Last Saturday on a southern NM summit...

[BigFishAllDay]

My wife and I took an impromptu trip on Saturday. We pointed the 4Runner south and let the day play out.

Our trip took us to the top of a mountain, and along the way we saw mule deer, elk, rain, hail, snow, wind and blue skies. The views were spectacular and sections of the trail were still covered with impassable layers of thick ice and rotten snow, forcing us to backtrack our way out of the range. We spent 5 hours and ~110 miles on dirt, not too bad for leaving town at 12:30p.

Heading into the range, it looked like we might be in for some precipitation.

Eating red meat, sweets, and bacon is also not recommended. I still eat them.

The storm began to break as we gained elevation.

Has fur, will travel.

Mountain view suite...

Miles upon miles to lay eyes upon...

We have a new addition to our pack.. no name yet, but she has her first road trip and mountain summit under her collar at 6 weeks old.

Helicopter landing zone... for when you just need a pizza up here, now!

4Runner + scenery

Much of the route traverses a vast burn scar and the accelerated erosion is taking its toll.

Some things seen on the way out...

 

[marcfj60]

Great pictures. Thanks for sharing. Was this around Magdalena and south?

 

[pappy]

Gotta love New Mexico. Encouragement to just get out.

 

[alia176]

Nice pics, thanks Nick. Two puppies though? Wowza!

 

[BigFishAllDay]

Great pictures. Thanks for sharing. Was this around Magdalena and south?

Thanks. Yes it was… Mt. W to the south and west of Magdalena. We took 107 out of Magdalena then 330 up to the summit. The plan was 549 down the north side then 220/52 past the VLA, out to the north and back to 60, but the road on the north facing slopes was covered with compacted, icy snow. We got stopped 1/2 mile from Monica saddle by a long section of steep downhill, off camber ice and had to turn around and backtrack out.

After seeing the level of road deterioration on 330 from this year to last, I'm not sure how much longer it'll be open. The erosion in some places is severe, and there are lots of downed trees. The FS had been through and cleared the trees, but it's going to take significant road work to repair and control the erosion in the burn scar.

Gotta love New Mexico. Encouragement to just get out.

I had to get my "tree lawn" fix. But yes, it's good to just get in the Toyota and drive somewhere.

Nice pics, thanks Nick. Two puppies though? Wowza!

Thanks, Ali. Rocco's not a pup anymore... he's 7 months old now and pretty well trained. He needed a buddy. This new pup is solid... housebreaking her is going to be easy and she's mellow.

 

[pappy]

I had to get my "tree lawn" fix.

 

[Dumpolina]

So excellent! Great pics!

 

[FJCTom]

Glad I checked in. The discussion over dinner is now registering. Awesome stuff!

 

[BigFishAllDay]

So excellent! Great pics!

Thanks, Grant.

Glad I checked in. The discussion over dinner is now registering. Awesome stuff!

You should have been there!

 

[FJCTom]

Give me a call, shoot me a text. Once the kitchen is back together (this weekend, I hope), the house should start to flow and more spare time be available. Scrubbing grease off the ceiling is no bueno. After that, cleaning will be a breeze.