Gila National Forest - Corduroy Canyon

 

IMPORTANT UPDATE: This area was within the Corduroy Fire (2021) and may be significantly altered from what you see here. 

I had heard about Corduroy Canyon as a camping destination many years ago. It's really too far for regular two day(  and maybe even a three day) weekends, but my recent 4 day Fall Break fit the bill so we decided to give it a shot. One nice thing about this trip was getting there was entirely on paved roads ( I-25, NM 52, NM 59) with the exception of the last 1/2 mile in Corduroy Canyon to find our spot.  Where NM 59 begins to bottom out in the huge meadows at the confluence of Beaver Creek and Corduroy we turned right onto the primitive unsigned road ( it may be called 4065U on some maps). We passed a couple of larger trailers on the way in and luckily grabbed one of the last of 2 ( maybe three) spots where trailers of any size can be brought in. It was kind of open, but we managed to pull in close enough to the canyon side to be in the shade.

 

We were more or less in the barely perceptible stream channel in a wide sandy bend but the chance of any water coming  our way was absolutely zero. It has obviously been extremely dry this year and the only plants that seemed to flourish in this heavily grazed bit of cattle country were low growing weeds ( now dried completely) with tiny thorns that were everywhere, causing a few problems for us and our dogs. The views, to tall pines and alcove riddled cliffs of tan conglomerate were compensation.

 It was too hot for any hiking that first afternoon, so we decided, after getting settled, to drive up the canyon. Corduroy Canyon starts out up at the Continental Divide as a long straight southwest flowing wash  known as Corduroy Draw. It goes through one section of twists and turns as it enters Forest Service land, straightens out again and then enters a second section of  deep meanders in a high walled box canyon, which is where we found our ourselves driving. The road is serviceable for the most part but there are some rocky sections, deep gravel, a steep crossing, and many random boulders jutting up in the roadway that I did my best ( not always succeeding) to avoid. The canyon narrowed considerably almost immediately upstream of our camp and we drove slowly in 4WD  weaving through the pines as we made our way around several horseshoe bends of the nearly level stream  course. The cliffs of deep brown volcanic rock were blanketed with canyon grape in places, the leaves yellow for fall. On hillsides the oaks with their leaves fully turned orange, yellow and brown and lit up by the afternoon sun, gave a wonderful autumn feeling to the place, even if the temperature ( 85 degrees ) outside our air-conditioned vehicle belied it. At one U- shaped bend, we got out and explored a bit up a rocky side canyon.

Back in the vehicle, we drove further on, past the highest cliffs yet. Where a large ponderosa lay across the original road, we called it a day and turned around.  Later, after dinner, very close to complete darkness falling,  it was finally cool enough to walk our dogs up just a small portion of this route.

The smoky haze was barely visible, but we were a little worried it might diminish the star display. We needn't have. It was magnificent. That first night, in addition, to seeing the Milky Way for the first time in a year, we were treated to a shooting star that crossed the entire length of sky visible to us.

The mornings were cold, right around freezing.  I discovered that Pam cooking spray doesn't want to work when it's been left outside overnight in such conditions, so I had to warm it up inside the Casita. On Saturday, the smoke poured into the area, the haze obscuring even nearby mountains such as the Beaver Points. We made the decision to head home before going on our morning hike. Returning around lunch, we relaxed a bit and then packed up and were on our way on the long drive back to Las Cruces.