On the Lookout

I didn't do any wandering to speak of this spring. I usually stick fairly close to home during fire season, since there may not be much time to evacuate critters and valuables if a wildfire threatens the neighborhood. This season, I had a special opportunity to stay in one place and watch the world around me.

I volunteer for the USFS at our local District Office. I heard that they had no plans to staff any fire lookouts this season, even though two lookouts are still fully equipped. So, I talked to the Fire Prevention Officer and volunteered my services as a fire lookout. It's something that has been on my bucket list, and here was a perfect opportunity. I then convinced a friend and fellow volunteer to join me in this endeavor so the lookout could be staffed almost every day. The FPO and Fire Management Officer decided that we should staff the lookout closest to the urban interface (such as it is here), which happens to be a fifteen minute drive from my home. So, I didn't have to camp at James Ridge Lookout. I commuted.

James Ridge Lookout is a 7 foot by 7 foot Aermotor LX-24 cab on a 62 foot tower. It was first erected near the Mayhill Ranger Station in 1935, but was relocated to James Ridge in 1967. It has a view of the northern part of Sacramento Ranger District and the southern part of the Mescalero Indian Reservation.

Inside are the usual tools: an Osborne Fire Finder, a radio to send in my weather and fire reports, binoculars, weather instruments, maps etc.

The north window of the lookout had a bullet hole in it. A lot of splinters of glass had to be cleaned up from the cab.  The bullet then passed into the ceiling, but didn't exit - at least we think it didn't because it never leaked during rain. It took a while, but by the end of fire season the pane was replaced. The first replacement shattered when they tried carrying it up the tower stairs unprotected. The second time, it came up in a protective box.

After only a few days in the lookout we had our first fire. It was down on the southwest end of the district, far from James Ridge. I heard chatter on the radio for about a half hour before I could see smoke rise over Pumphouse Ridge. It was named the Benson fire, which was a misnomer, because it was on Joplin Ridge and nowhere near Benson Ridge. It was human caused - an unattended campfire.  It turned out to be the largest fire of the season in our district, and was just shy of 100 acres in size. Really, we had a very light and lucky fire season!

About a month into fire season, four forest service green vehicles rolled up and parked at the lookout. I had no idea what was going on, although I had heard on the radio that someone was driving up to James Ridge. It turned out it was the Pike, Colorado Hotshots who were on fire detail in the area, and they were just out for a joyride and a view of the countryside from the lookout. Good guys.

In late May, we had a light rain with cool temperatures, and I got a photo of some waterdogs - patches of condensation that can be mistaken for smoke. Often after a rain there will be phone calls to 911 or the sheriff or the District Office from concerned folks seeing smoke that turns out to be water dogs. They dissipate differently than smoke, and to me, their edges look fractal, where smoke is more "puffy". It will dissipate, then recur. I've learned that you want to watch a suspected smoke for a few minutes to see if it "puffs" repeatedly.

Most days, the routine was quiet and regular. Open up and check in with Dispatch at 8 am. Collect weather data - rainfall amount (if any), wet and dry bulb temperatures, relative humidity, wind speed and direction, cloud cover and visibility (how clear the air is based on how far you can see). Radio in weather reports at 9 am and 1 pm. Scan for smokes every 15 minutes and catch up on reading in between scans or listen to baseball on internet radio (yes, being near the urban interface there was good cell signal). Watch birds and other forest critters. Watch the changing shadows on the landscape. Watch the aspen stands turn green. Be friendly to any visitors that show up. Clean the windows or the cab. Check out with dispatch at 5 pm and lock things up.

Wild turkey visiting the tower

Even though these days were pleasant and peaceful, there is no denying that I looked forward to sighting a smoke, just for the adrenaline rush. I just wanted the smoke to be small and stay small. And I did see a few before the season ended. One was very far away on the north end of the Mescalero Reservation. I was surprised I was the first to see it, and it had already grown to ten acres by the time I did. Eventually, the Black Forest fire grew to about 100 acres, but that was because the BIA crews managed the fire to get rid of some slash in the area, so let it grow in a controlled way.

Just before the summer monsoons hit in full force we had our most dangerous weather - thunderstorms with lightning, but little rain. On June 30, we had a "lightning bust" and about six small fires started on the district, all within a few hours of each other in late afternoon. I turned in two that were very close to James Ridge. They were between one and two miles away. All the fires stayed small, thanks to favorable weather, but there were crews scattered all over the district chasing down these small starts.

Here are the two starts near James Ridge. I could see the base of the Walker fire and watched it glow as it consumed brush well into twilight.

Not long after the lightning bust and one more nearby start caused by a landowner leaving a brush pile he was burning unattended, the monsoons started in earnest and soon the fire danger was low and fire season was over. By mid July we cleaned the lookout for the last time, covered the Fire Finder, powered down the electronics and said good bye to James Ridge Lookout. We've already been asked if we want to come back for next fire season.

Otero Mesa - Collins Hills

On March 5 and 6 it was time for more BLM wilderness inventory on Otero Mesa. This time, we went to the northern part of the mesa to an area known as Collins Hills. The area isn't jaw-dropping spectacular; just rolling hills with grass, yucca, cholla and creosote, but it offers great opportunities for solitude. The first day was very windy and dusty - oh wait, since New Mexico is the Land of Enchantment I should say that there was a lot of enchantment in the air.

We camped for the night in the lee of the Collins Hills, to get a break from the wind.

What we discovered on both days in the Collins Hills area is that although the scenery isn't spectacular, the area is a paleontological treasure trove. There is a huge number of coral fossils and some ammonite fossils as well. I think this whole area was an ancient coral reef - part of the Permian Reef, I guess. There are also lots of fossilized silt impressions - cracks, raindrops and the like. There was no North America when this moment in time was frozen into rock. Pangaea was forming.

Fossilized silt cracks and some fossils

A wash exposed the silt-stone.

The next day we explored a little to the south in a unit called Cornucopia Draw. Here we found some spectacular coral fossils.

We camped in another sheltered area, did more inventory on the third day on the east side of the hills and headed for home at the end of the day. We did see a few people over the three days; one rancher and a few petroleum company employees looking for a blockage in a natural gas line that runs from Artesia to El Paso. Mostly though, it was solitude, solitude, solitude.

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.

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.