The Mountains of New Mexico
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Peak 6559 • Peak 6450 • Peak 5398 I was in Catron County, New Mexico, tagging peaks. I had arrived yesterday from Bisbee and climbed Higgins Mountain north of Reserve, then this morning, visited three easy peaks northwest of Reserve. The three peaks from this morning were all above 8,000 feet in elevation, so temperatures were mitigated, in the mid 70s when I finished the last one. It was clear for now, but humid, with clouds amassing just about everywhere. Now I was heading south. I had two peaks near Alma on the agenda, and one, possibly two peaks, about halfway to Alma.
Date: August 14, 2025
• Elevation: 6,559 feet ✳
• Prominence: 392 feet ✳
• Distance: 0.7 mile
• Time: 1 hour
• Gain: 360 feet
• Conditions: Very warm
New Mexico
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Main
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PB
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LoJ
There are two forested peaks near the main highway (US-180) south of County Road C-013, which leads to the Pueblo Park campground. I recall camping there almost twenty years ago with my wife.
One peak is right there, less than half a mile in along the road, while the second peak is about a mile to the west. They appeared to be of similar stature.
It was quite warm now, 85° said my car's thermometer. The clouds were all to the north, from where I had just come, but here, it was sunny and very warm, and humid.
I immediately got a "meh" feeling about these peaks. They were covered in heavy forest, not open piñon and juniper slopes like a lot of the nearby hills. I rolled in and parked near a corral, marked Jones Corral on the map. The hike looked short and straightforward, so I went for it.
I walked a track to its end, then started uphill through grass and rocks, the grade being very steep. The trees closed in and I had to weave around them. I found a track and followed it. It was not a trick of the eye, it was an actual track, albeit a weak one. It looked too steep to be a game trail.
This put me on the summit plateau. I tied some surveyor's ribbon to branches so I'd remember where I needed to descend. I angled left and walked uphill through more grass and dense trees, coming to the top fairly quickly, about a half-hour from the car.
The top is on the peak's southeast tip and is open, with views down into a valley with a power line, and US-180 not too far away. I found a register. Mark Nicholls had placed it in 2006. I was the second to sign it underneath his signature. Someone was here in 2020 for an eclipse, I think, judging by their scrawling. Lists of John shows one other visitor, in 2023. An occasional hunter may come up here but I suspect very few people bother with this peak.
I walked down the same way, following my ribbons. Down lower, I was seduced by a lovely path, so I followed it. I knew I was off a bearing to my car, so I just walked northish until I met the main road, then walked that back to my car. It was hot and I was covered in sweat and tree schmutz.
I drove a little west on the main road, intending to give the other peak a look, but immediately backed off. I was not interested in more hot, forest bashing. If I'm going to sweat and suffer, I at least want views. So I exited back to the main highway and drove for about twenty minutes until I was in Alma.
Elevation: 6,450 feet ✳
• Prominence: 427 feet
• Distance: 1.5 miles
• Time: 50 minutes
• Gain: 410 feet
• Conditions: Hot, but clouding up
PB
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LoJ
My first important task was to get some drinks and something to eat at the Alma General Store. Nothing was open up north and I was low on everything. The next two peaks would be short and easy hikes, but it was very hot now, into the low 90s. I got a sandwich and some drinks, then sat on a bench in the shade and had a lunch.
I stayed there a half hour. It was about 1 p.m. now, sunny and very hot. The next peak was higher by about 1,600 feet in elevation, so I figured it would be about 5 degrees cooler. I got back into my car and started in on the roads, this being the same road net I followed two months ago when I climbed Glenwood Brushy Mountain.
This unnamed peak is coveniently close to the main road, with very gentle slopes and more open terrain of grass and scattered light forest of piñon, junipers and small oaks. I drove up onto an open slope slightly off the road and parked. The highpoint wasn't far, less than a mile to the west.
I started walking up an eroded track, then angled right and got lucky, coming upon a cattle trail that led perfectly to the saddle below the peak, saving me the hassle of climbing higher where I was then having to descend. The cattle paths continued but grew braided then ceased altogether, the cattle apparently having no interest in the summit.
The walking was easy, and up this high, it was cooler, in the high 80s, but with a breeze that helped ... and some clouds that suddenly appeared and blocked out the sun. I was on top the peak in not too long. The highest point is anyone's guess, but I went to where it seemed highest and found a register bottle just lying on the rocks near a giant juniper.
I signed in, just the second to do so, but the first signer-inner was here in just the past couple of months. It was not a name I recognized. It was probably him that set up the register then decided to leave it in the open. I built a tiny cairn against the tree to house the register.
The hike down went well, following that cow path. I was back to my car in under an hour. The paths helped as did the clouds blocking the sun. It didn't drop the ambient temperature but it knocked down the effect of the direct sun. I was still hot and tired, but feeling better than I expected.
I had one more peak. I hoped the clouds would stick around.
Elevation: 5,398 feet ✳
• Prominence: 368 feet
• Distance: 1.2 miles
• Time: 45 minutes
• Gain: 538 feet (gross)
• Conditions: Hot, but heavy clouds
PB
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LoJ
I drove back toward the main highway, but just before the highway, I turned toward a gravel pile. Behind it was a scant road that went south then bent slightly southwest. I passed through a wire-stick gate, then followed the chunky road onto a bluff, past the "Pasture Trap Chute", a corral structure noted on the map. Peak 5398 rises to the west, across a small draw.
The outside temperature was in the low-mid 90s, toggling between 92° and 95°, but the clouds that had started forming a half hour ago were now collecting in abundance. Above me and all around me were dark clouds with gray underbellies. To the east, way over by the Mogollon Range, was an active thunderstorm.
It was about 3 p.m. by now, and I had hiked 5 peaks but only a cumulative 5.5 miles, give or take. But the heat was wearing on me. I had just enough energy to grunt out one more easy summit, and looking over at the peak, was glad to see it was mostly a pile of rocks, not covered in thick brush or trees. It looked like an easy hike.
I had planned to camp this evening, but the ambient heat, coupled with the probability of rain and storms, made that idea less attractive. I called to a hotel in Safford and reserved a spot. All this while sitting in my car in the middle of nowhere.
Finally, I got moving. I hiked down about 80 feet into the draw, crossed the actual drainage, then started up the rocky slopes, which laid back well. The rocks were volcanic and about six inches in diameter, laying atop one another to where each step caused at least one to roll. But it was not brushy (or it could easily be walked around) and the slope was gentle. The heat was less cumbersome due to the cloud cover.
In about twenty minutes I was on top the peak. The summit is obvious, a large boulder about two feet above the ground. I found another one of Mark's registers in a bottle buried in a cairn abutting the summit rock, and signed in. I was just the second person after Mark in 2013. Lists of John shows another visitor in 2018.
I could hear distant thunder. The big storm over the Mogollons was active, dropping sheets of rain. It did not appear to be moving fast, but I did not want to take any chances. I started back down immediately.
The downhill hike was as expected, easy but with every rock wanting to roll. I never saw any snakes but I scared about a dozen little lizards. I was back to my car a little before 4 p.m.. Ugh, what a day. Six peaks done, which made me happy, but utterly sapped. The heat had really taken a toll toward the end.
Now I could start the drive "homeward", although I was only going as far as Safford. Back on US-180, I had sunnier skies, but then on NM-78, the connector route that leads into Arizona, I hit some very heavy rain, enough to cause local flooding in the road and other low spots.
Once back in Arizona, the rain ceased and I had sunnier and warmer conditions all the way into Safford, which at just under 3,000 feet elevation, was low enough to be very hot, over 100°. I found my hotel, a cheap one-off place on the east end of town. It looked kind of scraggly from the outside, but the rooms were clean, everything worked, as did the TV. I'm finding these days that most TVs in many hotels just don't work well, like they're not trying any more.
I showered then got a meal at the Jerry's restaurant I've eaten at now a few times when in Safford. I was tired so I crashed early. I wanted to be up before dawn as I had one more peak planned on my way home toward Bisbee. The story picks up with a hike up Van Gausig Benchmark.
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