Snow Lake

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.

Allie Canyon

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.

Mountain Short-Horned Lizard

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!

Triangle T

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.

rocky ridge

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!

Knight Peak

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.

snow hike

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.

Susan and me

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.

Mineral Creek

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.

Box Canyon

Quartz Mountain

November 26, 2022

The CDT south from US 90 to ridge topped with dazzling white quartz is one of our favorite hikes.

quartz-mountain

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.

Lake Lucero

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!

Twin Sisters

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?

San Vicente Creek

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.

Allie Canyon

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.

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.

Johnson Cabin

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.

Fort Sill Apache Fire Dancers

The Tower

Ongoing

We made a deal: If we moved to Silver City, Dennis got the ham radio tower of his dreams!

chiseling

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.

Boogying down the hill

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.

field day tent

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?

Floating on Big Lake

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.

Overlooking White Sands