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Quarry Canyon - 2 members in 26 triplogs have rated this an average 4 ( 1 to 5 best )
1, 2  Next
26 triplogs
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Sep 17 2017
avatar

 Guides 253
 Photos 6,930
 Triplogs 2,467

75 male
 Joined Nov 05 2008
 Cloudcroft, NM
Quarry CanyonSoutheast, NM
Quarry Canyon
Southeast, NM
Canyoneering avatar Sep 17 2017
imike • Triplogs 2,467
Canyoneering4.10 Miles 1,100 AEG
Canyoneering4.10 Miles
1,100 ft AEG
Canyon Hiking - Non-technical; no rope; easy scrambling; occasional hand use
 no routes
Linked   none no linked trail guides
Partners none no partners
14 Hikers looping up through the Marble Quarry, up Quarry Canyon... topping Marble Bluffs, descending the Cliffs Base trail... and down and out Marble North. Planned as a 3+ hour RockHounding Loop. Sort of our version of a Beginners Hike... but a bit too hard for most Beginners... alas. We hit the time and made it out before the heat settled in.

Most of the hikers drove over from Cruces...?

We scored rock!
_____________________
Ageless Mind... Timeless Body... No Way! Use It and Lose It. Just the way it is...
  1 archive
Aug 24 2017
avatar

 Guides 253
 Photos 6,930
 Triplogs 2,467

75 male
 Joined Nov 05 2008
 Cloudcroft, NM
Quarry CanyonSoutheast, NM
Quarry Canyon
Southeast, NM
Canyoneering avatar Aug 24 2017
imike • Triplogs 2,467
Canyoneering7.00 Miles 1,650 AEG
Canyoneering7.00 Miles
1,650 ft AEG
Canyon Hiking - Non-technical; no rope; easy scrambling; occasional hand use
 no routes
Linked   none no linked trail guides
Partners none no partners
Combined Quarry with the traverse up to the Gold Mine on the A... then used the traverse over into Terri's Cut for the exit down and out. Combining routes we are starting to develop named loops... "Wraps" for us. To date we have Rap Wrap, Ross's Wrap, this one will become the Crinoid Wrap... many more to come!

As always, Quarry exceptional... in both setting and historical dynamic... great hike! Marble Bluffs on the upper end, Crinoid heaven!
_____________________
Ageless Mind... Timeless Body... No Way! Use It and Lose It. Just the way it is...
 
Nov 07 2015
avatar

 Guides 253
 Photos 6,930
 Triplogs 2,467

75 male
 Joined Nov 05 2008
 Cloudcroft, NM
Quarry CanyonSoutheast, NM
Quarry Canyon
Southeast, NM
Canyoneering avatar Nov 07 2015
imike • Triplogs 2,467
Canyoneering6.00 Miles 1,600 AEG
Canyoneering6.00 Miles
1,600 ft AEG
Canyon Hiking - Non-technical; no rope; easy scrambling; occasional hand use
 no routes
Linked   none no linked trail guides
Partners none no partners
32 hikers showed up this morning out of the 42 signed up for this second in the Series: Canyon Light. We ascended the old Alamo Marble Quarry, slipping into the hidden Quarry Canyon at the upper end. Up Quarry to the Marble Bluffs saddle... and enjoyed a first group descent of this new route. The sunlight angle tended to bleach out the over abundance of fossils along the base of the cliffs... maybe a good thing with this huge army of a group.

We dropped off the cliff base using lower Quarry Canyon.

Now, back in Marble North, we crossed the drainage and began climbing the low bench that would give us good access up and into the north middle canyon, Redstone. Redstone was the greater challenge of the day. Even with the huge group the lower namesake section passed too fast... and the upper section proved to be a bit more angled than I'd recalled. I credited it to recent tectonic activity. It really was flatter the last time I hiked up it.

Eventually, all that hard labor got us up and over the saddle and into the south middle canyon, Surprise.

All down hill... mostly bedrock ledge walking... moods improved. Surprise is just that... around every corner it just gets better! This is a great exit route for many of our upper Marble drainage hikes.

The lower boulder garden proved to be the favorite of a number of the hikers. Alas, it marked the end of the hike. I turned the group down Marble South... with an invitation for an add on up and through the Narrows. Fewer than ten hikers thought that a good option. The group split... the smaller group heading up... the rest heading to their cars for the long drive home. Most of these hikers had driven over from El Paso and Las Cruces, 1.5 hours each way.

This Canyon Light Series is designed to accommodate that: later start (9am), shorter time out (6 hours), and easier (1500' limit). It is hugely more popular than my old pattern of 8-10 hour days with 20+ miles and 5,000-8,000' of up/down... all way off trail, often in Class II Canyons. Who Knew?

...even with the Narrows tagged on, my group finished within the 6 hour limit. Fun Day had by all??

Full Picture Set:

https://goo.gl/photos/...
_____________________
Ageless Mind... Timeless Body... No Way! Use It and Lose It. Just the way it is...
  1 archive
Oct 11 2015
avatar

 Guides 253
 Photos 6,930
 Triplogs 2,467

75 male
 Joined Nov 05 2008
 Cloudcroft, NM
Quarry CanyonSoutheast, NM
Quarry Canyon
Southeast, NM
Canyoneering avatar Oct 11 2015
imike • Triplogs 2,467
Canyoneering5.00 Miles 1,300 AEG
Canyoneering5.00 Miles
1,300 ft AEG
Basic Canyoneering - Scrambling; easy climbing/downclimbing; frequent hand use; rope recommended; easy exit
 no routes
Linked   linked  
A Trail #119
Partners none no partners
8 Beginner Plus level hikers showed up... may have been a touch too much for some, but it is a great loop. Finished in the dark.
_____________________
Ageless Mind... Timeless Body... No Way! Use It and Lose It. Just the way it is...
  3 archives
Mar 13 2015
avatar

 Guides 253
 Photos 6,930
 Triplogs 2,467

75 male
 Joined Nov 05 2008
 Cloudcroft, NM
Quarry CanyonSoutheast, NM
Quarry Canyon
Southeast, NM
Canyoneering avatar Mar 13 2015
imike • Triplogs 2,467
Canyoneering5.00 Miles 1,200 AEG
Canyoneering5.00 Miles
1,200 ft AEG
 no routes
Linked   none no linked trail guides
Partners none no partners
short hike to show Terri the new route up and around the Marble Bluffs... and the edge route to the gold mine. Larry joined us.
_____________________
Ageless Mind... Timeless Body... No Way! Use It and Lose It. Just the way it is...
 
Nov 27 2014
avatar

 Guides 253
 Photos 6,930
 Triplogs 2,467

75 male
 Joined Nov 05 2008
 Cloudcroft, NM
Quarry CanyonSoutheast, NM
Quarry Canyon
Southeast, NM
Canyoneering avatar Nov 27 2014
imike • Triplogs 2,467
Canyoneering5.00 Miles 2,100 AEG
Canyoneering5.00 Miles
2,100 ft AEG
 no routes
Linked   none no linked trail guides
Partners none no partners
first solo day in a long time... turned it into trail work... both on the Quarry route and over on the new Garden Wall route... lots of the areas need work... hard to prioritize. I may add in a solo trail work day after the jury duty is over and done...
_____________________
Ageless Mind... Timeless Body... No Way! Use It and Lose It. Just the way it is...
 
Oct 05 2014
avatar

 Guides 253
 Photos 6,930
 Triplogs 2,467

75 male
 Joined Nov 05 2008
 Cloudcroft, NM
Quarry CanyonSoutheast, NM
Quarry Canyon
Southeast, NM
Canyoneering avatar Oct 05 2014
imike • Triplogs 2,467
Canyoneering3.90 Miles 1,300 AEG
Canyoneering3.90 Miles
1,300 ft AEG
 no routes
Linked   linked  
Marble Canyon - North
A Trail #119
Partners none no partners
Lynda, Lynda, Will and William, Dj and Joseph, Terri, John... a bit over 3 hours to complete this Beginner's Loop... our hardest low level hike. Everyone did great. Other hikers out and about... nice to see!
_____________________
Ageless Mind... Timeless Body... No Way! Use It and Lose It. Just the way it is...
 
Sep 28 2014
avatar

 Guides 253
 Photos 6,930
 Triplogs 2,467

75 male
 Joined Nov 05 2008
 Cloudcroft, NM
Quarry CanyonSoutheast, NM
Quarry Canyon
Southeast, NM
Canyoneering avatar Sep 28 2014
imike • Triplogs 2,467
Canyoneering12.00 Miles 3,300 AEG
Canyoneering12.00 Miles
3,300 ft AEG
 no routes
Linked   linked  
Pipeline Road - Alamogordo
A Trail #119
Ortega Canyon South
Garden Wall
Partners none no partners
First loop with Alena... drove over from El paso. Big emphasis on fossils today.

Second loop with Rebecca and her one year old son... Will and his six year old... Lynda, John, Kathryn.

12 hours door to door for me... so odd... in the summer I was frustrated to not hit 12,000' with that many hours (...16 hours!) and now I log only 3,000'!!

Terri back tomorrow... start in on real training? The knee seems to be good, but until I stress it with some serious mileage, I will not really know.
_____________________
Ageless Mind... Timeless Body... No Way! Use It and Lose It. Just the way it is...
 
Sep 21 2014
avatar

 Guides 253
 Photos 6,930
 Triplogs 2,467

75 male
 Joined Nov 05 2008
 Cloudcroft, NM
Quarry CanyonSoutheast, NM
Quarry Canyon
Southeast, NM
Canyoneering avatar Sep 21 2014
imike • Triplogs 2,467
Canyoneering6.00 Miles 1,400 AEG
Canyoneering6.00 Miles
1,400 ft AEG
Canyon Hiking - Non-technical; no rope; easy scrambling; occasional hand use
A - Dry or little water; shallow or avoidable water; no wet/dry suit
 no routes
Linked   linked  
Pipeline Road - Alamogordo
Marble Canyon - North
A Canyon South - Terri's Cut
A Trail #119
Partners none no partners
Ross and DJ... checking out the new route that includes Marble Bluffs... then, Terri's Traverse. nearly added in the north traverse extension... not today.

Rain coming... not sure about the afternoon hike...
_____________________
Ageless Mind... Timeless Body... No Way! Use It and Lose It. Just the way it is...
 
Aug 29 2014
avatar

 Guides 253
 Photos 6,930
 Triplogs 2,467

75 male
 Joined Nov 05 2008
 Cloudcroft, NM
A Trail #119Southeast, NM
A Trail #119
Southeast, NM
Hiking avatar Aug 29 2014
imike • Triplogs 2,467
Hiking14.00 Miles 6,250 AEG
Hiking14.00 Miles
6,250 ft AEG
 no routes
Linked   linked  
Quarry Canyon
Partners none no partners
Early start... did a different approach, and was scoring repeated hits on my right foot... as if hitting sharp rocks? When it got light enough I could see I accidentally put on a decommissioned pair of shoes ( X on the toes)... so, I figured the sole had a worn spot. Finally, I'm on trail and still managing to hit the same spot. 2.5 hours into the day I sat down, pulled the shoe off to check; there was a huge thorn penetrated through the bottom? Duhhh... pulled it out... the stone bruising stopped!

Ran into Mike Mills... hiker new to area.

"A" Trail took a heavy hit from the rains, but it also enjoyed areas where the rain cleared out rock. On the whole, more good than bad: 20 hours to repair?

So...two more days and I can return to a higher quality of training. If I am lucky I should be back in shape for November! That would be nice.

Route up Quarry Canyon finalized... intersecting with the "A" at the Gold Mine. just need to do some clearing to finish off this very nice short loop.
_____________________
Ageless Mind... Timeless Body... No Way! Use It and Lose It. Just the way it is...
 
Aug 16 2014
avatar

 Guides 253
 Photos 6,930
 Triplogs 2,467

75 male
 Joined Nov 05 2008
 Cloudcroft, NM
Quarry CanyonSoutheast, NM
Quarry Canyon
Southeast, NM
Canyoneering avatar Aug 16 2014
imike • Triplogs 2,467
Canyoneering9.80 Miles 4,300 AEG
Canyoneering9.80 Miles
4,300 ft AEG
Canyon Hiking - Non-technical; no rope; easy scrambling; occasional hand use
A - Dry or little water; shallow or avoidable water; no wet/dry suit
 no routes
Linked   linked  
Pipeline Trail #110
Alamo Marble Quarry
A Trail #119
A Canyon South - Terri's Cut
A Trail - Connections
Partners none no partners
Cool breeze made for a great hike. Up into the Quarry, shooting pics of the older initials carved into the marble walls. I liked the 15 year old who in 1933 climbed to a precarious shelf to register. There are higher marks, but likely scored using modern climbing gear. There are bolted routes in a variety of the clefts/faces.

I worked some more on routing to Marble Bluffs... got really lucky today; scored an optimum track... and lucky again routing on up to the old Gold mine.

GPS tracks on all that, then descended to track routes on both Traverses out of Terri's Cut.

Second day for my OJ to have a tangy, bubbly augment... early stage fermentation! Maybe that was why the hike went so well?

Odd guy camped out down below the "A"... carts and all. I was planning on doing low laps... decided to range higher to delay interaction. Day without crazy seemed better.

Rains have scoured the "A" trail... confirms my earlier idea: I will reroute the trail over to better views and easier to maintain tracks... which will have the additional benefit of not being open to bikes, ATV or motorbike traffic. They can continue to destroy the traditional route.

At 740,000' for the year: AEG. Couple weeks left this month: 40-60,000'? Might get close to the 800,000' by the end of the month, or not. I'm looking forward to switching to a four day hiking schedule in September... 60,000' per month for the last four months of the year.

This summer of hiking down out of the cool has worked. I may go back to summer hiking in the higher reaches, but this was not bad.
_____________________
Ageless Mind... Timeless Body... No Way! Use It and Lose It. Just the way it is...
 
Apr 27 2014
avatar

 Guides 253
 Photos 6,930
 Triplogs 2,467

75 male
 Joined Nov 05 2008
 Cloudcroft, NM
Quarry CanyonSoutheast, NM
Quarry Canyon
Southeast, NM
Canyoneering avatar Apr 27 2014
imike • Triplogs 2,467
Canyoneering4.30 Miles 1,200 AEG
Canyoneering4.30 Miles
1,200 ft AEG
Canyon Hiking - Non-technical; no rope; easy scrambling; occasional hand use
A - Dry or little water; shallow or avoidable water; no wet/dry suit
 no routes
Linked   linked  
Marble Canyon - North
Alamo Marble Quarry
A Trail #119
Pipeline Road - Alamogordo
Partners none no partners
Seven Meetup Hikers attended this slightly more difficult Beginner's route. A good day out!
_____________________
Ageless Mind... Timeless Body... No Way! Use It and Lose It. Just the way it is...
 
Apr 25 2014
avatar

 Guides 253
 Photos 6,930
 Triplogs 2,467

75 male
 Joined Nov 05 2008
 Cloudcroft, NM
Quarry CanyonSoutheast, NM
Quarry Canyon
Southeast, NM
Canyoneering avatar Apr 25 2014
imike • Triplogs 2,467
Canyoneering9.90 Miles 3,950 AEG
Canyoneering9.90 Miles
3,950 ft AEG
Canyon Hiking - Non-technical; no rope; easy scrambling; occasional hand use
A - Dry or little water; shallow or avoidable water; no wet/dry suit
 no routes
Linked   linked  
Marble Canyon - North
Pipeline Road - Alamogordo
Alamo Marble Quarry
A Trail #119
Partners none no partners
Meetup hikers all no-shows, so no early start, but it was cool enough out, and I routed up Quarry Canyon in such a fashion to remain in the shade to the top of Marbles Bluffs. That may become the new standard route. If the Forest Service closes down the trails due to fire danger this year it could be nice to have this backdoor route ready to go; it is all on private property!

I cut over to the "A" trail for some up/down AEG... and home by noon to prepare for tomorrow's much longer and harder effort.

Early starts; Order of the days!
_____________________
Ageless Mind... Timeless Body... No Way! Use It and Lose It. Just the way it is...
 
Mar 21 2014
avatar

 Guides 253
 Photos 6,930
 Triplogs 2,467

75 male
 Joined Nov 05 2008
 Cloudcroft, NM
Quarry CanyonSoutheast, NM
Quarry Canyon
Southeast, NM
Canyoneering avatar Mar 21 2014
imike • Triplogs 2,467
Canyoneering15.40 Miles 6,300 AEG
Canyoneering15.40 Miles
6,300 ft AEG
Canyon Hiking - Non-technical; no rope; easy scrambling; occasional hand use
A - Dry or little water; shallow or avoidable water; no wet/dry suit
 no routes
Linked   6 linked trail guides
Marble Canyon - North
Alamo Marble Quarry
A Trail #119
Ortega Peak
Leah's Lair - the Fissure
Pipeline Road - Alamogordo
Partners partners
tarryon
Met Cathy and Terri for the hike up to the top of the Marble Bluffs... and on to the old Gold Mine. Cathy headed down the "A"... Terri and I headed for the Peak. Ran into Kim and Julia near the Catwalk and walked them on up to the new Spur Trail and on to the peak.

I'd hiked full time with Kim back a few years ago... this encounter might rekindle that process?

We stuck together for the hike down to Leah's Lair where Kim went a bit crazy with the climbing... then even more so over at the Caves in the "A" Bluff (Kim's Kave!!).

From there the group split up... the ladies headed on down... I headed back up for some AEG laps, then a small hit on trail work. The current section is a real batch of work! I'm looking forward to getting up out of the heavy gravel... maybe hit the peak in three weeks?

So, yet another all day day. It will likely remain the pattern through April as the AEG has to continue to compile.

Hiking such a soft pace makes for a fairly easy day... feet sore... legs cramping if I fail to hit the potassium at the needed levels, along with net fluid... but, other than that, easy.

Nice to have made a substantial move in regards the classification of our group outings. I just need to work on our comparative Ortega ratings for each hike. Once each route is scored we will have a fairly workable process.

Long off trail hike tomorrow... difficult enough to scare most everyone away. Nice!
_____________________
Ageless Mind... Timeless Body... No Way! Use It and Lose It. Just the way it is...
 
Mar 21 2014
avatar

 Guides 1
 Photos 4
 Triplogs 158

66 female
 Joined Oct 14 2012
 nm
Quarry CanyonSoutheast, NM
Quarry Canyon
Southeast, NM
Canyoneering avatar Mar 21 2014
tarryon • Triplogs 158
Canyoneering8.00 Miles 3,100 AEG
Canyoneering8.00 Miles   6 Hrs   30 Mns   1.33 mph
3,100 ft AEG      30 Mns Break
 no routesno photosets
Linked   linked  
A Trail #119
Partners none no partners
Fun Canyon. Included Marble Bluffs.
_____________________
 
Mar 09 2014
avatar

 Guides 253
 Photos 6,930
 Triplogs 2,467

75 male
 Joined Nov 05 2008
 Cloudcroft, NM
A Trail #119Southeast, NM
A Trail #119
Southeast, NM
Hiking avatar Mar 09 2014
imike • Triplogs 2,467
Hiking13.60 Miles 4,780 AEG
Hiking13.60 Miles
4,780 ft AEG
 no routes
Linked   6 linked trail guides
A Canyon South - Terri's Cut
Pipeline Road - Alamogordo
Lost Trail Drainage North
Marble Canyon - North
Alamo Marble Quarry
Quarry Canyon
Partners partners
tarryon
Not an early start, and switch to DST did not help with that. I felt beat up from the prior day... low energy... but I made it up the trail and even managed to do some trail grooming. I also cut the new trail route over into Terri's Cut.

The first planned Meetup group showed up and Kim hiked them up to the Caves and Lair for fun. (Five Hikers).

15 Hikers showed up for the 2pm outing! We wandered up Lost Trail to the Indian Wells. I had to cut away a bit early to run back down and out to make the 4pm final hike. Just Three hikers but a fun loop: Quarry to Marble Bluffs, the old Gold Mine and down the "A"... for good measure showed them the new trail route into "A" Canyon, South... Terri's Cut. Mixed opinions as to whether or not it was as easy as I think it is...

So... long day. Not great AEG... I'll be playing catchup this week!
_____________________
Ageless Mind... Timeless Body... No Way! Use It and Lose It. Just the way it is...
 
Feb 26 2014
avatar

 Guides 1
 Photos 4
 Triplogs 158

66 female
 Joined Oct 14 2012
 nm
Quarry CanyonSoutheast, NM
Quarry Canyon
Southeast, NM
Canyoneering avatar Feb 26 2014
tarryon • Triplogs 158
Canyoneering4.50 Miles 1,300 AEG
Canyoneering4.50 Miles   2 Hrs   30 Mns   2.00 mph
1,300 ft AEG      15 Mns Break5 LBS Pack
 no routesno photosets
Linked   none no linked trail guides
Partners partners
imike
I had forgotten how exceptional this canyon is. It is fun to see through Bill's eyes. This was his first time up it. We also took in Marble Bluffs.
Went up to Gold Mine on "A" trail and back down.
_____________________
 
Feb 26 2014
avatar

 Guides 253
 Photos 6,930
 Triplogs 2,467

75 male
 Joined Nov 05 2008
 Cloudcroft, NM
Lost Trail - Lincoln NFSoutheast, NM
Lost Trail - Lincoln NF
Southeast, NM
Hiking avatar Feb 26 2014
imike • Triplogs 2,467
Hiking19.70 Miles 6,700 AEG
Hiking19.70 Miles
6,700 ft AEG
 no routes
Linked   10 linked trail guides
Pipeline Road - Alamogordo
Lost Trail Canyon: South Fork
Lost Trail Drainage North
Ortega/Dry Canyon Traverse
Ortega Ridge North
Ortega Peak
A Trail #119
Marble Canyon - North
Alamo Marble Quarry
Quarry Canyon
Partners partners
tarryon
The Wednesday double turned into a triple!

Shared the peak hike with Terri and Brenda... then we looped back out (Terri and Bill) to enjoy the Marble Canyon...Quarry Canyon route to the top of the Marble Bluffs. From there, up to the old Gold Mine on the "A" Trail where we split up... I headed up to re-stage my trail tools and log some trail work hours... they headed down hill to close out their day earlier. Great weather! Nice routes. Trail getting better; nearly have it up to the "A" trail Bluffs.
_____________________
Ageless Mind... Timeless Body... No Way! Use It and Lose It. Just the way it is...
 
Feb 05 2014
avatar

 Guides 253
 Photos 6,930
 Triplogs 2,467

75 male
 Joined Nov 05 2008
 Cloudcroft, NM
Wednesday Looping, NM 
Wednesday Looping, NM
 
Hiking avatar Feb 05 2014
imike • Triplogs 2,467
Hiking14.40 Miles 5,400 AEG
Hiking14.40 Miles
5,400 ft AEG
 no routes
1st trip
Linked   6 linked trail guides
A Trail #119
Pipeline Road - Alamogordo
Alamo Marble Quarry
Marble Canyon - North
Quarry Canyon
Leah's Lair - the Fissure
Partners partners
tarryon
second day of early out... today by mistake. It was 3:30am... thought it was an hour later, so just came over for some slow lapping before I meet Terri at 6am for the "real" hiking. Should be an easier day unless we add in the cave section down in Leah's Lair. Not certain if anyone meeting us for the second phase of the day hike... We'll hit the "A" trailhead mid morning before we loop back up to the Fissure... at least that is the plan. Guess I'll update as the day progresses...

... if I switch over to a Hotspot modem (from this USB device) I could just carry along the tablet and update during the hike! Guess I should see if Cricket offers that.

Went as projected... except for dropping my flashlight to the bottom of the Lair... left rope up there; I'll go back to retrieve it and my light... with Jim?

Snow settling in as we finished up!
_____________________
Ageless Mind... Timeless Body... No Way! Use It and Lose It. Just the way it is...
 
Jan 10 2014
avatar

 Guides 253
 Photos 6,930
 Triplogs 2,467

75 male
 Joined Nov 05 2008
 Cloudcroft, NM
Marble Canyon - SouthSoutheast, NM
Marble Canyon - South
Southeast, NM
Canyoneering avatar Jan 10 2014
imike • Triplogs 2,467
Canyoneering11.80 Miles 3,700 AEG
Canyoneering11.80 Miles   7 Hrs      2.15 mph
3,700 ft AEG   1 Hour   30 Mns Break27 LBS Pack
Canyon Hiking - Non-technical; no rope; easy scrambling; occasional hand use
 no routes
Linked   linked  
Alamo Marble Quarry
Quarry Canyon
A Trail #119
Leah's Lair - the Fissure
Pipeline Road - Alamogordo
Partners none no partners
15 hikers started the day out... time constraints thinned Terri's Friday hiking group down to 11 by the time we reached the very nice turn around point 2.5 miles up the canyon at the impressive stairstep falls formation.

There was some discussion about the route possibly being more difficult than my description suggested, since I'd used that word "easy". Of course, when I called it Marble Canyon, Short and Easy... I was really thinking in the comparative... I need to quit doing that... thinking!

By the end of their outing everyone seems to have appreciated the rewards of their efforts; they did great!

Since Leah had driven over from Las Cruces and was spending the night to score tomorrow's hike up Dog Canyon... I offered to show her some more of the area... and the Quarry was right there. Up and through the Quarry... into and up Quarry Canyon to the old gold mine... over and up the "A"... then, thinking about my longer, harder training hike tomorrow I figured we should stop and call it a day at the Fissure.

This interesting cleft/rift formation cuts through the "A" Ridge, yet goes mostly unnoticed, even though it runs right next to the trail. Sitting on top and gazing down into the cut inspires thoughts of slot canyons. The mouth to the fissure runs from the Marble Spur: Grotto Canyon, N1... a short distance to the south. It is fiercely overgrown... such that through the years I've never taken the trouble to really enter the formation. I would eventually... with lopping shears and rope!

Today, I walked around and down... then into the tangled mass... then noticed a hidden ledge that could carry us above and into the formation. Passing all the entry obstructions we came to a low cave entrance...Leah moved into the lead and crawled into the opening. It quickly gave way to the open topped cut... and to a steeply descending fallaway! We moved a short distance further to note that it continues to descend!

We are coming back with rope and more time... but since Leah is the first of our group to enter, we may have a new name for the formation: Leah's Lair! She's coming back with Leopard skin leotard for the exploratory photo shoot! :)

I cannot believe I left my camera topside with my pack; missed all shots of our first trip into this special space...

All in all, just a massively fun day!

I added a touch more up/down to round out the training aspect for the day... trying to keep it progressive!
_____________________
Ageless Mind... Timeless Body... No Way! Use It and Lose It. Just the way it is...
 
average hiking speed 1.83 mph
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