Rockhound State Park - Florida Mountains - April 16, 2004 - Member Trip Report
| Hike Name: | Rockhound State Park - Florida Mountains |
|---|---|
| Country: | United States |
| State: | New Mexico |
| Trip Rating: |  |
| Trip Date: | April 16, 2004 |
| Duration: | 1 day, 14 hours |
| Trail Conditions: | Fair to Good |
| Trail Traffic: | None |
| Trip Weather: | Partly Sunny |
| Trip Winds: | Light |
| Trip Precipitation: | None |
| Trip Temperature: | High: 71-80, Low: 31-40 degrees Fahrenheit |
| Trip Report: | Day 1: We arrived fairly early in the morning, departing the Samurai at 9:00. We decided to walk over the crest from Rockhound Park, head South down the eastern slope, and come back down around the southern tip of the mountains to get us back to the park. The day was cool and beautiful, and we both felt great. The eastern face is dotted with mine shafts, headframes, and misc. debris, which makes for a great hike. We fooled around in a bunch of mines until around 3:00, when we made a serious jump for the nights camp site. We found old water lines leading down the hillside, so we traced them back to their origin. The led to a pool of water 25 feet long and about 4 feet deep. It looked terrible, but thats what a water purfier is for, and we pumped about 2 gallons. We sat down by an old chimney, which is where we built our fire, and cooked dinner. Listened to the coyotes singing for a bit, and crashed around 10:00. Day 2: Got up when the sun hit us and it started to get warm. Had a few cups of coffee fortified with Bailey's against the chill, and had breakfast. Boot prints all around the camp in the dirt indicated that a large group of illegal aliens had passed us sometime during the night. Makes me a little nervous that we didn't even wake up. We grabbed a quick breakfast and started the loop around the tip of the mountains. Not so much mining activity down there, so the walking went faster. Saw a beautiful Ibex on the hillside, and it made my glad I had my 35mm camera with a telephoto, instead of my wimpy digital with the lousy little zoom lens. Got a great photo of the critter. Took one more mine tour about a mile from the car, then drifted back to the Park. Hopped in the car, and drove to Deming for a burger. A sweet little trip for a weekend when you don't have much time. |
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