Ortega South - Jim's Cut • Canyon Trip • New Mexico • All Triplogs • HikeArizona.COM

Guides 253
Photos 6,930
Triplogs 2,467

75 male

Joined Nov 05 2008
Cloudcroft, NM

Southeast, NM

Canyoneering		Dec 05 2015
		imike • Triplogs 2,467

Canyoneering	9.00 Miles	1,600 AEG

Canyoneering	9.00 Miles
	1,600 ft AEG

Canyon Hiking - Non-technical; no rope; easy scrambling; occasional hand use

no routes

Linked

linked

Staircase Canyon - Yubao's Cut

Partners

none

no partners

22 hikers showed for the third month of the Canyon Light Series... nice day out, but concluded with an encounter with property owner on the exit...

_____________________

Ageless Mind... Timeless Body... No Way! Use It and Lose It. Just the way it is...

Aug 05 2015

Guides 253
Photos 6,930
Triplogs 2,467

75 male

Joined Nov 05 2008
Cloudcroft, NM

Southeast, NM

Canyoneering		Aug 05 2015
		imike • Triplogs 2,467

Canyoneering	4.00 Miles	1,200 AEG

Canyoneering	4.00 Miles
	1,200 ft AEG

no routes

Linked

none

no linked trail guides

Partners

none

no partners

Showing Allison some of the local canyons... new to area... thinking about putting together a hiking program for her 12 yo students this Fall. That may finally expose the area hikes to the locals! Ross and new hiker Dillon along for this easy 3 hour loop...

_____________________

Ageless Mind... Timeless Body... No Way! Use It and Lose It. Just the way it is...

Jan 17 2015

Guides 253
Photos 6,930
Triplogs 2,467

75 male

Joined Nov 05 2008
Cloudcroft, NM

Southeast, NM

Canyoneering		Jan 17 2015
		imike • Triplogs 2,467

Canyoneering	6.30 Miles	1,500 AEG

Canyoneering	6.30 Miles
	1,500 ft AEG

Canyon Hiking - Non-technical; no rope; easy scrambling; occasional hand use

no routes

Linked

linked

Lost Trail Drainage North

Partners

none

no partners

Fourth month of the progressive canyon series was less progressive yet still very appreciated. last minute changes yielded seven hikers for this bit of up down/in out... and the shorter day seemed well enjoyed by everyone. Lisa will hopefully come again... and next time bring along more than a pint of water in a waist pack with no food! I gave her three qts of energy drink to carry her day; she did great! I was in the final stages (I hope!) of my first head cold since 1994... a bit dingy with the low grade fever... but it was a much easier day... on mileage and elevation... and no demanding climbs.

A good day.

Next month... back to harder!

_____________________

Ageless Mind... Timeless Body... No Way! Use It and Lose It. Just the way it is...

Sep 10 2014

Guides 253
Photos 6,930
Triplogs 2,467

75 male

Joined Nov 05 2008
Cloudcroft, NM

Southeast, NM

Canyoneering		Sep 10 2014
		imike • Triplogs 2,467

Canyoneering	7.40 Miles	2,100 AEG

Canyoneering	7.40 Miles
	2,100 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

Partners

none

no partners

Aleana drove over from El Paso... her first time to hike here. Emphasis on photos for her, and looking for more difficult hikes. So, did a sampler loop. She will be back for more.

Displaced my training day; I need to get back on schedule with that!

Heading back up to explore the Cave on Friday; see if there is more to it than initially appears...

_____________________

Ageless Mind... Timeless Body... No Way! Use It and Lose It. Just the way it is...

Sep 07 2014

Guides 253
Photos 6,930
Triplogs 2,467

75 male

Joined Nov 05 2008
Cloudcroft, NM

Southeast, NM

Canyoneering		Sep 07 2014
		imike • Triplogs 2,467

Canyoneering	8.40 Miles	2,750 AEG

Canyoneering	8.40 Miles
	2,750 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

A Ridges North

Partners

none

no partners

no one signed up for this first of series canyon traversing hikes, so I diverted a couple hours over to re-routing and improving the traversing sections... the really nice augment: connected the section from Ortega South, middle above the lower dryfall, to Jim's Cut.. and across "A" Ridge North and down into Terri's Cut right above the middle falls where Terri's Traverse connects over from the "A" trail. So... now we have a great route that allows easy access across three canyons and all the connecting ridges.

These "minor" canyons (rising into the 6,000' levels as opposed to 7,000'+ of the major cuts) make for great intermediate level hikes... as does just hiking the big cuts to about that level. Nice to not have to do in/out routes...

It will be interesting to see just how many different connecting lower loops we can develop from all these lower traverses. Terri is back next month; perhaps start a weekly series based on just that?

Light rain... but hopefully it will clear by 3pm for the Beginner's Hike over in the Alamo Canyon drainage.

_____________________

Ageless Mind... Timeless Body... No Way! Use It and Lose It. Just the way it is...

May 28 2014

Guides 253
Photos 6,930
Triplogs 2,467

75 male

Joined Nov 05 2008
Cloudcroft, NM

Southeast, NM

Hiking		May 28 2014
		imike • Triplogs 2,467

Hiking	13.90 Miles	5,700 AEG

Hiking	13.90 Miles	8 Hrs 20 Mns	1.67 mph
	5,700 ft AEG

no routes

Linked

6 linked trail guides

Ortega/Dry Canyon Traverse

Dry Canyon Trail #5574

West Side Rd... Forest Road 90

Partners

none

no partners

Early start was lessened by too little sleep... I'd planned to log longer hours but I couldn't reach the cached water on Ortega Peak, so I headed back down early. Ran into Jim just above the trailhead; he was just headed out at noon, up into the heat I was happy to be getting out of.

More sleep... more fluids... longer hours: all goals for JUne?

_____________________

Ageless Mind... Timeless Body... No Way! Use It and Lose It. Just the way it is...

May 26 2014

Guides 253
Photos 6,930
Triplogs 2,467

75 male

Joined Nov 05 2008
Cloudcroft, NM

Southeast, NM

Hiking		May 26 2014
		imike • Triplogs 2,467

Hiking	15.40 Miles	6,000 AEG

Hiking	15.40 Miles
	6,000 ft AEG

no routes

Linked

linked

A Trail Bluffs

Partners

none

no partners

The day was planned as a sample hike day, ideally like what I hope to be my every day outing through June. I awoke early, but a bit before 4am it just looked socked in over the mountain... too oppressive to head out. I did odds and ends and hit the trailhead belatedly at 5am. The extra time allowed me to recall that this would be a Memorial Day hike.

So: Camo pants and shirt... field boots. MRE. 1/2 gallon chocolate milk. 1/2 gallon OJ. 20 oz Prune Juice. Monster Energy drink. Gallon of HOH. Crutch.

Finding a nice rock slab around 10:30am I reflected on the day. I thought of the uncle I never met... the uncle I was named after. My mom's brother who forever will reside in the bottom of the bay in Hawaii among the ruins of the Arizona. I've lived thrice his short years. I'm not sure what thoughts would serve as a worthy memorial to his sacrifice.

The Monster drink powered the initial hours of the day...

The MRE: cheesy egg with veggies, crackers, salsa verde... apple drink. I skipped the scone and apple butter... saved the milk shake. I downed the prune juice waiting for the entree to heat up. I slipped into a pancho when the light drizzle started. I wrote some journal notes.

I cached the water. I carried the oj back down the hill.

I'm hiking with a crutch, but as was noted on the last few group outings: my slow is faster than most folks fast. It's still slow and I avoid the steeper section up to Ortega Peak. I log hours. I score AEG. June might be an odd AEG record month for me. You'd think that would come with full and healthy function. I think it may come through the plodding of hours? A month of slow and steady... and long? Maybe.

_____________________

Ageless Mind... Timeless Body... No Way! Use It and Lose It. Just the way it is...

Apr 11 2014

Guides 253
Photos 6,930
Triplogs 2,467

75 male

Joined Nov 05 2008
Cloudcroft, NM

Southeast, NM

Canyoneering		Apr 11 2014
		imike • Triplogs 2,467

Canyoneering	5.00 Miles	1,100 AEG

Canyoneering	5.00 Miles
	1,100 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

Partners

none

no partners

Terri's Friday group (with no more Terri!) has dwindled down to Cathy! Ross joined in for this group outing with speculation about whether or not to do the second phase of the hike. Cathy had time restraints, so I adjusted the route to include the exceptional lower section and the best of the middle section. Then, I began looking for a possible connecting traverse route to allow for a more varied descent. Low and Behold: it was right there! We were able to catch not only the very best of the middle section dry falls in Ortega South, but all of the best of Jim's Cut! That made for an exceptional loop and the shortened route allows for an easy paced return to the cars in time for their noon bridge games.

I am moving the Friday outings to 7am starts. Nicely hazy this morning so the heat was not too great of an issue, but folks were seeking out the shady rocks for the rest breaks.

The new traversing route credits to Cathy... as might this loop in general. Done in reverse it could make an exceptional in/out hike to score the huge dryfall section in Ortega South without having to do the killer Ortega Ridge section.

lots of hours not to score much AEG... but, exceptional settings!

_____________________

Ageless Mind... Timeless Body... No Way! Use It and Lose It. Just the way it is...

Feb 12 2014

tarryon

Guides 1
Photos 4
Triplogs 158

66 female

Joined Oct 14 2012
nm

Southeast, NM

Canyoneering		Feb 12 2014
		tarryon • Triplogs 158

Canyoneering	11.00 Miles	4,000 AEG

Canyoneering	11.00 Miles	6 Hrs 30 Mns	2.00 mph
	4,000 ft AEG	1 Hour Break

no routes

no photosets

Linked

linked

Partners

none

no partners

Another combo day. Went up Jim's Cut and traversed to "A" trail. That was a tough hike up. It is a steep canyon. We came down "A" to pick up another hiker. Headed up trail to traverse over to Terri's Cut.

In that canyon I was able to do three new climbs. I learned some new technics. I used the opposing hand grips, pushing down on left while pulling on right. Also, step by step of getting good foot holds. Need to work on the natural desire to lean into rock when stepping up.

The one climb I turned back on twice before I was able to do. It was a bit tricky to slid up backwards and then turn into the place I needed to be. When I got scared I wanted to rush up. Michal helped to remind me to take my time.

Traversed back over to "A" and went down fissure. Climbed all the way to bottom.

_____________________

Feb 12 2014

Guides 253
Photos 6,930
Triplogs 2,467

75 male

Joined Nov 05 2008
Cloudcroft, NM

Southeast, NM

Canyoneering		Feb 12 2014
		imike • Triplogs 2,467

Canyoneering	11.60 Miles	4,100 AEG

Canyoneering	11.60 Miles
	4,100 ft AEG

Basic Canyoneering - Scrambling; easy climbing/downclimbing; frequent hand use; rope recommended; easy exit

A - Dry or little water; shallow or avoidable water; no wet/dry suit

no routes

Linked

7 linked trail guides

A Trail Bluffs

Leah's Lair - the Fissure

Partners

partners

tarryon

Not paying attention hiking before sunrise... walked over into the wrong canyon! Provided a good reason to explore options for traversing up and over, finally getting into the right canyon... and heading up Jim's Cut... it was nice!

Explored more cave options at the Bluffs... then back down to meet Bill... for a trip up Terri's Cut. Today included Terri clearing all the upper Class II climbs! Nice!!!

Back up exploring the west side caves in the Bluffs... then over to Leah's Lair... full descent with Terri confirming the hot airflow coming out of the lower cave entry. Today there was no wind; something is generating hot air?!!

Skipped the trail work... home early. Exceptional weather!

_____________________

Ageless Mind... Timeless Body... No Way! Use It and Lose It. Just the way it is...

Jan 04 2014

Guides 253
Photos 6,930
Triplogs 2,467

75 male

Joined Nov 05 2008
Cloudcroft, NM

Southeast, NM

Canyoneering		Jan 04 2014
		imike • Triplogs 2,467

Canyoneering	7.50 Miles	3,050 AEG

Canyoneering	7.50 Miles	7 Hrs 30 Mns	1.00 mph
	3,050 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

Partners

partners

Jim

meetup group hike...15 hikers. Great, warmer day... folks from El Paso and Las Cruces drove over to check out one of our local canyons. Hard for everyone to imagine that any of our cuts could really amount to much... as I originally thought.

Good group of folks... nice outing. 225 pictures! Hard to document with so many people spread out... sized the day down to around 180 shots (album over on Google+).

Link: https://plus.google.com/photos/11748554 ... 4738775681

Jim split off and took Marty up to Ortega peak... I walked the group down, then headed back up to round out my AEG... sort of hoping I catch them at the Gold Mine; we could then show Marty Quarry Canyon... but, I missed it by 100'...

Good day out...

_____________________

Ageless Mind... Timeless Body... No Way! Use It and Lose It. Just the way it is...

Dec 22 2013

Guides 253
Photos 6,930
Triplogs 2,467

75 male

Joined Nov 05 2008
Cloudcroft, NM

Southeast, NM

Canyoneering		Dec 22 2013
		imike • Triplogs 2,467

Canyoneering	6.00 Miles	2,300 AEG

Canyoneering	6.00 Miles
	2,300 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

Alamo Marble Quarry

Short Canyon

Partners

partners

Jim

Scheduled and rescheduled... day was to be a recovery hike from yesterday's long mileage. Snow and rain made that mileage zero! Jim had asked to alter the approach: tag on the Quarry and Quarry Canyon then descend The Spur... sounded reasonable...

...then he called to offset the start (11am instead of 9am)... and given the snow, made sense to catch a few hours of melt off. I just headed up early and met him above the Quarry. Great hour of just enjoying the sun exposed rock faces.

Easy pace with great overviews carried us to the old gold mine... then up the "A" to the Bluff, the landmark hiding the easy access over and down into the Spur. The snow finally caught up to us as we dropped into that shadowed cut.

Instead of descending the bottom of the canyon we hiked the north ridge... mostly snow free... and keeping us high enough to enjoy the distinctive landmark: The Pinnacle. From the upper ridge it appears as an odd balanced rock... from below and west it appears as a volcano looking mini-peak. Jim scrambled to the top for pics... not really a good idea: rotten rock ready to go any time. I do not think this feature will exist for too many more years!

Off the Pinnacle... down the ridge... into the Canyon bottom... effectively below the Narrows and into the more open, bedrock pathway. Just Nice! It had been years since I'd first hiked up this cut... and it was much better than I recalled. It was good!

Down and out... and since Jim had never hiked Ortega South, we turned up canyon to enjoy what may be the best of the best in this area. We turned back at the big falls... hiked out.

Back at the "A" Trail... the sun not yet set... I mentioned finding a man made trail up Short Canyon, off the "A".. so, off we went to round out the day.

Closed out the day as the sun set.

Nice day!

I'll post photos tomorrow!!

_____________________

Ageless Mind... Timeless Body... No Way! Use It and Lose It. Just the way it is...

Dec 22 2013

Jim

Guides 73
Routes 176
Photos 10,174
Triplogs 2,324

46 male

Joined Sep 08 2006

Southeast, NM

Canyoneering		Dec 22 2013
		Jim • Triplogs 2,324

Canyoneering	6.00 Miles	2,200 AEG

Canyoneering	6.00 Miles	6 Hrs		1.00 mph
	2,200 ft AEG		8 LBS Pack

Canyon Hiking - Non-technical; no rope; easy scrambling; occasional hand use

A - Dry or little water; shallow or avoidable water; no wet/dry suit

I - Short 1-2 hours

no routes

Linked

linked