The Mountains of New Mexico
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Bear Mountain • Little Bear Mountain I went to Silver City to climb a few peaks and visit with this lady I met on the internet. This would be my first time in Silver City since late last year. I enjoy the area, being surrounded by forested hills, the city itself about at 6,000 feet elevation. I had three peaks in mind, clumped northwest of the city in the Silver City Range. The highpoint is Bear Mountain, then two nearby peaks (Little Bear and McComas), all with trails or tracks, all with easy road access. A fourth peak, Gomez Peak, was added in when I had the time and the weather was behaving. I wanted to be hiking as close to dawn as possible. It's 175 miles to Silver City from Bisbee, so I left home at 2 a.m., following Arizona state route AZ-80 through Douglas and into New Mexico, where it becomes NM-80. There was no traffic at all. So I'm going north on NM-80, not going too fast in my opinion (70 mph), and suddenly a car shines its effing brights at me. It was a cop parked facing southbound along the shoulder. I knew I was a goner so I pulled over, and saw him pull in behind me after a minute or two. He said I was going 71 miles per hour in a 55 zone. First of all, I had not seen a speed limit sign and normally, these highways are posted at 60 or 65. Secondly, I still felt 71 in a 55 is "reasonable". Of course I would think that. It was dark, but dry and clear, and it was just me. Anyway, I got a ticket for speeding. I was not pleased. This was my first ticket since 2016, and the first time I've been pulled over and personally given one by a cop in probably 25 years. The few I got since were from the cameras. I may have been the only person he pulled over the whole night. That has to be one of the least-travelled highways in New Mexico and Arizona, especially on a Sunday morning at 3:30 a.m.. I will say that I did not appreciate him shining his brights at me as I drove past. That was an aggressive maneuver and hell yes it discombobulated me for a moment. I thought for a split second it was a car in my lane and I made a sudden swerve. He could have waited and easily lit everything up a moment after I had passed him. I'd see him in my rear-view anyway with the same result. Ticket in hand, I left and drove the remaining distance through Lordsburg and into Silver City, arriving just as the sun was rising, which worked well. I followed the roads out of town, Alabama Street to Cottage San to Bear Mountain Road. Bear Mountain Road is dirt and gravel but wide and well maintained, passable by any vehicle. There were some rough parts, evidence of water run-off, likely from rains the previous day and night. I drove up until I was at the pass, Bear Mountain rising to the north (my right). The sun was still behind the eastern horizon, but there was enough light to see everything clearly, albeit in the dawn shadows. I drove a little farther and pulled into a tiny road that serves as the trailhead for the hike up Bear Mountain.
Date: July 28, 2024
• Elevation: 8,046 feet (Lidar)
• Prominence: 1,487 feet
• Distance: 2 miles
• Time: 50 minutes
• Gain: 1,106 feet
• Conditions: Cool and pleasant
New Mexico
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Main
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PB
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LoJ
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USGS BM Datasheet
I parked the car near a fire ring and got myself properly attired for the hike. This was one of those hikes where I would not be wearing much attire. It was warm, even now at 7,000 feet and 5:20 in the morning (Arizona time). It was noticeably humid too. It wasn't uncomfortable, temperature about 70°. I knew from weather forecasts it would be pushing 90° in the city, but more importantly, it would be stormy. I was told by an authority on Silver City weather that it had hailed yesterday and the storms had been very active. It was clear for now, just a few wispy clouds. Since I was following a trail, I travelled light, just my buttpack, pair of shorts, my shirt tied around my waist, ballcap, and my poles.
The trail is just the continuation of the road. It gains steeply to a saddle up on the peak's southeast ridge, then hangs a left and starts uphill, aiming for the summit. The trail was in thick forest, pines and oaks and junipers. It wasn't bad overall, but there were no views, except of the trees a few feet to either side of the trail.
The trail itself was in excellent shape and always easy to follow. It never lost distinction and had a nice pad of small rocks and gravel, almost no annoying large rocks or loose boulders to clamber over. It was steep, but pitched to where I could keep moving without needing to stop. About halfway up, it passes through a small open space, just now the sun was rising above the eastern horizon. Bears were on my mind, so I deliberately made noise, clacking my sticks together when rounding a corner. They didn't name this Bear Mountain for no reason.
I was on top after about 25 minutes of hiking, a mile-long hike with over 1,100 feet of gain. The top was also wooded but with a fine view to the north. With the moisture in the air, all I could see was a mush way off to the far north. The top features a cairn and a pit about five feet deep. The benchmark datasheet calls this an old prospector's dig, which naturally makes me wonder why he had to dig at exactly the summit. Why not somewhere 47 feet to the east-southeast? It seems random to me anyway. He probably wanted to bag the peak too back in the day. I could not locate the benchmark or its reference markers.
I did not stay up top long, maybe five minutes, four of those looking for the benchmark. I also walked a little beyond to ensure there wasn't a higher point hidden in the brush. Satisfied I had properly summitted, I started down. I made great time going downhill. The only issue I faced was some mud in spots from yesterday's storms. I had not hiked in nearly three weeks, so my ankles wanted to twist and wobble more than usual. I was back to my car at 6:30 a.m., pleased to have a peak done, especially the "biggie" with the most gain. Next up was Little Bear Mountain nearby. This would go by fast.
Elevation: 7,505 feet
• Prominence: 445 feet
• Distance: 2.2 miles
• Time: 45 minutes
• Gain: 405 feet
• Conditions: Still pleasant
PB
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LoJ
This peak is just a ridge appendage to the main Bear Mountain massif, on its southwest side. A track goes all the way to its top, about a mile off the main road. I drove the main road less than a mile to this side track, called FR-4242C. I hoped to drive in a little and cut off some distance and time. Unfortunately, the track was in bad condition where it junctioned off the main road. It was a steepish drop with bad ruts. A bigger beefier vehicle would be fine, but I did not want to chance it in the Forester. I parked about 200 feet back on the main road in a muddy pullout.
I walked the main road to the track, then followed the track south and southeast to the top. It was a good wide track, a little rocky in spots, but something most good-sized 4-wheel drive vehicles could manage. It was steep at first, then level a little bit, then minorly steep again, then level to where it ended at the southeast tip of the ridge. The summit was just an open patch of ground with a tree to one side. Views to the south were excellent, but due to the moist air, was hazed out. It was still cool, but warming. No cloud build-up yet.
I turned around and marched back out, the round trip taking about 45 minutes. This was a nothing peak but easy to do and one to pad my stats. My next peak was less than a mile away...
Elevation: 7,681 feet
• Prominence: 741 feet
• Distance: 2.4 miles
• Time: 1 hour
• Gain: 740 feet
• Conditions: Sunny and warmer, noticeably humid
PB
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LoJ
I drove back to the pass between Bear Mountain and McComas Peak, and parked in the small pullout. I was ready to go in moments and started moving almost immediately. It was about 7:45 a.m. (Arizona time) but warming. Combined with the humid air, it was very sultry even though the temperatures were in the mid 70s for the moment. I was concerned the thunderheads could build quickly as they do.
I squeezed past a wire-stick gate then followed a wide trail south into the trees and up a moderately-steep slope. This trail is not shown on the map but it was very wide and looked like an old road. It may explain why there were two wire-stick gates back near the parking area. The track gained, then leveled off for a bit, now in the open with fine views of McComas Peak up ahead, and Bear Mountain if I turned around.
The trail then narrowed and became a little fainter, sometimes hard to discern. Often, the main hint was a cleared path through the trees. But staying on it was easy if I paid attention. I walked off it just once.
The trail starts another steep segment then comes to the edge of a ridge, now in the open. The ridge then bends southwest, the top up ahead about a quarter-mile away and 200 feet higher. The trail here was much more distinct, at times needling through some lower easy rock outcrops.
I followed it to the top, which was open and with excellent views. The top was not obvious, but after walking it end to end, I felt the highest point was along the trail about thirty feet east of a tree where some rock outcrops look higher, but they weren't. There was no cairn or register. I took a short break on a sitting rock in the shade, snapped a couple images and looked around. The best summit views so far were from this peak.
The hike out went well and I was back to my car after a little over an hour, the time roughly 9 a.m.. I was very pleased to be successgul on these three peaks. I had hoped to do them all but knew it was a gamble this time of year with the weather. So far, it was still calm, but some puffy thunderheads were building off to the north over the Mogollon Range. Nothing above me though.
So now it's 9 a.m. amd I have a whole day open. I decided to drive into town and park somewhere. I ended up at a Denny's and got the Value Slam. It allowed me to relax in air-conditioned comfort and look at my phone for ideas what to do. It was still uncertain if that lady I mentioned earlier still wanted to see me, so rather than rush her, I found a nifty peak just north of town with a trail to its top. It looked like something I could do in an hour or so.
Elevation: 7,275 feet
• Prominence: 595 feet
• Distance: 3.6 miles
• Time: 75 minutes
• Gain: 855 feet
• Conditions: Much warmer, clouds amassing, but calm for the moment
PB
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LoJ
From the center of town, near the US-180/NM-90 junction, I went north on Little Walnut Road through residential properties, Gomez Peak up ahead. It's a big hump of a peak, about four miles north of downtown, just over the forest boundary. I parked in a gravel lot, there being about a half-dozen vehicles here. This area is developed with a group site, picnic ramadas and lots of trails for both hikers and mountain bikers.
There is an upper parking lot but it is gated closed. I walked the road to it, toward a kiosk with a map of the trails. I took an image with my phone because I figured I'd need to refer to the map just in case. The problem is there are a lot of trails including unofficial ones, so things can be confusing.
The signs are marked with the usual trail numbers given by the forest service. But the trail map back at the kiosk had the main junctions numbered, and these numbers were also affixed to the signs, the idea being if you followed Trail "2", it would take you to where Junction number 2 is marked. But without a map to refer to, this is useless information. I'm glad I took that image. Also, at each junction, there was a smaller version of the map, but in each case the map had rubbed or worn off due to sun, snow, rain and old age. These little thumbnail maps were not useful. Basically, whoever came up with this plan made it more confusing than necessary, then no one's ever done any upkeep since then.
The trails themselves were wide and easy to follow. I learned to ignore the numbers and use my own common sense. I could see Gomez Peak the whole time. I was aiming for a saddle to its west, connecting to Eighty Mountain. At any junction, if unsure what to do, I always chose the option that went up and/or toward Gomez Peak. This worked well and I never once got off route.
At the saddle, I followed more trails, now on Gomez Peak's north slopes and now in the open. The trail makes about five long switchbacks up the north and west slopes. It was pitched very leniently which added distance but allowed me to keep a good pace. It was very warm now, in the mid 80s. Some thunderheads were building above Pinos Altos Mountain about three miles to the northeast.
I moved fast mainly to tag the top then hustle downward in case a storm suddenly developed above me. These things can literally appear out of thin air in minutes and I never take them lightly. About this time I got a text or two from that lady I mentioned earlier. She said it was cool to come by. I said I'm on Gomez Peak and will be there in an hour or so.
I made the top, which was open with a rather elaborate rocky windbreak structure. I found what looked like the highest natural rock and tagged it, and checked out this windbreak. I did not see a register anywhere. The views were very good. I got a good distance view of my peaks from earlier in the morning, and a good view of Pinos Altos Mountain. But I did not linger, I started right down.
I jog-hiked back to the saddle, then took a different trail (the number 1) all the way back to the parking lot. The inbound hike covered about 1.9 miles, the outbound about 1.7 miles. I was back to my car about noon. It was hot by now, about 90°, and humid. I was drenched, so I changed into dry clothes and drove back into town.
This turned out to be a fine fourth peak for the day. I had no plans beforehand to hike it, so I was pleased to "discover" it and get in another peak. Nearby Eighty Mountain also has a trail and I'll come back for that one (update: I did, a couple weeks later). The two would naturally be done as a pair. The Continental Divide Trail passes nearby.
I spent a couple hours watching Olympics on the TV with my acquaintance. We had a good visit. About 4 p.m., I figured it be best I get moving on. I wanted to be back in Bisbee before dark. The drive home was slightly eventful. I hit a localized dust storm in Lordsburg. I could see it from miles away. The highway passed through it and for a few hundred feet, had very limited visibility.
I topped the gas in Lordsburg, then followed Interstate-10 westbound through the Lordsburg Playa. It was windy, and all the signs were on about a dust storm, but fortunately, it wasn't that active at the very moment. I then got off at Road Forks onto NM-80. I wanted to see what the speed limit was where I was pulled over earlier. But I saw no signs. I saw a couple back near the interstate near a big truck stop, but nothing once past that. To be safe, I went no faster than 60 miles per hour until I was back in Arizona.
The skies had darkened up near Douglas and I had a little rain, and once back home, saw my trash bin on its side and some loose furniture pushed around, plus a lot of rocks and dirt across the street that had just washed down from the hill above me. Apparently we had quite a storm and I missed it. I arrived home at 7, a long day in which I hiked four peaks, gained over 3,100 vertical feet, watched Olympics, had a Value Slam and got a speeding ticket. Not surprisingly, I had an early night.
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