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| | | 6th Gate Logging Road, NM | | | |
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6th Gate Logging Road, NM
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| Hiking | 10.00 Miles |
1,100 AEG |
| | Hiking | 10.00 Miles | | | |
| 1,100 ft AEG | | | | |
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| no partners | | Triplog: July 4, 2012
After I downloaded all of my recent hike tracks from the GPS unit to the computer, the map illustrated an entire drainage area that I'd looped around but never quite penetrated... I'd seen another metal pole barrier at the top of that drainage, but it had not appeared that there was much of a roadway being guarded. Wrong!!
I headed over to that gate early, light drizzle intermittently hazing the air. It should not go to real rain until much later in the day... I was counting on that. Once beyond the gate, it was clear that in fact, it was a well developed logging road, initially following the contours of the canyon, then moving around, up and off and away. It was nice. It looped up and down and around for over 4 miles! Oddly enough, it deadended... just a little bit above a broad open canyon. After an easy traverse, I made my way down and into Upper Wills Canyon, one of the official trails... then around and back up and into the canyon I began the day descending.
Along the way I also found a split cut that lead me to a connecting ridge with 6411, the old logging road above Brown Canyon. And, where I departed from the end of the logging road, there was a trail to explore up canyon... and another up canyon cut back along the logging road aways. I need to head back over and check out both of those routes, plus as the day began and I headed down canyon on the logging road I noticed another old logging road taking off down the opposite side of the canyon.
There just seems to be more and more routes to explore.
I'm not exactly certain why, possibly the lack of ATV activity in this large drainage area, but this was a morning filled with Elk. 60-80 Elk encounters. They were below me... above me... ahead of me... behind me... and they were making all kinds of a racket. At times it sounded like the chittering of a hoard of monkeys... at other times, the normal bugle bursts. For awhile there was an ongoing broadcast that sounded much like a pod of tenor whales sonaring their wants... it was a very interesting couple of hours.
I like that initial old logging road route... much longer than most in the area... winding... around and up and down... tree lined... tree shrouded. This might be the very best I've come across. Even though it has a dead end, there remain a number of looping potentials.
Sunny and breezy and chilly as I ended the hike back at the Campsite. Time to read, eat, nap... then go fill the trailer with firewood. Looks like rain for the afternoon. This is nice up here... as the rest of the nation drowns in heat and fires... up here it is monsoon season... afternoons in the 60's and lower. Wow!! |
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| Ageless Mind... Timeless Body... No Way! Use It and Lose It. Just the way it is... |
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