Otero Mesa - Cornudas Mountains Area

Near the New Mexico - Texas border there is a very large mesa with the largest remaining Chihuahuan desert grassland in the US. There are beautifully stark volcanic intrusions at the south end of the mesa and evidence of longtime inhabitation by Native Americans. This is Otero Mesa; a patchwork of land owned by ranchers, the state of New Mexico, the BLM and Fort Bliss Military Reservation.

I spent three days here with a group of volunteers from New Mexico Wilderness Alliance to inventory some BLM managed areas. We were documenting their potential for wilderness classification (as defined by the BLM).

We camped at the foot of Alamo Mountain, west of the Cornudas Mountains. There are many petroglyphs scattered throughout the Cornudas, but I did not get a chance to go view them. That will be saved for a recreational visit. There are also ruins of a Butterfield stage station around here, but a visit to those will also have to wait.

The first day we went to a unit near Cornudas Mountain. This area is already a designated "Area of Critical Environmental Concern" (ACEC). When we got there, we found that we needed a permit to enter. We didn't have a permit. We were able to only document human (ranching) impacts and natural characteristics outside the ACEC, and couldn't access Cornudas Mountain itself. Part of the mountain is on private land as well.

Cornudas Mountain from the ACEC boundary. The peak in the distance on the left is Wind Mountain.

The next day we went to an area around the McVeigh Hills and Black Mountain. There were some good views of the Cornudas Mountains from there. In the following picture, Chatfield Mountain is on the left. It straddles the New Mexico - Texas border and the Texas part (including the peak) is on private land. Peeking out from the right side of Chatfield is San Antonio Mountain in Texas. On the right is Wind Mountain in New Mexico. The main reason I took this photo was to show what overgrazing has done. Wherever cattle have overgrazed, the native grasses get replaced with greasewood and mesquite. The grassland soil is very thin and fragile.

Here is a closer view of the same three mountains.

On the way back to camp I stopped at a good eastern prospect. The Guadalupe Mountains were catching the afternoon sun off in the distance. The cliff on the right edge is El Capitan. Guadalupe Peak is to El Cap's left and is the highest point in Texas.

On our third day we broke camp and drove back to the McVeigh hills unit to tie up some inventory loose ends, then started the drive back north. We reached the north edge of Otero Mesa by sunset and had a great view of the southwest edge of the Sacramento Mountains as they turned pink. If you look carefully you will see three light specks on the left half of the ridge. They are the National Solar Observatory and Apache Point Observatory.

From there, it was a short run up highway 54 to highway 82 and home.

Agua Chiquita

I took a drive down FS 64 in the lincoln National Forest to see how Agua Chiquita was doing in this prolonged drought. This rito has a two mile stretch that is designated as a wildlife improvement area, and funds from several sources (including Trout Unlimited) have been raised to introduce Rio Grande Cutthroats there.

The road is one of the best maintained gravel roads in the Lincoln NF.  It sees a lot of traffic, since it passes through the tiny villages of Sacramento and Weed. It was also chock-a-block with hunting camps, since there were 1,500 deer permits issued in the Lincoln for November 10-14.

Before dropping down into Agua Chiquita Canyon, you drive through the Scott Able fire burn scar. This fire occurred in 2000, and more than a decade later, the main vegetation is still just grasses.

Scott Able burned areas

This was the first big fire I experienced after moving here. It roared down the canyon in one night, reaching Sacramento and Weed and burning homes. It didn't get much press because it happened at the same time as the big Cerro Grande fire that burned neighborhoods in Los Alamos. I remember watching the smoke and flames from Apache Point Observatory that first night.


The drought has hit Agua Chiquita pretty hard. The protected area is the only section with any water  until you get close to where Agua Chiquita joins with the Rio Peñasco (all private land).  The protected area is fed by two springs. I can't imagine it will be able to support too many trout. Still, it is a pretty area, even when the grass is dry and the stream is iced over.

Nogal Canyon and Nogal Peak

This weekend was set aside for wilderness inventory in New Mexico's White Mountain Wilderness. I met up with the other volunteers at the end of FS400 at the north end of the wilderness. This is one area that did not burn in this year's Little Bear fire.

Our campsite, with Nogal Peak as the backdrop.

On Saturday we headed up to the end of Nogal Canyon. There was a depressing number of invasive musk thistles in the canyon. They tend to be where human and livestock impact is heaviest. We logged their locations, but there were too many for our little group to eradicate on this trip. A little over a mile into the wilderness there is a junction of three different trails where the group split up. Once we got into these less travelled areas we saw only a few thistles. From then on, we mostly logged points of interest, old campsites and social trails. We had a great hike.

Heading up the canyon

The view west near the junction of trails. The dark streak in the distance is Valley of Fires, one of the youngest lava flows in the continental U.S. Just under the widest part of the lava flow is the village of Carrizozo.

Our assigned trail took us south, where we got some views of the part of the wilderness that burned. The green grass that grew during monsoon season softened the visual impact of the fire. Many areas in the distance where you see grass are burned. The fire went all the way to the ski runs of Ski Apache in the distance, and ran off to the left out of the frame.

A zoomed in view looking toward some burned areas

We were not in an area with many aspens, but we did come across a stand of maples on the road back to camp.

We enjoyed a tasty dinner, thanks to the GIS expert and leader of the group, some great conversation around the campfire, and then headed off to sleep.

The next morning (Sunday) broke clear and windy.

We all decided to hike to the summit of Nogal Peak. It isn't the highest peak in the area at 9957 feet, but it is the highest point in the north part of the wilderness and gives good 360 degree views. Besides, the trail to the summit had not been added to the inventory, so it was a mix of work and play.

On the way to the peak, looking toward the Capitan Mountains in the distance.

The view from the summit. South is left, west is right. Off in the distance is the north end of White Sands as well as Valley of Fires.

Here is the panorama broken into two pieces, so you get a little more detail.

The view to the east. In the distance on the right are the Capitan Mountains.

The Nogal Peak marker

After eating lunch at the summit, we headed back to the trailhead.

Looking down on Nogal Canyon where we had hiked the day before.

Tired, we rested a bit at the trailhead, then said our good-byes and headed for our homes scattered across New Mexico. If the weather holds, we will be back here again next week to complete the inventory of the northern trails of the White Mountain Wilderness.

Three Rivers Campground - West-side Gateway to the White Mountain Wilderness

I've been trying to fit in as many camping trips as I can before winter hits, but my September trips took a big bite out of my travel budget. That meant choosing a nearby destination for my latest trip. I decided to head over to Three Rivers Campground at the southwestern edge of New Mexico's White Mountain Wilderness. From there I could take some day hikes into the White Mountain Wilderness.

Campsite 8 has the best views of both the Tularosa Basin and the mountains near Sierra Blanca. I was glad to see it was empty, and even had a beautiful example of New Mexico's state flower,  Aluminum budlightium var. NFL.

Here is the view to the east. The high point has no name that I know of. Hiding behind it is Lookout Mountain. The campground is in the piñon-juniper zone, but the hikes all head uphill to intersect with the Crest Trail, so you climb into the pine-oak belt and the fir-aspen belt, and finally up to the spruce-fir belt. The trails climb an average of 1,000 feet in elevation for every mile travelled.

The same view at sunset.

Looking west, in the direction of the Tularosa Basin.

There's nothing better than enjoying sunset by a campfire.

The campground is right at the edge of the wilderness.

My first day hike was up the Dry Canyon trail. Before you start the climb, you cross Three Rivers canyon. The river would just be a creek anywhere but in the Southwest. Anything that flows year-round deserves to be called a river here.

As you start the climb out of the campground, the view of the Tularosa Basin opens up. The little strip of white in the distance on the left is the northern edge of White Sands. It was a hazy day, and warm for October.

At the lower elevations, there is a lot of Prickly Pear cactus.  The tunas were ripening and there was a lot of evidence along the trail that the local bear and raccoon populations were feeding heavily on them. Tunas are pretty tasty.

By the time you get into Dry Canyon proper, the views close in. I didn't take many photos at that point, mainly because I was just concentrating on putting one foot in front of the other. Katie-the-collie and I didn't make it all the way to the Crest Trail. We did a 6.5 mile round trip with an almost 3,000 foot elevation gain. I'm not in the greatest shape, but I guess I'm a little more fit now than I was before this hike. We climbed quite a ways past the rock outcropping in the following photo.

Along the way, in the pine-oak zone, I saw a lot of this plant. I think it is a variety of White Clematis, but don't know for sure. Any experts out there who can confirm this identification?

After making my way back down the canyon, there was time for dinner, a refreshing beverage and a small campfire before bed. I slept well. Being tired will do that - or maybe it was the beverage.

Dry canyon is the one at the left side of the following photo taken from the campground. You can also see that the aspens are reaching their peak color in the heights. Weather permitting, I will be up at the higher elevations of the wilderness in about a week. I hope the aspens will hold their color until then.

The next day Katie and I took a less strenuous hike on the Barber Ridge trail. This trail runs north along the edge of the wilderness for a while before turning east to climb up to the Crest trail. We only did the north-south section as far as Goat Canyon. The further out you go, the less developed the trail, and some sections are pretty rocky. It amazes me that horses can get through some of these trails, but obviously they do. The part of the trail we were on stayed in the piñon-juniper zone.

Another view toward the "Tulie" Basin, with White Sands off in the distance.

Along the way, a Rainbow Grasshopper posed for a picture. She was about two inches long.

A nice place where Katie and I stopped for a snack.

We arrived back at camp in the afternoon, in time to listen to the Giants game on internet radio. There were cell towers off in the distance on a ridge, and I was amused that I had much better cell signal at the campground than I get at home. I'm guessing that the towers mainly serve the military installations out in the basin. I don't think they would be placed there for a few ranchers and campers, but who knows?

The last time I was at Three Rivers CG, I had just adopted Katie and it was her first camping and hiking trip. Every time we went by the empty campsite we stayed at then, Katie stopped and wanted to investigate. I swear she remembered the area and the previous trip. That was quite a while ago, too.

The next day it was time to head home to take care of some chores. The round-trip only took about seven gallons of gas, yet it was far enough away that I had the feeling of being "elsewhere". Three Rivers made for a nice little autumn getaway.

Jack's Creek Campground and the Pecos Wilderness

I had many reasons to head to the upper Pecos: fall colors, full moon, hiking trails into the wilderness and trout. As a bonus, the Pecos River and wilderness are less than one tank of gas from home. Plus, this area was recommended by Argonaut20 over on WanderTheWest. So, on September 27 I headed to Jack's Creek campground to make that my base camp for a few days of exploring. The campground is at the north end of the road that goes up the Pecos Canyon and has trailheads that take you into the Pecos Wilderness.  Even on a Thursday afternoon the campground was about one-third full. I picked a site at the end of the upper loop that offered the most seclusion, and settled in.


The fall colors were not yet at their peak around Jack's Creek.

I hadn't had a chance to camp around full moon in several years. Full moon is less useful time for the astronomy projects I worked on, but it is valuable engineering time, and I always had to be on hand to organize the night-time engineering activities. So, this night I enjoyed being free to watch the moon peek out from behind the clouds that brought a few light rain showers. Unfortunately, my point-and-click camera  could not capture the moonlit landscape.

After a good night's sleep and a leisurely bacon and egg breakfast, Katie-the-collie and I headed down the trail to the Pecos River. We poked around, investigating various pools, and generally enjoying the day. We made it a little way into the wilderness, following the river, until brewing afternoon thunderstorms made us turn back to camp. This trail is a bear highway, based on the amount of scat I saw. I didn't take the fly rod for this hike, but planned to return the day after next.

The Pecos River

A decapitated old puffball along the way

A nice rock outcropping along the Pecos

Looking south down the Pecos Canyon. Storms are brewing.

A little color in the mountains, but some aspens had dropped their leaves before they fully turned color.

Not long after getting back to camp a thunderstorm hit. At first there was a lot of thunder and small hail, then the storm center moved north and there was a steady rain drumming on the camper roof, with thunder in the distance. That was like a narcotic to me, and I drifted into a nice nap until the rain stopped.

Later in the day and into the night the weekend campers started arriving. When I got up the next morning, the campground was almost full. On the plus side, everyone was responsible and friendly. There were no generators running late into the night, and no out-of-control parties.

After breakfast the next day I packed up the daypack and Katie and I headed out on trail 25 into the wilderness. A note for others who plan to hike this trail: there are a few unofficial access trails that go upslope from the upper loop of the campground that will save you up to two miles of hiking outside the wilderness boundary, since the main trail parallels the campground and the trailhead is at the lower end. The unofficial trails look well-used and don't show erosion, so I think they are probably okay to use.

Katie and I followed the trail to Round Mountain, enjoyed the views and wandered around a bit before the afternoon thunderstorms started threatening again.

The wilderness boundary

A view from the shoulder of Round Mountain

A closer view, looking down the Pecos Canyon.

Storms a-brewing

As we headed back, we encountered three different herds of cattle being driven out of the wilderness (yes, the USFS has cattle leases inside the wilderness here). As Katie and I stood off to the side of the trail waiting for one herd to pass, I struck up a conversation with a cowboy. He said the Forest Service was making them drive the cattle out earlier than usual. I asked if that was because they thought it was going to be an early winter. The cowboy shook his head and said he thought it was "just a urinating match" between the Forest Service and the ranchers. His words.  I thought it was odd that they would choose a weekend to drive the herds out, since there were a lot of hikers on the trail. Maybe the cattlemen deliberately wanted hiker conflicts as part of the "urinating  match"? That's pure speculation on my part, though.

My view on the hike back was of a horse's rear end.

The next day, I went back to the Pecos River with my fly rod. There were only a few afternoon clouds and the water was clear, so the trout were in hiding. I'm sure they saw me coming a mile away.  The only luck I had was when a cloud covered the Sun and I drifted a Madam X by an undercut bank. A rainbow darted out and took the fly. It was just a 10-incher, and it released itself while I was fumbling with the camera to snap a picture. You'll just have to believe me. If I said it was a 20-incher, then you would be right to be skeptical. In spite of the slow fishing, it was a glorious afternoon on the Pecos River and I didn't get back to camp until a little after sunset. I'll bet the fishing picked up at sunset, but I didn't want to hike back in the dark along the bear highway.

A beautiful day on the Upper Pecos.

Hiking back to camp.

When I got back to camp, I was surprised to find that I had the Upper Loop entirely to myself. While I was out, everyone had packed up and left. Well, it was Sunday, so I shouldn't have been surprised. The only sounds that night were from the Black Bear Percussion Ensemble beating out some rhythms at the dumpsters.

The next day, October 1, it was time to clean up around the dumpsters (the bears didn't eat cucumber peelings - interesting), break camp and head for home. But, I heeded Argonaut20's advice and took a detour on the road to Elk Mountain. It's a long drive on a dirt road that was mostly in good shape, but the recent rains created some deep puddles. Still, it was two-wheel drive until near the end of the road. The Elk Mountain summit is 11,400 feet and provides some great views.

Looking east from the summit

Looking northwest - toward the Pecos Wilderness.

Looking south at the aspens showing some color. An old fire came right up to the summit.

Hey, Argo, do you know anything about this memorial at the summit?

Then, it was time to head south out of the Pecos Canyon, down through Encino, Corona, Tularosa, Carrizozo and Cloudcroft to home. It was a great, relaxing trip and I left plenty of other trails to explore.