username
X
password
register
for free!
 help
 Home FAQ Contribute Camp Granada Surveys Shop
 TrailDEX Filter Areas A to Z Easy Hikes in Season Dog Hikes in Season
 MapRoute Editor Route Editor Route CloudRoute Scout Route Scout Foliage DEX Wildflower DEX
Publish a Guide
Trail/Hike Guide
 GPS Route
Recorded Track of a Hike
 Triplog
Review/Journal of a Hike
 Photoset
Photos of a Hike
help
  HAZ Forum
ArticlesGuidesRoutes
 
Photosets
 Recent Photosets
Liked PixelMASTERS
Avatars Tagged Notes
 
 Comments
triplogs   photosets   labels comments more
Leah's Lair - the Fissure - 1 member in 17 triplogs has rated this an average 4 ( 1 to 5 best )
17 triplogs
login for filter options
Oct 18 2014
avatar

 Guides 253
 Photos 6,930
 Triplogs 2,467

75 male
 Joined Nov 05 2008
 Cloudcroft, NM
Ortega Canyon SouthSoutheast, NM
Ortega Canyon South
Southeast, NM
Canyoneering avatar Oct 18 2014
imike • Triplogs 2,467
Canyoneering7.00 Miles 1,900 AEG
Canyoneering7.00 Miles
1,900 ft AEG
 no routes
Linked   linked  
Pipeline Road - Alamogordo
Leah's Lair - the Fissure
A Trail #119
Partners none no partners
11 hikers on the first of the Meetup.com 3rd Saturday Progressive series... running for the next six months... good group... great hike.
_____________________
Ageless Mind... Timeless Body... No Way! Use It and Lose It. Just the way it is...
 
Aug 27 2014
avatar

 Guides 253
 Photos 6,930
 Triplogs 2,467

75 male
 Joined Nov 05 2008
 Cloudcroft, NM
Ortega PeakSoutheast, NM
Ortega Peak
Southeast, NM
Hiking avatar Aug 27 2014
imike • Triplogs 2,467
Hiking17.90 Miles 7,500 AEG
Hiking17.90 Miles
7,500 ft AEG
 no routes
Linked   linked  
Leah's Lair - the Fissure
Partners none no partners
energy better... might have been the cooler, cloudy morning? Oddly, got sunny in the afternoon; could have done without that! Hump Day past... could have done better. I'm beginning to wonder if there are any 12,000'+ days left in my hiking patterns.

First part of day pure fun... lead Meetup group to peak at slow pace... hit the high point add-ons descending. AEG laps... not so much fun... but not too bad.
_____________________
Ageless Mind... Timeless Body... No Way! Use It and Lose It. Just the way it is...
 
Jun 01 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 Jun 01 2014
imike • Triplogs 2,467
Hiking9.60 Miles 4,300 AEG
Hiking9.60 Miles
4,300 ft AEG
 no routes
Linked   linked  
Leah's Lair - the Fissure
Partners none no partners
I do not like afternoon hikes starting out into the heat! The morning canyons were fun, even if it may have been just as hot. Sundays are o be semi-rest days this month, but ideally I will have "earned" the lower AEG day with longer efforts leading into that day... with the month kicking off with a Sunday it just did not make sense to allow too big of a hole to develop, so... slow laps on the "A"... It is going to be a very long month!
_____________________
Ageless Mind... Timeless Body... No Way! Use It and Lose It. Just the way it is...
 
May 21 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 May 21 2014
imike • Triplogs 2,467
Hiking13.40 Miles 5,100 AEG
Hiking13.40 Miles
5,100 ft AEG
 no routes
Linked   linked  
A Trail Bluffs
Leah's Lair - the Fissure
Partners none no partners
longer... still slow... still with one crutch!
_____________________
Ageless Mind... Timeless Body... No Way! Use It and Lose It. Just the way it is...
 
Apr 21 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 Apr 21 2014
imike • Triplogs 2,467
Hiking20.70 Miles 8,700 AEG
Hiking20.70 Miles
8,700 ft AEG
 no routes
Linked   linked  
Dry Canyon Trail #5574
Courtney Mine Trail #132
West Side Rd... Forest Road 90
Leah's Lair - the Fissure
A Trail Bluffs
Partners none no partners
Day was scheduled for a timed ascent to Ortega Peak... and a made an early start with every intention of getting back early to work projects.

But...

Once hiking, I felt more like going longer and higher; score some of the upper elevation cool. It also felt like one of those "first days of the rest of your life..." so I carried along a notebook to plot out and re-plan the coming months of training. That is pretty much how the day progressed. Clouds rolled in midday. I scored some up down laps off Karr Canyon road. Eventually, I came back down and turned up the Ortega Spur trail, then realized it really needed to be swept, so I went down to the tools and brought them up... and swept the entire lower slab rock area.

Looked as if I might make it back to the trailhead before 4pm but I ran into Joseph and Devon (local dentist?) running up the "A" trail. They asked me if I knew where the caves were... so, I hiked them up to the "A" Bluffs and then on to Leah's Lair. They seemed stoked!

I snapped pics of them doing both features then showed them the trail connections to the old Gold Mine and the connecting spur to Terri'a Cut...

Long day without food and just 60 oz of OJ... time to hydrate up and figure out what would make a nice cutting dinner.
_____________________
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...
 
Feb 28 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 Feb 28 2014
imike • Triplogs 2,467
Hiking4.80 Miles 1,980 AEG
Hiking4.80 Miles
1,980 ft AEG
 no routes
Linked   linked  
Leah's Lair - the Fissure
Partners partners
tarryon
moderate effort... going short, just enough to hit the goal of 110,000' for February. Tomorrow, begin the 5,000' per day month? I need to work out a schedule to hit that average, including some 9,000'... 12,000' days.

Time to chart food intake... I do not want another crash like yesterday. Long month ahead!
_____________________
Ageless Mind... Timeless Body... No Way! Use It and Lose It. Just the way it is...
 
Feb 24 2014
avatar

 Guides 253
 Photos 6,930
 Triplogs 2,467

75 male
 Joined Nov 05 2008
 Cloudcroft, NM
Staircase Canyon - Yubao's CutSoutheast, NM
Staircase Canyon - Yubao's Cut
Southeast, NM
Hiking avatar Feb 24 2014
imike • Triplogs 2,467
Hiking9.70 Miles 4,300 AEG
Hiking9.70 Miles
4,300 ft AEG
 no routes
Linked   7 linked trail guides
Pipeline Road - Alamogordo
Ortega Canyon
Ortega Ridge
Michal's Traverse
A Trail Bluffs
A Trail #119
Leah's Lair - the Fissure
Partners none no partners
John over with a request to check out the caves and Leah's Lair... so, Brenda joined us for an exploratory add-on with Ortega Canyon North extension to Michal's Traverse. We got lucky and found a drop in right at the huge dryfall formation...

After the loop was completed, I stayed up and logged some laps... and a couple of hours of trail work.

good day. Now... a week of pictures to edit and post!
_____________________
Ageless Mind... Timeless Body... No Way! Use It and Lose It. Just the way it is...
 
Feb 22 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 Feb 22 2014
imike • Triplogs 2,467
Hiking12.90 Miles 5,190 AEG
Hiking12.90 Miles
5,190 ft AEG
 no routes
Linked   linked  
Ortega Peak
Leah's Lair - the Fissure
A Trail Bluffs
Partners partners
tarryon
Feeling tired. Not sure if it was the early morning laps...up...down...up...or, the raking for hours... or the climbing up/down, in/out of the caves. Might simply be the low food volume and limited variety I'm eating while I cut body weight? I guess the simple 900' per mile grade of the hike to the peak could have done it. Just 4pm and I'm already tired.

Terri's Meetup group: Lulu, Samat, Joe, Summer, Chica. With the newly added features along this trail, folks are gaining more interest. Yesterday's young group planning to revisit the area tomorrow. Then again, I'll be back, too... nothing new in that!
_____________________
Ageless Mind... Timeless Body... No Way! Use It and Lose It. Just the way it is...
 
Feb 21 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 Feb 21 2014
imike • Triplogs 2,467
Hiking4.80 Miles 2,150 AEG
Hiking4.80 Miles
2,150 ft AEG
 no routes
Linked   linked  
Leah's Lair - the Fissure
A Trail Bluffs
Partners none no partners
Ben, Kim, Sam, Jeff, Marion, Beth and ??? all playing in the caves and Fissure... 110# Monkey Sam could not fit into the caves at bottom of Fissure... so, not sure where we go next with that...
_____________________
Ageless Mind... Timeless Body... No Way! Use It and Lose It. Just the way it is...
 
Feb 12 2014
avatar

 Guides 253
 Photos 6,930
 Triplogs 2,467

75 male
 Joined Nov 05 2008
 Cloudcroft, NM
Ortega CanyonSoutheast, NM
Ortega Canyon
Southeast, NM
Canyoneering avatar Feb 12 2014
imike • Triplogs 2,467
Canyoneering11.60 Miles 4,100 AEG
Canyoneering11.60 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
Pipeline Road - Alamogordo
Ortega Canyon South
Ortega South - Jim's Cut
A Trail Bluffs
A Trail #119
A Canyon South - Terri's Cut
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...
 
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...
 
Feb 03 2014
avatar

 Guides 253
 Photos 6,930
 Triplogs 2,467

75 male
 Joined Nov 05 2008
 Cloudcroft, NM
Monday Marble Madness, NM 
Monday Marble Madness, NM
 
Hiking avatar Feb 03 2014
imike • Triplogs 2,467
Hiking9.60 Miles 3,700 AEG
Hiking9.60 Miles
3,700 ft AEG
 no routes
Linked   8 linked trail guides
Marble Canyon - North
Slab Canyon - N4
Cactus Cliffs Cut
A Trail #119
Ortega Peak
Leah's Lair - the Fissure
A Trail Bluffs
Pipeline Road - Alamogordo
Partners none no partners
my normal solo exploratory day was joined by Timmy and Juarisca ( that's what can happen when hikes are posted on the Meetup Calendar!)... so, I headed up N4 to see what it would be like without all the over growth. It was nice!

Once up the cut, we tramped up and around the Cactus Cliffs... where the pace slowed to a crawl with an over focus on fossil formations in the cliffs.

Day was nice... enjoyed the off trail ramble up and around to Ortega Peak... including checking out the overhanging rock (Terri's Terrace?)

To round out their day, we dropped into Leah's Lair... with daylight illuminating to the very bottom... and, checking out that deeper area where Jim had speculated last week about the possibility of the Fissure continuing on down... we discovered: the Fissure continues on down! There is a cave taking off and down from the apparent bottom of the cut! Need to go back with rope and lights... who knew? Timmy wants it named after him...?... Timmy's Tomb... Timmy's Trench... Timmy's Trough? We need to get down into it to check out the features. Then we can name it.

Next... to the Bluffs for a trip through those caves... got photos of them popping out high up the west side of the Bluff. Nice.

Finished up with a downclimb into the Gold Mine Pit...

Overall... a very nice day! And, there was some exploration...
_____________________
Ageless Mind... Timeless Body... No Way! Use It and Lose It. Just the way it is...
 
Jan 24 2014
avatar

 Guides 253
 Photos 6,930
 Triplogs 2,467

75 male
 Joined Nov 05 2008
 Cloudcroft, NM
Quiet CanyonSoutheast, NM
Quiet Canyon
Southeast, NM
Canyoneering avatar Jan 24 2014
imike • Triplogs 2,467
Canyoneering10.00 Miles 3,100 AEG
Canyoneering10.00 Miles
3,100 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
I - Short 1-2 hours
 no routes
Linked   linked  
Pipeline Road - Alamogordo
A Trail #119
Leah's Lair - the Fissure
Partners partners
Jim
Cold temp reduced the numbers on Terri's Friday hike... nice to be back up into Quiet Canyon after so many years.

Quiet Canyon Photo Set on Google+:
https://plus.google.com/photos/11748554 ... 4331555617


The Fissure was impressive! See the full photo set over on Google+:

https://plus.google.com/photos/11748554 ... 8198873073
_____________________
Ageless Mind... Timeless Body... No Way! Use It and Lose It. Just the way it is...
 
Jan 22 2014
avatar

 Guides 253
 Photos 6,930
 Triplogs 2,467

75 male
 Joined Nov 05 2008
 Cloudcroft, NM
Ortega PeakSoutheast, NM
Ortega Peak
Southeast, NM
Hiking avatar Jan 22 2014
imike • Triplogs 2,467
Hiking15.60 Miles 6,200 AEG
Hiking15.60 Miles
6,200 ft AEG
 no routes
Linked   linked  
Leah's Lair - the Fissure
Partners partners
tarryon
Terri scored her first double! Bill joined us for the second loop. 2 hour 40 min up and 2 hour 50 min up... 2 hour descents. The training continues... :o
_____________________
Ageless Mind... Timeless Body... No Way! Use It and Lose It. Just the way it is...
 
Jan 11 2014
avatar

 Guides 253
 Photos 6,930
 Triplogs 2,467

75 male
 Joined Nov 05 2008
 Cloudcroft, NM
Saturday Training loop, NM 
Saturday Training loop, NM
 
Hiking avatar Jan 11 2014
imike • Triplogs 2,467
Hiking16.90 Miles 5,600 AEG
Hiking16.90 Miles   9 Hrs   30 Mns   2.18 mph
5,600 ft AEG   1 Hour   45 Mns Break
 no routesno photosets
1st trip
Linked   9 linked trail guides
Pipeline Road - Alamogordo
Lost Trail Canyon: South Fork
Lost Trail Drainage North
Lost Trail - Lincoln NF
Ortega/Dry Canyon Traverse
Dry Canyon Trail #5574
A Trail #119
Ortega Peak
Leah's Lair - the Fissure
Partners none no partners
Drove over an hour early for this posted hike... and Brenda showed up right after I arrived! We enjoyed an interesting loop, including the mud and snow over in Dry Canyon. Ortega Peak nice... weather great... nice interlude with a small herd of elk on the north side of Hershberger Peak (Brenda thought she heard water running... I stopped and noted it was Elk passing below us through the snow... and sure enough, they soon emerged, rounding into the ridge/canyon at the top of Marble Canyon North.

We stopped at the Fissure for awhile (likely longer down time than I noted) then took an end of day break at the old Gold Mine.

These progressive Saturday training hits are about to step up into all day affairs with starts in the dark... oh, well!
_____________________
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 2.16 mph

WARNING! Hiking and outdoor related sports can be dangerous. Be responsible and prepare for the trip. Study the area you are entering and plan accordingly. Dress for the current and unexpected weather changes. Take plenty of water. Never go alone. Make an itinerary with your plan(s), route(s), destination(s) and expected return time. Give your itinerary to trusted family and/or friends.

FAQ
helpcommentissue

end of page marker