Out of Practice

After 4 months, I'm still trying to get used to life so far south.  Shorts in the day despite running in tights under the clear skies of 20* mornings.  Excitement over a paltry 2 miles of snow, giddy to run two-track in first light.  Knowing all too well that the source of exclamation will be gone by 11.

There has been nary a cloud in the sky for nearly two weeks.

With gradual increases in strength and distance comes a desire to explore places new.  This past Sunday I finally made it down to the Big Burro Mtns on the very southern edge of the Gila National Forest. The CDT runs over a high ridge down there before playing around on Gold Hill and finally descending to "real" desert around Lordsburg.  I'd heard the geology down there was different than what I've grown used to around Silver City so knew I needed to check it out.

An abnormally late starting time of 2:30 pm brought in the harsh reality that I'd forgotten sunscreen and a headlamp.  Add to that the fact that the CDT is mapped in various ways due to numerous reroutes depending on where you look (refer to Openstreetmaps or Bear Creek Survey FYI), and it became obvious that I didn't know exactly how far I was going to run.  The plan was to park at the Jacks Peak CDT Trailhead, head southwest on the CDT for who knows how long, up Jacks Peak via Gold Gulch/Jacks Peak dirt rds, and then back to the car via ridgeline CDT singletrack.  Roughly 15-20 miles, right?  Close enough it turns out.

 Cruiser grade along Gold Gulch Rd.

 Chollas look mighty tame in the winter.  This is a long cry from the strange feeling of being in an alien landscape when we first moved here in August.  Back then, the chollas were downright creepy to a Coloradan.

 Quintessential Chihuahuan

Finally the fast speeds along the CDT and Gold Gulch gave way to interminable climbing and grunting up Jack's Peak Rd.  The previous 2 weeks of bluebird sky overdose finally gave way to a bit of haze which made me smile.  No one enjoys blue skies more than I, but I also like a bit of variety.  Clouds and variety aren't in abundance down south, so whenever the skies change, it's always a memorable day.

View East from Jack's Peak.  Way out there is the Cooke's Range, ranking high on the short-list.  Although it's roughly a 2 hr drive from home, I'm holding off until I can fastpack it from the front door.

We all use copper everyday.  The difference is that in the southern Gila, we have to stare at what it does to our landscapes.  Our Majesty, The Tyrone Copper Complex:

Wind and the low sun made me pull out a Buff and arm sleeves before heading a bit further north along the CDT to tag Burro Mountain.   There weren't too many views on that summit, but the size of the trees were noteworthy for this area.

The stress of descending 4+ miles with less than 30 minutes until full darkness clouded my memory of the good times of the first chunk of the day.  Instead, I was worried about catching a toe on a rock, falling into a cholla, or finding my way down vague tread by the lame light of an eTrex 20.  When I finally made it to the trailhead, I was shocked that I had less than 2 minutes to spare until I would not have been able to see the trail anymore.  Next time I'll carry a 3 oz headlamp.