Achenbach, Ladera Canyons-Organ Mountains Wilderness, Organ Mountains-Desert Peaks NM

Although I have hiked in the Achenbach Canyon area many times, each trip with some variation, it had been many, many years since I hiked downstream in its neighbor Ladera Canyon, and I had never gone below the first high waterfall until this past Sunday. I started out on this  sunny, clear, and warm afternoon up the well worn gravel trail alone. Three or four groups of three or four plus dogs passed me on their way down. Some were talking about being new to the area and looking for places to hike. I was tempted to introduce myself and say " Hey, my friend and I have actually written a book about this very national monument you are hiking . in. . ." but I'm kind of shy.
 I always forget that the trail goes in and out of two side canyons before making it up to the basin area at the top of Achenbach. I went over the old dam and then up the ridge and down into Ladera, where I immediately made the decision to head down stream, boulder-hopping for quite a ways until I got up on a use trail on the bank. I made it to the  precipice of the first waterfall, and then found  a lightly tread route through the ocotillo and brush up and around and then down to the bottom of the falls, where a dozen or more tarantulas lay  dead in the gray gravel.


Now I was intrigued  by the enormous fins of dark rock that form the zig and zag of the box canyon.

Water and ice lingered in a few pools, but I was able to climb down ( and eventually back up) several smaller falls ( one with a rock dam) without any problems, before reaching one that was as least as high as the first ( 40 feet ?), but with no easy way to get  around it and down to the flats below where there was second dam( completely filled in) and an ancient looking drinking trough below.


 There was a slight tinge of regret, when I realized that to get around this last falls would involve a long  backtrack, a very steep climb around and a treacherous descent just to be able to make my hike a loop. Then I realized the walk through the open country at the bottom wasn't going to be super exciting anyway, so I turned around, carefree, and headed back up the canyon. I followed a trail on the opposite bank on the way back, but then hooked up with my earlier route. Just below Apache Cave I rested a bit in the shade of the scrub oaks and then began walking beneath the moon in the blue sky while the winter shadows lengthened across the desert hills.