. Thanks for your advice. Well, is there a trail or area that you think may be better for us? We're looking at staying overnight. We're hoping for high altitude scenery, water sources, and thick tree cover for our camp. We don't mind having to hike for a while to access these three wishes.

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  9. I would go to either Dark or Wilmeth Canyon. Wilmeth has better tree cover, but it is mostly limited in both canyons to the sloping sides. This isn't the best area for long distance views ,but the canyons are lush and beautiful with flowing springs, green grass and very few people.

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  10. Nothing to worry about bears unless you don't know how to secure your food while camping, since there's no Grizzly Bears or Polar Bears. Although a friend insisted a bear looked inside his pup tent at him! They're more into berries, etc. You could ask a local ranger. My ranger work was far away and long ago, but got bear stories galore.

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