NMBDR - New Mexico Backcountry Discovery Route

After doing the same thing annually - for five years running - it's probably safe to call it a tradition. Backcountry Discover Routes (BDRs) have become that for us. Oregon got us hooked, and after adding Washington, Idaho, and Nevada over the last several summers, this year we decided that we'd make a run at New Mexico.

Weaving our way more than 1,200 miles back and forth across the Continental Divide, our elevation varying from 3500- to 11,000-feet, and with temperatures predicted to be 100°F (or higher) for much of our journey, we knew it was going to be quite the adventure.

As if that wasn't enough to get us excited, we tacked a few more places onto the itinerary in a while-we're-in-the-area sort of fashion... because who doesn't want to spend a few extra showerless days in triple digit temps?

In the end, our stops in Utah's Cedar Mesa and New Mexico's Carlsbad Caverns National Park on the way down, and Colorado's Alpine Loop and Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park on the way home would prove to be fantastic additions.

In the end, it was fabulous - and as seems to be the case, there's not doubt in my mind that we'll be returning to New Mexico for more!

Part 1: Headed South, We Dive Deep into the Past - NMBDR Prologue

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Headed South, We Dive Deep into the Past - NMBDR Prologue​

 

...It was 4:30pm when we finally rolled into Dell City, TX - definitely not an early start to the first leg of the New Mexico BDR! It'd taken us two-and-a-half days to get here, but we'd had a blast finding a few more petroglyphs in Utah, and wandering our way through Carlsbad Caverns before setting off on our primary journey....

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Dell City to Ruidoso - Hot, Hot, Hot - NMBDR 1​

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Dell City to Ruidoso - Hot, Hot, Hot - NMBDR 1​

 

...Winding our way up, @mrs.turbodb was looking at the GPS when she mentioned that we were just about to cross the Continental Divide Trail. Over the next several days we'd leapfrog the trail several times, but this was the first time we'd seen it pop up in our view and I think we both wondered out loud what it would be like to wander the length of that trail.

What it would be like for someone else, of course....

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Truth or Consequences to Reserve - Over the Continental Divide - NMBDR 3​

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Truth or Consequences to Reserve - Over the Continental Divide - NMBDR 3​

 

Good morning. I recently signed up to your site to follow along. Always a pleasure seeing your adventures. I'm a year or maybe bit longer before I head out to NM for a few weeks of exploring. Continental divide has had my attention for quite some time. Pie Town is where I may start but much research ahead of me. I have a few simple questions and seeking some guidance.

1) Summer trip vs fall...I don't mind heat at all being from Tejas. But was there a reason y'all chose a summer trip? Less crowds? Snow is just not for me but those pines trees up in the mountains you mention with the cool breeze sounds spectacular.
2) I'm completely puzzled by this next question/statement. Camping. And I may have missed this in my late night reading. But on those long dirt roads, how do you know if it's safe/legal to camp there? I assume you can only do that in the park system?
3) Time. Again, I may have missed this in my reading. But did you dedicate a certain amount of time to complete your NM trip? I know my plan is around 2 weeks...day to get out of Texas and 2 weeks or so to explore along the divide and NM parks.
4) Fishing. Did you run across any streams to pull out some fresh dinner? I HAVE to ask that one. Still reading though so you may have mentioned that in NMBDR3.


Thanks in advance. Y'all stay safe out there.

 

Glad to hear you're enjoying the stories! Lots of fun making the memories, and hopefully they can get a few other folks to do something similar.

Continental Divide is on my list as well. I've got a few routes that I've got to sort of consolidate and then blow out with side trips. Biggest issue is that it's so long...I'd probably need 4 weeks if I wanted to do the entire thing in one shot. And that isn't happening, hahahaha!

1) We chose summer only because that's when we had the days available on the calendar. Fall would likely have been a better time to do the trip. If you can hit it as the aspens at the north end of NM (and southern CO) turn colors, it would be FANTASTIC.
2) As far as camping goes, we really do two things. First, we have maps on the tablet (see Route Planning) that show us boundaries of different types of land (public - BLM, NF, etc. vs private). That gives us a general sense of where it's OK to camp, usually. Second, we almost always camp in a location where there is already a fire ring. There are many of these along any route like this, and as long as you are respectful, don't leave trash (or leave/take anything else), and follow fire restrictions, you'll be good.
3) We allocated about a week to run the BDR. It's our fourth one, and it seems they all take us about 5-7 days. We did this one in six. I'd say we (a) travel a bit longer in a given day than most - usually 12 hours or so and (b) we do more side trips/random stops than most. Those two things kinda/sorta offset each other, but really you'll just need to play it by ear. We go out so much (like 90-100 nights/year) that we have a really good sense of how much ground we cover, and that's gotten tuned over time.
4) For how much we were in the mountains, there were surprisingly few streams. We did pass lakes and rivers now and then, but it wasn't like driving through somewhere like Idaho or Montana, where it seems that you're always next to a place to cast a line for a few minutes. Also, it was really dry, though I guess that could change after monsoon season.

One last thing. If you go to Pie Town, I'd also recommend checking out the Very Large Array. It was (understandably) closed to the public due to Covid during this trip, but I hear it's awesome.





And with that, here's the next stage...



...I was actually quite bummed about the smoke situation - so much of a BDR is about the views from the trail of one's surroundings - but I figured that it was what it was as we continued our trek north. And then - to my delight - as we neared Luna, we drove out of the smoke. It really was that abrupt of a change - almost like driving through a wall - and once again, the skies were blue! I was so happy to be out of the smoke, I didn't even mind the pavement.

My joy was short lived however, as we arrived in Luna to discover that the lone gas station there had been closed for quite some time; the nearest fuel was in ... Reserve....

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Reserve to Fence Lake - Out of Fuel - NMBDR 4​

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Reserve to Fence Lake - Out of Fuel - NMBDR 4​

 

Excellent feedback turbo!! Thank you Sir. Getting caught up with your last post while I sip some coffee this morning.

Y'all have fun and be safe!

 

...And then - as was becoming a more regular occurrence than we'd been prepared for, we popped out onto pavement at NM-53, just a few miles east of El Morro National Monument. I turned to @mrs.turbodb, a huge grin on my face, and then I stopped the truck in the middle of the road for a photo.

Oh, I should mention: this was the ONLY stage of the BDR where we were pulled over by the police. Actually, it was a Sherriff....

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Fence Lake to Grants - Don't Miss El Morro - NMBDR 5












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Fence Lake to Grants - Don't Miss El Morro - NMBDR 5​

 

Good stuff. I did part of your Nevada route. Looking to do Oregon later this summer / early fall. Hoping to beat the snow!

 

Awesome. Nevada was a fun one. Probably one of our favorites at this point - so much to see along the way, though of course, there's always more (better) stuff to return for later!

Oregon will be interesting this year with all the fires. Which part are you planning to run? A lot of the southern end is on fire right now and the northern half is extremely smoky! We really need some rain out here, that's for sure.


And here's the next section!


......we continued on towards the BLM boundary, my hope that a distant mesa would be our stopping point for the evening. As luck would have it, Mesa Sarcio couldn't have been more perfect. Straddling the property line, the southwestern half on private land but the wind-sheltered northeastern half under the purview of the BLM!...

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Grants to Cuba - Finally Out of the Woods - NMBDR 6​

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Grants to Cuba - Finally Out of the Woods - NMBDR 6​

 

Yeah, it's miserable. I was thinking northern to avoid some of the fires but that's all pending smoke. If possible I'll send the whole thing. I'm up in Tahoe now and it's horrible in Truckee b/c the Dixie fire. 300+ AQI. Scary and sad .

 

It is that for sure. We are currently in Castella, with Dixie smoke every day. I have family in Quincy and Taylorsville - both evacuated at the moment. It’s been a tough last few years for California, that is for sure.

 

Hope your fam is safe!

 

...I slowed down and rolled down my window to ask if she was OK, and the look of relief on her face was palpable. Turns out that she'd been camped a little further up a side road with several of her friends, and she was pretty sure that they were stuck - she'd barely made it out due to the mud. Seeing our Tacoma, she was sure that they'd been saved.

That made one of us....

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Cuba to Colorado - A Sloppy Finish - NMBDR 7​

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Cuba to Colorado - A Sloppy Finish - NMBDR 7






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...The New Mexico Backcountry Discovery route is our 5th BDR in as many years. Though the running of each one, @mrs.turbodb and I are - as you can imagine - regularly comparing the current BDR to the past ones. I figured that though I've never done it before, I ought to jot down some of our thoughts - if only to aid our memory in the future.

I like to think of it - a little bit - as a Rig Review for the BDR route....

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Wow, That's a Lot of Pavement - NMBDR Epilogue​

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Great writeup and great pics! We were both in some of the same places this summer. I found Carlsbad an interesting challenge to shoot. What camera are you using? Also I love seeing older tacos on here.

 

Thanks! Glad you enjoyed the stories. Where'd you visit - I'd love to get back to NM and see more, cool, places.

Here's my camera setup: https://adventuretaco.com/involuntary-evolution-to-a-new-camera-and-glass-canon-r6/

And my mentality for shooting: https://adventuretaco.com/if-you-take-enough-photos-some-are-bound-to-be-decent/

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