Ortega/Dry Canyon Traverse, NM

Often hiking down in Dry Canyon I have wished for a shortcut over the ridge to the west, going directly up to Horse Ridge and Ortega Peak. I have cut off trail a number of times, not always with great results. Yet... there is a track; you just have to know how to find it. From the Dry Canyon side it is not easy.

The best approach is to hike this route first from the west side of the ridge, top to bottom. The track begins just west of Ortega Peak where it connects with T119, the "A" trail. It is clear and obvious, a two wheel rut, ATV cut and maintained, illegally.

The track cuts up and down across a number of drainages, winding its way north around the western face of Ortega Peak, then along below Horse Ridge. It finally drops down into Lost Trail Drainage (south) before it turns and begins a steep climb to the north to access the ridge that will carry it east to the low saddle and over into the Dry Canyon drainage.

Note: Lost Trail begins at the bottom of that hill climb to the ridge. It is not a clear trail (... it is Lost!) but trust that it will be there and instead of climbing the hill, follow the ridge west around the drainage to your left if Lost Trail is your goal.

Once across the saddle, the track drops steeply, winding down a ridge edge. The rocky path has been traversed by ATVs, so it is clear, though too well worn. Eventually, looking down hill, a more pronounced road will appear on a meadowed hill below. That is your destination. Oddly, the tracks are nearly all gone by the time you reach this obviously still used lower roadway. No problem coming down hill, but if you were coming up the road, it would not be clear at all that this is where you need to head off and up.

From the bottom, Basically, you could simply move up the drainage to the left of the roadway, moving out of it to your right and you would run into the old track up where it is clearly defined.

Finishing your move downhill, you follow the roadway a short distance, intersecting the very clearly established Dry Canyon Trail (T5573). You can turn down canyon and follow it to its trailhead off of Highway 82, or turn to your right, up canyon, and follow it to its intersection with T119, "A" trail... carrying you around to Hershberger Peak and Ortega Peak before it drops back down to Alamogordo.

The Traverse is not a hike in unto itself... at best it is an option for connecting loops. I like knowing it is there; it can prove handy. If you are going to be hiking much in the canyons around and out of Dry Canyon, it makes sense to put in the time to become familiar with this connecting traverse.

The stated trailhead is for the "A" trail... the logical option for anyone interested in putting this traverse into use... but the elevation gains relate only to the trail itself. If you are hiking from Dry Canyon you will have substantially greater AEG.

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2010-10-27 imike