Allie Canyon
March, 2023
Allie Canyon has become one of my favorite hikes. I put it on the calendar for Gila Hikers for March 25, but given our very wet Winter and late Spring, I was concerned about water levels.
Windmill Canyon
March 10, 2023
And just like that, southern New Mexico leapt from Winter to Summer! After seeing a friend's photos of fields of poppies, we headed for the Florida Mountains.
Triangle T Ranch
March 3-6, 2023
When your best friend likes a cozy B & B in Dordogne, and you like a backpacking tent on the Gila River, you meet halfway ... at an RV Park!
Rock Town Adventures
February 10-16, 2023
What turned out to be a week-long adventure began with a two-night camping trip with friends to City of Rocks, one of our favorite destinations, and now just a short hop from home.
Knight Peak
February 6-7, 2023
We'd driven by it many times and decided to do a one-night campout/exploration. Very interesting rock formations and see-forever views. We made it easily to the saddle, but got caught in a sudden snow squall. It was a good reminder of how fast conditions can change in the mountains!
Box Canyon
February 4, 2023
We never tire of hiking the many and varied canyons along the Gila River. We returned this time with our new hiking group, the Gila Hikers. The highlight of the hike was when we returned to pick up our packs after wandering upstream, and spied a troop of 9-10 coatis high-tailing up the opposite bank.
Snowstorm!
January 2, 2023
"Slight chance of snow showers, no significant accumulation." That was the forecast when I went to bed on New Year's Day.
A Tucson Christmas
December 16-21, 2022
A confluence of circumstances — back-to-back parties and one free space at Catalina State Park — drew us to spend the weekend before Christmas in Tucson. As much as we love Silver City, we do miss this place, and especially these people.
Mineral Creek
December 2, 2022
While hiking in Mineral Creek today, we were alarmed to encounter numerous fresh mining claim stakes. It was only then it dawned on me that Summa Silver's plans to redevelop silver mines near Mogollon might also impact one of the most beautiful canyons in the Gila National Forest.
Box Canyon
November 30, 2022
Box Canyon is one of our favorite hikes, and we've returned to it again and again after first stumbling onto during an exploration of the Lower Gila Box in 2019.
Quartz Mountain
November 26, 2022
The CDT south from US 90 to ridge topped with dazzling white quartz is one of our favorite hikes.
Dog Canyon, Lake Lucero and White Sands
November 16-20, 2022
We stretched a doctor's appointment in Las Cruces into a five-day trip that included the New Mexico Space History Museum, Dog Canyon, Lake Lucero and White Sands National Park.
Twin Sisters Via Arrastra
November 11, 2022
My hiking friends cautioned me that the approach to Twin Sisters from the Arrastra would be extremely difficult, if not impossible. It was a challenging but thoroughly enjoyable hike, and it may be our new local favorite!
San Vicente Creek
November 9, 2022
This area just south of town is rich in history. A spider's web of hiking trails follows the creek past old industrial sites, slag heaps, automobile graveyards, hippie homesteads and historic Chinese market gardens. It has enormous potential as a linear park, but it needs Superfund-level cleanup. Is this my new project?
Allie Canyon
November 5, 2022
I fell in love with Allie Canyon on our first visit a year-and-a-half sgo. Finally the planets aligned, and we were able to return, in late Fall after a particularly generous monsoon.
Escudilla Mountain
October 20-22, 2022
As often happens, Summer gave way rather abruptly to late Fall. I was hoping to spend some time hiking in the golden aspens before it was too late. So on a sunny Thursday afternoon we packed up the camper and headed for Escudilla Mountain.
Big Dry Creek/Johnson Cabin
October 13-14, 2022
With Covid and completing the tower eating up most of the month of September, we were eager to get out. And get out we did, tackling a very tough trail on the west side of the Gila Wilderness that leads to a historic cabin on Big Dry Creek.
Fort Sill Apache Fire Dancers
September 24, 2022
While we both recover from Covid — yes, we finally succumbed, after 2½ years of careful masking, distancing, vaxing and boosting — we witnessed a presentation by the Fort Sill Apache Fire Dancers that was part of the 2022 Gila River Festival. Positioning ourselves very far from other people, and with a giant zoom, we captured a few images and some fuzzy video.
The Tower
Ongoing
We made a deal: If we moved to Silver City, Dennis got the ham radio tower of his dreams!
Chasing the Cumbres & Toltec
August 14-22, 2022
Thirty-six years ago, I took a ride on the Cumbres & Toltec Railroad, and fell in love with the Southwest. Since then, I've always had a soft spot for North America's highest steam train, and we always stroll around the railyard any time we're in the area. This summer, when wildfires closed all of New Mexico's high elevation National Forest lands, we zeroed in on the Chama area as a possible alternative.
Back to the White Mountains
July 6-9, 2022
We've made a number of trips to the White Mountains, but we were always somewhat put off by the crowds — especially when we stayed in campgrounds. Over the last three years, we've become better acquainted with the area, and we've learned to venture farther off the beaten path.
Ham Radio Field Day in the Gila National Forest
June 23-26, 2022
Every year in June, we gather with fellow hams for Amateur Radio Field Day, to test and demonstrate their ability to communicate with limited equipment in challenging locations. Elevation and a good radio horizon are key, but so is a pleasant environment, since half the fun is camping with your buddies.
Big Lake
June 13-19, 2022
There's only one cure for those mean, low-down waiting-for-the-monsoon blues. But where to run when all New Mexico national forests — except, oddly, the Gila — were closed due to fire and extreme fire danger?
The Sacramento Mountains
May 16-May 23, 2022
When I was growing up in northern Minnesota, I noticed that when my father read in bed at night, it wasn't "Popular Mechanics" or "Field & Stream". It was maps. Paper maps. He must have infected me with his cartographilia, because map reading is my super power. And it can come in really handy when a very well-planned trip goes totally off the rails.
