I arrived in the One Tree Peak area around 4 p.m. after a 12-mile drive along a pretty good gravel road. I had climbed Eddy county's highpoint earlier in the day, so I was a little tired. One Tree Peak is located in the southwestern part of Chaves county in the foothills of the bigger peaks near Cloudcroft. It's in the Lincoln National Forest, in a region featuring numerous rounded peaks. These are some of the first hills one would see if coming in from the flat plains to the east. I came in from Artesia along US-82, then south along NM-24 through the tiny burg of Dunken. Just south of Dunken I took Cuevo Canyon Road west into the hills about 8 miles to the Chimney Lake Road junction. Then it was south on Chimney Lake Road to Sunflower Canyon. The sign for it was busted but I was able to find it using landmarks and common sense. One Tree Peak lies just about one air-mile east, set back amid a series of pretty hills in a dense juniper cover.

I began my hike at 4 p.m., hopping a barbed-wire fence and trekking up a creekbed for about a mile. The hiking was easy, generally over old tire ruts. The land is used for ranching, judging by some watering troughs and salt licks, although I didn't see any animals. Soon I was at the base of the hill. I began hiking straight up through the sparse Junipers directly to the top. At first the slope was moderate, gaining about 500 feet at a 15-degree grade. The last 300 feet was at a more steep 30-35 degree grade. Again, not difficult but just steep. The trees had thinned considerably and I had great views into the valley below and the plains to the east. I summitted at 4:40. The register had just 4 names, pretty much the same crew from the Eddy county register. I added mine. I sat for a bit, the descended back to my truck, arriving by 5:30. It was still light but the sun was starting to set behind the other peaks, and I wanted to be back on the main highway before dark. A very pleasant hike in a pretty, secluded part of the state. The drive out went alright; I was back onto pavement in the dusk, and managed to make it down to Alamogordo, but mostly in the dark. I stayed in Alamogordo for the night, then drove back home the next morning.