Florida Mountains Wilderness Study Area - Florida Mountains

Florida Mountains

oak tree

Letter "H" formed by contrails

A "sometimes" spring

Looking down the canyon

Nettle and wildflowers

ash tree

middle branch

There were a few poppies 

Huge, overgrown mountain mahogany

mistletoe on juniper

I hiked into another nameless "canyon" that penetrates the steep western face of the main Floridas. I hesitate to use the word canyon because of the very brief and steep nature of these defiles. It was a similar excursion I took on my spring break two years ago to a similar canyon just to the north. They are both grand places and I would be hard pressed to recommend one over the other, except that the more recent one had a much more direct approach and was less time consuming,

There might be a bit of confusion at the starting point of the hike. Where Luna County Road B0-16 ends and a  primitive road begins is actually the beginning of the wilderness study area, and a faded, much abused sign indicates that. Still, it looks like the road gets regular use. Be forewarned if you try to drive it, as it is obviously prone to deep rutting and washed out crossings of the gullies it crosses.

Hiking this road to its very end brought me to a fence to cross, and then I continued southwest toward the tree lined arroyo emerging from the walls and towers of bare, solid rock. Once arrived at the arroyo, I began a more or less continuous scramble through boulders and dense vegetation, sometimes in the dry stream course itself, and sometimes along islands and benches in and beside its path. Along the way were ash trees beginning to bud, contorted oaks and piñons, and trickles and puddles of precious water on the smoothed gray bedrock.

 I investigated a large waterfall system on my right, which was mostly, but not entirely dry, before returning to the center branch with its own waterfall system cut in a brilliant seam of white rock that extended all the way back to the pointed peaks themselves. I did a slightly dicey maneuver to get a look at the upper end of the left hand tributary, where water emerged from beneath some boulders. The direct route over which loomed a substantial oak, would've required some outright climbing that looked a little more tricky than I wanted to deal with when I'm hiking alone. After that I was basically done. I carefully made my back down to the middle branch where I could see a black stain on the white rock higher up. I couldn't hear water flowing, but it may have been wet.

 I was awestruck once again by the seemingly outsized payoff for the fairly minimal investment of time  and muscle to immerse myself in these mountains, rather than just admiring from them from afar.

Robledo Mountains Wilderness - Organ Mountains-Desert Peaks National Monument

Juniper

Shadow of yours truly at the first drop

 I've been out to Split Rock Canyon a half dozen times. It's the best of the several " pour-off " canyons on the east side of the Robledos.  I've been to a couple of other ones further south, and several further north as well, but it struck me as strange that I hadn't even looked at the canyon that is immediately to the south of Split Rock until a very recent Google Earth session spying for new hikes. Stanger still, is that it, while  definitely coming in second to Split Rock for dramatic impact and scenery, appeared more than worthy of an investigation. This happens sometimes, the hiding in plain sight phenomena, as thorough as I try to be. Neglected no more, I set out on last Monday (4/13/23) afternoon initially utilizing the Ridgeline Trail of the Prehistoric Trackways NM, before descending down into canyon.

 Oddly, initially there were a series of cairns that appeared to guiding me down the hill. I'm thinking these are leftover from the bicycle trail days of the Robledos. 

There didn't seem any two wheeled traffic utilizing the route now. Eventually, as the cairns headed right, I continued left and entered the canyon. This is a much shorter canyon than Split Rock and the effects of erosion are much less pronounced. While the hike in Split Rock is easy stroll on a mostly flat stream bed. This canyon, which I'm dubbing  either Juniper or Prospect Canyon, is more like giant steps roughly carved out of the massive limestone bedrock.

Along the way are a few of the ancient and mighty junipers that somehow survive, for at least hundreds (as much as a thousand?) of years I would guess, in the inhospitable conditions of these steep ravines that pierce the east side of the range. 

In a short distance, I was at the precipice of the first drop off. I could see two more as the canyon curved and then straightened on its brief trip to the Rio Grande. 

 

I walked up and out to the north side where there several holes in the hill, with meager tailings, that are the mining prospects. 

The rock they were digging in, a strange looking mix of purple, red, orange white,  was apparently all gangue with no ore. This rock runs in a seam along the east face of the mountains for quite a distance. It is in sharp contrast to the grayish marine limestone and doesn't appear to sedimentary in origin, though I don't know what it is.

 I didn't return quite the way I came. I headed back down  and then in and out of the canyon following old bike/cattle/wildlife trails (of which there myriad in this part of the Robledos) circling around, crossing a few smaller drainages, until I was back at the cairns that had led me down off of the Ridgeline Trail.

 NOTE: while most of this hike was in the Prehistoric Trackways National Monument, Prospect/Juniper Canyon is just over the boundary in the Robledo Mountains Wilderness, part of the Organ Mountains-Desert Peaks National Monument.