Friday, December 1, 2017

November Hikes

The last two mornings before leaving Sevilleta refuge I hiked their 3.7 mile Mesa View loop trail. Going clockwise I found it initially strenuous climbing the steep steps early. Then gradually following the canyons and dry washes back down. Both mornings I was able to enjoy some nice sunrise color. I hear tell that in the desert it's dust on the horizon that regularly makes sunrises and sunsets so pretty.

I left Sevilleta the Tuesday before Thanksgiving. The plan was a week or so to focus on my health plan. These days that means eating and exercising well. Of course hiking isn't the only path to happiness. But it's one of the healthiest ways I know.

My destination Tuesday night was Elephant Butte Lake. I love this NM State Park. I snagged the last available site along Ridge Road. These first-come sites are primitive - no hookups. Moreover, they offer a commanding view over the reservoir. I was only staying one night. And wanted to get my ten bux worth.

I did "hike" down to the Quail Run loop to visit friends. Ken and Bonnie were neighbors last winter at Laguna refuge near Brownsville TX. It was actually Ken's Hitch that I welded last year. He's still pleased how well the repair is holding up. And says he shows it off regularly. I visited while they were camphosting at Elephant Butte. We chatted for a couple hours that afternoon before I hiked back up to my site. That day was just two miles on foot. Not strenuous at all.

Wednesday I dropped down to another favorite NM campground near Las Cruces. Tucked behind the Organ Mts is Aguirre Spring. Such a charming BLM campground. The primitive sites were designed mainly for tenters. Tables on 12' square concrete pads also had shade covers. Conversely, gravel parking spots for most sites are considerably sloped this way or that. On a couple sites the table had actually been moved out from under the shader. Leaving a tempting level slab. But alas. My lil' yeti was a tad too tall. Oh well. I found a nice, level enough site to spend two nites. Which BTW is a bargain at $7/night. Half that for golden geezers. Y'all have my sincere envy. Enjoy!

Thanksgiving day I puttered around camp in the morning. Then hiked the 4.5 mile Pine Tree Loop. That only took about an hour and a half. More moderate than strenuous. But a little more so than recent months.

That evening my Thanksgiving dinner was not traditional. Chicken chana masala with real nan bread. Yum! Then for Black Friday it was great being off grid. I hiked the Baylor Pass trail. It's a 6 mile through hike from Aguirre CG to another trailhead on the west side.

The ascent was 890' over 2 miles. Instead of dawdling with photos I fixated on my second wind groove. Before I knew it I was through the pass and descending the other side. There I was pleasantly surprised to find some nice folks set up to engage hikers.

It was fun to compare notes. Unlike my Trailhead Steward gig in NH White Mts NF three summers ago. They weren't doing PSAR. No "Hike Safe" or "Leave No Trace" messaging. Instead, they had bottled water. Plus coffee and donuts! They were mainly telling folks about local history. That's cool.

Since the west side trailhead was lower elevation the return ascent was 1,565' over 4 miles to the pass. Which by then I recognized as the cattle fence with people chute. Baylor Pass overlooks Las Cruces.

Hiking through and back made for a combined 2,455' gain over 12 miles round trip. That took me about four hours. My feet got pretty beat near the end. My well worn Merrell hiking shoes were showing their age and use. I see replacements in the future. Everything else felt good. Heart. Lungs. Knees.

"Sore soles. Soul soars"
-KamperBob

I laid off hiking for a few days off while traveling west. I did play on boulders at Indian Bread Rocks. That's a BLM recreation area near Bowie AZ. Just some light rock scrambling. It was HOT(!) so I mainly just enjoyed the shade of trees until sunset. Presumably some kind of oaks judging from little acorns underneath.

I had planned to stop over in Yuma. It seemed a good opportunity for some dental work in Los Algodonnes MX. I called for an appointment several days before. My dentist was booked out several weeks. Right. Later then.

I missed connecting with some AZ friends this trip. Short notice after all. At least I got to driveway camp with June and Patrick in Tucson. They've done some awesome things in their lifetime. Truly inspiring. At 97 he's still alive and kicking, bless his heart. Despite it's rough work-in-progress appearance, Patrick found lil' yeti rather comfortable. I think he was fixing to nap but June called him back inside so I could keep rolling.

I also got a great idea for lil' yeti from the bathroom in their home. By the vanity was a wall mounted shaving mirror. It looks quite sturdy. And I already have ideas how to secure it for travel. Because usability wise it rocks.

From Tucson I called ahead to Death Valley and got great news from Ranger Em. This week did indeed offer a weather window to hike Telescope Peak. Although I spent two winters camphosting in DeVa such a hike never made my dance card. Being already familiar with the main valley I decided to instead enter the back way, west of the Panamint Range. Ridgecrest CA offered one of the nicest Walmarts I've found yet. After stocking up on a few necessities I towed lil' yeti up to 4,100' for three nights at Wildrose CG.

Actually, I didn't get off to such a great start. The first night I had an unwanted guest. You know. One of those small, gray, furry rodent variety. I gave it an opportunity to sorta weight train on a kinda spring resistance machine. Think Soloflex but made by Victor and sized for mice. No surprise what didn't make it stronger did in fact kill it. Snap.

But that wasn't all. It brought a friend. Which I could still hear scurrying around somewhere inside after the first one broke it's back. As soon as I turned on the light it vanished. Lovely. So I baited three more traps with PB and switched off the light. Didn't take long before another telltale snap. The rest of that night was uneventful. Though I had some trouble getting back to sleep with one ear open.

Wednesday the 29th I left the traps baited and drove up to Mahogany Flat. It's a steep, rough 4x4 road up to the 8,100' trailhead. Blacky's engine and tranny temps both rose quickly in 4HI so I dropped into 4LO. Just about everything loose in the cab and bed got scrambled. Now it was my turn to climb while Blacky earned a rest.

The ascent was about 3,000' gain over 7 miles. I felt whooped yet exhilarated. Weather was mostly clear and fairly cool with light winds near the summit. I finally got to use some hiking layers I'd picked up in NH three years ago. The Osprey antigravity pack really helped keep my back dry. Whereas insulated boots and merino wool socks made my feet sweat. I see more smartwool socks in my future.

My roundtrip time was 5:15 including 30 minutes on top for lunch. After such a great hike it was back down to lil' yeti that afternoon for another surprise. When I opened the camper the first thing I noticed was a sprung, overturned trap in the doorway. Peering around the corner before stepping inside the other three traps were also tripped. The accused sat in the far corner. This intruder was a ground squirrel. "Oh hell no!"

That little stinker wouldn't budge. I bulldozed it all the way out the door. Four paws sliding the whole way. Twenty claws scuffing ineffectually along the floor. As it dropped over the doorway ledge it clung on sideways by one front and rear leg. At least it made me chuckle. But one more shove from my toe and it spilled outside. Where it belonged! A few minutes later I caught it boldly casing the entrance. Hatching a new plan no doubt. So I scared it off more aggressively. Then fixed the door bottom seal.

Thursday morning was visitor free. Knock wood. Fiberglass. Whatever. With a more relaxed start I drove back up to the Charcoal Kilns.

After playing there some I hiked the Wildrose Peak trail. Although shorter it was a bit steeper. 2,200' gain over 4.2 miles. The 8.4 mile roundtrip took a little over three hours.

I lunched back down near the bottom on an outcrop ledge overlooking the kilns.

Then played around the charcoal kilns some more before heading back down to camp.

Friday, December 1st I slept in. Ah! When I finally crawled out of a snugly warm bag I discovered lots of neighbors outside.

Moreover. No unwanted guests inside. Yay! Being there was great. But there's a reason I live on wheels. Time to roll.