Wednesday, October 18, 2017

New Mexico #Hiking North Baldy Trail

A couple of weeks ago, my hiking partners and I wanted a good trail without too much heat. The elevation of our part of central New Mexico (around 4800 feet) keeps it cooler than, say, Phoenix. But it's still pretty hot to hike in the summer.

Water Canyon, in central New Mexico between Socorro and Magdalena, has dozens of trails. The trail starting start at the bottom of the mountains can be good for cooler weather. Most of them head up the mountain, so they're an amazing workout. On hot summer days, hikers can start at the top of the mountains. It's about 20 degrees cooler up there, at around 10,000 feet, making it possible to hike even in July and August – but with such thin air, but use sunscreen!

To get to the North Baldy Trail, drive up the long, winding road from the campground. (Signs still claim this road is not good for passenger vehicles, but in recent years it has typically been fine. In summer you should have no problem even in a low-clearance car.) It takes about half an hour to drive up the road from the campground to the top. This is the view from the trailhead, looking away from the trail. Note the observatory in the upper right.
The Timber Ridge Trail also starts near here. North Baldy Trail, No. 8 as the sign indicates,  starts on the north side of the road. The trail takes you from South Baldy to North Baldy Peak, with views of Sierra Blanca, Mt. Taylor, the Sandias, Manzano, and Jemez Mountains. This trail starts in the forest, on a narrow, single file track. Soon it comes out onto the ridge. 
For much of the hike you can get amazing panoramic views in both directions (roughly east and west – the center of this picture is roughly north.)
We had some questions about this loose rubble. It looks like it must have fallen down from a higher peak, but this is the highest peak! We described it to my geologist husband, who suggested that these rocks collapsed on each other as the surrounding earth eroded away. A reminder that even the tallest mountain today might have been much taller in the past.
As a round-trip out and back, the hike is just over 10 miles. Of course, you can always turn around sooner!


Kris lives in New Mexico, where she enjoys hiking, watching the sunset from her patio, and hanging out with her husband and their ferrets. Her home office looks out on nature, complete with distracting wildlife such as roadrunners and foxes. Her BFA in photography is used mainly to show Facebook friends how lovely the Southwest is.

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