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| Mimbres River and Reeds Peak Lollipop, NM | |
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| | Mimbres River and Reeds Peak Lollipop, NM | | | |
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Mimbres River and Reeds Peak Lollipop, NM
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| Backpack | 34.41 Miles |
6,631 AEG |
| | Backpack | 34.41 Miles | 4 Days | | |
| 6,631 ft AEG | | 40 LBS Pack | | |
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| partners | | Backpackers Paradise!
May 25
Mimbres River trail
The Mimbres river trail is a delight for the desert dwellers from Tucson. We parked at the designated trailhead and followed the trail through the junipers over to where it switched backed slightly down into the canyon. When we saw the flowing water if the creek known as a river we were in heaven. The light played on the water and the rocks in such a way that peace was known. A mix of conifers and deciduous trees made up the almost lush landscape. All along the river we found gloriously flat areas that would be perfect for our camp but we pushed on so that we would be close to the Forks of the Mimbres. We finally gave into great flat area that had plenty of room for our small army of backpackers (nine). Every one got to spread out so that we all had our privacy. The creek had a nice little natural wooden dam we could sit in to filter our water. Watching the water flow down the creek while filtering was relaxing. We journeyed up the creek a ways to check out other camp areas. Soon we entered a section of woods that had a more remote feeling. The trees were closer together giving a more wilder appearance. We turned around so we'd have a surprise tomorrow at what laid ahead. Dinner was a nice affair. Everyone swapping ideas of food and stories of past trips. After sunset an owl started to hoot. We used the voice part of the Audubon app on my iPhone to figure out that it was the endangered Mexican Spotted Owl. One member of our party was able to match the hoot pretty well. We could hear another owl off in the distance answering. We then let the owls sing us to sleep.
May 26
Mimbres River and Black Range Crest Trails
Today we awoke to a morning that was just the right temperature. We had our breakfast and packed up. The hike to the Forks was easy with very little elevation gain. We took a break at the forks to make sure the whole group took the right trail at the junction. There were some Columbines that was attracting a butterfly so I worked on trying to get a good picture. We then started our gradual climb up to the crest. We went through a few meadows that were nice and it appeared that the creek had water the majority of the way. Once the trail left the creek bottom we started to rise in elevation. We also encounter a bit extra blow-down on the trail. The wind also piked up significantly. Along the way there was a little spring on the side of the trail that had a decent seep. We took a break at the saddle where we hit the Black Crest Trail to make sure everyone made the turn to go to Reeds peak. We also had our lunch there. It was really windy. One of our party stretched out under a beautiful pine tree and could feel the root ball moving due to the high winds. He said it felt like an earthquake. From there we contoured around Reeds peak to the opposite side and then we headed up to the peak at the junction with the CDT. The peak has a tall lookout tower, cabin and a couple of sheds. The tower's concrete had a date from 1929. We then went to get water from Squeaky spring which I had been told by the rangers we the best source of water in the area. It's about .6 miles from the peak. A couple of people were ahead of me and when I found them they were filtering a from a spring on the side of the trail. We realized that we were going to have a long wait to get 9 people's water from this spring as it was just a slow seep. One of the guys asked if we had looked around to see if there were any more springs. I grabbed my GPS and found that we weren't at Squeaky! Two of us went to verify that Squeaky was where it was marked in my GPS and we found a spring box and an actual spigot coming out of the ground. We went back to the others feeling like proud explorers saving the group from a dramatic demise. After we got our water I explored around a bit. I think I saw both deer and elk prints in the mud next to a seep above the spring. Plus I discovered a beautiful meadow. One that gave me the feeling that I should run across it so I did. It was wonderful! On the other side the was a nice view to the east of some rocky ridges. Next time, I'm staying there! I then returned to the cabin area and explored around. There is a big tank for water underground that was empty. The top of it was marked for a guided missile! I almost didn't want to open it up! The cabin was in pretty good shape except the beds that had been fouled by mice. There were some logs from other visitors that we glanced at. We also climbed up the look out tower. The wind made it very scary. Towards the top one landing was missing its boards so I stopped there. One guy had some webbing and a carabiner so he was able I get across the gap and go up in the tower. Jealous! After dinner Joel and I returned to the tower to watch the sunset. It was incredible due to the smoke from the Gila Wilderness fire. We did not see any light from the fire. I was able to do some tower night shots and moon shots. Even with the cold wind I had a great time!
May 27
Black Range Crest, Mimbres Middle Fork, and Mimbres South Fork Trails
We awoke to the never ending wind. It had not let up all night, which made it difficult to sleep. We made breakfast in the cabin out of the wind and then finished packing up. We split into two groups, one group which was going to do a late start returning the way we came and then the faster, more adventurous group which would complete the lollipop. We headed out back to where we joined the Black Range Crest trail yesterday and then continued on the trail. We didn't see any route leading to Newman spring so we didn't get to check it out. There was some downfall but it wasn't what I imagine it was going to be. We walked though areas of old burns plus areas that had been untouched for many, many years. There were great stretches of beautiful forest and stretches of new aspen and oak. We had great views to both sides in the burn areas. We hiked past the Spud patch trail. We went through a meadow with a seep spring in which a turkey ran away from. We ended up at our junction about halfway through the hike that would take us down the Middle Fork of the Mimbres. Without a sign we probably could have missed the junction. The trail wasn't apparent until we had walked a few feet in the right direction. It started sort of flat with a slight down tilt. Then the angle increased but it still wasn't apparent that we were entering a major drainage. Then suddenly we saw some corn lillies and a seep from there it was a slight drainage which change rapidly into a big V. The trail was sometimes lost due to downfall but we knew we needed to follow the drainage to stay on target. We continued this way until we got to the junction with the South Fork. From there the trail was a lot easier to follow. We stopped at the junction for our lunch. While we say there we are our first group of hikers since earlier the first day. They had just done a short day hike up part of the South fork trail that leads to McKnight Peak, the high point of the range. From the junction it was easy going. The land flattened out some and opened up. There was an unnamed yet pretty decent drainage that joined up with the Mimbres. The South Fork took a turn to the left and continued down to the Forks. At the forks we saw that all but two of our party had passed. We had given them surveyor's tape to mark their passage. I waited about 40 minutes for the other two. I entertained myself by taking photos of bugs and flowers. I finally gave up waiting just in case they had not marked their journey past. At camp I heard that they were taking their time coming back so I was glad I didn't wait long. I took a splash bath and washed my shirt at camp. It felt wonderful to wash off the residue from past fires off my legs. We all settled down for dinner and conversation. Sooner or later the whip-poor-will and owl called us and told us it was bedtime.
May 28
Mimbres River Trail
We awoke to near freezing temperatures today. The winds had changed and we either smelled an illegal campfire or the fire from the Gila. After breakfast the crew started to depart. The last of us leaving around 8 am. We returned the same way we came along the Mimbres River and then rising up out of the canyon to meet the CDT trail. Nothing remarkable happened along the way. We reached the car to find our lead, speed hiker was not there. In fact about 30 minutes later when everyone else had assembled she was still missing. We waited another hour and finally she arrived. She had went the wrong way at the junction with the CDT, not reading the part of the sign that indicated the direction to the trailhead a half mile away. While we were annoyed that she hadn't waited at the junction, we were happy she was OK. We packed up quickly and headed for lunch at Jaliscos in Silver City. |
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Wildflowers Observation Moderate
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Squeaky Spring |
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Quart per minute |
| | | You can get a good flow from the water spigot. Maybe a gallon a minute but it has a lot of sediment that you can see in it. | | _____________________
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