Little Apache (FT 124), Sleepy Grass (FT 11) and La Pasada Encantada Trail (FT 233) - Lincoln National Forest

 

Sleepy Grass Trail

Little Apache Trail

Little Apache Trail

It was dry, hot and dismal in mid-July at the cabin on Horse Mountain. I had a few chores to take care of, but if it had been nice, I would have stayed several days. Instead, I called my wife and told her not to come up. I was heading back after just two nights. My wife threw out the idea of going up to Cloudcroft and staying at The Lodge for a couple of nights. It would be a mid- week stay ( I do not go to the Lincoln National Forest in vicinity of Cloudcroft or Ruidoso on weekends anymore), so I thought what the heck, lets try it. No sooner had I gotten back home, then we were off to the Sacramento Mountains.

Well it worked out really well. It had been raining up there so it was wonderfully green and mercifully cool.   I had it in mind  take this opportunity to do these hikes that are very close Cloudcroft for two reasons: first, my wife generally is not a big fan of driving long distances just to begin a hike, but also I was hoping that  because it was a Thursday that these trails would not be swamped with people as they almost always are on warm weather weekends.

 The Little Apache Trail is a loop (sort of) that we began at the back of the overflow camping (a big parking lot).

 It stays relatively level for quite a while in a shady forest of mostly smaller pine, oak, white fir and doug-fir. The amount of downfall on these ridge-tops is always a little unsettling, but it was so pleasant with sun breaking through shining on the oak leaves and the grass green at our feet, that it was easy not too worry.

 After about a mile the trail descends a small valley heading west toward Little Apache Canyon. The trees on the sides of the meadow were larger here and the stumps even bigger. Right before reaching the canyon, the trail crosses a road and skirts the edge of a large quarry. It's a bit of jarring sight to come across in the forest. For some reason it didn't bother me a whole lot.

 Now the trail began heading up Little Apache. There was tall grass in places accompanied by yellow wildflowers. We passed the only other hikers ( one couple with dogs) we saw in this section. The trail ends at the paved campground road, which was a little odd as they could've easily made it reconnect with the trailhead we started at. Still it was only  a quarter mile walk on the road and across the parking lot back to our vehicle.

Later that day we did the short La Pasada Encantada Trail right before a thunderstorm hit. The trail is graveled and has interpretive stops for sighted people and the visually handicapped. It would a great trail to introduce young children to hiking in the forest. 

 Friday morning after breakfast at Dusty Boots Cafe, we drove the short ways to the Sleepy Grass Picnic area and did a short hike up Apache Canyon ( directly across US 82 from Little Apache Canyon from the previous day). The trail is a now closed section of Forest Road 24B and I've seen it called Forest Trail 11 in a few places (though not necessarily on every map you might encounter). It ends where there is a gate on the paved road in Sleepy Grass Campground ( accessed at from the western end from NM 130). This walk is along one side of an open valley about 150 feet wide ( fairly typical for this area of the Lincoln National Forest). It's probably best done early in  the morning or late afternoon because there is not a whole lot of shade to be had. We stopped after about 6/10 of mile where we saw some not particularly shy wild horses  shuffling about in the precious shade of some aspens and conifers very close to the trail. It was still another half-mile or so to get to the very end.

 All in  all it was probably only about 6 miles of hiking for the two days, but it went a long way in lifting our spirits.

Horse Mountain Wilderness Study Area - Nance, Log Canyons ( Loop Hike)

 

We started out Sunday morning (8/31/24) from the WSA access in Teepee Ranch heading west over the hill and then finding a very old road down into the next canyon. From there, we contoured around the next ridge down into Nance Canyon ( the only other named canyon on Horse Mountain). Nance was similar to many of the canyons we have hiked on the north side with large widely spaced ponderosas, on grassy benches along the sides of the stream course. There were deciduous oaks too. Nance was a little different than the others in that it had a fairly wide gravel streambed that looked geared to handle a decent amount of surface flow at certain times of the year. It was dry at the time of our visit.

 It was a delightful, cool, late summer morning with the shadows getting longer that tell of approaching fall. Western bluebirds and nuthatches were in the trees. Abert's squirrels scurried away  from our approach. 

A green hummingbird fed at bright red flowers, utterly unfazed by our presence less than three feet away It definitely felt like a slice of New Mexico paradise. As we ascended the canyon, we eventually hooked with the old road invisible perhaps to the untrained eye as it now was covered in wildflowers.

 We had been hoping to use it to get us to the saddle at the top of Log Canyon, but got a little sidetracked by a well traveled trail. It was all good anyway, though, as we came upon  a giant rock tower we had never seen before on the sparsely vegetated ridgetop where several branches of the major canyons of Horse Mountain come to meet. 

We ended up following another road remnant which got us to an eastern branch of Log Canyon, but not to the saddle with the drinker and the branch with the road that the descends to the main canyon. No worries though we just slowly made our way down this roadless branch ( passing one enormous Douglas-fir as we did)  where the sight of rusty old drinking trough let me know we would soon be back on the old road in Log Canyon.

It was warming up quite a bit on this last leg. We had been out almost 4 hours even though this loop was probably just a little over 5 miles. 

Mangas Mountains - Mangas Creek (San Antone Canyon), Gila (Apache) National Forest

Mangas Creek

JD Pit Tank

The spring

Church ruin at Mangas NM.

It was going to be another hot one, but I didn't want to hang around the cabin all day, so this ( what turned out to be) all day adventure to Mangas Creek and beyond ended up filling the daylight hours very nicely. We headed out from the cabin on Horse Mountain and after about a half hour turned off of NM 12 onto  Catron County Rd. A0 95. It's narrow, and once we started heading up and up out of the flatlands, a bit rough. It's also a very scenic drive as it follows the twist and turns of Patterson Canyon. At the top is a large meadow area where we drove past a couple of bicyclists on the road. We saw one camper at Valle Tio Vinces on this Thursday morning among the huge ponderosa pines. Soon after we pulled off onto the road that mostly parallels Mangas and then parked at a dispersed camping area.

 I could already feel the the warmth even at 8200 feet when we emerged from the car, but as began walking we were happy to see water as we passed JD Pit Tank. On the first half of this hike before reaching a second larger tank it was pretty easy to stay in the shade even though Mangas Creek is very much a wet meadow type of stream and similar to the many drainages of the Lincoln National Forest in that there are few trees growing in the middle of the canyon. There were many pale purple and variegated wild irises everywhere though. The very narrow actual watercourse, 1-3 feet wide in most places had no flow except a meager amount in a few short stretches but we could tell it had been flowing nicely earlier in the spring.

Aspens began showing up as we kept a slow pace up the trail-less canyon. It had been awhile since I had laid eyes on any and they were a sweet sight and kept our spirits up even as the heat of midday settled upon us. 

Approaching the second man-made pond (tank) the stream had a bit of flow in its channel and there were areas of saturated grass as well. Just past the tank we rested for a bit and ate some snacks. I was still hoping to get to at least the first of two springs that are indicated on maps. The problem was now the canyon was much wider and very open. We clung to the tree lined edges as best  we could but it was hot and the stream was completely dry now.

When we arrived at where the first spring should be, we had some difficulty at first finding it, but I eventually located it emerging from the dry hillside and flowing very weakly across the old road for  about 25 feet  before completely disappearing under and old fallen log. It was hard to even fill two small water bottles for my dogs for the hot return trip. We used the somewhat shaded road for the first leg of our return trip. At the larger tank where I wet my older scottie down, which gave him new life for the rest of the walk.

A couple of things I noticed about Mangas Creek. It is not currently being used by livestock and doesn't appear to have been for a while. The tanks were fenced, I believe, to keep straying cattle out while continuing to be a source of water for wildlife. The old road does not appear to get much use. 

We decided after getting back to the 4Runner that we would drive north instead of  going back the way we came. The road followed Mangas Creek in a more or less straight shot eventually passing the  forest service work center just before leaving  national forest lands. Shortly thereafter, we encountered a couple of tumbledown buildings next to two small ponds. Across the road was the stone and adobe ruin of a church. This area is known as San Jose Springs. Further along was an abandoned tin roofed house that stood that sat on a treeless hill and then further still a couple of much larger adobe ruins close to the road. Behind them were more recent (but not that recent) houses, trailers corrals and buildings. Most of the many trucks and other vehicles that were scattered about seemed non-functional, but it was hard to tell if the homesteads had been abandoned completely.This is what remains of Mangas, NM.

 Miles and miles of low rolling hills followed, populated with sagebrush, weeds and maybe a bit of grass. The only trees were tucked against the lonely ranch houses or shading a livestock tank. We made it out to Highway 60 eventually then in Pie Town turned back toward Horse Mountain first using the South Pie Town Road, which is twenty miles of roller coaster country lane complete with several blind hills and blind curves, before turning onto the more reasonable Green Gap Road.

UPDATE (6/7/24): Within hours after we left Mangas Creek, a lightning strike on a nearby ridge started the Antone Fire.  It is being managed  for beneficial effects within a contained perimeter. Where we hiked is currently closed. The area may look quite different from what is pictured here.

Florida Mountains Wilderness Study Area - Owl Canyon

South Peak

South Peak

Tres Hermanas Mountains in the distance

old junipers

Above the box falls

box section

rock tower that was my constant companion

South Peak from NM 11

East Branch of Owl Canyon

Hackberries

This canyon is on the south end of the Florida Mountains.  It has no name on maps, but I've seen it referred to as Owl Canyon in a couple of places. I parked way too far away as is my frequent habit. The road actually improved greatly beyond where I stopped, I discovered on the return hike. I went cross-country on the way out negotiating my way through a virtual catclaw forest and going up down cobble-clad washes until reaching the escarpment of bare  brown rock mounds that come down to meet the desert floor.

 I found my canyon, which resembled a gravel road at this point and then I moved on to the east and into the box section.  

Getting out of the box section at the back was more than a little dicey. My choices were going under a huge boulder at the dry waterfall, or clawing my way up a steep (and I mean steep) wildlife path through the rock. I chose the path but it wasn't a good choice. The dry waterfall definitely wasn't. On my return trip I realized there was trail of sorts that takes off from the end of the road and bypasses both of these options quite nicely.

 I continued on, stomping the sand and gravel, weaving through and sometimes walking on the many boulders. A dilapidated fence was a brief obstacle. Eventually, I came to a little grove of hackberries growing on the bank and followed the deer path that threaded its way through them. 

Shortly after I came to the first dry waterfall, which was dry, but when I made my around it I soon found the barest trickle of water silently running in the cracks of the bedrock. 

I continued up and up, easy walking on the bedrock now. At the second falls, I had to side step my way around huge boulder, while avoiding getting the bottoms of shoes wet from barest of slicks coming down the mountain.

 I made it up to a third high, very steep falls that was once again dry with just the white mineral residue staining the nearly black rock.

It's all intrusive igneous here but with xenoliths and crazy pinkish veins running everywhere through the groundmass of gray granite.

 I love getting back into these canyons of the Floridas. They are quietly majestic and I find it hard to put into words the spell the towers, cliffs, cascades and falls put upon me. The junipers, growing ancient, twisted and huge (at least compared to those growing out in the open hillsides) in the near perpetual shadows of the peaks, bring me joy as if I was meeting a beloved person from history.

 I lingered for awhile.

 I headed back down. I found the trail just past a wilderness study are marker, that led me to the road which I followed all the way back to the truck.

 There were poppies here and there. Not many, but nice just the same