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| Gray Mountain - Peloncillo Mtns HP, NM | |
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| | Gray Mountain - Peloncillo Mtns HP, NM | | | |
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Gray Mountain - Peloncillo Mtns HP, NM
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| Hiking | 8.42 Miles |
2,436 AEG |
| | Hiking | 8.42 Miles | 6 Hrs 13 Mns | | 1.64 mph |
| 2,436 ft AEG | 1 Hour 5 Mns Break | | | |
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| no linked trail guides |
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| no partners | | This was a hike to the summit of Gray Mountain (elevation of 6,928 feet and prominence of 1,646 feet), which is the highpoint of the Peloncillo Mountains. The Peloncillos are partly in New Mexico and partly in Arizona. Last year about this time I hiked to the summit of Doubtful Peak, the highpoint in the Arizona portion of the Peloncillos, and I wanted to go back and hike to the highpoint of the range.
The summit of Gray Mountain is on BLM land, but to get there you have to go through a hodgepodge of BLM land, state land, and private land. I don't think that there is a way to get there without crossing private land at some point; some is posted and some isn't. I ran into a landowner out there and he said that he didn't mind if I crossed his land to hike up there.
I parked on state trust land and soon crossed a fence to get on BLM land.
A good bit of the hike was road walking, and the rest was mostly hiking across open country, although there were some use trails in places. There was one steep slope to ascend to get to a ridgeline, which was the toughest part of the hike. Once on the ridgeline I followed it around to a saddle below the peak, and went from the saddle up to the peak.
Gray Mountain has some interesting geology at the summit area: hoodoos and rock pinnacles similar to what you see at the Chiricahua National Monument. The mountain has a large summit area, and it was nice to hang out there a bit and enjoy the rocks and the awesome views.
I had read in the surveyors datasheet that the station mark was a "cross cut" in a saucer shaped rock and that a rock cairn was erected directly over the cross. I had the coordinates and saw the rock cairn, so I dismantled the cairn in hopes of seeing the cross. The cairn wasn't all that big, although the bottom rock probably weighed 50 pounds. Alas, I did not see a cross underneath the cairn. I did find a summit register underneath the 50 pound rock though. I was only the second person to sign the register, which is understandable since most people won't move a 50 pound rock when looking for a register. I rebuilt the cairn, although this time I put the register on top of the 50 pound rock.
Synopsis
This is a beautiful area, and I really enjoyed hiking to another awesome New Mexico peak! |
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| Civilization is a nice place to visit but I wouldn't want to live there |
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