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| Hiking | 12.13 Miles |
3,273 AEG |
| | Hiking | 12.13 Miles | 7 Hrs 10 Mns | | 1.96 mph |
| 3,273 ft AEG | 59 Mns Break | | | |
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| no partners | | Today I did 3 separate hikes that went to the summit of 4 different peaks, all of which are near Silver City:
1) Black Peak (elevation of 9,029 feet and prominence of 2,348 feet) and Signal Peak (elevation of 8,960 feet and prominence of 120 feet)
2) Tadpole Ridge (elevation of 8,614 feet and prominence of 1,134 feet)
3) Pinos Altos Mountain (elevation of 8,127 feet and prominence of 1,167 feet)
Black Peak and Signal Peak
(3.77 miles with 897 feet of AEG)
Signal Peak has a fire lookout on it and a road goes up to the summit. I drove most of the way up there and parked at a pullout where the Continental Divide Trail(CDT) crosses the road. I did a clockwise loop, starting on the CDT. I took the CDT to the Signal Peak Trail. Shortly after getting on the Signal Peak Trail I took an unmarked spur trail for a short distance to Black Peak. There were lots of trees at the summit, so views were limited. I then took the spur trail back to the Signal Peak Trail, and took it to Signal Peak. There were trees at Signal Peak also, but I was able to climb the fire lookout and get above the trees to have some nice views. I completed the loop by taking Signal Peak Road back to where I parked.
Tadpole Ridge
(6.59 miles with 1,521 feet of AEG)
Instead of starting from the east trailhead on Highway 15, I shortened the hike a bit by driving north and parking at the FR 149-Highway 15 junction. There are quite a few places to park at the junction. I crossed Highway 15 and walked about 1/4 mile on an old roadbed to the Tadpole Ridge Trail. I took the trail to the Tadpole Ridge highpoint and then reversed course back to where I parked. It was a very nice trail to hike on, although it got a bit overgrown for the last 1/4 mile.
Pinos Altos Mountain
(1.78 miles with 855 feet of AEG)
Pinos Altos Mountain has an antenna farm atop it, so a road goes up to the top. I did not want to drive all the way up, and the road got really rough on the last part of it, so I would not have driven all the way up anyway. I found a good place to park, and then bushwhacked/scrambled my way for about 1/4 mile through and past some mine tailings. I came across a cool mine shaft along the way. Once past the mine shaft I got on a 4WD road and took it to Radio Tower Road, which I took to the top. The road was paved on a really steep section, which reminded me of Thompson Peak Road. I located the highpoint, which had a cairn and a summit log book. I also located the benchmark, which was a few hundred feet away from the highpoint. I returned the way that I came.
Synopsis
This is a pretty area so I enjoyed spending the day doing these hikes, particularly the first 2 hikes. It was a cool crisp fall day -- sunny with a nice breeze; the temperature was around 30 when I started in the morning and it might have gotten up to 50 in the afternoon. In other words, perfect hiking weather! |
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Autumn Foliage Observation Moderate
There was some decent fall foliage on the hike to Tadpole Ridge. |
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Wildflowers Observation Isolated
There were a few wildflowers on the hike to Tadpole Ridge. |
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| Civilization is a nice place to visit but I wouldn't want to live there |
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Route Editor
Route Scout
Route 
Indeed, the fellow on duty said that if he put them in the storage shed up there, he would burn them 
Anyway, we had a nice long conversation, and I asked him if Philip Conners was still a lookout over at Hillsboro Peak, and he said yes. (I picked up Philip's latest book, "All the Wrong Places" at Gila Hike and Bike in Silver City last trip). 
Nearby Signal Peak looked like peak bagging fun. It delivered that along with sweet views, huge ponderosas, and nice autumn weather. Had a great hike in a pleasant forest untouched by fire. On the way home, I swung into the old western town of Pinos Altos to check out some of the historic structures. A few locals gave me a look that seemed to say "Who's that weirdo with a tripod?". Driving home on AZ/NM highway 78 that night, I broke out the big camera and did a few star shots. Great trip!!!
