Broad Canyon Wilderness, Broad Canyon again - Organ Mountains - Desert Peaks National Monument

 Made a couple of trips out to Broad Canyon this past week. I think I've finally walked the entire canyon from the headwaters to the Rio Grande by now, and some sections many times over. Outside of the Organ Mountains themselves, Broad Canyon, now with its upper reaches within the Broad Canyon Wilderness, is, to my mind, the single most outstanding feature in Organ Mountains- Desert Peaks National Monument. Yet, it is very lightly visited.We saw one couple driving by in an FJ Cruiser the first outing, and one woman and two dogs on the road on the second. We had the canyons proper all to ourselves.
Both times we parked at the top of the hill preferring to descend the hideous stretch of un-maintained road on foot. The first day we hiked up the section of Broad where the road leaves the canyon bottom, on its way to the crossing further on just upstream near the confluence with Valles Canyon. The cliffs here grow to over a hundred feet high. A few days later, on New Years Day, we investigated a nameless tributary that comes into Broad about 3/4 of a mile northeast of Valles.  The first morning was a bit cold and windy, the second was much warmer but, both days had those beautiful deep blue winter skies.
 Saw some petroglyphs I had never noticed before in the deep section of the main canyon.

In the tributary there were many pools of water in the bedrock, almost all with thick layer of ice due to its narrow confines. Places that hold water like this are prime to find rock art, but we found none.

 

Still these were both good, peaceful outings, one with friends, the other just Andrea, myself and our dogs. I'll let the pictures do most of the talking this time.