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| Hiking | 4.33 Miles |
1,078 AEG |
| | Hiking | 4.33 Miles | 2 Hrs 42 Mns | | 1.94 mph |
| 1,078 ft AEG | 28 Mns Break | | | |
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| no partners | | This hike was to the summit of McKnight Mountain (elevation of 10,165 feet and prominence of 2,525 feet). McKnight Mountain is the highpoint of not one but two New Mexico Counties: Grant County and Sierra County. But wait there's more: McKnight Mountain is the highpoint of the Black Range and of the Aldo Leopold Wilderness.
The crux of this hike is the drive to the trailhead. The last 17 miles to the trailhead are on a dirt road -- McKnight Mountain Road. The drive takes about 2 hours each way, so count on 4 hours of drive time. Some parts of the road are not bad, but on other parts you'll be going 1-2 mph over very rocky terrain. It's not all THAT bad though: a stock high clearance 4WD vehicle with good tires should be OK.
I parked at McKnight Cabin, and hiked on Black Range Crest Trail #79. The first 5.5 miles of the trail from the cabin have recently been cleared and brushed, so it was a delightful trail to hike on. I wouldn't count on the trail always being in great shape; eventually locust will get us all!
There are actually 2 highpoints on McKnight Mountain, both with a spot elevation of 10,165 feet. One of the "10165" summits is on the southeastern part of the mountain and is right on the Grant County-Sierra County line. The other "10165 summit is about 1/2 mile away on the northwestern part of the mountain and is in Grant County.
I followed the Crest Trail for about 1.75 miles, and then went off-trail for about 100 feet to the summit on the county line.
Before the hike, I did not think that I would be able to go to the other highpoint because supposedly there was massive amounts of deadfall in getting to the second highpoint. I have seen photos of deadfall 5-6 feet high as far as the eye could see. However, I was shocked to see no deadfall whatsoever. I am not not sure what happened to it, but there must have a been a prescribed fire to get rid of it.
After hitting the first highpoint I continued on the Crest Trail for a short distance and then took a use trail over to the northwest highpoint. The use trail was reasonably easy to follow for a while, and there were several cairns to help with route finding. The use trail petered out after a bit, but it was an easy hike through open country to get to the second highpoint.
Views were great in all directions -- most of the trees had been burned in fires, so there was nothing to impede your views.
I went back to the trailhead the same way that I came.
Synopsis
This was a most enjoyable hike, the drive not so much. |
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| Civilization is a nice place to visit but I wouldn't want to live there |
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