[Cdt-l] water and trail report from deming NM to Mimbres Ranger Station NM

[Todd DeLuca]

Thanks to Brian and Martina, Yeti, and Stumpknocker, and everyone
sending out great trail and water reports that have been keeping us on
track.

We left Deming NM on 2009/05/08 and arrived at Mimbres (Wilderness)
Ranger Station on Hwy 35 on 2009/05/12.  Here is our report on water
and some trail conditions.  In the descriptions below, left and right
are from a nobo perspective.  Included sometimes are the Ley map (CO07
== Columbus07), the point on the map, and the wolf section mileage
point.

2009/05/08 Started hiking at 5 am from Keith and Mary's house to beat
the heat on the street.  It saved our feet from the burning blacktop.
2009/05/08 Water at Burger King on Gold Ave near Interstate 10 underpass.
2009/05/08 CO07 JL point 2: Spider windmill broken and not running but
full tank of good looking green water.  picked up jeep road north of
windmill.
2009/05/08 CO07 JL pt 3: Trough had murky green water -- look for the
trough spanning the fence surrounded by cow dung.
2009/05/08 CO06 JL pt 1: windmill was moving but no water flowing and
no water to be found anywhere.  Shade under the huge, empty water
tank.
2009/05/08 CO06 next windmill (on cross country near detention dam)
was broken, but tank guarded by friendly bees had water.

05/09 CO06 JL pt 6: BLM trough N of Fort Cummings had floating algae
water, but tasty.
05/09 CO05 JL pt 1: windmill w/ full tank of water and running water.
Find it by looking for the windmill.
05/09 CO05 JL pt 2: china tank is a large cattle pond with brown
water.  Find it by looking for the earthen dam and cows.
05/09 CO05 On the long (2 mile stretches) of cross country we veered
too far east every time and found our way by spotting windmills and
earthen dams and cows.

05/10 CO05 JL pt 1(again): windmill w/ full tank of algae water and
running water (when the wind blows).  Find it by looking for a
building and windmill.
05/10 CO04 JL pt 1: Macho spring had a trickle of water in the creek
by the dam and great shade!  Look for jeep road to left into copse of
trees near cattle guard.
05/10 CO04 JL pt 3: Did not investigate.  Looks like windmill broken
and replaced by solar pump.
05/10 CO04 JL pt 4: Solar pump 50 yards left of road in open land.
Good running water and full trough.  Abandoned house hidden in trees.
Got a full water load in case we missed the next solar well.
05/10 CO04?  Missed the solar pump near the 2nd Latham ranch.  Wolf
talks about a "new" road and an "old" road, and I think the "new" road
has a U-turn where the solar pump is near.  The new road is easy to
find sobo.  We missed it nobo.  According to Wolf, you pick it up ~0.1
mi from the junction that ends the section.  I was looking for shade
and did not see it.  We kept on the old road until it came to a ranch
house guarded by dogs.  We detoured north around it and ended up on
the new road.

05/11 CO03? McMullin Spring? -- in the morning passed a big canvas
tent on the right, then through a cattle chute with a big concrete
trough (?) on the right that we did not investigate.  It might have
been McMullin spring.
05/11 CO03 JL pt 1: Some stagnant pools of water in Berrenda Canyon
when canyon narrows after McMullin spring.
05/11 CO03 wolf 8.1, spring was trickling on ground.  pipe to cattle
trough was dripping.  got full load of water in case Hillsboro Peak
cistern was unavailable.
05/11 CO02? Hillsboro peak, wolf 21.3, met Phil, who told us about the
time a bear visited his outhouse.  He gave us some water from his
cistern.
05/11 Around McMullin Spring, the road goes left and the trail
continues straight through a cattle chute (at least for us it did.)
The canyon narrow into a rocky streambed.  Pick up the trail on the
left side of the canyon on a very old road that crosses the creek
several times.  Stick to the road and you should avoid getting sucked
up Pine Flat Canyon.  Thanks to (I think) Yeti's warnings we paid
close attention to our topo map and compass.  Upper Berrenda canyon is
tricky because the trail is faint.  At one point a road the trail was
on goes up a side canyon and the trail faintly goes straight.  Near
the top of the canyon, it splits 3 ways and again the trail is very
faint.  After a thorough map and compass consultation, we followed an
indistinct track up the middle way.

05/12 wolf 13.2, spring in East Canyon was running/trickling.
05/12 East Canyon, water at various points, including after the trail
joins a jeep road and the canyon broadens and flattens, wolf 9.4?
05/12 Built cairn for where trail 79 intersects trail (turn left) into
East Canyon.  Interection is on ridge in a gentle dip.
05/12 After wolf 13.2 spring in East Canyon, trail hits confusing
"rolling plateau".  Here the canyon is split by an intermediate ridge
and the trail becomes faint and multiple.  Wolf suggests the north
side of the intermediate ridge.  We went that way on a faint "herd
path" but abandoned it when it went what felt too high and steep and
faint.  Ley map CO02 suggests the north side of the northern split.
There was good trail there that led to the west end of the
intermediate ridge where we say switchbacks coming down the ridge (the
wolf route?).  Both drop into the streambed, where the trail can be
picked up.
05/12 Going from McKnight Canyon Rd to the ranger station, wolf
recommends a canyon route.  We missed his turnoff, and got the the
hairpin turn on the road (the star on CO01 near pale tank).  We kept
going and followed the ridge cross country route on the Ley map.
After getting to the end of the ridge, where it dropped of steeply, we
picked up a trail with switchbacks leading to the ranger station.
Sweet!

Happy and safe hiking to all!

Reason and Cruiser
http://teamcreason.blogspot.com


-- 
Todd DeLuca
617-838-5776
http://todddeluca.com