Cathey Canyon, NM

I've been glancing down and into this wide meadow canyon every time I drove up and along Sunspot Hiway. It did not look promising, but perhaps the lower section might get nice... I decided to find out.


Nope... bottom is just as bad as the top!The only reason to waste your time on this route would be to have a meadow to hike up to connect with the Rim Trail, up at Cathey Vista. The canyon and vista point both have a name, but like the canyon, the vista is not worth the effort either. The Forest Service has allowed the shrubs and trees to grow up around the vista point such that the only view remaining is of the other cars parked in the lot.

Currently, Cathey Canyon is further blighted with piles and piles of trees and undergrowth that has been recently bulldozed. It is full of cattle. A power line runs the length of the meadow. The dirt road running along the middle is dusty.

At least I now know where it connects at the bottom: it is the road behind the official trail head for the Old Sunspot Hiway.

Be forewarned... even with a name, it should be avoided.

2012-06-25 imike