Horse Mountain Wilderness Study Area - Nance Canyon Saddle

The idea, which had been with me ever since we acquired the property in Teepee Ranch, was to climb to Horse Peak leaving directly from the cabin. It's really not a good idea. I knew all along. It was farther than a direct route from the west side. It would require side-hilling or climbing over three intervening peaks which would also take considerable concentration to stay on a reasonable route that doesn't lose significant elevation. There were more problems that I will address shortly.

 I got out reasonably early on the first day of June, hiking upstream along the canyon that runs through our property onto BLM land. Just past the old wire corral, where the ridge on my left is at its least imposing, and consequently easiest for climbing, I crossed over to the canyon next door. It was still dark and cool down there, as I crunched through the pine cones and followed the good trail. As the canyon curved to my right I saw a lone cow elk and then, on the ground a couple of piles of fairly fresh bear scat. I know that bears are on Horse Mountain, but I have yet to see one, and frankly I wasn't really in the mood for a sighting this morning. Getting out of the canyon is a lung-buster, but I was patient and took it slow, not wanting burn myself out so early in the hike. I emerged into the bright and warm sunlight and began using a wildlife trail I had used before to take me up to the parched landscape of the plateau in the vicinity of Monolith Rock (which I've written about before in this blog).  After drinking my first water of the day on a little hilltop I decided to traverse,  I walked onto another great wildlife trail that was just the ticket for the route I had planned. When it ran into a really rough ravine, I decided to to just head straight up on the side I was on, skirting some huge rock formations that from certain angles looked like a mother and child.

  

I was counting steps uphill, then counting out my rests, something I've been doing for several years now to insure I don't exhaust myself on these really, really steep hillsides. It's a bit tedious, but it works.  I finally arrived at very nice little saddle with views down a canyon running to the east and up to the higher ridge that also runs out to the east.

Leaving upwards from the saddle I spied a hole, or window in a large rock formation above me. I decided I  had to have a closer look. Zig-zagging my up there (with the obligatory rests again), I accidentally roused first one enormous bull elk and then a second just as large. I felt bad for disturbing them while they enjoyed the peace that comes with being in the high country of Horse Mountain.

 The hole in the rock was not huge, but it was a fun first highlight of the trip. Getting to it got me part way up one of those intervening peaks, and I began side-hilling  on a pretty good wildlife trail that headed toward the second peak. I was enjoying the relatively easy walking in the shade, but eventually I had to carefully pick my way down through the boulders and trees to a second saddle This one was much larger than the first and from the few bits of trash (a can, a metal fork,  a hand-warmer packet ) I saw, gets used as a campsite sometimes. I was really happy to be there. 

The views to the south extended down the canyon to the Plains of  San Agustin and beyond to Pelona Mountain. This was the same canyon I've looked up longingly at while driving on NM 12, catching brief glimpses of the couple of large hoodoos (rock towers) to be seen at its top. Now I was there and the towers were close at hand.

Over to the southwest was Horse Peak, perhaps a mile away and already becoming my erstwhile destination. 

There was no fortuitous wildlife trail,  or even a reasonable bushwhack to be done on the sun-baked south side of the intervening peak directly to the west. The entire hillside, the entire peak, was just boulders.  Where there weren't boulders, a few cliffs jutted out, below which gravel slides ran down the mountain. I had the idea of just going over the top and I went at it too, climbing upwards with a few pines for company.  It was slow and hot and not all easy, and when I looked at my time I realized I was not making it to Horse Peak today. I came back down to the saddle. I briefly thought of going round on the forested north side of this nameless peak, but realized  when I checked my On-X app that it would  be a very long way around to get back on track toward Horse Peak. Today's journey had reached its end. It was time to return. At first I was just retracing the route that had brought me there, but I decided to  descend to Log Canyon via a branch canyon I had not been in before. I was tired, but happy, as I walked the last miles in the canyon, now as familiar as an old friend.