NM Adventure Series

My neighbor from two houses up knocked at my door at 9am this morning holding the day pack I take with me on short trips, saying he found it in his driveway. He knew it was mine based on the fishing license found inside. I knew right away what had happened.

Somebody broke into the 4Runner last night, on one of the rare occasions that I have left it parked outside the garage. They smashed the fixed glass on the driver side rear door, reached through and pulled out my day pack but nothing else. They never unlocked the door or opened it, so the alarm didn't go off. I had the sensitivity on my glass breakage sensor turned down to eliminate false alarms, and unfortunately it didn't trip when the glass broke. That has been adjusted back up.

The bastards didn't even take anything with them from my day pack. They rifled through it and checked everything out, but apparently were not looking for first aid kits, knives, multi tools, rain gear, fishing tools, dog leash, etc.

Luckily I know a local guy who is parting out a 3rd gen and he sold me the glass and weatherstrip for $20. I went home and installed it in about an hour and luckily the tint even matched. So in the end it cost me a few hours and $20, and I got back all the stuff that was stolen, so the crime more / less amounted to vandalism of my rig.

People who steal from others really suck. Take precautions with your rigs guys.

 

We should place billboards on both ends of I-40 & I-25 that say "Welcome to Albuquerque, City of Thieves."

 

Damn that really sucks, Nick. I hate that we make the “mistake” of leaving something visible in our locked vehicle and losers see that as an opportunity to smash and grab. Especially with how particular so many of us are with our vehicles. You make everything a certain way and then it gets effed up with no conscious. Shit pisses me off.

End rant

I’m glad it was and easy fix for you and there was no big loses with the incident.

 

In my experience, the NE heights is the worst area for property crime. In the 6 or 7 years that I lived in the south valley I never had a problem, but now we're back in the heights and my vehicles are being targeted once again. This individual(s) went into our side yard and tried to get into our storage shed as well, fortunately with no luck.

My wife asked if I wanted to call the police, and I had to laugh. I told her my daughter, who was already out front "investigating" with her magnifying glass and notepad, would spend more time on the case than APD.

I have been super careful at the Sandia trailheads after your experience, but last night I was a little careless at home and it bit me. It sucks too because the only reason our vehicles weren't in the garage is that I'm helping a friend of mine troubleshoot and fix some brake issues on his Tundra and his truck was in my garage waiting on parts. I'm over here trying to do something nice for someone else and some twerp comes along and takes advantage.

Like you said, it was a minor loss in the grand scheme, but I still had to complain a little.

 

That sucks, Nick.

My Miata, which I leave unlocked so the top won't get cut, gets gone through 2-3 times a week these days. As in your case, they don't take much if anything. I believe that they're looking for guns. My neighbor's car got broken into, and her bag of running gear was left in my Miata's driver's seat. They broke her side window, so as in your case the car alarm did not go off. I am going to install some motion-sensing lights, but I doubt if that will deter them completely.

It would be nice to be able to deal with them in person, in a permanent manner.

 

Nick, was that Mt. Whittington? Great pics, as always. I'm heading down to Black Canyon in The Gila in a week or so, where I scattered my brother's ashes. Been 20 years. Maybe I can remember to get some shots from there, although I have a memory like a steel sieve.

 

I came across some snow this morning MTB'ing in the Otero Canyon area. Probably about 2/3 of the trail was snow covered.

 

Dang, that is crazy that you have to put up with them constantly looting your Miata.

Every time this happens, my mind starts putting together plans for a "sting" operation. Leave the vehicles out, set the stage, and hide out nearby with a can of bear spray and a baton. I always talk myself out of it on the grounds that I'd probably catch an assault charge for beating some sense into a high school kid.

It would be so satisfying to watch them writhe on the ground in agony from the bear spray, whack them a few times, and then call the cops and see them leave in cuffs, though.

The last set of pics are from Glorieta Baldy in the Pecos. It is the southernmost peak above 10k elevation in the Sangres. The Gila trip sounds like fun, I would definitely appreciate seeing a few pictures.

NICE! I talked to some folks from the east side of the Sandias at church today and they said it snowed a few inches out there. Anything helps at this point.

 

Hey guys I will be setup this next weekend at the hunting and fishing show! I will have various products on sale for the show only. I will have some great items on sale. If you won’t be able to make it but want the show pricing send me a a PM and I can put items aside for you.

 

Sounds sickeningly familiar. Glad you got it fixed quick. I just don't get it, why the backpacks? Same damn thing happened to me while parked out at Pine Flats TH roughly a year ago. Grabbed the pack sitting in sight but left everything else alone. And of course there was nothing of any consequential value in the pack, a pair of glasses and a basic overnight survival kit. One of these days I need to pull the driver side door back apart and see if I can get the window to behave like stock.

 

Dang, they already got the FJ too!? Eeesh.

It looks like there is a very good chance I will be exploring Mills Canyon on Saturday. I will be in the area and have a day to spend, so I figure I'll go check it out. It's a long day trip from ABQ, but if anyone feels like going along, let me know.

@cglasco , what's up with your proposed camping trip?

 

It's still on for 23-25 of Feb. Some of us will be there Friday evening and the rest Saturday.

 

Nick, when are you leaving for Mills Canyon, and from where?

 

We never heard anything else from you, so I figured you either bailed or were still in the air with plans. Do you want to provide any other details about the trip?

We're going to be staying outside Las Vegas (near El Porvenir) visiting my wife's parents, so I would be leaving from there tomorrow morning (sat 2/17 AM). I mapped it out and it's 102 miles and 1hr 57min from El Porvenir to Mills, which is where the east entrance road into the canyon is located. I'll probably get up, have breakfast with the family and head out around 10am, putting me in Mills by noon.

The Canadian River is flowing 37cfs and has been declining in flow for weeks, so the river crossings should be a piece of cake and all of the canyon easily accessible. I'll probably focus on exploring the canyon/ruins and might have a look at the road in/out to the west if I have time.

I'll PM you my phone number so you can get in touch if you choose to go. I have limited cell service up there, but will check messages this evening.

 

Sorry, I've been real busy this month. Not much details to add, just camping and light wheeling Saturday and rolling out Sunday. We'll
drive Mosqureo Canyon Rd or Trigg Ranch Road on the way back to Logan.

 

Anyone know what the east mountains are like today snow-wise? I am thinking about riding out there this afternoon

 

I’m up here near cedar crest mnt biking now. Not too much snow, just little spots here and there, where I am but it’s cold and just going to get windier

 

Nice. Thanks for the heads up. That helps out a lot ! Perhaps I’ll just stick to the foothills today

 

Just got done, there was no snow on the actual trail - just little muddy from rain and melting. It was a lot less windy in the forest compared to the straightaways so having the trees was nice blocking the wind

And was surprisingly warm - but of course after riding you get super hot anyways but it was pleasant

 

Sweet. I ended up just riding the north foothills this afternoon. What trails did you end up riding out there?