Southern New Mexico Explorer

Rincon- Palm Park

2012-01-31T19:18:00.000-08:00

These are two interesting sites north of Las Cruces. Across the highway from the tiny town of Rincon there is an old barite mine which may yield some interesting specimens if you search diligently. You may have to dig as well. It also seems to be serving as dumping area.If follow the road that parallels Rincon Arroyo and eventually climbs a small peak,you may also find jasper and some strange ,small,petrified twigs in a creamy matrix.Several trails lead away from the large pit ( barite mine) to smaller prospects. One can be followed to access an area with several dry waterfalls and small caves. It's here where petroglyphs are found, including several of the goggle-eyed Tlaloc.There are also grinding holes at the entrances to the alcoves/caves. Exploring the nearby hills will reveal more sites that were most likely used as shelters by ancient peoples.Palm Park is several miles north, reached by taking the dirt road on the east side of the highway at the Hatch exit.There are no palms here ,and I've seen it referred to alternately as Palmer Park.The "park" aspect may come from the fact that it's small almost entirely closed little basin in these, the southern reaches of the Caballo Mountains.There are a few petroglyphs here. Some interesting petrified wood, and other cryptocrystalline quartz is also found.There are old mines (maganese) and roads to explore. I've also met up with arrowhead hunters as well. One time while descending a little box canyon, I found ample evidence that mountain lions are resident in these hills. I also met an old man on foot,in another nearby canyon, who said( entirely in Spanish) that he was looking for gold.This struck me as a bit odd not because he appeared to be in his late seventies, or that he was prospecting for gold,but because there were no other vehicles parked anywhere in the vicinity. He may have walked the dozen or so miles from Hatch.

Sunset

2012-01-26T20:13:00.000-08:00

This is the sunset view from Robledo Cave.First range is the Rough and Ready Hills. Behind is the highpoint of the Sierra de las Uvas, Magdalena Peak.

Iron Hill-Robledo Cave

2012-01-26T19:36:00.000-08:00

Iron Hill is on the southwest side of the Robledos. It is so named because of the hematite deposits there. There are several shallow prospects,but it appears there was never any extensive mining. The massive botyroidal specimens of reddish brown hematite are of interest to mineral collectors. In the midst of this hematite collecting area there is Robledo Cave: a shallow shelter with grinding holes at it's entrance. It was most likely used by both ancient and relatively recent native peoples.Near the cave in small alcoves in the rock are blood red pictographs which obviously used the handy hematite as pigment.The southern end of the Robledos are long ridge of undistinguished low hills that hardly qualify as mountains,yet there are areas such as these of interest to rockhounds and rock art explorers that make them worth a visit. Access to this area is from the Corralitos Road and then proceeding on one of two dirt roads,depending on whether a crucial gate is locked. If it's unlocked, it's a pretty easy drive to the road that heads east to the hills. If it's locked, there's a much rougher road through the Rough and Ready Hills that will land at the same spot. The road to the deposits/cave is only a couple of miles long and very uneven and rough in places.If you don't have high clearance- just walk it. The road through the Rough and Readies is very rough and not at all suitable for passenger cars.This is a fun place.The first time we went was in the winter, but the photos are from 100 degree day in June when I visited with my step-son.

Apache Flat

2012-01-26T16:52:00.000-08:00

This is a small petroglyph site near the Massacre Peak of the Sierra de las Uvas,very close to the Dona Ana-Luna county line. There are actually 2 groupings( that I know about) about a mile apart.There is another site about 5 miles to northwest at some natural cisterns that I found by accident while hiking to the back entrance of Pine Canyon. I was looking for pinon trees not rock art. I did find one of what must be the very few pines left in the Sierra de las Uvas.At Apache Flat there is one quite stunning geometric design plus the usual assortment of Mogollon abstracts,animals and occasional humanoids.Naturalistic images of a horses,men and few crucifixes were probably left by Apaches and or colonial era Spaniards.Then there is the modern,but still probably quite old graffiti pecked into the rock near and on some of the petroglyphs which is good for laugh. Happy wandering.

Florida Mountains- Three Little Hills,Baldy Peak Area

2012-01-25T15:25:00.000-08:00

This was our most recent hike in the Floridas. My original plan was access the mines along the high ridge between Gym Peak and Baldy Peak, or climb Baldy Peak itself. I pulled a few waypoints off my AllTopo software and hoped for the best. My starting point for the hike was right at the Three Little Hills. This area is reached with the the same road used to reach the Windmill Canyon hike. The road is not of the best quality past Windmill Canyon. It's very narrow,sandy and uneven, and requires a high clearance vehicle and most likely 4-wheel drive if it's wet.It probably took 40 minutes to drive the 10 miles from Rockhound State Park. We walked down the old ranch road through a corral,until it unceremoniously ended near the intersection of 2 arroyos. We chose the one on the right and started steeply up without even a deer or cow trail, for the first ridge. Near the top we saw 5 or 6 mule deer moving along. We watched them as they watched us. Our Scottie,Seamus, would have much rather been chasing than watching. We then followed the deer path first to the high point of the ridge,where we found a favorite defecating spot of the local mountain lion( makes sense), and then to the other side,where we descended to a wide grassy saddle. After that it was up through the abundant pinons and junipers on a north facing hillside.We found a small flat clearing among the trees to eat our lunch. It was sunny and pleasant and the wind had not become a factor yet. Still, when we saw the steepness of the climb we needed to make to reach our next waypoint,coupled with the prospect of being blown off the mountain the higher we went, we turned around. We chose to return via an alternate canyon rather than our original route- a mistake in hindsight- as it was brushy,thorny rocky and narrow, with one drop-off that had to be negotiated around on a gravelly slope that was more conducive to sliding than walking, in short, everything you'd expect from a typical desert defile.Looking at the topo map at home ,instead of the BLM map that I had, there were two nice north facing canyons that would have made much better choices for our loop. We did come across an old tail-blade from a windmill,which could only have arrived there from being blown in from who knows where. We made it back in one piece. Most places I go ,it seems that a road or an old trail or even a good deer or cow path shows up to help me along in those place where the maps show no roads or trails. Don't count on it in the Floridas. The core of this range is a small,but true wilderness.Note: I haven't been there but it appears that the high ridge of the southern Floridas,anchored by massive Gym and South Peaks, is accessible by jeep roads and trails from the Mahoney Park area.

Florida Mountains- Windmill Canyon

2012-01-24T15:33:00.000-08:00

This is the best hike we've done in the Floridas. It's from Greg Magee's Day Hikes and Nature Walks in the Las Cruces-El Paso Area.Its start is about 3 miles south of the Rockhound turn-off on the gravel road that runs along the eastern flank of the Floridas. There's an easy to miss turn-off to the right. A passenger car is okay to this point. We parked at the very first pull out and started walking up the road. About a mile in the canyon narrows at what I call the "gates" of Windmill Canyon: two towering peaks with turrets,spires and other erosional forms carved out of the soft,tan,volcanic rock.Soon after, the road turned into a trail. There were views of the twin high peaks of the Floridas, the large Needles Eye arch, and two other smaller arches as we climbed higher.In the canyon bottom were large pinons,oaks and ash trees. Water burbled up from springs and even flowed for short distances ( it was early April before the Spring dry-out so water may not be here year round).Eventually, there was no more trail and we bushwhacked in eye-level shrubbery for short while before turning around still 500 feet below the high ridge. Our hike was about 4 miles roundtrip with about 1800 feet of elevation gain. On our way back we saw several ibex high up on one of the "gates." We just stood and watched for several minutes from far below, as they demonstrated their extreme agility moving from one rocky perch to the next: one of my favorite moments in all my years of New Mexico wildlife watching- even if they're not a native species. Windmill Canyon is the standard route for climbing the Florida Mountains high point, the 7448 foot Florida Peak.

Spring Canyon State Park

2012-01-23T15:33:00.000-08:00

Spring Canyon State Park is a day use area in the Florida Mountains a couple miles south of Rockhound State Park. It has picnic tables and shelters.There is a day use fee.It may have once had camping and it would be nice if it could once again offering an alternative to Rockhound SP for smaller trailers,pop-ups and tent campers.It looks as if the area has been washed out by floods in the past: chunks of old black top and concrete used to be seen in the arroyos that run through the picnic area. In steep mountains such as these this can still be a problem even in driest part of the state.Perhaps that's why there's been a minimum of investment here. There are two "trails" that leave from the state park onto BLM land. One is in Lover's Leap Canyon. The other is in Spring Canyon.The one in Lover's Leap Canyon, the better of the two, starts out past the last of the picnic spots. We've hiked it a couple of times up to a saddle that overlooks to the other side of the Floridas and beyond to the Cedar Mountain Range.Total distance is about 1.5 miles. Elevation gain is 600 to 800 feet depending on where in the picnic area your hike commences. It is very steep and slippery the last 1/4 mile or so.We've lost the path both times we've walked here. Just keep going till you find it again. It stays close to the stream bed on one side or the other. There is enough moisture here for pinons, scrub oak and the occasional ash tree, but it's the formations in the eroded volcanic rock along the sides of the canyon that are the real draw. Lover's Leap Canyon is to your right(southwest) as you enter, Spring Canyon is straight ahead(south).Since it runs almost straight north, it retains even more moisture. There are some very large pinons along the way and the stream bottom is very dense with vegetation, which eventually blocked our progress after only a mile or of steep hiking.This trail is harder to follow with very rocky sections along the steep sides of the canyon.I looked and looked for some kind of continuation along those grassy hillsides but saw nothing.It could be there. I don't know. I do know that the bushwacking in the stream bottom was not at all practical or enjoyable,so we turned around.This experience with lightly used use trails repeats itself in other areas of the Floridas. It strikes me as strange that a very scenic mountain range with good sized town nearby has no official hiking trails. These two,the one Windmill Canyon,plus a few old mine and ranch roads will have to suffice for the present.

Little Florida Mountains

2012-01-22T18:10:00.000-08:00

There is a wide trail along the lower slopes of the Little Florida Mountains. It can be used to make a short loop hike around Rockhound State Park. It also connects to several use trails that go steeply up between the cliffs. We hiked on one of these a few years back,getting to the top with a minimum of mishaps.Be forewarned though- these are definitely not official trails. They are on very steep slopes comprised of slippery soil and loose rock.Up on top the terrain was open and grassy.We wandered around eventually finding the well maintained road that leads to the many communications towers on the summit.We found another use trail to bring us back down. It was fun exploring and an easy way to get some fantastic unobstructed views of the main ridge of the Floridas across the valley.

Rockhound State Park

2012-01-22T15:23:00.000-08:00

We camped at Rockhound State Park(about 10 miles southeast of Deming,NM) for the second time.The first time was back in '05 when we had just bought our little teardrop trailer,although we've been visiting here since the 90's(when we still lived in Houston) when it was our first stop on our first vacation trip to New Mexico.The campground here looks a little raw at first glance,partly because it's winter, and partly because of the renovations undertaken to prevent erosion and to make it spacious enough to accommodate the large trailers and motorhomes used by the majority of their campers.Consequently the individual sites are large and spaced out nicely so that there isn't that crowded feeling prevalent in many campgrounds. We reserved a site on the main loop where all sites have electricity and water. There is a smaller loop nearby of non-electric sites,which is where we camped the first time in 2005. This was our first time plugging in, in the seven years that we've had trailer.We're usually boondocking,so it was nice for a change not to have to worry about running down the battery or cranking up the generator. Out one window we had an un-interrupted view of the Little Florida Mountains,and since we were at the highpoint of the campground, out the other we had a view over the rooftops to the spectacular formations of the Big Floridas.This is nice,very quiet campground to visit from November to April. Unfortunately, we couldn't control the weather. The wind howled all night Saturday, and we quickly packed and left Sunday morning as it continued to blow.That's just a fact of desert camping: there's nothing to stop the wind.

Pony Hills

2012-01-16T09:51:00.000-08:00

Here are some photos from the Pony Hills petroglyph site near Deming.We visited with some friends on New Year's Day.This was the third time I've been out here,but I still found a few I hadn't seen before.

Shotgun shells

2012-01-08T18:54:00.000-08:00

There's a scene in the classic 1930's film "It's a Gift" where W,C. Fields and his family have a very messy picnic in what they think is a city park, but which is actually a private estate.On the surface it would seem the humor in the scene comes from the incredible size of the mess they leave, their absolute nonchalance at leaving it, and from the inevitable discovery by an irate groundskeeper.Fields may have just been thumbing his nose at the wealthy owning park like estates at a time when most people were struggling,but he seems to be an inadvertent proto-environmentalist as well, contemplating the utter lack of responsibility of litterbugs who feel justified perhaps in the notion that it's someone's job to clean up the "park," and that they wouldn't have knowingly littered private property because those consequences would have been more immediate and severe than any dealt out by the public sector. Morality,to many comedians,only grows out of a fear of punishment and social approbation.I think of this every time I see large piles of shotgun shells left out in the desert.This is just littering plain and simple.They're plastic and seem to only come in bright colors so not only are they not going away anytime soon,they're an obvious eyesore as well.So what I want to know is are these shooters the type that just routinely litter anyway or do they feel that the shells are a special case? They are so prevalent in some areas, I've begun to wonder if anyone picks them up ever. I've been told they're hot when first ejected,but I'm sure they cool off quickly enough. So why not just take a little grocery bag,bend down and pick them up? No one is coming to clean up after you. We are so fortunate in the west with millions and millions of acres of public land that we can use with nary a soul watching over and very little in the way of rules or fees to inconvenience us.To some this makes it easy to abuse these places many of which may be less than pristine in first place. All I can I say to them is stop. Think of others that might not be so jaded about a place that you consider ugly enough to trash.

Shelter Cave-Bishop's Cap

2012-01-04T16:15:00.000-08:00

One of the first times I hiked out here I was looking for Conklings Cave. I believe I was on the right ridge, but never found it. I did find an old jar in a cairn that contained a mining claim paper from the 1950's. I also found some very dark purple fluorite.Another trip we just explored all the old mines and prospects on the southeast side.Two times there was the idea of climbing the peak. The first time we were using Greg Magee's Hiking Guide to Dona Ana County.This was first of several times that I realized that Mr. Magee thinks nothing of climbing up and down several smaller peaks before reaching the ultimate destination.Neither my family nor I enjoyed that prospect, and abandoned our attempt.The second time the group I was with had the more sensible notion of using an old mine road on the east side to reach the ridgeline. Unfortunately, it was blowing an absolute gale when we got to the ridgeline,so we descended, did a half-hearted search for Conklings Cave until everyone lost interest and went on their way.This time I set my site on the less elusive Shelter Cave. I had recently been reading about it,when a friend mentioned the idea of hike there. I remembered that I had actually seen the cave on a hike my wife and I did around the mountain a few years ago,so I didn't think finding it would be a problem. My friend was off doing another hike the day I wanted to go,so it was just my Scottie Seamus and I out for jaunt. We parked at one of the Sierra Vista trailheads and first headed down the old road that heads south. The road eventually connects with another that follows the power lines to the southeast. A little further on, there is a short spur road that heads back east to the mountain. It crosses the Sierra Vista Trail and then dead ends at some concrete foundations. From there,I could see the cave and we started up the rough canyon. There is no trail,but we worked slowly, picking our steps, and didn't have too hard a time of it.Seamus was a champ. In the canyon the cave was no longer visible until we got very close. We walked over many small fossils in the bare, gray limestone as we continued on. It's probably about 400 feet or so of elevation gain from the base,but we made the steep climb in short order and rested in the cave.The extant graffiti mars the wilderness values of the site,but it didn't bother me that much for some reason. I did notice that the most recent dated markings were from 2003,so there was the hope that today's taggers are just getting lazier. We carefully made our way down and used the Sierra Vista Trail as our return route. Along the way I took some photos of Bishop Cap with a perfectly blue New Mexico sky surrounding it and though about how I love my desert home.

Pre-Historic Trackways National Monument- Discovery Site Trail

2011-12-29T10:36:00.001-08:00

Our original idea was to hike Tonuco Peak,but we soon discovered that areas just to the north of Las Cruces were still covered with snow. We could see the very steep "road" to the top of the peak from the highway, and it was looking completely white. So we decided to come up with another idea. We took a few photos headed over to the Trackways trailhead in the Robledo Mountains. Well, first we drove past the Trackways trailhead and parked in a large open area. I wanted to hike up the road the runs to the south of the quarry and then onto the road the runs along the middle ridgeline of the lower section of the Robledos. We had gotten a short ways when we heard a lot of shooting, saw a bunch of guys with a rifles along side the road, and decided to turn around.Given the observable circumstances,this was the right move. Without going into a lot of detail, let's just say that safety was not their utmost concern and leave it at that. We drove the car back to the new official trail head,now located a short ways east of the old one. The trail followed an old road on a mesa top initially,but then took us up steeply over a couple of small peaks,before signs directed us down into the canyon containing the trackways.The road does continue on for a ways,up and down hills until it dead ends at big canyon.It was obviously made for recreational OHV use which is why it goes straight up hills instead of around them.We've been here many times,but it had been quite a few years since our last visit.There is a new,large sign to read, but little else has changed.We decided to walk out down the canyon,which used to be the accepted route to the Discovery site,but since the canyon runs right next to the gravel pit site which is now a closed area, the BLM obviously would prefer visitors to use the new signed trail. We climbed back up to the new official trail eventually and returned to our car.Besides the reptile tracks and conifer impressions, there is abundant marine fossilization here as well. There is also one of the two basaltic plugs( the other is in Apache Canyon) in the Robledos found here which have columnar jointing on a small scale more famously recognized on a grand scale in places like Devil's Tower.It was a nice hike for a short winter day. Next time, we'll go a little further afield, the Robledos are at their best when you walk in their more remote corners.

Tortugas( "A") Mountain

2011-12-22T11:11:00.000-08:00

We hiked up Tortugas Mountain on Wednesday, taking advantage of what has been a rare commodity lately: blue skies and sunshine. We parked at the main trailhead off of Dripping Springs Road. There is a shelter and some tables,but no bathroom or trashcan. There is also a sign with rules and a trail map with many routes and ways listed. Unfortunately there are no signs on the trails themselves so it's not particularly useful. Once we started up the mountain, we realized there is a virtual maze of use trails, plus the official trails, which can be confusing.I believe we stayed on the actual Turtleback trail all the way up. On the way down, we started out along the "A" and continued straight down a rough way which eventually angled back to the trailhead to complete our little loop. There were good views of the snowy Organs.This is a limestone hill like Bishop Cap and Anthony's Nose to the south, so it supports several different cacti that don't grow on the volcanic soils the dominate our region. I kept a look out for fossils as well, but didn't see much.Total distance for our hike was less than two miles,but it would be easy to extend any hike by using the bike trail that circles the mountain to make any number of loops. Elevation gain was probably around 600 feet, so it's steep. I'd like to hike around the backside and check out the old fluorite mines, or use the bike trail to go all the way around the mountain.On the way back we saw a large raptor( may have been an eagle) fly by at eye level about 40 feet in front of us.That kind of thing is always nice incentive for winter time hiking in the desert.

Sierra Vista Trail

2011-12-19T16:05:00.000-08:00

We hiked the newest section of the Sierra Vista Trail on Sunday. This trail previously ran from the Texas border near Anthony Gap all the way to Soledad Canyon Rd. We've hiked the section from NM 404 to Webb Gap in the New Mexico segment of the Franklin Mountains. We also hiked south from the Soledad Canyon Rd trailhead.We've used the trail as a part of a loop hike around Bishop Cap Mountain, as well as heading north past Pena Blanca to Massey Tank and returning on a parallel old road which leads back to the county road that runs along Mossman Arroyo. Now the trail has been extended from Soledad Canyon Rd. to Dripping Springs Road,where we started our hike. There is small sign on the south side of the road that says "Sierra Vista". A parking loop is right there,but we continued down the dirt to one of several pullouts and parked. After about a 1/2 mile the road has another loop and more parking where it dead ends in an arroyo. The trail winds in out of several arroyos which start out wide and shallow and but get more narrow and deep as we headed southeast. The ridges have certainly been overgrazed here,but not nearly as badly as some parts of the Organ Mountains foothills.There is still some grass growing with abundant barrel cactus and Mormon tea instead of catclaw, creosote and mesquite. Some large isolated houses came into view as we got closer to the lumpy-bumpy Soledad Rocks and our turnaround point at the Soledad Canyon Rd. trailhead.Distance for the hike is about 2 1/2 to 3 miles one way, with elevation gain of about 200 feet. It's more of trail for exercise or walking the dog,as it has no real destination of any significance. It does have views of the high peaks of the Organs and Squaw Peak,which of course even a long time Las Crucen find hard to take for granted.

Slot Canyons

2011-12-06T15:24:00.000-08:00

A few months back before my free year of HBO ran out, well it actually it might have been after the free HBO ran out as Comcast/xfinity conveniently failed to notify me that it had run out,in order to bilk me for a month of HBO, I watched 127 Hours several times and it put me in mind of our homegrown slot-type canyons here in southern New Mexico. They're not as narrow,deep or dangerous as the ones in Utah,but they do have their charms. One of the best ones that I've hiked several times is near Redhouse Mountain in northern Dona Ana County. It starts off in an old manganese mining area about 10 miles northeast of Hatch. It's gets very narrow quickly,and scrambling over bare rock and climbing a few 5-6 foot drops are required. Eventually it levels off and zig -zags along until it opens up and forks at the base of hill. Along the way there are some very thick junipers that I'd be curious to have an expert give me an estimate of their age. The first time I hiked here, we saw a spotted owl in the branches of one of these trees. It was amazingly unconcerned with our presence and only when we approached within 8 feet or so did it lazily flap its wings and drift up to ledge perhaps 10 feet higher and watch us pass.There are brief sections of Broad Canyon and Valles Canyon in the Sierra de las Uvas that could almost qualify as slots. Pictograph Canyon at Tonuco Peak also gets very narrow in spots. In the Robledo Mountains there are a couple of nameless canyons on the east side that get very narrow and deep right before they open up onto the bench lands that sit above the Rio Grande. I hiked one of these several winters ago. Like to try another maybe this winter. Also in the Robledos there is a tributary canyon of Faulkner Canyon that gets narrow enough to give a hiker some challenging options at every dry waterfall.Probably the most dramatic is Long Canyon at the southern end of the Organ Mountains.It is very rugged getting to the mouth of the slot section of this canyon. At the " gate " the walls rise up several hundred feet.There are small ash trees and New Mexico buckeye in the boulder strewn bottom. Golden Eagle nests are on the cliff sides and there's a good chance of seeing one of these huge birds during the winter months Oddly enough the upper section of Long Canyon is a shallow,grassy depression along the ridge of the southern Organs.Well, these are few that came off the top of my head, if I think of others, I will update.

South Llano River State Park- Texas

2011-11-28T19:11:00.000-08:00

I have visited this state park near Junction,Texas many times. We camped here a few times when we still lived in Texas. We almost always stop in recent years for fishing, walking and a picnic. This time we enjoyed some barbecue from Lums(bought in town) and then went for a walk. I've fished here a few times but only caught a few small bass( although I believe one was a native Guadalupe bass). Native pecans,american elms,cedar elms and chinkapin(sp?) oaks make up a forest of large trees along the wide river bottom. Juniper and scrub oak cover the uplands. This is a turkey roosting area in winter. Many of pecan trees had already lost their leaves and had no nuts. I don't know if they were already dead or just stressed from the deep freeze in February and the continuing drought. A few years ago,it was a sunny 90 degrees the day before the Thanksgiving and there were kids tubing here.Two days later it was in the upper 30's and raining( Yes, Texas weather is strange sometimes ). When the water is low enough( but not too low) the current flowing under the low bridge creates a fun little tube chute. We always talking about coming back here to camp. I'd really like to do some more fishing too. Someday.

Sacramento Rim Trail (FT 105)- Lincoln National Forest

2011-11-08T16:53:00.000-08:00

I believe this is our fourth hike on the Rim Trail. We've now covered all but a short segment between Karr Canyon Rd. and Alamo Peak Rd. of the fourteen miles from Slide Group Campground to Atkinson Field. It was 39 degrees, windy and cloudy at about 11:40 when we started off,but conditions improved as the day went on, although I never took my coat off. At 3:40 when we ended our hike, the temperature was 39 degrees.There was recent snow on the ground here and there and the shady parts of the trail were decidedly damp. This trail weaves in and out of the heads of several canyons gradually ascending and descending as it goes. Some sections provide more or less flat walking that closely parallels NM 6563, the Sunspot Highway. One of the better hikes we've done out here started out at Atkinson Field and used Trails 111 and 109 to get to Alamo Peak.We then used the road and the Rim Trail to complete the loop. Be forewarned- although the Rim Trail is closed to ATV use,most of other trails in the area are open to 4 wheelers and by the looks of it they get a lot of traffic. Most of it is on weekends during the warmer months,but you never know.The Rim Trail is open to bicycles and motorcycles and the one person we encountered was a bicyclist.Also, be prepared for quite a bit of temperature gradient on these trails.The difference between the shady hollows and the sun-baked south exposed hillsides can be as much as twenty degrees.The best time to hike this trail is October when fall colors are peaking: there are bigtooth maples and extensive stands of oak and aspen. We missed it by a couple of weeks, but I'm keeping it in mind for next year.When we reached FR 634 we decided to follow the road instead of the trail.This is one of the many roads in the area that wind around the hills and dead-end at a flat topped peak.We didn't make it to the end, but we did see a some nice camping spots for a warmer time of year.We saw three bull elk crashing across the trail in front of us, listened to ravens in the trees, and admired the truly huge Douglas-firs that grow along the stream courses. The views to valleys reminded me that we were in some true mountains, despite their ease of accessibility.All in all,it was a nice, if not spectacular, seven mile hike.

Cider Making

2011-10-31T19:22:00.000-07:00

We have three dwarf apple trees that produce hundreds of apples every year.We bought the three varieties, Pink Pearl, Sierra Beauty, and White Pearmain as bare root trees from Trees of Antiquity in California about six or seven years ago. For the last three years we've been making apple cider. I'm not talking about some cloudy apple juice. This is a fermented product using champagne yeast. It's a pretty labor intensive process usually taking the better part of a morning to do a two to five gallon batch.The fermentation is complete after about 3 weeks.At that point,it's like a nice still white wine. We rack it off a couple of times, add sugar for carbonation, and then bottle it. I don't know what the alcohol percentage is, but it does go to your head just like champagne. On Thanksgiving or Christmas when we look at the bubbles rising in our glasses, we can remember our labors under blue autumn skies and know it was more than worth it.

Cameras

2011-10-26T15:33:00.000-07:00

I was half-watching George Romero's Diary of the Dead recently. It follows in shaky documentary style the travels and travails of college film crew as they film themselves in the usual zombie infested landscape of western Pennsylvania. One scene,where a female student is haranguing the never seen,but sometimes heard obsessive compulsive camera operator, struck a chord with me. She asks him something along the lines of " so if you don't get it on video then it didn't happen?" Well,the problem is,for too many of us ( mostly males) this is kind of true,which may explain my gender's obsession with pornography.We are a culture now of images both still and moving,and becoming less and less one of words,either written or spoken. A few years back, I read John Muir's My First Summer in the Sierra, and I felt I was right there with him,page after page in Yosemite or high on some Sierra Nevada peak. No images were necessary. I could see everything in a way that even the greatest photographers of the day could not capture: I was seeing through another man's eyes. In the past, I have often, especially when fishing, completely forgotten to take pictures on my outdoor adventures. I write my blog about this hike or that fishing trip and feel empty inside because I have no pictures to serve as either "proof" or just as touchstone for my memory. I bought a 35mm SLR a few years back, and it made me become more and more conscious of being a photographer( however amateurish). Now, there's no going back-the taking of pictures is an integral part of the experience. Still I hope that people will read my words. I still like to get my information that way. It still gives the opportunity to express precisely. All of this is my long way round of saying that on my last 2 hikes I, first forgot the picture card for my recently acquired Pentax Digital SLR, second,on my most recent hike left the camera in the truck( which I guess is a little better than hauling it to no purpose up a mountain). The ubiquitous cell phone came to the rescue, for which I was glad because for the purposes of the internet, its quality is sufficient. I was also sad that it is so hard just to " be" in the land,fishing ,hiking camping,hunting,wildlife watching or whatever else it might be,without thinking of our cameras.

Powderhorn Ridge Trail-(FT 82)Gila National Forest

2011-10-25T16:27:00.000-07:00

I parked my truck at the gate on the mesa top.The road continues down to the stream bottom.If you want to cut off 1/2 mile(round trip) from your hike, or if you're wanting to camp, driving this last section of road is an option. It's actually in good shape especially compared to horrendous 3 miles( see Forest Road 151 blog) leading up to this point. There is one stream crossing that might be a little dicey if the stream is flowing. Anyway,the forest trail sign pointed down the road, so that's the way I went,but it looked like the old trail goes straight ahead onto the ridge.This stream bottom trail is probably the only option if one is on horseback. The wide, grassy and shady valley of the South Fork Powderhorn Canyon is a more pleasant way to start and finish the hike anyway. After about a mile and a half of easy walking the trail quickly took me up to a small saddle on the ridge. I didn't see it on my way up,but on my way back down I saw the old trail sign indicating that Trail 82 does continue straight along the ridge. Thing was I couldn't see any of the old trail tread. Either it's been deliberately obscured here with downed branches and such,or it just hasn't been used or maintained in a while and is disappearing naturally.After this point the trail winds it's way up onto the ridge,crosses over it a couple of time before sidehilling far above the North Fork of Mcknight Canyon.There are couple of spots where I briefly lost the trail in this section.If you walk more than a hundred feet without seeing a tree blaze, a cairn or obvious tread, you will have lost it too, just go back and look for one of those three and you'll find it again like I did. There wasn't many places for the trail to be any way: I was on the top of a narrow ridge.After the somewhat exposed sidehilling section, I arrived at a saddle with large trees and a second sign. This is the junction with Trail 80, South Fork Mimbres River. Now the upper end of this trail appeared clear,wide and well trod,but I have read that the lower end is a horrible maze of burn downfall and brush. So even though it's only 2 miles from here to the Middle Fork Mimbres River(FT 78) junction, it may not be a good choice for hiker,backpacker,rider or fisherman.From here trail 82 switchbacks through some young aspens and eventually levels off for some pleasant walking through and aging aspen forest that is nursing the next generation of conifers. From the junction with the Crest Trail(FT 79) it's a short walk to one of the twin crests of Mcknight Mountain.The views to the south of Water,Pretty, and Flower Canyons were awash with the golds and reds of aspens and oaks.Hillsboro Peak and in the distance Cookes Peak were visible as well.Looking to the east and north the Caballos and Vicks Peak are seen.This is wonderful place to linger awhile, the highest point for many miles around.The hike is about 10 miles with a little over 2000 feet elevation gain and took exactly 5 hours to complete. The middle section of the hike has nearly continuous views of the aspen covered slopes of the Black Range Crest and Mcknight Canyon. Except for the last section of the drive to the trailhead, I highly recommend it as Gila classic.Oh and for you wildlife lovers I did see a cute little bear run across the creek on the way back.

Forest Road 151- Gila National Forest

2011-10-24T16:05:00.000-07:00

I love the Gila,but sometimes I wish getting to some of the trailheads was a bit easier. I had two fall color hikes in mind. Both are from Hiking the Aldo Leopold Wilderness by Polly Burke and Bill Cunningham. One starts off of the top the Mcknight Road and goes down Pretty Canyon,up Sid's Prong and then uses the Crest Trail and the road for the final segments of and 11 mile loop. The other was an out and back hike on the nearby Powderhorn Ridge Trail to the crest of the Black Range and its highest peak; Mcknight Mountain. Now I've been up the Mcknight Road (FR 152) twice before and it's very rough and slow going for the last 10 or so miles past the East Canyon Rd. (FR 537) turn off. I had read that that it was no longer being maintained and absolutely needed high clearance and four wheel drive. I checked with the Forest Service and they concurred, but I suspect it's probably no worse than it was before and that my pick-up which is not particularly high clearance or four wheel drive and has made up there before, would probably make it up there again. They did mention that there was a distinct possibility of tire damage- which of course no matter how high your truck is,or how great the four wheel drive is, the most vulnerable part of any vehicle are the four pieces of rubber that actually touch the earth. Since I don't buy the kind of tires that would lessen the probability of a flat on roads like these, I opted for the Powderhorn Ridge Trail and Forest Road 151.Ignorance is bliss, at least for a little while. I had driven this road before,but only to the trailhead for the Mcknight Canyon Trail(FT 92). There are 3 more miles after this to get to the end and the start of my hike. Although driving them probably saved me some shoe leather and the energy to make my climb to the high point of the Black Range, it probably didn't save me much time. Those 3 miles took a little over a half hour to drive.It wasn't really a road so much at times but a rocky place where no trees were growing. I don't think I scraped bottom on the way there, which was good,but I just kept thinking a flat was inevitable. At least here, I consoled myself in advance, there are ample places to pull off and change a tire.Unlike the Mcknight Road which is barely notched into the side of a mountain,with many hairpin turns, FR 151 stays almost completely top and center on Kelly Mesa. I did make it,with four intact tires. I fretted periodically on my hike about the return drive,but not so much that it spoiled my enjoyment of a spectacular fall day. Ah, the Gila, always an adventure. Of course,roads like these are probably more than little responsible for the fact that in the 13 years I've been hiking the Gila, the vast majority of the time, just like this particular time, I have encountered none of my fellow man.

Kingston- Forest Road 40 E

2011-10-19T15:04:00.000-07:00

Forest Road 40E begins when the pavement runs out in the little town of Kingston(just off NM 152 about 25 miles from I-25). It rambles on roughly for about 3 miles before ending at the Aldo Leopold Wilderness boundary. Along the way there several steep stream crossings, and a few nice campsites as well. We did camp here when back when in the late nineties,when we were still tent camping.We poked around the old mine dumps and did walks along Percha Creek. A nice place for exploring,although less remote than some of the other drainages on the east side of the Black Range because of the proximity of the town. Trailers are probably not a good idea here. High clearance four wheel drive may be needed to go past the first mile or so.

Riverside Campground- Caballo Lake State Park

2011-10-09T14:20:00.002-07:00

We've really enjoyed this campground the 5 or 6 times we've camped here.We always take a spot away from the main loop which has electric, water, showers and flush toilets nearby, and opt for the "developed" camping which only has fire rings and tables and single pit toilet and usually very few campers at least in the fall and winter when we have visited. A couple times we've had the whole lower end of the campground to ourselves. That was not the case this past weekend,when we had to share the " developed" area with several other campers,including some sort of Jeep club types who had way too many vehicles and two large popups squeezed into a single site. To their credit they kept it down to a dull roar both days so the atmosphere stayed congenial.This is great place to use as base camp for hikes in the Black Range in the Fall and the Caballos in the Winter. We'd thought we would try nearby Percha Dam State Park this time for a change,but quickly realized that this camp is just more spacious and more well laid out,plus it has one of the best sunrise views anywhere in New Mexico.

Ladrone Gulch Trail(FT 127) Revisited

2011-10-09T14:19:00.000-07:00

We hiked the Ladrone Trail( in the Aldo Leopold Wilderness) hoping to see some fall color where the trail passes through a good sized aspen grove. I was pretty sure that we were too early by the almost total lack of color in the oaks,willows and cottonwoods lower down. I was right. When we reach the aspens high on hillside above the head of Carbonate Creek,only about 10 percent of the trees had begun to turn.Still it was an absolutely beautiful day and this is one of the best day hikes in the Black Range. The storm that had blown through brought in rain,and much cooler air to the region.In fact when we reached Hillsboro Lake( more of puddle this year) nearly at the crest of the range, we saw patches of snow and a rim of ice on the pond.Temperatures were in the 50's which made for a much more pleasant time than when we hiked the trail in July a few years back.Depending on how far one drives the crummy FR40E past Kingston,this is an 8 to 10 mile hike with over 2000 feet of elevation gain. Some sections are very steep and rocky,others just steep.There was water running in Middle Percha for maybe a mile and a half. A small spring was running where the trail follows a side gulch, a tiny bit of water at the head of Carbonate Creek and there was just a couple of inches of water in the much shrunken Hillsboro Lake. Other than Middle Percha none of these sources of water can considered reliable year round.There are great views at several intervals along this trail: back towards Kingston and Caballo Mountains, north across the upper valleys of Carbonate and Mineral Creeks, and all the way to Vicks Peak and San Mateo Mountains. There are a lot of dead and dying trees in Black Range due to the prevailing drought conditions,but there are new ones slowly replacing them.Perhaps fewer fir,spruce and deciduous oak now,but The Gila in its flux goes wildly on.

Rabb Park Trail,Gila National Forest

2011-09-26T15:57:00.000-07:00

The Rabb Park Trail starts in swale along the crest a short ways west of Lower Gallinas Campground.There is an old road on the north side that steeply drops from NM152 and areas to park adjacent to it. If it's wet at all, better to park at a small pullout a little ways west along the highway. The trail starts immediately to the left down a rocky stream course and then disappears completely, which led us on circuitous route back up the hill,around in circles, down some arroyos and through a fence where we finally found the trail again. We discovered on our return that the trail only disappears briefly and had we persevered initially we would have quickly found it again as it exits the stream bed.The trail crosses Noonday Canyon which usually has precious little water but when we visited back in July 'O8, it was a whitewater torrent. We found a relatively calm spot to cross and then continued along the road on the other side. A short distance further there is a sign showing the Rabb Park Trail taking off to the left(west). We started up this steep,rocky path and quickly realized it was already too hot for this particular excursion. When I encountered a couple of free roaming hounds as I scouted out just how much more climbing this trail was going to do( a lot) the deal was sealed. We headed back down to the road and decided to take a more leisurely hike. We walked along that same road as it follows Noonday Canyon to the north. It eventually dead ends( or at least appears to) at an old cabin,which still may be getting some use.We didn't investigate the cabin and its environs too closely,because we weren't exactly sure as to the property status. We instead called it a day and headed back,just before the rains came. I was grateful for our change in plans:it would have been tough negotiating the Rabb Park trail once it was wet. That hike will have to wait for a cooler,dryer day.

Quaking Aspen Canyon Trail 86,Gila National Forest

2011-09-26T15:56:00.000-07:00

Access to this trail is off the Mcknight Road. About 10 miles in, there is a turn-off for Forest Road 537. The initial pitch down into the canyon is very steep,with a some large road bed rocks that scraped the bottom of our truck. There is some shady,spacious,flat camping areas a short ways in along the stream,which usually has some water and even tiny fish(not trout). We parked and started walking down the road,passing an old homestead with corrals,sheds and a cabin. Eventually there was a fork in the road. The left branch continues on the East Canyon Trail(FT 93). We headed right on FT 86( Quaking Aspen Canyon). It was pretty pleasant walking on clear Autumn day. Huge oaks were in brilliant color, and eventually we saw a few aspens a short ways past the junction with the Rabb Park Trail.A nice walk in a section of the forest that attracts very few hikers, although hunters do frequent the area.

Tierra Blanca Creek and Trujillo Canyon

2011-09-26T15:53:00.001-07:00

I've been back on Tierra Blanca Creek 3 or 4 times, although not very recently. The first time I was looking for trout. I had read in Rex Johnson's Fly Fishing Southern New Mexico that this small stream in the Southern Black Range( also known as the Mimbres Mountains)contained a population of rainbows.It was a good hike,but the fish were no more, although there were plenty of ornery looking cows drinking in the stream which had plenty of water. I probably made it almost to the divide that first trip,hoping I would find fish up high. I did see a very large blacktail rattler sitting on a rock right in the middle of the creek on my way back down. On subsequent visits I've come to the conclusion that this is a snaky place. My last visit I actually encountered someone coming in from the other side in a Jeep Cherokee, it looked liked he had run out of visible road a ways back. I told him he absolutely would be at the end of the drivable portion of his journey soon, because we had just had to climb around a 10 foot waterfall coming the other way. Trujillo Creek is reached starting from the Tierra Blanca trailhead,but heading north on an old road.Many old mines,an old trailer and a bread truck that someone managed to drive in here are encountered on the way. Trujillo usually has some water.We followed the old road along the creek,passing one old homestead. It eventually turns into a trail that weaves along the creek bed and then the trail is the creek bed. I'd like to have a look at Trujillo Park, a large, flat grassy area to the northeast of the creek crossing. The road to Tierra Blanca is off of NM 27 a few miles south of Hillsboro. The first part is a good county maintained road that passes several ranches.Watch for a small sign for FR 522 that takes off to the north. From here on the road is very rough and slow going. You're bound to see javelinas in the fall.

South Percha Creek, Gila National Forest

2011-09-26T15:52:00.001-07:00

The old road down to South Percha Creek is 3 miles west of Kingston on NM 152. I can't be any more specific than that. The turnout looks just like any of the other turnouts along the myriad of bends as the road winds its way to Emory Pass. I've driven right by when I was trying really hard to be on the look out for it. Just watch your odometer and then look for gap in the shrubs( mountain mahogany I believe,but don't hold me to it). It may be easier to find coming from the other direction if you have a passenger who is diligently looking over the edge. They maybe able to spot the road and tell you to slow down. Anyway it's a steep and shadeless trek down to the bottom. You'll remember both those adjectives on the way back up. Thankfully it's a pretty short as well. At the bottom is the confluence of South Percha( on the right) and Drummond Canyon. Both usually hold some water. Old boards and assorted mining debris are littered about,including a sizable cast iron boiler a short ways up Drummond. There are also several mines both upstream and downstream from this point on South Percha . I collected some nice azurite encrusted rocks from one of the tailings piles on one visit. There are many good sized bigtooth maple trees down in these canyons that turn brilliant red in October. It's a pretty easy place to get a dose of New Mexico fall color. Traces of paths going up Drummond Canyon and down South Percha are just unofficial use trails that don't go anywhere,just as far as your exploring wants to take you. Although if you amble far enough down South Percha you will hit private ranch property eventually.Going upstream on South Percha appears to be a bit rougher. I haven't explored very far up the canyon, but erosive forces have considerably widened the channel and scraped it down to bedrock in the lower end. At one time this place was obviously bustling with activity,but now is forgotten and remote despite being barely out of earshot of the cars negotiating the twisting NM 152.

Spring Canyon Trail 721,Gila National Forest

2011-09-25T19:55:00.000-07:00

This our fourth or fifth hike up the Spring Canyon Trail. It's easy to drive by the short side road that leads to trailhead. And I did it again. It's in between Railroad Canyon and Upper Gallinas with only a small brown sign indicating a forest trail.This is not nearly as popular a trail as others in the Emory Pass corridor,but it does look like it's been receiving more traffic lately including some horses,which I haven't seen evidence of before. There even looks like there's been some trail maintenance, which is highly unusual on all but the most popular trails in this section of the Gila. Perhaps it was the Backcountry Horsemen group doing it.This is a nice hike,mostly closed in by alders,boxelders, oaks and walnut along the narrow streambed. The stream was flowing in a few short stretches.Much of this creek flows on a contact between limestone and volcanic rock. There is abundant light colored limy mud and re-deposited calcite minerals in the stream course which gives a different look from many of the streams in the area.There's a nice grove of mature aspens about 2 miles in,that I always enjoy seeing like old friends. We made it to the first saddle, then went through the gate to a second saddle, then down the trail a ways to where the views open up to the Sawyers Peak ridge and on out to the Mimbres Valley. We were tantalizingly close to the Silver Creek mining area,which I had wanted to get to back in the Spring.This hike is about 5.5 miles(if you make it to the Silver Creek Road) with about 1300 feet of elevation gain. I still would like to do a shuttle hike from Emory Pass along the Sawyers Peak trail, down the Silver Creek trail and then back up and over on the Spring Canyon trail. On a side note: there has been a corral built in one of our favorite dispersed campsites across the creek at Upper Gallinas. I guess it's alright.There had previously been no facilities for horsemen in this area of the forest.Who knows, I may use it some day if I ever learn to ride a horse.

Trail 41- Skull Springs Canyon, Lincoln National Forest

2011-09-12T14:50:00.000-07:00

I got ready in the dark on Sunday morning. I was tagging along with my friend Matt and his dad on their deer hunt. They picked me up at my campsite at about 6:20. The original plan was to go Littleton Canyon near Bonito Lake,but they wanted to drive up the Tanbark Road(FR108) to look around. We quickly spotted three deer along a fence line where the forest borders an open field. They quickly spotted us too and off they went. Hindsight tells me it probably wasn't a good idea just to stop the truck in the road and atare-they're probably getting more than a little wary of that particular technique.Perhaps it would be better to drive past them aways and calmly park.Who knows? Matt and I went in pursuit on foot up the hill,while his dad parked the truck . We met some friendly dogs,but the deer, of course, were long gone. Sitting quietly eating a Kashi bar amidst the droppings of the deer we had spotted, I began to take inventory of the morning. It was cool,probably in the 50's. The clouds hung low on the hillside as if we were in the Great Smokies. A dampness, a mist was in the air,but drops were not falling,nor, strangely enough, did it seem like it was going to rain.But I could tell the clouds weren't going to lift anytime soon. It could be any hour of the day I thought. A kind of day that was rare in New Mexico even in the high country. We met up with Matt's dad and decided to continue up the trail/road we found him on. It was Trail 41- Skull Springs Canyon( a delightfully ominous name suited to the gloomy weather), which like almost all the trails in this area tops out at the White Mountains Crest Trail.We walked along very quietly first in the pines and then in the oaks. I saw some movement in a small,level clearing ahead. Four deer were browsing. Matt looked through the binoculars. Three were does. One was a very young buck-whose antlers had not forked and was not legal. One deer was such a dark brown-it looked like a small elk from a distance. We inched closer. One moved off,but three remained. We inched closer and closer.There was no way to tell if there was a larger buck in the vicinity,so we kept our slow approach. We never saw them run. Even when we were very close, we thought they had lain down in the tall vegetation. They had just vanished. Although we stayed quiet as we continued up the trail,looking at the many wildlife trails,listening to the ravens, we knew when we met some other hunters coming down the trail,that the hunt was turning into more of hike.We continued up,now hiking in the cloud with visibility severely limited.There had been bear scat all along the trail and I kept thinking we would encounter one coming out of the mist.Stands of oaks took on otherworldly look as if they were about to float away or had just settled down en masse on the hillside.Myriad spider webs sagged and glistened with wetness.When we reached the top,which seemed to take much longer than it should have, the wind was blowing a gale and temperature dropped about 20 degrees. I put on my jacket,ate some Fritos and an apple. We looked at the signage,took some pictures with Matt's phone( our only camera unfortunately) and then quickly descended.On the way back down we investigated the gathering of ravens and vultures to find an elk carcass- most of the meat was already gone but it probably wasn't more than a few days old.We saw no other deer or other animals for that matter on the way down. Unlike us maybe they had more sense and bedded down in weather like this. Still, I was glad I came. There's something to be missed when one gets too weather averse. I know I would have never chosen to going out hiking in a cloud.There's too many perfect blue sky days here New Mexico to feel like you ever have to.But I was somewhere else today.

Trail 19- South Fork Bonito Creek

2011-09-05T19:10:00.000-07:00

We camped at the South Fork Campground in the Lincoln National Forest, arriving in the dark on Friday. Our friends had saved us the last spot left. We got set up with their help,had a beer and chatted at their trailer,and then were off to bed. Although we could hear some partying at the crowded walk-in sites down by the creek, once 10:00 PM rolled around, South Fork became the quietest full campground I've ever been in. The following morning I enjoyed the cool temps as I cooked breakfast. After eating we set out for the South Fork Trail. Someone warned us as we walked out to be careful because " there's a lot of people on that trail." I knew better. Having fished here many times, I knew that we would see people in the first 1/2 mile or so, and after that, more than likely, no one at all. There were a few folks splashing in the cold water on this not particularly warm morning, and even one campsite where the family had carried in an enormous tent about 1/4 mile down the trail, but after crossing the wilderness boundary a little over a 1/2 mile in,we saw only 3 other people the next 3 or so hours.The South Fork is a nice trail,though a bit up and down.It passed some old foundations and a stone chimney early on. Bits of an old iron and wood pipeline lie along the trail as well. There are many small waterfalls created by large boulders and areas where the stream slides over bare bedrock.The creek is as low as I've ever seen it, but the fish are still there I'm happy to report. We saw a pool about 3 miles in that had many 8-10 inch fish, both brookies and cuttbows, which made think that I need to hike in aways before I start casting the next time I fish here.We had lunch and kept hiking despite the gathering clouds and the stinging vegetation that lined the trail in several spots. While enjoying the first open views of the ridge line and debating whether to wade into yet another patch of stinging weeds, we heard our first clap of thunder and had our decision to turn around made for us. A few drops fell,but not much all in all. We encountered quite a few more people in that last 1/2 mile to the trailhead, including one very large group, all,from the very large to the very small, wearing identical clear emergency rain ponchos. I would really like to hike this entire trail one day perhaps making a loop with either the Peacock trail or the Bluefront trail.Nice wildflowers.

Sierra Grande Lodge

2011-08-24T15:34:00.000-07:00

We spent a Friday night and Saturday morning in T or C, staying at the beautiful Sierra Grande Lodge.We had a gift certificate from our kids, but the rates are very reasonable. The rooms all have a soaking tub(using the hot spring waters)which we didn't use.Instead we made reservations for two of the larger pools on the premises( guests are allowed 2 free private soaks at any of the six larger pools at the lodge), one indoor and one at their only outdoor pool. Both were very nice. We also had a good meal at the supremely retro Los Arcos Steakhouse. Los Arcos may be retro,but the Sierra Grande is definitely not. It has been completely redone and modernized. About the only thing left from days gone by are the walls and the windows. I believe it may have only evaporative cooling,which may bother those that really want to chill down the room. It was summer and maybe not the ideal time for hot spring soaking,but it was a fun getaway. We saved half the gift certificate for a winter trip,which will free up some cash for a meal and a bottle of good wine at the world class Bella Luca restaurant,which very happily,is a very short walk from the Sierra Grande.

Rio Trampas

2011-08-03T10:39:00.000-07:00

Our second to last day in Truchas,we headed out again on Forest Road 207,but this time followed it to its end at the Trampas Campground.Several cars were parked at the trailhead ,but no one was camping. They were all probably hiking to the Trampas Lakes on Trail 31. We took the same trail,which immediately took us high above the rushing and tumbling Rio Trampas. The trail stays on the east bank and ranges from about 20 to 100 feet above the creek until about 3 1/2 miles in where it levels off and brought us right beside the stream.There is small shady camping spot here. Fish were visible in the much calmer flow. The gradient was slight compared to the several miles from the trailhead to this point, where the stream had been more or less one long cascade. Really that whole section looked to be an unfishable bushwhack with high water,large boulders and a very steep sided, narrow, creek bed. I guess with lower water, it could be tried,but it still would be far from easy ,and probably not much fun. At the first stream crossing we turned around. Although we were making much better time, and the trail was much easier than the one to the San Leonardo Lakes, I wanted to get back to the trailhead area to get a little fishing in before dinner time.So we left the lakes for another trip, another day.Back at the trailhead I tried my luck first upstream without much success.I then went downstream, at first getting a couple of bites,then one,two,three frustrating hook-ups,the last of which I must have had on for 10 seconds before losing the fish. A bit of panic set in,because I knew I was on the clock( my wife,who doesn't fish, can be very patient, and I'm learning not to push my luck as I get older),but it all ended happily when I caught a nice cutthroat on grayish elk hair caddis. My wife even came down from the truck and snapped some photos of me with my prize. I'm not sure what other species are in the Rio Trampas,if any, but that cutthroat was a beauty,and I called it day soon after. Downstream from the campground the Trampas remains fairly level,but is frequently encased in willows,with a very few open spots for fishing and pulling off the road. It could be alright for an afternoon or morning of a weekday fishing. I believe it's a relatively popular spot on the weekends. Still, I'm thinking if I was able to pull out a decent sized fish right in the campground,other, less traveled spots might be surprisingly productive.

Black Range Picnic

2011-08-02T08:02:00.000-07:00

We went on a picnic to the Black Range a couple of weeks ago. It is still very dry up there,but at least it was cool, around 75, which was was a nice change from the 97 it consistently gets to everyday in Las Cruces. We ate at the Wright's Cabin Picnic area, and then did short walk on an old road. There are many,many dead pine and fir trees that have broken off during the windy season. There many more that are dead and are waiting to break off or burn.The mountain mahogany and scrub oak on the south sides of the peaks look dead dry and ready for a lightning strike. There were a few people camping at Iron Creek and Lower Gallinas. There were a few puddles in the creeks,but all in all, it's still a pretty discouraging picture. I'm still not feeling real good about visiting again until the forest gets more rain. There was a car ahead of us as we drove along the camping corridor that slowed down to stop on the highway(NM 152). I was a little peeved and perplexed until I saw that they were looking at small,scraggly cinnamon colored bear. Probably looking for a pickanick basket.

La Junta Canyon

2011-08-01T08:32:00.000-07:00

We drove to Taos and arrived just in time for the Monday lunchtime traffic jam. I looked around at an overpriced fly shop and then we ate lunch at the good New Mexican restaurant next door.It's called Ricky's and I recommend it. After that we hightailed it out of there. Maybe we'll do Taos another time when it's less crowded.We drove up NM 518 along the Rio Pueblo,checking out the roadside campgrounds and viewing the damage done by a very recent fire. We then headed up Forest Road 76 to La Junta and Duran Canyons. This is an extensive camping area in a beautiful meadow area of the Rito la Presa. There are a few campfire rings,tables and pit toilets.There may be water from and hand pump as well. There is a camping fee of 10 dollars and a day use fee of five.The campground in this and nearby areas are run by a private company and seem to be in pretty good shape despite the fact that they are very popular. I don't particularly like the idea of turning over the management of public lands to private companies but if it keeps places from being trashed by irresponsible people,it's hard to be totally against it. I fished for about an hour in the Rito, but only managed one ten inch brown. There are fish in these creeks but they're not crowded with them. I suspect this area gets fished pretty hard every weekend during the summer,but on a Monday afternoon we had the place to ourselves.

San Leonardo Lakes

2011-07-29T11:50:00.000-07:00

Our first full day in Truchas, we decided to hike to the San Leonardo Lakes in the Sangre de Cristo Mountains. We headed out of Truchas and turned down Forest Road 207,a good,although sometimes narrow gravel road, and drove through the small farming village of El Valle and then on into the Carson National Forest.A short ways before the Trampas Campground we turned off onto Forest Road 639,crossed the Rio Trampas and drove a steep mile to our trailhead.Be forewarned- it is obvious that this low maintenance,dirt road turns into a muddy mess probably even after a light rain. It was a bit of challenge even under dry conditions. Four wheel drive is an absolute necessity if there is even a forecast of rain or snow.There is a small parking area at the trailhead and several steep berms that we initially had to hike over.The trail is an old road at first, and perhaps people had been still using it as such,hence the berms to prevent illegal vehicle entry into the Pecos Wilderness.This is not a heavily traveled or maintained trail. There was abundant downfall and many,many crossings of the little Rio San Leonardo. When the trail finally levels out after a steep climb of about 3 1/2 miles, we found ourselves in meadow area with the mountain cliffs straight ahead. We also lost the trail. After scrambling about on what turned out be the right hill,but without finding the trail, and entertaining some thoughts of turning back, we sensibly returned to the meadow area to find that a sharp turn in the trail had been concealed by large fallen fir.So remember if you run out of tread,you've probably missed a switchback.This last part of the hike was fairly short but very steep, and the storm clouds (and the attendant drop in temperature) that very suddenly appeared weren't helping our mood much either.But, as we trudged through lingering snowdrifts and the trail leveled off,the clouds parted and the warm sun shone down,gifting us with an awe inspiring vision of these pristine alpine lakes surrounded by massive gray cliffs streaked with snow. I was so glad we had persevered after losing the trail. We lingered for awhile on the upper lake shoreline, taking many pictures and just"drinking it all in" as they say. The hike back seemed a little bit rougher than going up, probably because of our very tired legs.We made it.This was my third hike to an alpine lake in the Sangres and I can't imagine it ever getting old.

Corrales,Placitas,Jemez

2011-07-29T10:38:00.000-07:00

When we arrived in Albuquerque( before going to Truchas), we visted several wineries in the Corrales/ Rio Rancho area. When we left we went the long way around, first to Placitas ,a small but growing village on the northeast side, where we visited the very rustic Anazasi Fields winery. We then headed out towards the west and visited the Ponderosa winery and vineyards. It was a busy little spot that Saturday with happy visitors and many of the owners dogs wandering about.The Jemez River had decent flow,but it was obvious that the area was painfully dry as well.It wasn't a big surprise when the large fires broke out in the area a couple of weeks later. We got a off on the wrong road because of a detour in Los Alamos, but finally got on our away,across the Rio Grande, and on the High Road towards Truchas.

Truchas

2011-07-29T10:10:00.000-07:00

We stayed in a 1940's house in Truchas,New Mexico. It's a tiny town about 10 miles past Chimayo on the high road from Santa Fe to Taos. The Rio Truchas and the Rio Quemado are nearby and an acequia burbled about 20 feet from the front door.We almost backed the truck into that ditch on our arrival,but the rest of the trip went more smoothly. The views of the full moon over the 13,000 foot Truchas Peaks were magnificent.We did several nice hikes,visited Taos very briefly, and I did a bit of fishing as well.Truchas lies at about 8000 feet above sea level even so, it was obvious it's been really dry there. We very lucky to be able to enjoy the area when we did,because abou a week or so later most of the Carson and Santa Fe forest closed due to active fires and the threat of further fire danger.

10 K Trail- Sandia Mountains

2011-06-16T06:39:00.000-07:00

This was my first venture into the Sandias. I chose the hike from the Hiking New Mexico book by Laurence Parent. I wish I'd have looked a little more closely at it, because at the trailhead, I was confronted with 10k North and 10k South. I just figured they made a loop that would cross the highway at some point. A case could be made for this, I suppose, using the Crest Trail, but it would involve a much longer hike than the 6.5 miler that the book is showcasing. Anyway, I chose the 10k South,which is not the hike in the book. It crosses the ski runs at one point ,but mostly stays in the forest. When I got to a couple major intersections I had to pull out the Cibola National Forest map for the Sandias,which luckily has a detailed map of the crest area. I took an unintentional detour on a use trail which lead to nice scenic overlook,but then got on the Crest Trail, which seemed to be my only way back without just turning around. Well, we made it to the top, almost, the Crest Trail,kind of just dumps you out unceremoniously, at the chairlift, tramway area without any real clear directions. So we just followed the the dirt road that leads back out to the highway. I kept hoping that there would be signed cut-off trail back to the 10k.I even started down what I though was one. But I thought better of it,seeing as how it was unsigned,and not on the map. Instead we just hiked about a mile along the highway back to the car. Next time I'll prepare better and avoid the crest,which can be little jarring if you're looking for a natural experience. Still, I saw deer, and a turkey and hundreds of butterflies,and at the high elevation, the forest was relatively green and lush,which gave me a nice feeling, even as the smell of smoke, reminded me of what was happening in a once lush forest not so far away.

More from Eastern Arizona

2011-06-08T16:06:00.000-07:00

Here's a few more images from the Chiricahuas and the Apache-Sitgreaves.

Fires

2011-06-08T15:31:00.000-07:00

My wife and I have enjoyed camping in Eastern Arizona ever since we moved to Las Cruces in 1998. We've camped at Cave Creek, West Turkey Creek,Pinery Canyon and the National Monument in the Chiricahuas. In the Apache- Sitgreaves we've camped at KP Cienega twice and down on the Blue River as well. I've fished in KP Creek, Akers Lake, Fish Creek, Bear Creek, Grant Creek, Lanphier Creek, Blue River and even tried Mamie Creek that runs off of Escudilla Mountain.To watch this beautiful area burning is just heart breaking, I can't imagine what the people who in the mountain communities must be feeling.Photos are from top: KP Cienega,Bear Wallow Wilderness, Upper Fish Creek and KP Creek.

Trap Pond State Park - Delaware

2011-06-04T13:51:00.000-07:00

I've fished here three times now. I don't actually fish the pond-it's more like a small lake and at 107 acres one of the biggest in Delaware- but the small stream that flows out of it called James Branch.There is very little shoreline on the pond that's amenable to fly casting. It is possible to rent a small boat- but I really don't enjoy roasting in the 95 degree sun. The creek is shady and cool and there are occasional areas for a backcast. My first time here I caught some nice size bluegill and red ear sunfish. I was genuinely surprised at their size. This time out, the action was slow throughout the morning but really picked up around lunch time. The fish stayed small, but on two occasions, I saw that at least a couple of lunker panfish lurk in this tiny iron stained stream. The first was a huge splashy false take on my popper, where I saw I flash of red- which made me think it might've been a red ear. The second was when an obviously larger fish took the fly,and put the only legitimate bend in the rod all day. I would've loved to see how big that one really was,but I lost him when he dove under a log.If you go there are few things you should watch out for: ticks, thigh deep mud, and what had to have been rabid raccoon out in the middle of the day who was determined to access the contents of my backpack even as yelled and poked him with my fly rod.

Drought 2011

2011-05-15T14:43:00.000-07:00

I don't have the heart to get out for any fishing or hiking right now. The Gila is burning as the streams get lower and lower. The Lincoln is closed. The Organs have been burnt and we're still most likely 2 months away from rain. It's all a bit depressing. I guess I'll be heading to Northern New Mexico or Colorado for any early summer camping.Maybe the Fall will find me in my favorite places. Pray for an early and substantial monsoon.

Indian Hollow- Organ Mountains

2011-05-15T14:13:00.001-07:00

The Abrams Fire burned on the east side of the Organs as well, including the Indian Hollow area. I don't know if it got down into the patch of decent sized pines, where I've enjoyed many lunchtime rests in fall and spring, or if it burned down to the little grove of Gambel oaks that serves as a picnic spot as well as a campground for Sugarloaf climbers. Hopefully these areas were saved, but I have a sinking feeling many of those old firs and pines that grow among the cliffs and and spires that I would frequently admire and speculate as to their size, may have been torched.

Fillmore Canyon

2011-04-28T18:33:00.000-07:00

As I am writing, upper Fillmore Canyon continues to burn, as do the upper slopes of Indian Hollow. Places like these are at the very heart of my life here in Las Cruces.The Organ Mountains are not just a backdrop.They are a place to go into, and once I started going into them, I could never get enough. Even now, after making probably over a hundred trips,I still had plans for new explorations.That's the way it is with a place like the Organ Mountains, every hike gives a peak into some new route or place that beckons your return.Hiking way back into Fillmore Canyon for first time was an eye opener. There were brilliant ash trees in fall color, giant junipers, a running stream and the largest conifer forest in the Organs along the north facing slopes. It was like taking a trip to Gila, only we were only a dozen miles from downtown Las Cruces.Even though the upper reaches are technically on Fort Bliss,no one seemed to care, and in the last few years, I almost always ran into other happy hikers on this, the best,unofficial trail in the Organs. My heart is breaking a little right now as I contemplate the extent of the damage. It may have been inevitable,but I still can't help feeling a angry over the foolishness that started this fire. Someone was quoted as saying the Army can't wait to run the trainings,well, I guess they're going to have to wait now. Perhaps, it will give them time to contemplate the wrath of the citizens, which is already starting to surface.Perhaps, but I doubt it. I've also read repeatedly how no structures are threatened or have been damaged, as if some man-made structure that's thrown up in a few months is actually more significant than a tree that's been growing for a thousand years. Ah well, here are few photos. I will try to try stay upbeat and know that wild places will heal- but it will never be the same again- not in the lifetime of anyone breathing.

Caves

2011-03-28T15:46:00.000-07:00

We met some folks on the way back.Talked for a little while. They told some tales of mule excursions on the Animas Divide Trail,East Curtis Canyon, the crossover trail from the North Percha, as well as the upper reaches of the Mineral Creek trail. They might have been pulling my leg,or maybe just jaded enough that these abandoned pathways give them the appropriate sense of adventure. But everything I've heard or read about these places makes them sound unpalatable even for the most seasoned backpacker( If you don't believe me check out Hiking the Aldo Leopold Wilderness by Polly and Roy Cunningham). Maybe it was all awhile back. But I've actually hiked trails like Water Canyon and several others which are still "official" trails in the Black Range, as well as quite a few unofficial ones that provided a little more adventure than was necessary in the way of washouts,brush,downed trees,rockslides and absent tread. Well,maybe down deep I'm just a little jealous of these people who live so close and get to spend more time in the mountains I love, so that could be the reason for my doubts.They also told of some caves. One is on North Percha, which they gave me some directions to, although,I probably need someone to point it out on the map. The other, they said, is on Mineral Creek,but they didn't know where. I've also heard of Robinson's Cave, Mad Hornet Cave and Coffee Cave, which are all supposedly in the Black Range,but I don't know where.There's also supposedly Geronimo's cave in the Robledos as well, but I haven't any good clues as to where or if it really exists.There are two small caves in the Bishop Cap area,one high up on the west face of Bishop Cap proper. The other is on an nearby ridge also on the west face. I might be able to find these two. I believe I've made visual contact with both,but it's been quite awhile since I've been in that area. Anyone with information about these caves or their experiences on the above mentioned abandoned trails,please comment.

Mineral Creek

2011-03-28T14:57:00.000-07:00

We hiked Mineral Creek in the Black Range on Sunday, This is the Mineral Creek that crosses FR 157 South, also called the North Percha Road. I say this because there are at least 3 Mineral Creeks in the Gila, two of them in the Black Range. Anyway, we've hiked up here maybe four or five times. It's a pretty little road that's actually in drivable condition,if your vehicle can make it past the first few hundred yards of streambed that are beginning of the trail. Otherwise,you can walk it like we do. There's also a forest sign just past the crossing which says " Forest Trail" with an arrow pointing to a gully and some brush but certainly not to the trail. It's been such a dry year,there was little water in the creek already. The nice waterfall less than a mile in was just a trickle. The old road eventually forks. One branch goes down to the stream. The other takes you high above to an old mining prospect on the cliff side.You can continue past the mine for a little ways, where you can enjoy the view of the upper valley of the creek. A little farther the " trail" becomes overgrown with mountain mahogany and other brush, and has frequent spots where the loose rock has erupted out of hillside making the going even more difficult. A few years ago I thought I could follow the trail to where it goes back downhill and crosses the stream bed ( above a larger waterfall),but it just got fainter and more brushy,until I reached a large washout and turned around. Another trip I tried to negotiate the boulders and the brush down in the stream, trying to reach the base of the waterfall,but realized it was going to take a lot longer than I estimated, and turned around again. No such adventure on this trip. We simply turned around and walked back enjoying the cloudless skies and perfect temperatures. It was a beautiful spring day,but my anxiety began to rise anyway as I thought about the what it will become of the forest if we don't get some rain soon.

New Mexico Vineyards

2011-03-24T07:40:00.000-07:00

We've really been enjoying visiting vineyards and wineries here in our home state, participating in the New Mexico Wine Growers Association's passport program. So far we've collected 28 stamps.Some places have been just to collect the stamp as we work our way to the grand prize. But, most have been a lot of fun, especially when you can meet the winemakers themselves as was the case at Dos Viejos and La Chiripada. It's also been great to talk to the folks at Casa de Abril, La Esperanza, and Estrella Del Norte and learn how their families got started in the business. The little chain of wineries near Espanola makes for a great,scenic day trip from Santa Fe. In southern New Mexico,a similar trip can be had from El Paso or Las Cruces visiting the cluster of wineries near Tularosa and then going up to Ruidoso for a couple more. One of the more unusual stops so far has been the Don Quixote Winery and Distillery which is located in the middle of the suburban subdivision of White Rock. Probably the most off the beaten path,but also one of most scenic is La Esperanza( pictured above) on Gallinas Creek near Sherman, New Mexico in the Mimbres Valley. They're all very different. Oh, and the wines are good too.

Pecos River

2011-03-23T07:22:00.000-07:00

The temperature after I left Pecos NHP was still only in the mid 40's. It was still overcast as well, but I couldn't wait all day. I'm a little spoiled weather wise. Here in the southern half of the state, I usually can fish in the sunshine, even at marginal times of the year if I plan right. There were already several people parked at the Dalton area.I can only imagine what these spots are like as the weather warms,this was a cold Monday morning in mid-March.So, I continued on to the Field Tract Campground.The gate was still locked. I parked on the side of road and walked down to the stream. I then proceeded to throw everything I could conceive of ,and even thought about switching to some live bait, in order to catch a trout out of that stream. I was doing everything-nymphs,dries,even San Juan worms, adjusting my depth and weight- all for nothing. Not one fish, not a hook up,bite or bump. I thought I saw some small ones scurrying at one point,but I'm not really sure. I threw some rocks in to check at the end of my day and saw nothing.It could have been the temperature,or maybe that area was hit hard on the warm sunny weekend( remember,it was a Monday}, or it could be that I just suck. Unfortunately, I didn't realize, when I started fishing that I was blocked in by private property both above and below. So, I only had maybe a quarter mile to work with, and there was only one really good deep hole in that quarter mile. Not that I didn't try everywhere else, but most of my time was concentrated on that hole. I guess I could have gotten back in the car and moved on,but time was limited,so I stayed. I guess that's why I prefer wilderness fishing. I can just walk the stream and not worry about "KEEP OUT" signs, other fishermen, fished out holes,trash or fussy fish. I think next time, I'll try the wilderness section or maybe the box of the Pecos. I've heard walking a ways back on Mora creek will get you away from the crowd and into some nice browns. It could be that I just got skunked ,but this fishing along the road doesn't feel quite right to me. Luckily I only gave it about 2 1/2 hours of my time,before I had to get back to Santa Fe and head home.

Pecos National Historic Park

2011-03-22T14:37:00.000-07:00

I set out from Santa Fe last Monday morning(3/14/11) to fish the Pecos River. I had been dissuaded from my original plan of WIllanueva State Park by the guy at High Desert Angler, so I was headed somewhere upstream from the town. It was cold and overcast. So I decided to kill a little time and visit the ruins at Pecos National Historic Park. I had given some thought to fishing there. There are three beats,no more than three persons per beat per day. The cost is twenty dollars plus your three dollar admission to the park. I had decided against it, mostly because I hate to pay to fish,but also because that helpful fellow at High Desert Angler didn't seem to think it was particularly good bet either. When I arrived at the park, at the counter I was immediately asked if I was a fisherman. It must be my Orvis hat, I thought. Then I explained my decision not to fish, and was only there to visit the park . After I paid I turned around to see several fishermen milling about waiting for instructions from another NPS employee. This reaffirmed my decision- I surely was not going to pay to fish with other people. Anyway,I watched the little movie, walked the walk,took a bunch of pictures and went on my way after about an hour. Very little is excavated here,except for the church complex. There are a couple of reconstructed kivas to climb down in to - which is a nice touch as well.It's a beautiful setting: the wide river and creek valleys, the high pine clad mesas,with the snowcapped peaks in the distance.The church ruins aren't as impressive as the Salinas Pueblos, but then again this one's not out in the middle of nowhere. This was enjoyable side trip, so if you're in the area, by all means check it out.

Rito de los Frijoles-Bandelier National Monument

2011-03-19T14:23:00.000-07:00

I tried fishing here two summers ago but the water was low, the air temperature hot and the section right above Ceremonial Cave didn't have seem to have many fish.This time I drove out to the Ponderosa Group campground on NM 4 and hiked the mile and a half trail to get to the creek about 6 miles further upstream. Beware: the last segment of this trail goes more or less straight( well not straight at all actually,but very little horizontal distance is covered) down using many switchbacks, which it means it's straight up on the way out. My time going in was about a half hour.My time going out was about 40 minutes, and I was chugging both ways( for me). It's a different world down in the canyon bottom here from the drier ponderosa forest at the visitor center. Instead there is spruce and fir along the stream and on the north facing slopes, and even though it was winter,I could tell there's a myriad of deciduous vegetation lining the creek,which would provide more cover in the summer,but it would make it virtually impossible to cast( it was difficult enough as it was). I fished this little mountain brook for an hour and a half, catching 3 small rainbows and one very small brookie. It was fun,but I wish I could have stayed longer. It was another tip of the tongue taste, which can get old after awhile. It would be great to hike in here or at the trail that makes a crossing even further upstream and do a shuttle hike. I guess a loop is possible too, with a couple of miles of road walking.

Bandelier National Monument

2011-03-17T15:11:00.000-07:00

On my third and fourth visits to Bandelier, I got to do two things I've been wanting to do for awhile: visit the two waterfalls on lower Frijoles Creek and fish for trout in the cool forested canyon of the upper reaches of that same stream. The hike down to the falls and then to Rio Grande is a true New Mexico classic. I can't imagine a walk in heaven would make me any happier.Starting off in pine forest, the trail down gradually winds it's way through the narrow valley cut by this small stream. Passing by ( but without seeing at first) the upper falls,there is an abrupt change in vegetation. Large specimens of Mormon Tea border the trail which is now incised into the cliff as it switchbacks down to the stream. Once on the bottom, a true desert riparian garden is encountered with ash,cottonwood, and willow( I know it was still winter,but I was using my imagination).There is an absolute quiet upon reaching the river, while I stop to admire the redrock cliffs and the aprons of sometimes huge basaltic boulders that decorate the hillsides. The river is green,opaque and cold as it flows noiselessly on.Backup at the visitor center, I tuck in to large order of well deserved french fries from the cafe. Wonderful afternoon.

Silver Creek Road

2011-03-16T19:22:00.000-07:00

From City of Rocks, it's easy to access the southwest side of the Black Range, also known as the Mimbres Mountains. We crossed the Mimbres River and continued on the well maintained Royal John Mine Road which winds along past ranches and a few spectacular vacation homes. Eventually it crosses onto Forest Service property and shortly after there's a turn-off on the left for the county maintained Silver Creek Road. The first couple of miles are a little rough, but passable for most vehicles. We parked at the first old miners cabin and went on foot, encountering more old structures as we went. These others were a bit too elaborate to be miner's shacks. They may have been some sort of hunting lodge or perhaps a residence,but definitely of a more recent era. We continued on a side road which led to a mining area, then backtracked to the main road which winds along the hillside. It was mostly easy walking, with one steep pitch.We didn't make it to the end of road where one can connect with the Silver Creek Trail,which descends from the Sawyer's Peak trail on the crest,and the Spring Canyon Trail which begins on NM 152. Nice views,lovely weather and a few patches of snow in this desperately dry year. I'm still wanting to do shuttle hike from Emory Pass through this intersection and out the Spring Canyon Trail to the upper Gallinas.

City of Rocks

2011-03-15T20:37:00.000-07:00

We camped at City of Rocks. As we walked around the park,we reminisced about all the different spots we've camped in, and all the good times, and misadventures as well, we've had over the years.This was second place we visited on our first trip to New Mexico, and it's been a regular winter camping spot since we bought our little teardrop trailer 6 years ago. It can be windy. It can get crowded( though usually not in winter), but the stars are wonderful and wondering among the rocks always makes me feel like a kid again. A great place to relax and really enjoy a sunset.

Cox Peak

2011-02-21T18:46:00.000-08:00

Cox peak is the tallest point in this cluster of massive mountains that are easily visible from the east mesa of Las Cruces. From that vantage point they look like islands rising out of the sea. It's hard to describe or photograph how huge and steep these mountains appear as you get close to them. They dwarf the nearby East and West Potrillo Mountains,like a block of skyscrapers smack dab in the middle of a suburban neighborhood. I hiked Friday on those steep slopes which are completely covered in broken rock. When hiking this mountain it's best to stay on the vegetated ridges even if it means dodging cactus and ocotillo. It's much safer than the bare talus slides( rock glaciers) that dominate nearly every available face of the mountain.From Gap tank on County Road A007, it took me about 2 hours to do the 2 mile(one way), 1500ft+ elevation gain, climb and about 1 1/2 hours to get back down. Views are typically expansive, with ranges in Texas,Mexico,New Mexico and maybe even Arizona to be seen. On top there is a sign in notebook in a jar. I was the first person to climb the summit this year.I saw numerous raptors,including a golden eagle,jackrabbits and a few early bird lizards. Access is actually fairly easy on County Roads taking either A005 or A008 and A0010( I recommend these later 2 especially if in a 2wd passenger car) to A007 from New Mexico Highway 9. There are many other jeep trails in this area but the maintained county roads are signed and it's best to stay on them unless you have high clearance 4wd. The second spring I lived year we camped on an unmaintained road that runs up a canyon on the northeast side of Cox Peak.Cattle let us know their displeasure at our presence all night. We hiked the next day in the arroyo to the saddle between the major peaks,but it was almost too hot already even though it was only mid-March. I enjoyed my day here and have hikes planned for Mount Riley and the East Potrillo highpoint,but they may have to wait until the fall.

Percha Box info

2011-02-09T09:28:00.000-08:00

I just realized I may have confused some of you. There were comments inquiring about hiking the Percha Box below Hillsboro, for some reason I wrote in my reply North Percha Box. These are both great hikes( I have blogs about both),but the lower down one in the desert would be better this time of year. See my my blog about the Percha Box in 2008 section.Greg Magee's book Day Hikes and Nature Walks in the Las Cruces-El Paso Area has good directions to the trailhead. Directions to the North Percha Box trailhead are in the 2010 section of my blog.

Check comments for Fluorite Ridge-Pony HIlls

2011-02-06T20:27:00.000-08:00

Marilyn and Oaul check comments for answers to queries.

More Pictures

2011-02-06T14:26:00.000-08:00

If anyone out there is interested,I have many more of my pictures of travels in New Mexico posted at this site
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/New_Mexico_Outdoors/ Picture is of a natural arch along Mineral Creek in the Black Range.

Fluorite Ridge- Pony Hills

2011-02-01T15:20:00.000-08:00

This area, northeast of Deming, has a lot to offer the desert explorer. There are the many mines of Fluorite Ridge with the chance to collect some beautiful mineral specimens.There is the history of Fort Cummings, Massacre Peak and the Butterfield Trail. And there's the outstanding petroglyph sites at Frying Pan Canyon and Pony Hills.There have even been Pleistocene fossils recovered from Starvation Draw.We had come with the idea of looking at the Pony Hills rock art for second time, but ended up taking our dog for walk down a little used road that ended on a small hill on the backside of Fluorite Ridge and over looks China Draw.We had a nice picnic,enjoyed views of the Cookes Range, and looked for rock art.This area is easily accessible by good county roads off of NM 26,yet we've rarely encountered people.We have been here at least ten times or so,sometimes finding what we're looking for,sometimes not, but always enjoying ourselves in the end.

Robledo Mountains- Indian Springs Canyon

2011-01-30T15:00:00.000-08:00

I had been wanting to do a hike to Indian Springs Canyon on the west side of the Robledos ever since my last visit to the nearby Iron Hill mines. This is probably the second largest canyon/arroyo system on the west side. There is a rock shelter with grinding holes and closely associated pictographs at Iron Hill, so I thought this large canyon so close by could contain similar evidence of earlier cultures. The last time I came here the gate at the crumbling concrete house was locked, so I had to take a six or seven mile journey on very rough road through the Rough and Ready Hills to end up about a mile further down the road I had been on. Miraculously the gate was open. I ended up parking back on the county road after having a change of heart while driving down the the very rough road to the mines. I probably could have made it,but what the hell, we( my Scottie Seamus and I) were there for the walking anyway. There was a horse trailer there and off in the distance I could see a group of folks on horseback heading toward the cave( rock shelter} and the red blotches on the hillsides that mark the hematite deposits( hence the name Iron Hill). I found an old motorcycle path. At least,I think it was created by old dirt bikes. It didn't have any recent cow or horse prints and was too narrow for anything else. It could have been an old footpath I suppose as well. It led right to Indian Springs Canyon,which is quite narrow where it leaves the mountains but soon turns into a large arroyo. I found both pictographs and petroglyphs( some so old they were barely visible) as well as grinding holes a short ways up the canyon. There were large junipers and canyon wrens and towhees flitted about. The rough walled canyon eventually leveled out, to become a gravel wash in an area of low hills. It was a beautiful warm winter day, although the west wind became very persistent on the return walk to our truck.

Sierra de las Uvas

2011-01-17T19:28:00.000-08:00

I've hiked in these mountains many times. I've visited the well known petroglyph sites in Valles and Broad Canyons on several occasions . I've also visited a lesser known site at Apache Flats, and another one that I happened upon by accident, that I'm sure very few people know about. I've done the hike to Big White Gap a couple of times and even found one of the few remaining pinons on the southeast end of Pine Canyon.On Monday I did one of the nicest hikes I've ever done here. I started at the end of the paved road,walked a short ways to the Choases Tank and then headed west up Choases Canyon. At the saddle I picked the almost indistinguishable remains of a road that heads down to Kerr Tank. I originally planned to summit the alternative highpoint(peak 6601, only 25 feet lower than the off limits Magdalena Peak),but it looked impossibly steep from this vantage point at it's very base, so I decided I didn't have time for the seven or eight hundred foot trudge up the peak. Instead I hiked down the mostly wooded ,Kerr canyon on some good cowpaths eventually making a short ascent to the huge grassy plateau between the Mesa Azur and Sugarloaf Peak. I walked to the edge of the plateau to look into Pine Canyon,the largest valley in these mountains. There are good views here to Cookes Peak and the Florida Mountains. On the way back I found an alternate cowpath that stays out of the canyon all the way back to the tank. From there I followed the "road" I took earlier up over northwest side of Mesa Azur, where I picked up the paved road back to my truck. Beautiful day. Awesome scenery.Except for the obvious cattle gathering places,and the roads,this range is in a remarkably natural state and should be protected.

El Camino Real Trail

2011-01-09T16:56:00.000-08:00

We hiked the two interpretative trails the BLM has installed along this section of the old Camino Real.These trails are accessed by good county roads that run between the Caballo and San Andres Mountains.This area has been known since the early colonial period as the Jornada del Muerto. The first site is about 10 miles from the Upham exit on the wide,well maintained gravel county road. There is no sign indicating the turn-off, I just happened to notice the red kiosk roof near where the powerlines cross the road. This is the Point of Rocks trail. We hiked along a rocky ridge which overlooks a large ephemeral lake bed . We extended the hike a little bit by walking down the powerline road to the lake bed itself. Another 10 miles down the road is the Yost Escarpment trail. This longer trail took us past a cattle tank up on the low escarpment to an original section of the El Camino Real. It ends at an overlook with the view towards the Spaceport ( still under construction).Note to any rockhounds: Carnelian agate can always be found in this area. Most pieces are small but sometimes chunks over 1" inch can be found.

Broad Canyon Ranch

2011-01-09T16:10:00.000-08:00

I went to the Broad Canyon Ranch back in November to remove barbed wire fencing as part of the ongoing restoration of this now state owned property. Eventually this former ranch along a very scenic stretch of the Rio Grande known as Selden Canyon will become a New Mexico State Park. The ranch looks like it was used pretty hard over the years,so it will be awhile before it takes on anything resembling a natural state. Still this is a beginning. In February thousands of willows are scheduled to be planted and other projects are planned throughout the year.

Directions to Grant Creek

2011-01-05T16:50:00.000-08:00

Check the comments for the Grant Creek Blog for directions.

Cow Creek still continued

2010-11-15T16:44:00.000-08:00

Quickly enough I saw trout,and not particularly small ones either,given the very tiny stature of this stream. The water was low. It's been a dry, warm fall. The oasis like creek bottom still had a bit of summer left in it: green grass and the streamside alders still leafy and green. I hobbled along downstream casting into the deepest pools.Unfortunately, the fish were only in these pools, and they were clear and still as glass. I've seen this before on other small streams during the fall and spring dry outs. The fish will not venture out of the deepest water. The approaches made me feel like some clumsy giant along a Lilliputian river. Somehow I managed a few hook-ups,and finally a healthy 8 or 9 inch trout. It looked much like the hybrids I've caught in Sapillo Creek: mostly like a rainbow,but with some Gila trout showing through. I didn't get very far when I realized I needed to pack out.I had fished for 2 hours that went by like 10 minutes. I had a long hike ahead and an even longer drive back to Las Cruces. I knew I couldn't go back up the ravine I'd come down( there were several pour offs that would be very difficult to climb up and around). Luckily, I found a deer path that led up the grassy ridge. It was steep, but I made great progress initially. As I looked back on the dry,dry juniper studded hillsides on one of my many air breaks, it seemed hard to believe that any kind of permanent stream exists in this corner of the Gila, let alone one with a trout population. That's what made Cow Creek a magical place. Despite the difficulty, I couldn't definitely say that I would never go back.

Cow Creek continued

2010-11-10T18:27:00.000-08:00

At least I remembered to bring a second pair of boots,knowing that the first pair would be soaked without time to dry for my second day's outing. But it would've been better if I had forgotten. My second pair,grayish green LL Beans that I'd picked up barely used at my mom's thrift store, had only been worn once or twice and not very happily at that. Still, I was wanting to believe I'd made a great deal picking up some 120 dollar boots for almost nothing,and was willing to give them another chance.They felt too tight from the get-go but I didn't want to entertain the idea of just wearing my liner socks without my thicker hiking socks(although that's eventually what I had to do) because I was worried about blisters. I didn't remove my liner socks either,which would've helped. I just thought they would stretch as I went on. Down I went on the Sheep Corral trail until I reached the junction with the Snow Canyon trail,where I continued east and uphill. I turned northeast on a old road on the mesa top. When the road ran out I quickly decided to get down into the rocky,but relatively open arroyo,rather than slog it out in the brush. Mistake. Now as I stumbled,hopped and stomped down the dry streambed the pain in my toes began,then increased,and then increased some more to the point where I was in moaning,swearing,nearly in tears agony with almost every step. But I wouldn't stop to rest or evaluate and attempt to fix my situation. " I'll stop when I get to the water" I thought. When I did reach the water I took off my boots,but not my socks. I didn't want to see how bad it was. I didn't need to. I could feel it.

Cow Creek

2010-11-08T16:52:00.000-08:00

The first time I tried to venture down into Cow Creek, a small trout holding tributary to Sapillo Creek, I hadn't lived here very long and in naivete thought I could amble down one of the dry branches from FR 282( Sheep Corral Road) until I saw water and fish. I actually started out one fall morning too, stumbling steeply down into a dark pine forest,hoping to pick up some kind of trail. But then the clouds rolled in and the thunder started. The temperature dropped and I thought better of the whole idea and drove to Sapillo Creek, where I'd never fished, caught a couple of nice rainbows in the sunshine and found a mainstay of Fall fishing for the next 10 years. Now,why I would have picked Cow Creek, because truthfully most people wouldn't, first over a more obvious,accessible destination like Sapillo Creek, has everything to do with Rex Johnson Jr. and his book Fly Fishing Southern New Mexico. More on that later. Suffice it to say I put Cow Creek way on the back burner and I thought that only if I was ever camping nearby or staying in Silver City would attempting it even be feasible. No matter how I looked at it on the maps it was a 8 to 10 mile round trip hike just to access the stream for a few hours and that wouldn't be counting any miles hiking along while I was fishing. Well the opportunity arrived last week. This time I was prepared with waypoints downloaded from topo map software onto my GPS, a hearty breakfast from the Econolodge in Silver City and blissful ignorance of the exact nature of the terrain of the cross country segment of my hike. The Sheep Corral Road was crappier than I remember and I kept waiting for the low tire light,but luckily it never came on. I parked and headed down the trail. It was still pretty dark in the narrow section of Sheep Corral Canyon even at eight o'clock,which gave it a forbidding feeling. I saw bear scat and perhaps lion or coyote scat which also added to my anxiety as I pressed jauntily on. But it was not bears or wolves or mountain lions that I needed to fear. It was my boots. More to come.

West Fork Gila River

2010-11-04T20:09:00.000-07:00

I fished the West Fork of the Gila River,from the Cliff Dwellings bridge to about three or so miles upstream(just past the small alcove ruin on the south side of the stream).The West Fork may be better further upstream,but in the lower reaches I've had much better luck on the Middle Fork. Much of this section of the West Fork is wide and shallow and appears to be prone to frequent changes of course as evidenced by the many abandoned gravel and cobble channels along both sides of the river. Also, there are many beaver dams now in this section that have formed shallow silty ponds, which are not being frequented by fish of any kind as far as I could see.In the still pools at the bends, there were large suckers. It's always a bit startling to see these fish and think for a second that they're trout. Speaking of startling, I did startle a large bull elk who was relaxing on a sandy bank in the middle of day. I also saw deer, ducks, and javelinas, and of course once I was a couple of miles in, the scenery is spectacular.The numbers for the day: 3 decent sized rainbows, 1 small brown and one chub. Pretty slow I guess,but I was thinking this was going to be about the one that got away after I hooked, but lost what I was sure was a good sized brown on my way back downstream. Happily, within about 5 minutes I caught my best rainbow and began to think maybe the one that got away was a chub after all.

Black Canyon Revisited

2010-10-31T17:08:00.000-07:00

I went back to Black Canyon. The trail situation is still a little murky.The fence is cut now where it enters private property, and the gate is open on the other end where it exits. The "alternate" trails that went up the hillside don't appear used anymore, and yet there is nothing positively indicating,by way of sign, that this is indeed the right course of action(crossing the private section). It probably takes all of 2 minutes or less to cross and re-enter Forest Service land, and yet I'm watching the house,which appears now to be occupied as indicated by the smoke emitting from the chimney, and feeling a bit anxious as I imagine some potential confrontation for that entire 120 seconds. But onto better things. It was cold and very damp still at ten when I arrived. The water was low and the bed heavily silted with, I assume, ash from last years Aspen fire. The fish were still there,perhaps a little harder to catch, a dozen or so,all Gilas from about 7 to 10 inches , with one a bit larger and one a bit smaller.The amount of silt stirred up on each release was a bit disturbing. Only sporadic sunshine throughout the day kept it from ever getting warm , which was good and bad. The fall color was at its peak in the canyon: boxelder,oak,grapevine,willow,cottonwood and even a few aspens. The Gila trout seemed a little duller colored, but still wonderfully willing to take old fashioned dries.This stream is still too open and too wide for it's own good in the lower reaches above the road. I walked about four miles in to perhaps a mile below the confluence with Aspen Canyon, but I'd really like to backpack in and see what the fishing is like further upstream.

Forest Road 150,Gila National Forest

2010-10-31T13:25:00.000-07:00

Forest Road 150, the North Star Mesa Road is in better shape than I've ever seen it.The section through Rocky Canyon( the worst segment) has been plowed of rocks and the surface leveled.Road work is on going, and the worst section right now is up on the Meason Flat( the mesa between Rocky and Black Canyons) where the crew is working putting in culverts. This part was pretty muddy after the previous night's rain(Oct.21),but still easily passable. I drove as far as Black Canyon in my 2 wheel drive,not particularly high clearance pick-up and was fine. It will still take 50 -70 minutes to drive to Black Canyon from the paved NM 35 depending on your vehicle and your degree of caution.Beyond Black Canyon I don't know what the conditions are. NOTE:The crews are working Monday through Thursday right now, and you could encounter a long delay during daylight hours.

Horse Mountain Wilderness Study Area

2010-10-17T19:45:00.000-07:00

On our third day we decided to check out the BLM's Horse Mountain Wilderness Study Area. The mountain seems to be really three separate peaks of nearly equal elevation, rising very steeply from the plains of San Agustin about 25 miles southwest of Datil. The turnoff is at the remains of the town of Horse Springs. There are many rugged canyons and lesser summits radiating out from the central high points in a roughly circular pattern. The middle mountaintop is named Horse Peak. The others are nameless.The only "trail" in the range is an old east-west running road.The eastern entrance appears to be blocked by private property. We started on the west side where the BLM has a sign. The road follows a dry stream the entire way until it reaches a large ponderosa pine "park" at a saddle.From there it continues east down another dry stream. We walked down a little ways,but decided we didn't want an uphill both ways hike, and returned to the grassy saddle to enjoy distant views of the Sawtooths and close views of the three high peaks. Since this trail is on the north side of the mountain it had much more diverse vegetation than we'd been seeing,including Douglas Fir and Gambel Oak which had already started to change color. I even spied a few aspen high on a cliff face. We saw fresh bear scat,mountain lion scat, a huge bull elk, several deer and flocks of jays.This is a wild and beautiful place and was the highlight hike of this trip.

Sawtooth, Datil and Crosby Mountains 2

2010-10-17T19:39:00.000-07:00

Out second day out I wanted to explore the western arm of the Sawtooth Range. Here there several detached mountains with rounded peaks, unremarkable if it weren't for the myriad of erosional forms sculpted in their volcanic tuff. Pinnacles,towers,fins and hoodoos all occur in the bare tan and pink cliffs. We drove down Forest Road 6A this time, and turned off at FR 325 heading east and parked just north of Monument Rock at a fork in the road. Choosing the left fork we hiked toward an amazing tower that must be at least 500 feet high. Later we drove west from FR 6A on very primitive road that took us closer to Castle Dome, Lone Mountain and other formations. It was already pretty warm and we decided that further hiking in this open terrain would be down right hot,so we picnicked under some pinon trees and then headed out to Pie Town.Our last day I wanted to do a drive on Forest Road 66 which connects Highways 25 and 60 and would have made an nice loop through the forest. On the west side the road initially goes through some subdivisions and then enters the forest with great views of the very steep Anderson and East Sugarloaf Peaks.Unfortunately the road is blocked by a gate just a few miles in. From the east side , the same road becomes very rough and uninviting after only a mile or so.

Datil and Pie Town

2010-10-17T10:30:00.001-07:00

Datil has a gas station/grocery/restaurant.There was a vegetable stand outside when we visited. The meat case had some great looking T- Bones,but they don't cut steaks on Sunday.There's another restaurant further east. On 60 north of town there is the Baldwin Cabin public library- and unusual amenity for such a tiny town. Pie Town has the Pie-O-Neer restaurant and the Daily Pie Cafe. We enjoyed a piece of of chocolate cream and and piece of blueberry a la mode on the porch of the Pie-O-Neer on a Saturday.The latter day hippie clientele and ambiance of this spot is in marked contrast to the prevailing cowboy culture of the region.

Sawtooth,Datil and Crosby Mountains

2010-10-17T10:29:00.000-07:00

Our first day out I had intended to explore Thompson Canyon,known for it's rock climbing area, and maybe climb Madre Mountain, the tallest and only named peak in the Datil Range. Unfortunately, the entrance is on private land and when we drove to the locked gate,the message seemed to be keep out. Since there was no one home at the nearby ranch house, we headed out for other options. I later learned that the gate may have been just dummy locked,but that it was still necessary to make arrangements with the land owners. We drove on Forest Road 6 first to the turn off for the Davenport lookout. That road, at least on the map, appeared to be a backway into Thompson Canyon. On the ground though,it didn't look like a good option. We continued on FR 6 over Monument Saddle down into Ox Spring Canyon. We parked and hiked to a clearing which had beautiful views of the sheer cliffs on the north side of Madre Mountain and the Sawtooths.Later, we backtracked on FR 6 to Hay Canyon and did and pleasant but,unremarkable hike down its road without seeing another soul.

Datil Well Campground

2010-10-13T19:34:00.000-07:00

This is very nice BLM campground a few miles outside of the small town of Datil.It has a campground host,pit toilets, water from hand pumps and five dollar fee. The sites are well wooded with pinon and juniper, and spacious. On our visit,there were never more than five of the twenty-two spaces occupied. We used it as our base to explore the Datil, Crosby and Sawtooth Mountains of the Cibola National Forest and the BLM's Horse Mountain Wilderness Study Area. An easy three mile loop trail that starts in the campground took us to several nice viewpoints of the San Agustin Plains and the Crosby Mountains.We discovered many potential dispersed sites nearby,but since our camper is very small( no bathroom,limited water storage), we couldn't really beat this place for convenience.

Confessions of a Fly Fisher

2010-10-12T11:46:00.001-07:00

I've never seen my backing since I tied it on.
I've never fished a 2 fly set-up.
I tie flies because it's part of the sport,but I rarely enjoy it. My tying table is an old desk and it's absolute mess when I'm tying flies.I'm constantly searching for whatever tool or material that I need, instead of actually tying the fly. I'm not sure why this is because I don't tolerate a lot of chaos in other aspects of my life.
Rather than the Zen-like experience I perhaps yearn for, many of my days on the water are a comedy of frustration infused incompetence.
I hate tying on tippet.
Much of the time I omit the final loop threading on my improved clinch knot; it still holds 99% of the time with the size of fish I'm catching.
I'm not always diligent about making sure my clipped ends end up in my backpack.
I've never really successfully fished a hatch of any sort, and I've only witnessed ,maybe, three or four hatches where fish were actively feeding.
I've only fished with a friend once. I have 2 Redington rods and reels. 2 no-name fiberglass rods from the seventies,and my original fly/spin combo from Academy,plus two Shakespeare 1094 reels. I got a fly vest at a junk shop.
All, all of my fishing junk probably cost less than 800 dollars.
I've only used my waders twice. I can't tie a whip finish, lord knows how I've tried,but I can't. I've used a strike indicator once, I mean for one cast. The second cast,it came off and that was that. I have a nice net, but I've never used it.Most of my fishing trips involve a lot of hiking, and I already feel like a Yankee Peddler with all the junk I've got on my back, so the net stays home. Rarely have I felt that it would have been an asset. I like fly fishing, but I'm not trout addicted. Sometimes, I long for the slow moving sandy bottomed Texas creek,where I started using a fly rod, catching bluegill all day- but hoping for, and sometimes getting a jolt from a largemouth. I've never been guided and probably never will be,unless I win a guided trip in a raffle. Sometimes I count those self releases and quick releases. I'm so worried about others getting the perception that I'm exaggerating that I tend to underestimate the size of fish when I tell a tale. Sometimes after 5 or sometimes after 10, I stop counting,but I've had many less than 5 fish days. I've had a few 20 plus days too. At the beginning of a new year, I look in my fly box and usually find several flies that I tied so poorly I can't believe I left them in there. I know I didn't use them. I guess they're absolute emergency flies. I'm very self conscious about my casting technique( which may explain some of these other confessions) because I usually fish such small streams where there's not much opportunity to really cast. Still I like to air it out once in awhile in a slightly bigger stream( as long as no one is watching). I'll add more as they come to me. NOTE: Fellow flyfishers this is not a cry for help. I'm pretty happy with how I've arrived to where I am with only the help of a few books and few conversations.If you have any of your confessions, feel free to litter the comment box, I'd love to hear them.Photo is an Apache Trout caught in KP Creek in Arizona.

south fork bonito creek

2010-09-27T19:10:00.000-07:00

Mark Twain's comment about golf, " a good walk - spoiled" could easily be modified to fly fishing a small stream," a good walk- completely and utterly destroyed." That's how I felt at least for the first 45 minutes or so when I fished the South Fork of the Rio Bonito on Sunday. Snags,snares,the consequent reties, and guppy sized fish all seemed determined to derail the good feelings from discovering the usually crowded campground closed for the season and the stream delightfully devoid of people.The situation improved,but not before some whining, swearing and even begging to the trout gods for some relief. I did end up catching some better fish, a couple of good sized rainbows and several decent brookies( in addition to the usual dozen or so 5 inchers).I've noticed lower down,the rainbows are the typical darkish blue color and have that dull appearance of stockers. Upstream,though, they are bright and brassy with larger spots and pale pink cutthroat markings, making me believe they have at least some degree of Rio Grande Cutthroat genes in them. Fewer in number and larger in size they are the definite prize here.It turned out to be to be an okay day on the South Fork. They are still plenty of fish here. The increase of algae growth has me a little worried,but on the whole the stream and fish seem to be in pretty good shape.For me,for now though, I feel like taking a break from the tiny creeks,the bushwacking,boulder hopping,the fly hungry trees,the finger sized fish,the steep banks,the kneeling casts,the stinging nettle and thistle. . .Well, maybe for a trip or two,I can't really stay away, these are my home streams.

Railroad Canyon/Gallinas Canyon

2010-09-20T19:14:00.000-07:00

Something strange comes over you looking down the Holden Prong trail. A narrow path disappearing in the darkness of a dense aspen grove beckons you onward,even when
you know you can't go. Even though I've been down in there, its mystery is still strong and as I linger at the Holden Prong saddle, a small,flat grassy clearing along the Crest trail, I think about when I can get back down into that narrow canyon hidden in a crease of my beloved Black Range. We came up the Railroad Canyon trail,the classic introductory hike to these mountains. It starts at the Railroad Canyon picnic area passing by a quarry area that must have been used during the building of NM 152. It follows the usually flowing Gallinas Creek crossing it many,many times. This time of year the wildflowers were everywhere, and the creek low enough to rock hop and keep your boots dry.Oak,pine, fir,black walnut and an occasional narrow leaf cottonwood make up the forest along the stream bottom.Wild strawberry is abundant underfoot, and as you go up there is poison ivy trail side so be careful.Pay no mind to the distances posted on the trail signs,which not only underestimate the distance,but also seem to conflict with each other, the hike to the top is a little over 4 miles. It's a mostly gradual climb until reaching the junction with the East Railroad Canyon trail,from there it really starts to climb in earnest culminating in several switchbacks that finally allow some nice views back down the canyon and beyond to the peaks to the south. From there the gradient lessens passing through a mature aspen grove and then on up through the gambel oak to the crest. Along the way there are two alternate hikes. First is the Gallinas trail which is very steep initially,but eventually levels out to follow the stream in a canyon that is larger,more open and prettier than Railroad. The gradient is significantly less as it take an extra mile to reach the crest at Sid's Prong saddle. Stands of aspen and open meadows near the top of this hike make it especially scenic in the fall.East Railroad Canyon is much more narrow and steep and has distinctly closed in feel to it. It also has more lush growth of poison ivy which makes it a less attractive alternative. It eventually ends up at the Hillsboro Peak bypass trail. Both these trails can be used to do lollipop type loop hikes.If you're new to Las Cruces and looking for place to get started in the regions many forest hiking opportunities, this area is a great way to go.

Rio Ruidoso

2010-08-13T08:32:00.000-07:00

Fished the Ruidoso River in town for the first time. I had fished the section on the reservation a few years back,catching some small browns and a couple nice rainbows,before the rains came. Now that part of the stream is closed to fishing and camping since the flood in 2008. At first I took a look at Carrizo Creek,but it really looked too small to fish.Well, maybe not too small,because I've fished some very small streams, it's just so hedged in with willows along much of its course that it seemed to be defying the notion of fly fishing. Also, there didn't seem like there was anywhere to park until you got to the motel just inside the reservation boundary. It was definitely not crowded but I wasn't sure how they'd feel about me leaving my car there.The stream may be more fishable on the reservation,but I figured I would have to get a permit to fish there. I guess I could have found out the answers to both of these questions, but all these little inconveniences are why I usually fish in wilderness areas. I then headed across Sudderth, parked at Two Rivers Park and proceeded downstream,hooking a couple of fish almost immediately while folks sat in their lawn chairs watching me.The Ruidoso is relatively large compared to the other streams in this region, and even though this section is completely canopied over, there was ample room for conventional casting. It was quiet and shady, and once past those initial spectators, I was very much by myself in a strange little bit of semi-wilderness in this busy tourist town. It began to rain around noon as it always does this time of year. I walked on mile or so,continuing a ways past the Paradise Canyon Bridge, always wondering if some homeowner was going to come out and yell at me. None did. I caught five or six fish on the way down and one more on the way back. All were rainbows( I was hoping for at least one brown), all caught on dries. I tried a beadhead nymph in some of deep murky pools,but to no avail.A couple of the fish didn't have the dull look of stockers, but were quite bright and colorful, resembling cuttbows that I have caught over at the nearby South Fork of the Rio Bonito. I don't know their origin unless they've spilled out of Mescalero Lake and into tributary Carrizo Creek.After lunching at a picnic table, I tried fishing upstream from the parking area for about a mile, but without even a bite.The rain which had stopped mercifully quickly the first time, started again around three,as it frequently does this time of year. I called it day. If you're already staying in Ruidoso or don't want to hit the shops with the rest of the group,this could a pleasant few hours diversion, but I certainly would not go out of my way to do it again.

Eagle Creek

2010-08-05T20:12:00.000-07:00

I slipped in 3 hours of fishing between thunderstorms on Thursday. I had first thought I'd go to the section of the Ruidoso River on the reservation,but it was closed just like last summer. I don't know what the story is there. I then tried to find a public access point in Ruidoso Downs, that someone had told me about,but I really didn't see anything that looked like it didn't require crossing private property. I then thought about ol' reliable, the South Fork of the Rio Bonito,but I've been there so many times, and I wanted something a little different, so I headed out for Eagle Creek,not knowing exactly what I'd find.The rain started coming down, so I took an early lunch in the truck. After eating, I started hiking down the road. I could see blue sky ahead, so I was hoping to walk out from under the drops,which I did. I walked along the trail and quickly saw a nice pool below where a spring was pouring into the creek. Climbing down creekside, I rigged up and promptly caught a nice brookie on my first cast. I caught a dozen or so more on a single dry fly. Most came from the deeper pools,but I caught couple of bigger ones in the deepest riffles. Smallest fish of the day: 5 inches. Largest: 10 or 11 inches.Past the first creek crossing of the trail(about 1/4 mile from the trailhead) there is a higher waterfall. Above here the stream gets really small and closed in with vegetation. I tried some the holes up there,but there didn't appear to be any fish. On the way back down it started raining again just I was changing flies for the first time. It really started coming down,so I tried one last pool,caught one of my best fish of the day,and then called it quits. If you go, you have to park at the gate on Forest Road 127a and hike to the trailhead. There may be fish in this lower part of the stream( I saw a few at the first road crossing), as well as further down all the way to the weir along the paved road to the ski area, but the section past the gate has many sections of private property,so keep your distance from cabin doors and back porches.

Rio de las Vacas

2010-06-16T08:20:00.000-07:00

We camped at the Rio de las Vacas campground in the Santa Fe National Forest. This is a very nice semi-developed site(no hookups,water from a hand pump). Considering it has paved access, I was expecting to see more people.I'm not complaining. We had the place mostly to ourselves for the better part of 3 days. By Friday morning,it was about half full,plus a few more sites being obviously held( in direct opposition to Forest Service policy).Nearby Clear Creek Campground(equally nice) appeared to have only 2 spots occupied. It could be the $10 fee at these campgrounds discourages a lot of folks. Maybe that's why there was a lot of dispersed camping going on along nearby FR 70. But these sites seemed less attractive than the campground. It could also be that the Jemez River,Seven Springs, Fenton Lake recreation areas further east catches most of the crowds from the big city. We did two hikes into the beautiful San Pedro Parks Wilderness. Both hikes were pretty short. We had our 4 month old Scottie puppy with us and knew we'd end up carrying him if we tried for longer distances.One hike was to the meadows of the Rito de las Perchas where I had a nice foot long cutthroat spit out my fly twice. I only saw one other fish. I can usually can tell if there's more by the ones I send scurrying on my approach. I even tossed a rock in a few holes after I was done casting- nothing. I caught a few small browns in the Rio de las Vacas campground and in the section directly above the campground. There are some better fish in here though. I know because I hooked and lost two of them our first day there. After that it was only 5-8 inchers that went for my fly. The section above the campground is very narrow,rough with many fallen trees that make casting difficult. In retrospect it didn't seem worth the effort for a few small fish. Still,it was fun to cast line a few steps from my campsite with at least the potential for catching something- a rarity here in Southern New Mexico,where easily accessible stream fishing opportunities are limited. I'd like to return to fish this stream either below the campground or in the wilderness area.

Three Rivers Revisited

2010-06-03T08:43:00.000-07:00

When I last visited Three Rivers in September 2008 (2 months after the devasting flood), I saw no fish in the stream.Since that time I had heard from 3 different sources that there were still a few brookies left. On Wednesday I returned with a vague intention to fish. Well, I now can confirm they are there ,but it is definitely not a fishable population at this time. I saw about seven or eight small,but plump ones in one clear green pool, and I expect there are a few scattered in similar pools throughout the first 3 miles of stream above the campground, at least one can hope that's true. Restocking may be needed if the fish are no longer above a series of waterfalls about 2 miles in,but I'm just glad to see them,somehow surviving a disastrous flood followed by a year of extreme drought.With the notion of fishing pushed aside, I decided to hike on. I suppose the idea of reaching the crest was there all along, but I really didn't commit to doing it until I was switchbacking high on grassy hillsides almost to the top.This was my third time up on the always magnificent ridgeline of the White Mountains Wilderness, and it was surely the hardest won. It took about 5 hours to get there: six miles of hiking with approximately 3,500 feet of elevation gain. On the return,my feet were like raw meat and the increasing heat as I decreased in elevation was exhausting.Trail 44 is not in the greatest condition either. There are numerous log falls ranging from the tiny to the enormous.So there was quite a bit of the over,under,around or through. There are few confusing washouts as well. Most of the crossings were easy to find and negotiate without soaking your feet,but several times I had to go either upstream or downstream to find something more manageable.

Hillsboro Lake

2010-05-27T10:31:00.000-07:00

Hillsboro Pond, or Hillsboro Lake is an oddity in the steep, and
relatively dry Black Range. It sits in a small depression just below the crest of the Black Range. The only other natural pond I know of in the Black Range is Mimbres Lake, which sits on the crest a few miles to the northwest.
There are two ways to get to Hillsboro Pond. First, there is the Ladrone Trail FS 127 which very steep and hard to follow(see my post about it). Reaching the trailhead 3 miles past Kingston on the very dodgy FR 40E is also a bit of an adventure. The other way is via the Crest Trail FS 79 starting out of the Emory Pass parking area. This trail is wide, well worn and easy to follow. At about 4 miles in, this will be the second relatively wide, open saddle you will reach on the crest, there will be sign pointing east for Trail 127 which says “ Kingston 6", turn right here head steeply down for less than a 1/4 mile. As the trail levels out, you will see Hillsboro Pond on your left. When it’s full, it’s probably only a little more than an acre.
Still, it’s a sweet spot surrounded by aspens and firs, as well as a few spruce. Try to visit during wet times, spring after a good snow year or late summer- early fall when we’ve had good monsoon rains, otherwise it may be little more than a mud puddle.

North Percha Creek

2010-05-26T17:46:00.000-07:00

The trail up North Percha is not on the Aldo Leopold Wilderness map, nor the Gila National Forest map. It is on the USGS topo of the area, but for the most part it is a forgotten trail in a remote area of the forest known and used mainly by hunters and a few locals. Still it’s a great dayhike if you happen to be visiting Hillsboro or Kingston, or if you’re already familiar with the more “popular” Black Range trails and want to try something different. Access to the trailhead is off of NM 152 about 6 miles west of Hillsboro. Be on the lookout for a small brown Forest Trail sign.( Note: this road is signed now and is called the North Percha Road and there is a much larger brown sign listing various destinations along the road). This is where you will turn off. If approaching from Kingston it is perhaps 2 -3 miles east of the town. There may be an even more smaller sign with 157 on it, also indicating your turnoff to the north. You will drive approximately 8-9 miles on this mostly good gravel road. You will go through a posted private inholding with an old yellow house and several log structures. Once out of the private land you should quickly take advantage of any available parking spot. You may see a forest trail sign and an Abandoned Primitive Road sign warning of the dangers of continued travel- believe it- especially if you’re not driving a high clearance 4 wheel drive vehicle and are less than experienced. You may get yourself into a position with no way to turn around. Wherever you start walking just follow the old road. You will pass a deep pool of North Percha Creek and an area where the stream cascades over small bare- rock waterfalls. When you reach the old Virginia Mine, the road/ trail almost disappears briefly. There are numerous tunnels and tailings piles in this area, but no open shafts that I have seen. A little further along you will come to a fork in the road- go left across the creek where you will encounter several old stone structures and one almost completely collapsed board building which I assume was some kind of bunkhouse. Continue following the road which eventually turns into a single track trail. Watch for old tree blazes and remember the trail is never too far from the creek. At close to 3 miles a large tributary comes in on your right, stay to the left following the path across the main creek again. In a little over 3 miles you will enter a stunning gorge with volcanic cliffs towering hundreds of feet over your head. Closer to the ground there are pictographs covering the rock.. You can turn around here, or continue through the gorge, following old tree blazes another mile or so to an old corral. Be forewarned. Beyond the gorge there is little or no trail on the ground, just a few old blazes. The hiking gets steeper as well. Note: Mileages for the hike are distances from the Abandoned Road sign. There is limited, but nice dispersed camping along FR157 and a couple of side roads. These same roads make for a pleasant selection of dayhikes, but be careful when driving them: the change from navigable to un-navigable may be abrupt.

White Mountain Wilderness Streams- New Mexico

2010-05-25T20:03:00.000-07:00

I think of the creeks of the White Mountain Wilderness (near Ruidoso, New Mexico) as my home waters. I know they are 100-125 miles from my house in Las Cruces, but that's just a fact of life here in New Mexico: most of us live and work in the desert valleys, but we play (and fish) in the mountains.
A two hour drive brings me to Three Rivers, name notwithstanding, a very small, steep stream(singular) on the western flanks of the 12,000 foot Sierra Blanca, the "white mountain" of the name of the wilderness(though not actually in the wilderness, but on the Mescalero Apache Reservation).This massive peak towers 7,000 feet above the desert floor and makes it own weather, which provides enough moisture for the several small trout streams, including Three Rivers which flows into closed desert basin, disappearing beneath the sand. To fish here, you'll be hiding behind boulders, stumbling down steep banks and frequently resorting to the bow and arrow cast. The quarry: six to eight inch brook trout, but with the chance lurking for a heavy 10-11 incher that will give you a thrill. Bring your shortest, lightest rod and maybe some kneepads and you'll have a lot of a fun.
Directly across the ridge are the Rio Bonito drainages, about 15 miles northeast of the resort town of Ruidoso, New Mexico. Passing by heavily stocked Bonito Lake( open April through November) brings you first to the South Fork Bonito Creek and then to the permanent stretch of the Bonito main stem seven miles further down Forest Road 107.The reliable water on the Main Bonito, and the best fishing is in the wilderness, but even there, the water can get frighteningly low in dry years. In wet years, there may be water and fish in the non- wilderness sections both above and below the lake. There is also a permanent stretch much lower down at Fort Stanton which may contain browns, though I've never fished there. In the main stem Bonito are small brookies and rainbows. There can be some large (12-15 inches) rainbows here in May and early June, from, I would assume, a spawning run from the lake. Fish a large caddis at the tail of a plunge pool, or a weighted prince nymph right in the froth for one of these prizes.
The South Fork has more fish, rainbows, brookies and even a few cuttbows up high, and catching a couple dozen seems no great feat, but I've never caught anything bigger than 10 inches. The South Fork also has reliable water in late spring and early summer (before the monsoon starts) even in dry years. It also clears much more quickly. The nearby Ruidoso River will run brown as chocolate milk for a week or more after a heavy summer rain, while the South Fork will clear in a day or two. The only problem with the South Fork is the developed and popular Forest Service campground of the same name that sits beside the creek. This means there'll be backpackers, picnickers and hikers all along the stream every weekend in the spring, and once school lets out, they'll be there every day all summer long. Walking in a couple of miles leaves most of them behind, but lots of luck with those really nice pools about 3/4 mile from the trailhead; if they don’t have kids jumping in them, they're frequently fished out by mid-July.
Small tributaries of both forks hold brook trout. Some, such as Argentina Canyon, because it's really difficult to fish, and also looks highly unlikely to contain fish, have grown some fairly large brookies in the past, bigger than in either main branch. Argentina was silted in and had little habitat last time I visited, but the brookies could return.
In July 2008, the remnants of Hurricane Dolly brought an excessive amount of moisture into the area. Sierra Blanca received 9 inches of rain in one night. The resulting floods washed out bridges and damaged homes along the Ruidoso River. The streams of the wilderness were heavily eroded, especially the high gradient Three Rivers creek. I visited in September(08) and saw no fish. Although I’ve so spoken to a couple of people who say they saw fish in there this past summer. The main fork of the Bonito above the South Fork is blown out as well: a wide gravel wash with a few inches of water trickling down the middle. It’s doubtful they’ll be any fishing there anytime soon.A few good water years in a row would really help the situation. The South Fork seems to be doing better, there are still a few catchable fish. It also may be able to repopulate from the lake. Three Rivers could be supplemented ,this time, since no hatcheries are raising brook trout, most likely with rainbows, although cutthroats would be a better choice.

Grant Creek, Arizona

2010-04-12T15:36:00.000-07:00

I fished in Grant Creek for a couple of hours on the last day of our trip. This was the Grant Creek in the Pinaleno Mountains(Mount Graham) near Safford, not the Grant Creek that is a tributary to the Blue River( I've fished there as well).It's similar to Three Rivers Creek here in New Mexico in that it doesn't so much flow,as fall, from the great heights of a rain and snow capturing mountain. There's been plenty of snow this year,so it was flowing out into the flat desert scrub that surrounds these "sky island" ranges.There was still plenty of snowpack on the upper reaches, so I was fishing down in the junipers, oaks and bare sycamores around 4,500 to 5,000 feet elevation. I caught a couple of trout. One 8 or 9 incher that looked like an Apache/rainbow hybrid, and one heavy 14 or 15 incher that looked mostly like a rainbow. The water was high(inundating the lower few feet of the trees at some pools,)a bit murky, and very cold. Both fish were caught deep,but it would be blast to come back when the water was bit lower and try some dry fly fishing. The stream may be more popular than one would imagine given it's remote location. There's a minimum security prison along it's lower reaches with resident employees who appear to be fishing it from time to time.Plus, except for the last 1/2 mile to 2 miles or so on the rough forest road the approach to the lower stretch of the creek is all on paved roads,if you are coming out from Safford or from I-10.Looking upstream before leaving, at the staircase of waterfalls and deep pools that continued up the mountain, I wished there had been more time to really explore this place. Oh well,I guess there's always next year.

Four Mile Campground, Arizona

2010-04-11T12:30:00.000-07:00

We stayed at the BLM Four Mile Campground near Klondyke, Arizona. A group off off road enthusiasts had set up a compound commandeering half the place with numerous trailers and vehicles. Things didn't look good. I don't know if there are limits for people and vehicles per campsite here,but situations like this are why limits end up being set at other campgrounds. I reluctantly paid our fee for this poorly laid out( the campsites are all crowded within 50 feet of each other), cattle accessible parcel of desert. As night fell, the compound turned into an outdoor night club with metal music and drunken shouts and guffaws that went on for hours. Why people feel comfortable behaving in such a manner out at a campground that would probably get them arrested in their own front yard is beyond me. Of course, we were in the middle of nowhere with the nearest law enforcement probably a good 30 miles away. Common courtesy and common sense should have been enough to prevent this kind of idiocy,but many people don't know what these are, that's why we have to have so many rules.Precisely the thing these types fight against their whole lives. Ah,well try to make sure you're far from the crowds,or at a campground with a host, on Friday night.

Chiricahua National Monument, Arizona

2010-04-06T16:58:00.000-07:00

We visited Chiricahua National Monument more than 10 years ago.We camped at the Pinery Campground in the National Forest nearby. The Bonita Campground at the Monument spaces being a little too closely packed for us. It was winter,but the weather was pleasant(although a little cold at the Pinery's 7'000' elevation). At the monument, we found out that our little dog was only allowed on the Faraway Ranch trail- the only trail that doesn't feature Chiricahua's well known rock formations(called "hoodoos" by some). We did the hike and the scenic drive to Massai Point,which were both nice enough, and then went on our way, a little disappointed. We finally returned over our recent spring break. This time we stayed at Bonita: it's still a litte too close for comfort,but we were worried the Pinery Campground was likely under snow. We did the Natural Bridge Trail the first day.It was good hike,but nothing really spectacular.The next day we did the the Big Loop starting from the visitor center and going counter clockwise( I highly recommend this direction). It's absolutely a classic hike of our National Park system. It's also very popular. Well,more correctly,sections of it are very popular-even on a Thursday in the usually very windy month of March.Other parts such as the first several miles on the Rhyolite and Sarah Deming trails were devoid of other hikers.You'll probably get tired of taking pictures before the scenery runs out. It's really that good. Your legs will probably get tired too as it's about 12 miles or so from start to finish. Slow down and enjoy. If time is limited,your best bet is the Echo Canyon Trail.

West Texas camping

2010-03-31T16:18:00.000-07:00

We did a weekend trip to a very nice private campground called the Crow's Nest in the Davis Mountains. It was a quiet,mostly natural setting- quite a contrast to the nearby Davis Mountains State Park. Deer and javelina wandered the grounds almost like pets. We did some hiking and some scrambling around on the rocks with our friends who came out from Austin. The stars were magnificent.

Penasco River

2010-03-30T19:42:00.000-07:00

After joining the club more than a year ago, I fished the Mesilla Valley Fly Fishers lease on the Penasco River last week. They have about 2 miles or so of stream on the Runyan Ranch in Chaves County. I caught two chubs and two rainbows.One of the rainbows was nice 14" fish who gave me nice little battle with a few leaps. My friend caught three decent sized rainbows in the deep pool pictured above.We only fished the upper mile or so.The lower half has been stocked recently and may have more fish. The ranch is a hardscabble little piece of chaparral,where they still try and can make a living due to the miracle of this spring fed stream. Don't expect scenery or some pristine situation.Note:you must be a member of MVFF to fish this section of the stream. The yearly dues are $20 and the daily fee is $25.

Pre-Historic Trackways National Monument

2010-03-30T19:13:00.000-07:00

We went on a short hike in our new national monument. Unfortunately,things haven't changed much yet. We drove by some folks taking target practice on an old toilet. There was plenty of trash everywhere,and the old quarry makes for a less than appealing gateway. We went down an alternate fork of the canyon where most people go to see the trackbeds. It was remote,untouched and had the quiet solitude one expects in the Robledo Mountains; quite different from the access point. I found this small natural arch near the top of the canyon. I've done many hikes in the Robledos, but I'd forgotten about them for awhile,maybe I'll start planning some new explorations for next winter.

Middle Fork Gila River

2010-03-30T18:57:00.000-07:00

The strong smell of the wet leaves on the trail makes me imagine I could be along any trout stream in the country. The towering, alcove pocked cliffs of orange volcanic tuff let me know I'm somewhere in the southwest. But when I catch a Gila trout toward the end of my November fishing day, I know I can only be in the Gila National Forest of southwestern New Mexico- in this case on the Middle Fork of the Gila River. I not only caught that Gila, a survivor from a stocking done at the Gila forks awhile back, but also good sized browns and a few rainbows on that same day.

The Middle Fork of the Gila River has nearly 40 miles fishable water almost all in the Gila Wilderness and accessible only by foot or horseback. Oddly enough, because of several good overland routes to upstream destinations, the stretch directly above the Gila Cliff Dwellings Visitor Center ( the only part available for a day trip) may actually receive less fishing pressure than spots deeper in the wilderness. This lower Middle Fork (from its confluence with the West Fork upstream about 8 miles or so) is a peach of stream if you wait until mid to late fall to fish it. Come in the summer and you may be disappointed, especially if you've come for trout. The water will be warm and you're more likely to see suckers than anything else. There may be bluegill and smallmouths, but since I usually avoid the lower elevation Gila streams as day fishing destinations in the summer, I'm no expert. Two things you will definitely see in late Spring and early Summer : people, and once July 4th rolls around, rain. Two more reasons to schedule your trip for October or November. In those months there will be cool mornings, warm afternoons,and blue skies.The fishing will be in pure or nearly pure solitude. On my Election Day trip ( I voted early), the VW van at the trailhead told me I was likely to encounter a few hippies at the hot spring a 1/2 mile or so up the trail. I did, and they were the last people I saw for the next six hours or so.

I've learned not to waste my time casting below the hot spring. Even where the water (and the gravel) looks good, it's too warm for most trout. There are good holes where the stream runs against the rocks soon enough above the spring. Drop a nymph to the head, the tail, the slow

water on the inside of the bend, or right where the water is deepest and you'll come up with something: if there are trout there, they'll take.

In places the lower Middle Fork breaks into smaller channels edged with bear grass and with deeply undercut banks. The water can be three feet

deep or more and holds some large browns. You'll have to be extremely stealthy to hook one. In November the leaves are gone and the undergrowth is crunchy, so it is important to constantly anticipate and plan your approaches. In general, even though the fish here aren't as spooky as on smaller Gila streams, it's best to stay out of the water and fish from cover(and from the bank) whenever you can. If you do get one these jumbos on your line then hold on for dear life, like it as not you'll lose it due mostly to the sheer shock.

The sun sets quickly in these deep canyons, so it's advisable to turn around early, especially if the plan is to fish on the way back. More than once I've stumbled back to the car in total darkness( I bring a flashlight now).If I don't want cold feet on the drive home, I soak them in the hot spring on the return hike: an extra amenity that very few trout streams offer and a nice way to end a day of fall fishing on the Middle Fork of the Gila River.

Achenbach Canyon

2010-03-15T18:03:00.000-07:00

We hiked up to upper Achenbach Canyon in the Organs in September. There is a good unofficial trail that starts from a short, rough road off Ladera Canyon Road. It had been raining for a few days and the old stock tank at the beginning of the trail was full and the tiny stream was flowing. In fact most of the little drainages along the way were flowing, as was upper and lower Achenbach itself: a rare occurence. You could hear the gushing of the 75 foot waterfall that separates the two,but couldn't really see it from the trail. I caught a glimpse by venturing out on a promontory on the way back,but I wasn't close enough for a photo, and didn't have time to venture to the bottom. A couple weeks ago I decided to venture into the lower canyon. We've had plenty of rain and snow this winter, and I had hoped that the big falls might have some decent flow. It was a pretty rough bushwack and as it turned out the "falls" was more like a trickle or a drip.Photographed it anyway but I will return if and when conditions are right again.

sleeping lady hills

2010-03-09T19:11:00.001-08:00

We did a Sunday hike in the Sleeping Lady Hills, a small range of volcanic hills about 10 miles west of Las Cruces. The start of this hike is accessed by a county maintained dirt road that passes through the Corralitos Ranch. We parked near Reichey Butte and started east into the main arroyo of the range.We followed this arroyo,sometimes on a road, but most of the time not, to its end. We then climbed up one of it's feeder ravines to a saddle with views east to the Rough and Ready Hills, the Robledos and Las Cruces.To the south were the cinder cones of the West Potrillos and Mount Riley. To the north were the Sierra de las Uvas.We turned to the southwest, climbed the ridge and soon arrived at the large cairn that marks the highpoint of range(approximately 5,300 feet). We descended the ridge on the west side to another saddle. Here we picked up a trail that sidehilled down a steep-walled canyon and eventually hooked back up with the main arroyo. Total distance was about 5 miles. Elevation gain: 800 feet. It was a pretty nice hike close to town but devoid of people. Which is a good thing now that the Organ Mountain trails have taken on the feel of a city park on the weekends. We did hear a lot of shooting when we started out,which is always a little off putting. But I believe there is a shooting range nearby. Once we got further back into the hills, though, we didn't hear it at all.

mimbres river

2010-03-02T19:07:00.000-08:00

I decided to take a year off from two of my favorite streams,the Middle Fork of the Gila River and the Mimbres River, in 2009. One reason was that because of the persistent drought and accompanying fires that lasted into August, the conditions were going to be significantly less than ideal. It seemed a good time not to further stress out these trout populations(especially on the Mimbres). Although I've spoken with one person who said there was decent fishing on the Mimbres in early September.
The previous fall these two streams provided a couple of the best days I've had on any Gila water in the ten years I've been fishing there. In both cases it was for browns, which was a little strange because in previous outings at either location, the catch had been exclusively rainbows. I know the Middle Fork had long held browns, but the Brown Trout in the Mimbres are a relatively recent phenomena- more than likely the result of some unofficial planting. Their less than legal origins notwithstanding, the browns have found an excellent home in the lower waters of the wilderness section of the Mimbres. Rainbows and hybrids begin to appear more frequently the farther upstream one goes, but I don't know if browns have come to dominate the upper stream as well,or if they've gotten into the upper forks yet.
I'd never had a big day on the Mimbres previously, and was even skunked once. If you have fished on the Mimbres in an average or above average water year and caught a good number of fish, consider yourself lucky. Only when you visit regularly will you realize how wildly fluctuating the conditions can be. One Fall I hiked upstream in the wilderness for three miles or so, crossing the river a dozen or more times and never got the tops of my boots wet. During one summer backpacking trip the water was high enough to make each of those same crossings an unwanted adventure. Needless to say the fishing wasn't much on either occasion. But on that beautiful October day in 2008, it seemed that I probably equaled my total number of fish from all my previous trips combined(only a slight exaggeration).

It's a bit of an up and down haul, though only two miles, to get to the Mimbres stream bottom from the trailhead on Forest Road 150. On the way out it's much worse,especially if it's only been a day trip. But down in the bottom of the canyon- it's a different world. I always find it hard to leave, and not just because of those two five hundred foot climbs I know are waiting for me.And not just because of those beautiful eager browns and colorful hybrids either( although that helps). Perhaps it's because, when there's enough water and the sky is a deep October, New Mexico blue, I imagine that this is everything a small trout stream could be,or should be, and it's more than enough for me.Final note: there are bears here, and I've had a (mutually terrifying, luckily) close encounter with a large one. Not that I'm trying to scare anyone off. Well, maybe I am.

west potrillo mountains

2010-02-28T09:54:00.000-08:00

I decided I wanted to hike to an "unbreached" cinder cone in the West Potrillo Mountains. Many of the cinder cones in this region are blown- out on one side, or otherwise eroded so that they don't have a perfectly surrounded depression in the center. Some do, however, and so I got onto my topo map software and then Google Earth and found reasonably accessible one about 4 miles west of Mt.Aden, which is located right along the Southern Pacific south of I-10. There are a maze of roads out in this area, some are good, some pretty rough, and some long forgotten. So, if you're not handy with maps or a GPS, it can be little confusing. I consider myself pretty handy, and I still got off on the wrong road for a mile or so.The hike wasn't particularly exciting; crossing over desert arroyos and flats that were once sand dunes. I saw many jackrabbits. They all looked plump and healthy. I also saw several different raptors, including what I thought was a peregrine falcon. The terrain near the cone is pretty rough with volcanic cinders and rocks. It's about a 200 foot,steep climb up the cone. From the rim, there was a good view of Aden Crater and lava flow as well as Mount Riley and the higher peaks of the West Potrillos. The highlight of trip was coming upon the tallest barrel cactus I've seen in Dona Ana County. It was over my head, and standing all alone in a sea of creosote. Not the most interesting hike,but a beautiful day.

Tonuco Peak

2010-02-16T18:57:00.000-08:00

Tonuco Peak is one of the best desert hikes here in southern New Mexico. It has petroglyphs, interesting geology, cool rocks(various colors of quartz crystals, barite, fluorite, obsidian), old mines, and great views of the Rio Grande Valley from the peak. Be careful around the mines if you go. Also there's a giant mystery hole on top of the peak- don't fall in it. This is a mostly moderate 7 mile hike. The final climb to peak is steep,but fairly short. It's amazing the remote feeling you get in the hidden canyon on this hike, even though you're very close to I-25 on one side and the farms along the river on the other.

Fillmore Canyon

2010-02-11T18:53:00.000-08:00

We hiked Fillmore Canyon in the Organs. It was early November and I was still hoping for little more fall color. An early hard freeze and snow meant it was unlikely. As it turned out most of leaves had fallen off the trees before they had a chance to change, but some years the shrubby ash ,box elder and gambel oak can make nice display. It was a good hike anyway. I explored up Fillmore Canyon proper rather than going through the Narrows. It's a rough little bushwack in there, and really not worth it unless perhaps there's good water running because there's one nice waterfall that I'd like to photograph.

Upper Gallinas

2010-02-08T16:41:00.000-08:00

We camped at Upper Gallinas along the Emory Pass corridor in the Black Range in October. It's probably the fourth or fifth time we've stayed there. The " official " campground is an unattractive gravel parking lot with a few tables and fire rings. If you cross the creek, you will find a much nicer,wooded, dispersed area with four or so spots for small trailers or tents. The stars are always beautiful out here. It was already getting down into the 20's at night, so there were no other campers at our campground, and only a couple of others in the 5 campgrounds along the recreation corridor( Wright's Cabin, Iron Creek, Railroad Canyon, Upper and Lower Gallinas). We didn't do a lot of hiking although we've probably hiked every trail in this area a couple times at least. Instead we just explored some old roads in the morning and drove out to the Middle Fork of the Gila River in the afternoon and did the short walk to the hot spring. Thinking about this trip, I feel a little sad now. Our little Cairn Terrier, Bonnie, was with us as usual. She was mostly blind and deaf the last year or so of her life, yet as recently as June, she was hiking in the Pecos Wilderness and hunting the myriad chipmunks at the Jack's Creek Campground. She had been getting unwilling about wilderness hikes for awhile,but she seemed particularly stubborn this trip and was carried much of the time. I was thinking this may be the last time she should come with us. As it turns out it was her last camping trip, she died 2 months later . She was nearly 15 years old.