Cedar Mountains Range (Cedar Mountains Wilderness Study Area)

Flying W Mountain

Valiente Peak

I did this hike in early December with employees and volunteers ( of which I am one) from the New Mexico Wilderness Alliance. The Cedar Mountains  are a small chain of rounded hills (with a few higher peaks) that run northwest to southeast in southwestern Luna County. On the eastern end is a small wilderness study area.  Like so many places in the west the name hardly fits: only a couple of the peaks really seem to be mountains,  and there are very few cedars ( junipers actually). The mountains are geologically similar to the many other volcanic desert ranges in the  southwestern quadrant of the state, consisting of mainly andesitic flows with some rhyolites, ash flow tuffs and occasional basalt flows, as well as the conglomerates and other sedimentary rocks that derived from these. There appears to  have been little  prospecting and unlike several of the nearby ranges they seem to be devoid of any mineral wealth in the same way the Sierra de las Uvas and the Good Sight Mountains ( two ranges where I have hiked extensively) are.

 When scouting out locations for this journey, I opted for the drainages (Deer Canyon, Sacaton Draw,Gap Draw) coming down on the northeast side of Flying W Mountain (the tallest peak in the range) where there are actually a few trees ( junipers, scrub oaks) to be seen  growing moderately dense in the canyons and scattered lightly on the hillsides.  Leaving off of NM 9 at Hermanas, the driving on the county maintained road was pretty good. Past the ranch house, though, the maintenance ends and the going gets much slower.  Beyond Valiente Well there is a descent into the Left Fork Sacaton Draw which is very rough, and the crossing of the arroyo is rougher still. We parked before crossing the main fork of Sacaton Draw (also very rough) a short ways beyond. A group of hikers followed me as we began walking west up a small tributary to the main canyon.  We eventually crossed over a low saddle into the main Sacaton Draw eventually reaching the wonderful stone and concrete dam at Rock Tank. It was a pleasant if unremarkable walking in a landscape very similar to many parts of Organ Mountains-Desert Peaks National Monument right here in my home county of Doña Ana.

Dam at Rock Tank

 Shortly past the dam we began ascending northwesterly to a saddle and then descending very steeply into an upper tributary of Gap Draw. This lovely little canyon had a sweet secluded feeling to it and wonderful views of Flying W Mountain (6,275 feet). It would be a nice choice for an overnight backpack.

 Emerging out into the wide open expanse of main Gap Draw was bit of a let down, especially when we could see evidence of people still bringing vehicles into the wilderness study area.  Eventually we went up on a ridge on our right and followed a very old road to the abandoned cabin at a small private inholding which is the old Flying W Ranch. From there we headed back on the road towards our starting point. There is a crossing of an un-named arroyo just east of the cabin which is worse than the other two. Luckily we were walking.

Gap Draw

 I enjoyed this little WSA, and if I lived in Deming I probably would visit it from time to time, but it is really quite an investment in time to get there and back from Las Cruces.