South Rocotillo Apache Canyon Robledo Mountains gastropod fossils Little Apache Canyon brachiopod fossil Rock fall in Little Apache Canyon South and North Rocotillo Canyons Picacho Peak I needed to get out quickly before the predicted wind hit. My previous two hikes on this spring break to the Good Sight Mountains, and then the Florida Mountains, involved long drives. That wasn't going to do. I had been slightly intrigued by the narrow passage of Little Apache  Canyo ..read more

Good Sight Mountains Barrel cactus. West Potrillo Mountains in the distance Pile of rocks in an alcove Wall in the ravine Florida Mountains in the distance Nest in the cliff Old juniper on north facing slope Dry cascade I was able to walk up  Yucca that was at least 25 feet tall Cooke's Peak in the distance I guess I was determined to get out to the Good Sight Mountains at least once before the weather warmed up. I feel obligated, but I'm not totally ..read more

  I have seen this arch from below, but I hadn't ever seen it from above. I had half-heartedly tried a couple of times to locate it on the ridge without success. A few weeks ago I had the rare opportunity to take my fellow adventurer Doug Scott on a hike here in my own home territory. We went out to Lichen Canyon (a tributary of Broad Canyon) to visit its little box section and 100 foot dry waterfall. I told our little group (Doug,Doug's son Talus, and friend Weston) about the arch. We hiked up out of the canyon and began wandering around the crags and towers that are perched 200 feet ..read more

Juniper Sierro Kemado Fence at left Undercut layers stone structure Structure in center of photo I'd been wanting to look at this area on the east end of Sierro Kemado for  a while now. I took the opportunity a couple of weeks ago on President's Day. I parked across from the  corral area on  County Road E006 and began heading south after my first of many fence transits. I got a little off of my plan by heading too far  south and had to circle back to look at a couple of canyons that intere ..read more

River of grass Sierra de las Uvas in the distance One of several rock dikes the canyon has cut through Golden river We hiked down Silva Canyon starting near the old blown out dam at Coyote Tank just off of the Corralitos Road. Silva Canyon starts out as a narrow defile cut into the bedrock higher up in the mountains, but where we were walking it is one of several wide " rivers" of grass in the Sierra de las Uvas. I'm assuming the high water table in these arroyos  allows for these tall thickets of grass to flourish. It al ..read more

 We did this little hike back on December 30th, 2024. It was a warm winter day (50 degrees) and the wind was mercifully light. I have scoped out many ruins sites  within a reasonable trip from our cabin at Horse Mountain. Most are on private lands and are off limits but some, like this one, are on State Trust Lands and a few are on BLM and Forest Service lands as well. It was a bit muddy with the snow that had been falling earlier in the week now melting in the lowlands, but we got to our destination with little problem. I had read that this ..read more

  Brilliant yellow lichen  My scotties think about getting a drink This was another hike on the long branch (arm?, tail?) that extends south for several miles from the main body of the Sierra de las Uvas. It is sometimes referred to as Magdalena Ridge probably because of Magdalena Gap, a pass where the Butterfield Trail went through.  We started at theApache Flats valley on the west side of the ridge near a windmill and cattle tank and began hiking up an old very un-maintained road. It was a little chilly at first but soon turned into ..read more

micro landscape shot ammonite fossil petrified wood  Moss in the very narrow stretch December wildflowers petrified wood Iron ore rocks Split Rock Canyon waterfall Petrified wood  I did two hikes in the Robledos last week. Both used routes I've travelled often to get to some places that are new to me. The first one was in the canyons and mesas just to the northwest of Picacho Peak. The BLM has moved the entrance from the frontage road to the road that ..read more

  There is an archway opening in the cliff here Eagle Nest Eagle Nest Late blooming ocotillo Eagle Nest I visited the Butte Peaks and Eagle Nest in the far southeastern part of Luna County a couple of weeks ago. I've been wanting to visit these little mountains that rise very steeply from the desert plains and playas for awhile now, but until recently I had not really scoped out the best way to get out there. Well, I've got it figured out now and despite the face that I ended going all the way to Columbus, NM and then backtracking, the r ..read more

Although we enjoyed our tour of Las Animas, visiting Emrick Canyon was the highlight of the trip for me. As with our previous trip I wanted to visit  another one of the several slot canyons that are tributaries of South Palomas Creek. Emrick Canyon, on the south side, appears to be the largest with two separated slot sections  that total maybe 2/3 of a mile. It also has a spring at its headwaters which to me meant a more consistent flow of water to erode a larger and more walkable canyon.  Unfortunately, I had decided to start upstream at the spring. Get ..read more