The
Portal Rodeo Hiking Club climbed Gray Mountain, the highest point in the Peloncillo Mountains, this week. Access was through a locked gate on from the north but the maps show other roads from the west that might be accessible. The route was up one draw and scree slope to a saddle and then staying on the ridge tops the group traversed to the peak of Gray Mountain. The total round trip was between 5 and 6 miles depending upon the route and included 2000' of elevation gain. While no trail exists, plenty of cattle paths make route finding easy. The views from the top of Gray Mountain include the Chiricahua, Animas, Big and Little Hatchets, and the Florida Mountains. The map of the hike is in the sidebar or
here, and a 360 degree panorama from atop Gray Mountain is at
Microsoft's Photosynth site. At the top everyone broke for lunch and signed the register. On the way down the group divided up and several hikers came down a drainage and intersected the road on the west side of the Peloncillos. This is a fun hike though some of the rarely seen Peloncillo Mountains.
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| Google Earth screenshot of route up Gray Mountain. |
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| Pine Tree atop Gray Mountain. |
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| A view of Portal Peak and the Chiricahua Mountains from the hike up Gray Mountain. |
What a beautiful hike in the Peloncillo Mountains, I sure missed a nice hike to the Gray Mountains. The weather looked nice, to enjoy the day.
ReplyDeleteIt was a grand hike. It was nice to get into the Peloncillo Mountains again.
ReplyDeleteI had rubber legs after we finished.
ReplyDeleteI did also, but there are always several groups keeping different paces along the route which helps. I usually end up last since I tend to wander a bit looking for good pictures and generally results in some trail finding to get back on course.
ReplyDeletehow does one past the locked gate?
ReplyDeleteI have a hunt and was wondering if there is any public access in that area
ReplyDeleteThe route the hiking club used was through private land but you may access the Peloncillos from Painted Pony Rd. You will cross 0.25 miles of open unfenced private land and then come to BLM and New Mexico State Land. I would suggest utilizing the New Mexico State Land website maps - http://landstatus.nmstatelands.org/LandStatusnew.aspx - to identify specific access points.
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for the information. I really appreciate it.
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