Aldo Leopold Wilderness Area Trails • Hike • New Mexico • All Triplogs • HikeArizona.COM

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Oct 31 2023

DixieFlyer

Guides 99
Routes 1,485
Photos 16,072
Triplogs 1,375

male

Joined Jan 07 2017
Fountain Hills,

McKnight Mountain, NM

Hiking		Oct 31 2023
		DixieFlyer • Triplogs 1,375

Hiking	4.33 Miles	1,078 AEG

Hiking	4.33 Miles	2 Hrs 42 Mns	1.94 mph
	1,078 ft AEG	28 Mns Break

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Aldo Leopold Wilderness Area Trails

Black Range Crest Trail #79

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Route Recorded on Route Scout | Pop | Map | Popup | MapDEX

This hike was to the summit of McKnight Mountain (elevation of 10,165 feet and prominence of 2,525 feet). McKnight Mountain is the highpoint of not one but two New Mexico Counties: Grant County and Sierra County. But wait there's more: McKnight Mountain is the highpoint of the Black Range and of the Aldo Leopold Wilderness.

The crux of this hike is the drive to the trailhead. The last 17 miles to the trailhead are on a dirt road -- McKnight Mountain Road. The drive takes about 2 hours each way, so count on 4 hours of drive time. Some parts of the road are not bad, but on other parts you'll be going 1-2 mph over very rocky terrain. It's not all THAT bad though: a stock high clearance 4WD vehicle with good tires should be OK.

I parked at McKnight Cabin, and hiked on Black Range Crest Trail #79. The first 5.5 miles of the trail from the cabin have recently been cleared and brushed, so it was a delightful trail to hike on. I wouldn't count on the trail always being in great shape; eventually locust will get us all!

There are actually 2 highpoints on McKnight Mountain, both with a spot elevation of 10,165 feet. One of the "10165" summits is on the southeastern part of the mountain and is right on the Grant County-Sierra County line. The other "10165 summit is about 1/2 mile away on the northwestern part of the mountain and is in Grant County.

I followed the Crest Trail for about 1.75 miles, and then went off-trail for about 100 feet to the summit on the county line.

Before the hike, I did not think that I would be able to go to the other highpoint because supposedly there was massive amounts of deadfall in getting to the second highpoint. I have seen photos of deadfall 5-6 feet high as far as the eye could see. However, I was shocked to see no deadfall whatsoever. I am not not sure what happened to it, but there must have a been a prescribed fire to get rid of it.

After hitting the first highpoint I continued on the Crest Trail for a short distance and then took a use trail over to the northwest highpoint. The use trail was reasonably easy to follow for a while, and there were several cairns to help with route finding. The use trail petered out after a bit, but it was an easy hike through open country to get to the second highpoint.

Views were great in all directions -- most of the trees had been burned in fires, so there was nothing to impede your views.

I went back to the trailhead the same way that I came.

Synopsis
This was a most enjoyable hike, the drive not so much.

Named place

Named place [ checklist ]

[ checklist ] Black Range McKnight Mountain

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Civilization is a nice place to visit but I wouldn't want to live there

4 archives

May 24 2019

derpsquad

Routes 2
Photos 64
Triplogs 10

35 male

Joined Sep 09 2015
Tucson, AZ

Aldo Leopold Wilderness Area Trails

Southwest, NM

Aldo Leopold Wilderness Area Trails

Southwest, NM

Backpack		May 24 2019
		derpsquad • Triplogs 10

Backpack	45.00 Miles

Backpack	45.00 Miles	5 Days

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Black Range Crest - GET #24

South Diamond Creek - GET #23

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FR 150 (Star Road) is decently graded and any high clearance could make it. A sedan if your willing to take a little bit of beating. Parked the truck at Diamond Creek 40 Trailhead and walked the road south down to South Diamond Creek Trail 68 where we began our hike.

68 was intermittent to non-existent for the first 7 miles up until it's intersection with Meown trail 707. However, route finding was simple by following near the creek through an open field of knee high grass and large ponderosas. There is no water until about a mile from the intersection with 707.

At the intersection with 707 we continued east down 68. The trail is well maintained through here and is a stroll crossing the now flowing creek dozens of times. There are tons of beautiful meadows with ample camping opportunities, however, established campsites are rare. You can tell this area rarely sees people. Lots of elk sightings through here. We camped at the intersection with Burnt Canyon 69 at a nice established campsite with water nearby. We took a planned zero the next day to enjoy the scenery, catch up with old friends, and drink whiskey.

Despite the burn, 69 is in great shape and has water flowing throughout. We chugged water and filled up before leaving the canyon as we knew we would not see water on the Black Range Crest 74. It's a steady climb out of the canyon but the views at the top make it all worth while. Diamond peak has incredible views of the surrounding ranges but really the entire time on 74 is jaw-dropping. We stopped for lunch just south of Fisherman Canyon just as some intermittent hail and strong winds started rolling through. The plan was to camp near Chloride creek just off 74 but someone on the team sprained their ankle so we made some adjustments to the trip. We took everything out of her bag, taped her up, gave her a heavy dose of vitamin I, and lent her some poles. We went down Fisherman Canyon which was in good shape and gorgeous to Diamond Creek 40. 40 is pretty tight with ample creek crossings up until its intersection with Caledonia 42. Again, established campsites are pretty much non-existent through here. We camped in a massive open meadow about 2 miles west of 42. Water the whole way down 40 up until Caves Well and the trail is in good shape. Despite the views on 74, this canyon was the highlight of the trip for me.

Short hike down 40 to Caves Well where we would camp our last night. Beautiful old cowboy camp with water nearby.

Another short hike back to the truck, fixed a slow leak in a tire, and headed out for the 6hr drive back to Tucson. Incredible area with so much wildlife and only saw two folks the whole time on the CDT which hits 74. If you're looking for solitude, Aldo Leopold has plenty of it.

Resources:
http://www.simblissity.net/get_route_description.shtml (segment 23 and 24)
https://www.fs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_DO ... 587323.pdf

Wildflowers Observation Moderate

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Nov 11 2017

nobert15

Guides 1
Routes 3
Photos 1,610
Triplogs 49

41 male

Joined Nov 18 2005

Aldo Leopold Wilderness Area Trails

Southwest, NM

Aldo Leopold Wilderness Area Trails

Southwest, NM

Backpack		Nov 11 2017
		nobert15 • Triplogs 49

Backpack	33.00 Miles

Backpack	33.00 Miles

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Loop hike starting near Lincoln Tank. I hiked up to Sign Board Saddle on a well maintained trail. From there I hiked down Aspen Canyon towards Black Canyon. There was water in a few spots in Aspen Canyon, and it was mostly untouched by fire. Aspen Canyon trail is very well maintained. From there I hiked up Black Canyon. Black Canyon had water the whole way up to Reeds Meadow and was easy to follow, but there were several downed trees along the trail. It was mostly untouched by fire. From Reeds Meadow I hiked up the Black Range Crest trail towards Reeds Peak. This trail was damaged by fire but is logged. It is being overgrown by thorny bushes and there was several downed trees to get over. It was also difficult to follow in a few places. Squeaky Spring had plenty of water. From Reeds Peak I hiked down the North Fork trail which no longer exists. I was off trail throughout the whole canyon. The whole area was destroyed by fire and there is a lot of downed trees and flash flood damage to navigate. This trail was a nightmare. The North Fork meets the Mimbres River trail which was in the same condition, destroyed, for the first few miles before finally leaving the fire damaged area. Once free of fire the trail was some what easy to follow in places and some what difficult in others. There are dozens of stream crossings throughout the North Fork and Mimbres River trails. North Fork and Mimbres River had plenty of water. From Mimbres River it was back up to Lincoln Tank and the car. I didn't see a single person until the last couple of miles of trail where I saw one person camping. The area is beautiful but the trails are not well maintained or nonexistent with the exception of Black Canyon and Aspen Canyon.

	Squeaky Spring	Gallon per minute	Gallon per minute
	Plenty of Water

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May 24 2013

GrottoGirl

Guides 3
Routes 569
Photos 11,976
Triplogs 1,634

50 female

Joined Sep 18 2009
Tucson, AZ

Reeds Peak Loop Aldo Leopold Wilderness, NM

Backpack		May 24 2013
		GrottoGirl • Triplogs 1,634

Backpack	33.74 Miles	6,142 AEG

Backpack	33.74 Miles	4 Days
	6,142 ft AEG

no photosets

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Aldo Leopold Wilderness Area Trails

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RedwallNHops

Mellow trip for Joel's Birthday filled with all kinds of delicacies... Ice cold beer, fresh baked cupcakes ( two nights), a couple dozen ginger cookies, and much more! It's surprising I didn't gain ten pounds! Maybe carrying the cupcake baking kit, camera, and ipad burned off the extra calories.

Day 1: We hiked and camped along the Mimbres River. The area was drier than last year. Good hing fire restrictions were in effect.

Day 2: We hiked up to Reeds Peak. This year, I finally got enough courage to climb the fire tower. We crossed a platform with only one plank, followed by another that didn't have any, then we climbed the ladder into the tower. The inside was sparse with just to ragged chairs and the Osborn Fire Finder. The views were awesome! The cabin was still in decent shape.

We continued on to the meadow by Squeaky Spring. The meadow is a big expanse of grasses with a few lone trees sprinkled in the middle. On the far side is a nice view of some peaks and ridges. The meadow itself showed some evidence of elk traffic. Squeaky Spring was a bit sad this year. The spigot that worked last year was not working. There was not any running water down into the drainage but the two cement catchments held plenty of water.

Day 3: This day was the highlight of the trip. We knew that Falls Canyon trail might be hard to follow due to downfall so we made sure everyone stayed together. Sure enough it was long before we lost the trail. I was happy to have a bit of a challenge on an otherwise mellow trip! Sooner or later we found the remains of the trail and followed it to a wonderful meadow. From there we headed down Falls canyon to a view point. At the same point the trail starts to contour. Falls canyon becomes non-travelable by most humans. True to its name we were standing at the top of a waterfall but no water was falling. We sat and enjoyed a snack while we soaked in the awesome view down canyon.

From there we contoured over to Black Canyon. At the saddle the trail became hard to follow again. We worked our way down into the canyon finally picking up the Black Canyon trail which was easy to follow.

We stopped for a break near the Black Canyon Box. In my research I had not been able to figure out whether or not one could walk through the box. We explored without our packs and determined that we could have in deeded made it through. But we had left our of our party and our packs we retraced our steps. After lunch we continued on the trail which went up the side of the Canyon to avoid the box. We found some interesting rock formations to check out so in the end I'm glad we went both ways.

Later, we saw a bear that had been down in the creek bottom. We scared it and it started up the side of the canyon. I did not get a picture. Then we found two or more elk carcasses. Close to camp we ran into a female turkey who didn't seem at all bothered to see us. Luckily, the dog with us had been leashed because of the bear so even though she wanted a Thanksgiving dinner she was unable to partake. Saige is one of the best dogs because through all of that she didn't let out any barks.

We camped at the confluence of Black and Aspen Canyons.

Day 4: We hiked out Aspen Canyon to Signboard saddle then back along the CDT trail to the car. The trail after Signboard was rocky and a bit unpleasant. I don't like it when I have to concentrate so much on my clumsy feet! We finished up by heading to Jaliscos and Allota Gelato in Silver City!

Wildflowers Observation Light

	Aspen Canyon	Light flow	Light flow
	Flowing only near the confluence of Black and Aspen. There was one spot up canyon that was a standing pool of muddy water.

Black Canyon Box

Light flow

Falls Canyon

Dry

	Squeaky Spring	Quart per minute	Quart per minute
	Hard to tell now that the spigot doesn't work. There wasn't any water escaping the catchments. There was plenty of water for our group of 7 to filter with a lot left over for the animals!

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May 24 2013

RedwallNHops

Guides 1
Routes 269
Photos 613
Triplogs 1,360

50 male

Joined Dec 22 2003
Tucson, AZ

Reeds Peak Loop Aldo Leopold Wilderness, NM

Backpack		May 24 2013
		RedwallNHops • Triplogs 1,360

Backpack	33.74 Miles	6,142 AEG

Backpack	33.74 Miles	4 Days
	6,142 ft AEG

no routes

no photosets

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Aldo Leopold Wilderness Area Trails

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GrottoGirl

Wildflowers Observation Light

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WARNING! Hiking and outdoor related sports can be dangerous. Be responsible and prepare for the trip. Study the area you are entering and plan accordingly. Dress for the current and unexpected weather changes. Take plenty of water. Never go alone. Make an itinerary with your plan(s), route(s), destination(s) and expected return time. Give your itinerary to trusted family and/or friends.

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