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| Hiking | 11.46 Miles |
633 AEG |
| | Hiking | 11.46 Miles | 5 Hrs 10 Mns | | 2.30 mph |
| 633 ft AEG | 11 Mns Break | 15 LBS Pack | | |
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| no partners | | Back to Las Cienegas Creek, this time with my daughter Lisa and heading down stream past the Narrows to a point I hiked to a few weeks ago. This is probably the most interesting part of the Las Cienegas Creek. The Narrows is a rock constriction in the stream formed by the rock beds being tilted up vertically. The water was flowing pretty good in a stream that changed its appearance from a clear gentle flow to marsh areas and in a couple places swamp. Only thing missing were alligators (I can Photoshop those in).
The Empire Ranch road and East Hilton Ranch Road will get you to within a quarter mile of The Narrows and there is a path that starts from the end of the road and takes you directly to the Narrows. The dirt roads are in fair condition and a high clearance vehicle will do unless it is muddy. It is good to have a co pilot to help open and close the 5 gates along this road. From the end of the road I headed straight into the creek and headed toward The Narrows. I only discovered the trail once I was at The Narrows and we returned that way. Like most of Cienega Creek there are no trails, you pick the easiest route as you go. Expect a little back tracking. There are areas where there is a two track that can be followed and usually is along side and up from the creek. We also took advantage of the cattle trails in this area, they have beaten a pretty good path in some areas, and if you are under 4 feet tall you won't even have to bend over in places. Looks like at one time was heavily used by illegals but most of the evidence I saw looked a couple years old. The creek can be a challenge in places to get across especially where it is more like a bog. Later in the year when the vegetation fills in it might be more of a challenge to walk along the creek. The lower 1.5 miles of this hike were outside the Las Cienegas National Conservation area and about 3/4 mile of that was dry.
Lots of wildlife from a Blue Heron, couple of Ducks, Antelope and a number of cows. Other than the cows and antelope none stuck around long enough to get photos. There were also fish in the stream for the heron. There was not a boring moment along the whole 12 mile hike. There is a lot of history along the Las Cienegas and on this hike the boilers for the Total Wreck mine were along side the creek, a nice little 5 minute excursion. |
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