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A Trail Bluffs - 1 member in 10 triplogs has rated this an average 4 ( 1 to 5 best )
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May 30 2014
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 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 30 2014
imike • Triplogs 2,467
Hiking14.30 Miles 6,000 AEG
Hiking14.30 Miles
6,000 ft AEG
 no routes
Linked   linked  
A Trail Bluffs
Ortega Canyon South
Ortega Ridge
Partners none no partners
Earlier start was nice.. need to remember to pre-pack to get out the door with momentum. Light rain midday... had to stop and slice off the pants legs (too hot!) "A" trail staying in reasonably good shape; makes me wonder why it was in such poor condition for the last 20 years! I can not see letting it get that bad again.

Hope to quit driving to trailheads and get back to walking from home like in 2011.
_____________________
Ageless Mind... Timeless Body... No Way! Use It and Lose It. Just the way it is...
 
May 26 2014
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 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 26 2014
imike • Triplogs 2,467
Hiking15.40 Miles 6,000 AEG
Hiking15.40 Miles
6,000 ft AEG
 no routes
Linked   linked  
A Trail Bluffs
Ortega South - Jim's Cut
Ortega Canyon South
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...
 
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...
 
May 14 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 14 2014
imike • Triplogs 2,467
Hiking7.80 Miles 3,300 AEG
Hiking7.80 Miles   5 Hrs   40 Mns   1.38 mph
3,300 ft AEG
 no routes
Linked   linked  
A Canyon South - Terri's Cut
A Trail Bluffs
Partners none no partners
Wandered around a bit... checking out what might be possible hiking with the crutch. Scrambling up and down is tedious, but possible. Trail getting better. I should be back on track for daily hiking by next week, but it may be awhile before I go anything but slow. Slow does allow for longer days and solid AEG if I really want to vest the hours....?
_____________________
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...
 
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 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...
 
average hiking speed 1.38 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.

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