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Hike #92 – Gila National Forest – Sheep Corral Canyon Rd – FR 4083T
AKA: Hunter’s Highway
This hike was crowded…. the hunters are out!! We walked on Sheep Corral Canyon Rd way up at about the 5.9 mile mark. We saw many (too many) hunters out for the week-end. There were 5 RV’s up there, one tent, and several ATV’s moving about. Note to self: time to wear my orange t-shirt. Don’t worry Cary, we didn’t hear any shooting; they generally hunt at day break and night fall. Even so, I kept the dogs close by so they weren’t mistaken for targets.
Dora, Cody, Cisco and I hiked partly on the road and the rest of the way on Forest Road 4083T. This area is mountainous and we were continually catching our breaths on the uphill climbs. The landscape is worth it though; there are many pine trees and periodically long-range views peak through the trees. The road gets a little rough in spots but is drivable for most of the way. Just take it slow.
And another good thing: we finally saw the road’s namesake: Sheep’s Corral! There must have been a small community there because we also saw a water holding tank, a second tank, a man-made rock wall, a solar panel (sometimes used for well pumps) and a variety of pipes and such. I am asking some of the locals for how the corral got there, who used it, etc. I just love the old stories! I’ll add to this post if I hear any of the history.
Before we loaded up the car, we explored FR 4083T for about 15 minutes. It looks like a good trail for hikers. I’ll explore it more in the future.
And now it’s time to go to a Labor Day BBQ.
2.83 Miles / 2.0 Hours
92 down /8 to go
Hike #91 – Gila National Forest – Burro Mountains – Silby Road
The Louisiana Street Hiker’s Club
In a small town, you know most people through 3 different connections. Today’s hiking pals are such people. 1) I first met Liz and Joe through the Coldwell Banker office when they had us manage their rentals. 2) When Frank and I bought a triplex on Louisiana Street, we found out that Liz and Joe lived on one side of our building and owned a rental on the other side of our building. We were neighbors, kind of. 3) At the beginning of the year, a friend invited us to dinner and who was there? Liz and Joe!
So when I ran into Liz last week, she expressed interest in joining me on one of my 100 hikes. She is recovering from Hip Replacement surgery and was ready to get back to hiking. Which brings us to today’s hike. Although Liz is in great shape (she teaches aerobics and other classes), she wanted her first hike to be fairly level and of easier exertion. I thought the Burro Mountain Homestead area might be in store. We could walk on the road, if necessary, or take one of the many side trail/forest roads. Me, Joe, Liz and Cody packed up the car and headed out.
When we reached Silby Road, we parked and headed out. The road quickly forked onto an old Forest Road, and we chose to head uphill on the smaller FR trail. The landscape was beautiful, with rolling hills, long-range views, interesting boulders and the occasional ranch fence line. I also saw two signs that I’ve never seen anywhere else: “No Shooting. Occupied Area. 150 Yards”. And another that said: “Fire Rescue Route” Those are 2 signs that hold important information! Thank you!
Towards the end of the hike, we ended up back on the road and a nice gentleman hauling a saddled horse stopped for a chat. He gave us some ideas of some cool hikes in the area. Thank you sir! We’ll be back again!
3.89 Miles / 2.0 Hours
91 down /9 to go
Hike #90 – Gila National Forest – FR 4246B
Sheep Corral Canyon Rd – to Forest Road 4246B
I’M IN THE SINGLE DIGITS! WOOT WOOT!
The girls and I decided it would be fun to go for a hike and then go to the new Little Toad Creek Inn for lunch. We drove up to Sheep Corral Canyon Rd and walked into the woods to the left – where in the past we’ve always walked to the right. It was a good climb uphill and then along one of the many ridges. Again it was mostly pine trees and shade. We eventually connect to FR 3131 where my last hike left off. We head down the opposite direction of 3131 and wind up back on Sheep Corral Canyon Road and decide to cross over and head up another trail (876, I think). We quickly run into a man with his dog and then further up we reach the Helicopter Pad and Lookout Point so named for good reason; there are beautiful views to the north.
Along the way we see old building foundations and stairs. It’s strange to be in the woods and come across cement stairs just sitting there alone. On the way back to the car we also see a small herd of deer in the distance. They disappeared before we were in camera range. Darn.
After our hike we drove up to the restaurant and have a wonderful lunch – I had the Asian Chicken Salad which was very good. They have many interesting things on the menu that I want to try, so we may have ourselves a new tradition!
5.25 Miles / 4.0 Hours
90 down /10 to go
Hike #89 – Gila National Forest – FR 4257H to FR 3131
Wednesday, August 22, 2012 – Highway 15 to Mile Marker 16
As I type in “Hike #89” above, I’m tickled that I have 11 left! I keep checking my calendar that I’m on track, and then double checking. The hiker’s neuroses (or is that neurosi?).
Sharon and I saw a bunch of side roads off Highway 15 since we’ve been driving it regularly now. So today we drove to an area that had several side roads – Mile Marker 16 (is that like Area 51???). We see a Forest Service Marker 4257H and head up the hill. There is one road to the left and one to the right. We take the left one which goes upward about 300 yards and then loops directly back onto itself. Alrighty, we’ll take the one to the right then. This one goes up and down several ravines and has lots of pine trees and grasses. We pass two stock tanks and start understanding who’s using this road the most: ranchers. We laugh at a couple of possible slips in the mud that could have been more dirty than funny; it’s been raining regularly for several days.
This trail heads north and eventually come out at Sheep Corral Canyon Road. It is well shaded with many pine trees and tall grasses making it green. There is one area that has huge boulders and one has a pretty sheer cliff face. We decide that we should check it out for Indian activity. But when we walk around it, we realize the rock is somewhat soft and if there were any pictographs, they’ve sloughed off long ago. On top of the boulder, we see round circular patterns that we think have to do with Indians, but it’s hard to tell. What do you think?
On the way back we see many tiny horny toads in the path; the rains must have brought them out. We see about 10 of them!
5.24 Miles / 3.75 Hours
89 down /11 to go
Hike #88 – Elephant Butte – Cowboy Action Shoot
For the first time in the 12 years that we’ve lived here, we are visiting Elephant Butte and attending a Cowboy Action Shoot at the range of the our friends, The Monticello Range Riders. While Chico Cheech (aka Frank) tried his hand at the long range lever action rifle targets, I took the dogs in the opposite direction for a hike among the sand dunes (we didn’t want to be mistaken for the long distance targets after all!!). We saw a few lizards and had chase on a few jack rabbits – the wild life winning out over lethargic dogs.
We headed out in the direction of the lake and quickly detour off the trail and through the sand dunes. There is very little brush out here and I was humming “tumblin’ tumble weeds” (that’s Russian Thistle) for much of the way. I was able to take several long range photos of the mountains and lake along the way. Thank goodness there was cloud cover or this one would have been hotter than my liking!
I’m pretty sure this hike was my lowest altitude hike coming in at 4515.
4.09 Miles / 2.0 Hours
88 down /12 to go
Hike #87 – Sheep Corral Canyon Rd – side trails – Gila National Forest
August 14, 2012 – FR 4247L and trails around it
Sharon, Cody and I drove up Highway 15 to Sheep Corral Canyon Rd and drove back about 4.2 miles. We hiked from there in a combination of road, trail and old wagon roads. Sharon really liked the landscape which was mostly hilly with many ponderosa pine trees. There was also some thorny bugger of a bush that I’m still carving out of my calf. We came across a few ravines, many downed trees that are ready for firewood harvesting, one old gnarly tree that resembled a door for forest elves, and several beautiful long-range views. When we got back to the car, we decided to drive farther up the main road “just to see” what was up there. We came across a man on horseback with 2 dogs – sure looked like a cowboy doing his 9-5 to me!
There are many beautiful trails and road to explore up this road and I look forward to doing more in the near future!
As my challenge winds down – only 13 more to go – I am thinking about what’s next. I definitely enjoy a challenge and would like to do another one, although not the same one. I’m thinking about two options. 1) A “500 Mile Challenge” that could include: walking, hiking and bicycling. This would involve about 10 miles a week. I also would want to be allowed to duplicate locations. 2) The other challenge I’m thinking of is “100 Walks in a Year” which consists of hikes and walking on black top and cement. I could walk around town, walk to Tyrone from my house, etc. I think a 2 hour time minimum would be appropriate. Anybody have any suggestions or preferences?
4.4 Miles / 3.0 Hours
87 down /13 to go
Hike #86 – CD Trail from Highway 15 to Webb Gulch
August 7, 2012 – Happy Birthday, Kristen!
Our through hike today took a little coordinating. Sharon’s husband drove us to our access point for the CD Trail on Highway 15 – just past the Arrastra site. Frank planned to pick us up between 1-3 at the Jones’ house. Our plan was to hike the Continental Divide Trail from Highway 15 to our friend’s house off of Webb Gulch; we estimated it was approximately 6-8 miles.
This trail is a beauty as you walk through tall pines and creeks, on old roads, and then come up to views of the monastery and the Gila National Forest. It has a lot of up and downs, which didn’t bother me yesterday, but my legs do feel it today. We also saw evidence of old mining activity, bear scat and a turkey that had a VERY bad day recently. Later, when our friends mentioned that they had mountain lion activity in the area, we think we know what happened to that turkey!
We had many views of “Our Lady of Guadalupe Monastery”. They have quite an operation up there; we saw gardens, barns, a large water tank and several other buildings. The trail came around to the north of their property and then swung down to the south so we really did see much of their beautiful set-up.
This portion of the CD Trail is maintained by Bob G. who lives in the area. The trail is made up of old roads and trails and is well marked.
I was a little concerned about locating the spot where we turn off to get to the Jones’. I had been there on June 3rd with Vicki and thought I would remember the trail. When we got in the area, sure enough, I saw the turn off and we headed up a slope. Soon we came to a fence and newer looking gate, but it didn’t look familiar and I felt like we were off course. I called Margaret and we soon had neighbor Bob on his ATV to guide us back. Frank and Jim were even saddled up ready to come to show us the way. Luckily, we huffed and puffed up the last hill to their house before they headed out. In looking back, I made the call too soon. It was only 12:30 in the afternoon; I could see their house marked on my GPS. If we knocked around some more up there, we would have found the hidden trail and gotten to them easily. {I learned that it’s very hard to get directions from someone when you’re out in the woods. How do you describe where you are? “I’m at a fence with a lot of trees around it”?????} A second option was to stay on the CD Trail and take it to FR 506 which connects to their road.
Once we were back on track, we were able to check out “Tin Town”, an old mining enclave, which I describe in my June 3rd post (hike #63).
The map that is included in the photos shows most of our trip; it’s the line in red. We went from the eastern most part to the spot where is says ‘Water’.
All in all, it was a great hike that I look forward to doing again!
6.40 Miles / 4.5 Hours
86 down /154to go
Hike #85 – Sheep Corral Canyon – Trail #231; Gila National Forest
A.K.A. Hot and Sweaty!
Sheep Corral Canyon Rd is about 24 miles north of Highway 180 in Silver City.
I have to be honest; summer is my least favorite time of year for hiking. It’s hot, sweaty, and sticky {but that won’t stop me}. Mary Ann, Dora, Cody and I drove up to Sheep Corral Canyon and parked up a few miles – not to the end. We hiked on Trail 231 for several miles and enjoyed the shaded mountainsides as we ambled up the trail. This area feels more remote than other trails and we see no one except for two large cows. This was quite up and down and our calves felt it on the way home!
What is it about today that we saw MANY cars on Highway 15 on our way back? Going both north and south! Everybody was out for a drive! We saw cars parked at most of the stops – Signal Peak Rd, the Signal Peak/Tadpole Ridge pull off, the CD Trail pull off – EVERYbody was out today!
5.71 miles /3.75 hours
85 down /15 to go
Hike #84 – Meadow Creek to Forest Rd 609, Gila National Forest
A few weeks back, Sharon eyed a small trail through the trees. At that time, we explored the entrance and identified several landmarks in anticipation of today’s hike. We parked in our usual spot, walked down the main road to our landmarks, turned left and upward we went! I always get this sense of adventure when I start a new trail. As I walk, my head swivels looking for interesting attractions. We saw cool mushrooms, glazed pottery pieces, a ‘field’ of old tin cans all bunched into a small area, interesting birds (I’m trying to get id’s on one of them as I write this), beautiful views of Scott and Signal Peaks, and elk prints.
The trail follows a small creek/tributary up the canyon side and onto a ridge. There are ponderosa, pinions, junipers and lots of green grasses, flowers and plants. Gradually, the ridge turns downward and we connect with other trails including 4257A and 4086O (does anyone know where they come out? I can’t find them on the map……..). We follow and lose the trail along the hillsides in the area. It appears on the GPS that we are heading back towards the main Meadow Creek trail and that we’re making a large loop. But eventually the trail peters out for good. We bushwhack for a while and then decide that in order to get in the desired mileage (we are aiming for 6-8 miles), we are better off retracing our steps.
This was a very attractive hike that I look forward to redoing in the future!
6.5 miles /4.0 hours
84 down /16 to go
Hike #83 – Georgetown Town Site and surrounding area
A.K.A. The Stop and Start Hike
High humidity and low temperatures (both were around 66) greeted us this morning as we set out for Georgetown Rd once more. I wanted to check out the old town site and so we parked past the cemetery where we thought the site might be. First we took the road to the left, but it only went up a few hundred yards. We checked out some old mine holes and then back to the car where we took the road to the right (is there a political witism in there somewhere???) Again, the road ended pretty quickly so we went back to the car and drove to another spot. At the next spot we had the same problem – short roads for girls looking for long strolls. After checking out more mine holes and a few building foundations, we again got into the car and headed to the cemetery where there was a side road that I remembered having length. Third time we debarked and headed out; we took a side trail that was nothing more than a forest cul-de-sac. Back to the road and we continued on the road for the duration of our walk. Jeesh!
We were lucky to have good company, interesting vistas and mine remnants to keep us from getting frustrated.
3.82 miles /2.0 hours
83 down /17 to go
100 Hikes Near Silver City, New Mexico 