Moments in Dirt and Ink

Las Cruces District BLM (map link) The only thing in the New Mexico bootheel area I can find on AllTrails are a couple routes added by a local (to the state, at least) peak bagger and the bike route for the Continental Divide Trail. Even the "community content" tab is pretty sparse and not useful. Of one, he says there's mining history to pass, but no actual trail. It looked like a nice loop, so I decided to give it a try, give or take. Little Hatchet Mountains Road is an unpaved county road and currently in pretty good shape as far as I took it, right now, discounting the spots where I felt like I was swimming in a bit of sand. I got just past a windmill to the next wash and hit the brake rather than crossing, then found I'd already passed the parking spot I was aiming at. The windmill has parking but is technically on private property (by Caltopo public lands layer), so I parked a little further back at a 4x4 road. It was generally hard to get off the maintain...

Las Cruces District BLM (map link) I picked out Coyote Peak, the high point of the Coyote Hills as best as I can tell. It sits very near to the actual divide and near to the Continental Divide Trail. It would be shorter from the north, but I decided it would be more interesting from the south. This was entirely due to gut feeling while meditating upon the USGS map of the area. It looked a little like rough land until I noticed that the major contours were 100 feet, which makes the minor contours only 20 feet. There's a lot of detail. I was able to make an earlier start than the previous hike via the all paved approach to the trailhead. I could easily spot the CDT by the information kiosk on the south side of NM-9 and parked trying not to block the Border Patrol roads. (Apparently they need a lot of dirt roads running parallel to perfectly good highways. I can't explain this.) The kiosk south of the road is the easiest to see indication of the crossing of the CDT. The L...

Las Cruces District BLM (map link) Pyramid Peak is a "P1K" as the mad peak baggers say. Only a couple have gone after this particular one, but they were willing to say a few things about it on Peakbagger . It's not all that long starting from where the Continental Divide Trail crosses Animas Road, so I decided to add in Rimrock Mountain as well. I could get in a bit more hiking on the CDT (bonus) too. I used the public lands layer on Caltopo to make sure I could stick to public lands. There are multiple range fences to navigate, but I could do it all on state and federal lands. I got to the start later than hoped because I had a lot of dirt to drive before backing up onto a little used parking space beside the road. I still managed to catch a hiker just packing up from camping next to the random seeming bear box that turns out is one of the water caches along the trail. Pyramid Peak sits like a child's drawing above the meager markings for the CDT as it cross...

Coronado National Forest (map link) I still had a couple hours of light left, although in the east facing canyon, it could be somewhat shadowy light. I spotted a "ruin" icon on my map which happened to be labeled "explosives shack" and wondered what that might be. I parked in the small space across from Stewart Campground (closed, but the season is coming soon). Signage for the Cave Creek Nature Trail is minimal at this location. A spot to start on the Cave Creek Nature Trail. The trail follows along near the road, which is one reason I had not bothered with it so far. The birders find it handy, and that is probably what makes it a "nature trail" because there is none of the interpretive signage one might expect. I turned west. The road crosses the creek in that direction, so I soon had the water between myself and the cars. There was a little water flowing above ground along the stretch I walked, which wasn't the case everywhere. (It was dr...

Coronado National Forest (map link) Finding myself in New Mexico and what do I do? Head over to Arizona to hike. I've actually hiked quite a lot of the trails around Cave Creek, but I found one I had not done. AllTrails (which is very sparse across the boot heel) is where I found it mentioned that it is inappropriate to park at Cave Creek Ranch where the trail starts and I should park at the visitor center. From memory, the visitor center has a gate on the lot and it very much gets locked when the place is not open. However, there's also a little parking directly across it and, if you are desperate, maybe some to be had beside the fence in front of it. I was on the lookout for closer parking on the way in, but then pulled in across from the building as planned. It wasn't open yet, but I did pass the person who would get to that in 20 minutes. I had about half a mile to the trailhead. Signs along the road into the ranch indicated you might be able to park there for $5 ...