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| Hiking | 8.60 Miles |
2,845 AEG |
| | Hiking | 8.60 Miles | 3 Hrs 28 Mns | | 2.73 mph |
| 2,845 ft AEG | 19 Mns Break | 12 LBS Pack | | |
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| no partners | | | I had a work trip out to El Paso and Las Cruces, great chance for a hike! I had done the Baylor Pass trail a few years ago and enjoyed it, but inclement weather kept me from getting in the peak as well. Rain threatened again this time, but it just stayed cloudy with a few scattered sprinkles. I parked at the west side trailhead about 4 in the afternoon to begin my adventure. The Baylor Pass trail is in really good condition, nice consistent elevation gain to the pass with nothing too steep. Great trail through Oaks and Sotols, very little bloom yet since it is a bit early in the year. The trail to the peak is a bit faint in spots, but pretty easy to follow until you get to the first false summit. From here, it is rock hopping and picking your way over to the peak. There is about 1300' of gain in 0.8 miles, so it is good and steep for sure. This route was completely non-technical, but there were some spots where it was helpful to use my hands to keep going. Definitely not a trail for those that have a fear of heights...I took a quick break up top, but the wind was howling. I was in my usual hiking gear, t-shirt and shorts, so I headed back down before getting too cold. Caught a great sunset on the way out, and there was a bunch of yellow evening Primrose that had opened up and bloomed by the time I got back to my car. Great hike if you are in the area! |
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Route Editor
Route Scout
Route 
The Organ Mountains have a great profile from the interstate, but there are some nice lush areas in there to surprise you! I hiked from the west side trailhead over to the east side of the pass and back. I had thought about trying a scramble up to Baylor Peak, which certainly looks doable, but there was a pretty quick storm moving in from the east. I got to watch the White Sands Missle Base get pounded by some rain from my vantage, and I ended up getting caught in the fringe of the rain on the way out as it was. Great temps, I started out about 4:30 and it could not have been much higher than 82 degrees. Insect life everywhere, thankfully no gnats or mosquitoes, but I did see a few tarantulas, thousands of ant and beetles, butterflies, moths, even a wily centipede. I am always amazed to see such beautiful Sotols in habitat, and not turned into pineapples like are so common in the Phoenix landscape.
