Desert Packrat

Sunday, March 4, 2018

The Word is Out

West of the Organ Mountains in OMDPNM

The word obviously has gotten out about the campground at the Sierra Vista Trail Norte in Organ Mountains-Desert Peaks National Monument. We have never seen it as crowded with RVs (both large and small) and five or six tents pitched in various locations. Of course the weather has been so beautiful of late it's not really surprising to find this many outdoor enthusiasts taking advantage of the primitive camping spots. Despite the crowded campground we had only one encounter out on the trail, a pleasant meeting with the two mountain bikers pictured below.

Four Barrels

What's Becca staring at?

Becca's staring at these mountain bikers who just passed us

Heading up one of the single-tracks in OMDPNM

Barrel Cacti and other desert flora

Grass

Mountain bikers in the magnificent national monument

Sotols (Dasylirion wheeleri) left & center, & Banana Yucca (Yucca baccata)

Barrel Cacti

The rugged Organ Mountains

There's actually a route up that rugged face to the Needle

Almost at the end of this section of single-track

Dr. K and Becca

Becca and me

Looking southeasterly

Stopping to look back

Steep cliffs

800-RV4Rent

Saturday, March 3, 2018

Crowded and Noisy

A very deep arroyo at the western base of Tortugas Mountain

There were very few people at the Sunset Area when Becca and I got out to Tortugas Mountain this morning, but on the final leg of our hike we heard a lot of yelling, laughing and whistling coming from the heights. We saw a large group of hikers heading up the slope, and at first I thought it must be comprised of college students from NMSU. But one of my photos reveals a lot of young kids in the collection of mountain trekkers. I wasn't surprised by the number of outdoor enthusiasts on and about the mountain; it was a beautiful morning, and we're headed for a high temperature of 76F today. Hard to beat that kind of weather.

The deep arroyo (right)

B&W shot

Leading the way

Tortugas Mountain Observatory

What manner of beast is this?

West of the mountains

Looking west toward the Potrillos

Big old Soaptree Yucca at the side of an arroyo

Can a sparrow look pensive?

Find the sparrow game

An easier find

There it is

What?

Two mountain bikers negotiating a difficult part of the trail

Another biker tooling along Geothermal Road

Mormon Tea (Ephedra trifurca) budding out

Ocotillo

Thought this might be Little-leaf Sumac, but I'm not sure

Cactus Wren in B&W

Noisy people climbing a mountain trail

Closeup of noisy people

Cars behind our RAV4

Another B&W of the Cactus Wren

Friday, March 2, 2018

Ideal Weather

In an arroyo west of Tortugas

Becca and I hit the trail west of the mountain fairly early this morning, and there were only a few cars in the Sunset Area parking lot at the time. It was much more crowded when we finished our long trek, and it was easy to understand why. The weather seemed near perfect: sunny and warm with just a slight breeze. We're headed for a high of 73F (23C) and a low of 43F (6C). Personally speaking I view this as ideal; during the day you can open windows and screened doors, and at night the furnace may turn on a few times to create the best conditions for sleep.

Climbing a ridge

Not a good bushwhack

If you accidentally sat on that you'd have a thorny problem

Ocotillos

Tasajillo (Cylindropuntia leptocaulis), pronounced "ta-sa-HEE-yo"

Not meant for wear as an undergarment

Thursday, March 1, 2018

Window Frost

Some frost flakes on my car window

It rained a bit yesterday afternoon, and by evening there was still some moisture in the air; the result was morning frost of my car windows when Becca and I started off for Tortugas Mountain. It was 30F when we hit the trail, but it didn't feel too cold because of abundant sunshine. Also, there was little wind to speak of. We did a nice long hike west of the mountain, and we only saw a few people nearby: a mountain biker and two hikers climbing the road to the crest of Tortugas.