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(epic road trip 2 #7)
It’s Christmas evening and I’m camped at the Cherry Creek Campground in the Gila Mountains. I had a room last night in Silver City and a night with heat and a king size bed got me to go back into the mountains which I hadn’t explored much traveling through them to go to the Cliff Dwellings and back out before dark.
I lounged in the hotel until checkout as is my wont. The travel and hiking and the cold has tended to wear me down so my hotel time is not as productive as I planned. I just want to watch some TV and enjoy the amenities.
I went to The Big Ditch which had been Main Street in Silver City but with logging and grazing big floods would sweep through and dug a big gulch through town. Eventually they built a couple bridges and stabilized it and are trying to turn it into a riparian area. Only 2% of New Mexico is riparian so it’s valuable habitat even in its half-assed form.
After that I planned to see the ghost town, Pinos Altos, in the foothills but there wasn’t much to it. It’s a going concern and ghost town is a misnomer. I hiked a short interpretive hike on early gold mining and grabbed a camp seat. After walking up the creek bed, down the road and climbing around on some rocks I dropped in on my neighbors camp.
I had loaned them my axe and it was 8 young Syrians. They were really gracious and pushed water on me and a nice seed/nut mix. We enjoyed the fire and hiked up the hill above the campground. They were nice young men and 55 seemed old to them which was funny.
The unexpected party and texts, calls and social media connections with family and friends made for a pretty nice Christmas. The full moon is a nice bonus.
I am still quite behind in my narrative. After Guadalupe, I camped at a BLM campground and went from there to Carlsbad Caverns. I met another traveler who was making coffee in the parking lot named Jon and he ended up being on my tour.
The Caverns are amazing. Mostly I stay off the beaten path but sometimes you have to dip into super mainstream country to see something amazing. The Big Room is the largest cave in North America and there are seemingly endless features. I’m writing this without a signal so I’ll add photos later.
I climbed out of the Caverns to get my cardio which I’m glad I did as their were lots of features still to see. Jon invited me for lunch at his camp on BLM land towards Carlsbad. Jon shared a couple chapters of his novel and it was a pleasant afternoon. Lunch was excellent, lentils with broccoli and sausage. We also smoked some of Jon’s mom’s weed and he sent me with a joint to go. It’s nice to be in a legal state.
Post Script: Back in Silver City. Going to hike the Dragonfly Trail to see some petroglyphs then catch the Mimbre pottery exhibit at the local university. Going to try and find some BLM land at lower elevation to camp, it was 19 degrees when I got up this morning.
Guadalupe Mountains National Park (Epic Road Trip 2 #6)
Tonight finds me at a roadside picnic area down the road from Sitting Bull Falls and the North Entrance to the Park. I may not get down to hike the Canyon There since I was invited to my friend Ray’s land in Alamogordo for Solstice. We are going to burn a Yule Log. You remember Ray from my last Epic Road Trip where we met on a hike in the Lincoln National Forest and have stayed in touch.
I woke up camped on some BLM land too close to a paved road with this epic roadtripper Jon. He is a cancer survivor taking some time to just be and be happy. I had met him at Carlsbad Caverns and he invited me to lunch at his campsite. He was a great camp cook and we had lentils with sausage and broccoli and it was delicious. He also read me the first couple chapters of his novel and I shared a few poems (Untitled #1, my Christmas Carol, and i am a pattern, you can find them in my poetry page).
I wanted to get an earlier start than Job but just as I pulled in a gas station to use the facilities and get a cup of coffee it started steaming. The first place I called couldn’t get me in until mid January but the next place got it in and replaced the heater control valve.
I walked some of the river walk and used their outdoor exercise machines. I also went to the thrift store and the library to read a bit and send out thank yous and post cards. Now I’m waiting for the Falls to open and getting my narrative closer to caught up.
A few days ago I camped at the Roadside park right before you get to Guadalupe. I went to the Ranger Station for info and a map. I walked over to the Butterfield Station Ruins. It was about the fourth or fifth Butterfield site I’ve seen on this trip. It ran a stagecoach from St Louis to San Francisco in 25 days. About 90 miles a day which is about what I average. Gives you a better appreciation for the scale of the country.
After that I did some backwards walking and hiked most of the Frijole Trail. Most people hike it from the Frijole Ranch and come back the ridge trail as a loop. I hiked up until I’d had enough and then hiked back. I didn’t really get into the trees much and it was mostly desert stuff. There were rock wrens and some towhe (sp ?).
After my bike I checked out the turn of the century ranch house where some truck farmers lived who served a lot of beans, hence the name.
I went back to Van Horn because I had forgotten something at a truckstop and couldn’t reach anyone. I got a keto pizza and a hotel.
My friend Kevin recommended the McKitrick Canyon Trail. At the trailhead is a nature trail which has some good info and is definitely worth doing. The McKitrick Trail is a really great trail. You hike through typical Chihuahuan Desert and then go into a woods of oak and Texas Mahogany. It’s a great tree with an edible berry in the winter.
About 2 1/2 miles there is a stone cabin from the late 20’s and in the Fall and Winter weekends they have a volunteer to answer questions. It was her first day but she had hiked the trail and had some recommendations in the surrounding area. Further up the trail there is a grotto with some formations and then another stone cabin from the same era.
PostScript: Definitely behind in my narrative. Currently in Silver City in a Motel 6 gearing up to see some sites in town and then head southwest for some desert camping. It’s cold and would like to get out of the mountains.
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