NM Adventure Series

Nice pics! Can’t wait to see the others



Just filled up - averaged 20.8 mpgs even with wheelin. #inlove

 

@tomtom @Tors10 @WildLand , had a great day on the trail with you guys. Thanks to tors10 and WildLand for jumping on board and making the trip, it was cool having you guys along. Here are some of the better shots that I took.

The old bridge across the Rio Puerco was under construction, which pretty much ruined the aesthetics of any photo one might take, but about 20 miles into the dirt we got some nice views of Ladron Peak from the west.





Stopped for a break and Puppy-Tron was showing off his baby blues. Still trying to find a name for this little man.



When we got to the crossing of the Rio Salado (salty river), the drop into the wash was pretty steep and Tom pretty much lawn darted the FJ into the water with a huge splash. Unfortunately nobody got any photos of the crossing, but there was a decent amount of water. We had slow moving vehicles behind us that we had passed and didn't want to get overtaken again, so we moved through quickly.

Blasting south toward Magdalena on a fast stretch of dirt. We hit interstate speeds on about 10 miles worth of wide open dirt, which was a lot of fun.



At the old Kelly church, preparing to head up N. Baldy



On the ascent, just after a tight section with steep drop-offs and some decent rocky sections.



We found some white stuff near the top, and got the pup on snow for the first time.



The end of the road... beyond the FJ it turned into a foot trail around the corner.



The group ascending the summit in a cold wind blowing 40+ mph. Tom was kind enough to lug the pup uphill in his jacket.



The marker... 9858 feet, almost 4000 feet above the plains below.



Summit shot...



Looking down the north ridge that we drove up, with Ladron Peak in the distance.



We looked around briefly, but got chased off the summit by the cold wind.



Scenery from where we parked to the east and south





I carried the pup on the way down in my hoodie... felt like a Kangaroo with a joey in the pouch.



Don't see this from your parking spot too often.



Dropping off the peak to find a spot in the trees for a beverage break.

 

At the lunch spot there was an amazing campsite, so I took a few shots from the fire ring...



Imagine kicking back next to fire with a beer in your hand looking out over this..



Had to grab a few shots of our mix and matched group of 'Yotas.







Pup got a sweater, cause it's cold out there for a little canine.



We decided to head down while there was still plenty of daylight just in case we had any issues..



I got some better shots of the trail on the way back down. We were staying focused on the way up because we weren't sure what we'd run into and it was so steep you really needed to keep your momentum in most places. I have to say that I was impressed with both Josh and Tors, as well as their rigs. Both were on P rated tires and no/low lift with no skids, but had no issues thanks to some skilled driving. Nice work, guys.











Before we left, we took a quick look at the big mine at Kelly...





The sun setting on wide open spaces looked awesome on the way back into Socorro. Some of the shadows were incredibly long.



We didn't complete the entire route that I had planned and decided to skip the last leg over to Withington in favor of spending some time kicking back and chatting. It worked out just right, with a nice balance of trail time and hang time. The best part was that we were all able put a notch in our belts for N. Baldy. Until the next run, cheers!

 

Nick, thanks again for planning it out. Was loads 'o fun that I really needed and good to get out. Reminded my it was time to rebalance work/life.

 

Awesome pics! Awesome trip. Was good to break in the new runner by not breaking it. Didn’t get enough driving in yesterday rolleyes so we are in Pagosa Springs now relaxing at the springs. See y’all soon!

 

Awesome pictures Nick! Looks like your new pup is already pretty comfortable in the outdoors.

 

Thanks man, I need a better camera but if I work the angles I can still turn out some decent shots. The pup was spoiled rotten on that run. I had a pile of sleeping bags behind the passenger seat for him to sleep on and another blanket on the front seat. Also had the heater vents pointed his way with the heat on low all day. He spent most of his time riding up front with me. He's a natural though... no whining at all in the truck, even when the ride got really bumpy, and he stayed close when he was on the ground.

 

Please let me know when you guys do another trip, I really want to get out more.

 

The best thing to do is keep an eye on this thread. There are settings you can enable on the forum that will subscribe you to the thread and send you an email when there are new posts. Just look near the upper RH corner of the first post on any given page and choose the link "watch thread".

There were planning posts starting on the 6th and the run was on the 10th. It was kind of short notice this time, but most of the time trip leaders post up a roll call for anyone who is interested in coming along. Both Tors and WildLand jumped in at the last minute on this one, so know that is usually okay, too.

I can try and remember to send you a PM, but no promises there, my memory isn't the best.

 

I'm taking an EMT class on the weekends, otherwise I would have loved to join you all on this one.

 

Had a great time visiting your state, even tho only for a day

 

Took a little drive today, to many people at the mine to be able to drive up to it.

 

I post some directions and next thing you know, all of TW-NM is descending on the little hamlet of Kelly, NM!

@Norilsk , thanks for posting pictures. You shot some nice angles. Glad you had a good time.

@Phessor , way to take the bull by the horns and get out there, man. I'm glad to see you enjoyed yourself. Your rig looks awesome, and very well outfitted. I'll definitely be making another run down there to try the east side of N. Baldy. I've found some more intel on that route and want to give it a go, but it'll probably have to wait until spring/early summer. I guess there is a section that gets dicey if there is snow... ie slide off the mountain and die kind of dicey.

The class won't last forever, I'm sure. Catch us on the next round.

 

I would like to tag along, I'll watch for an update.

 

In the summer the most interesting route is from the east off the Socorro/Magdelena highway over the Madelenas. In winter there is a shorter route from near Magdelena from the south and west. I've never gone on the route to the west at least as far as Kelly.

 

The class is over on 12/1 so . . . . Next time you are in Socorro or Catron County I'm going to try hard and go.

 

Hey guys, new to ABQ and NM as of this week! Looking to explore the area on weekends. Riding stock 2017 OR, down to overnight, and easy to get along with. I also have a jeep buddy with me. Following this thread now and trying to put all these trips on a map so I can see where y'all are talking about.

 

Welcome! Hope to see you out on the trail soon.

 

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/dfw-bs-thread-next-meet-drink-tbd.442133/page-1588

Post#31752

Morning my good neighbors. Just putting this out there to see if anybody wants to meet up for a Big Bend trip.

I've been following this thread for a while and look forward to meeting up with some of you in Northern NM to show me around.

 

Just moved to Santa Fe looking to go on some adventures and meet some people, I know NO ONE! I'm an off-road newb but grew up in the mountains of NC so I can handle some rough driving, just not trying to go rock crawling!

I would love to do some over night stuff and if we could throw in some fly fishing and mountain biking that would be sick, obviously when it's warmer. Looking forward to meeting some of y'all!