The Mountains of New Mexico
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Glenwood Brushy Mountain • Bearwallow Mountain I was on a short swing through western New Mexico, with a couple of thousand-foot prom peaks on the agenda, and possibly a few more if I felt like it. I was looking at Brushy Mountain and Bearwallow Mountain, which lie west and east of the community of Glenwood. The first intense heat wave of the year just started, with temperatures in the lower deserts above 110°, and into the 90s at the mid-high elevations. These two peaks have roads to their tops, with good car access. The first hosts some communications towers, the second a forest-service lookout. I was on the road at 3 a.m. from Bisbee. I found an easy peak to hike inside Arizona, Dix Mesa, which I hiked very early this morning. From there to Glenwood was about a 45-mile drive. A large forest fire was active north of Silver City. The main plumes could not be seen from where I was, but the smokey haze from the fire had settled in these valleys, obscuring everything. By the time I was in Glenwood, the haze had lessened just slightly, but it was very warm, into the 80s.
Date: June 16, 2025
• Elevation: 7,408 feet
• Prominence: 1,186 feet
• Distance: 2.4 miles
• Time: 1 hour
• Gain: 568 feet
• Conditions: Sunny and very warm
New Mexico
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This Brushy Mountain lies due west of Glenwood, and its towers can be seen if you look hard enough. There happens to be a couple more Brushy Mountains nearby, including a larger peak to the south by Mule Creek, and a couple more south of that. Suffice to say, the mountain namers didn't put in a lot of effort in coming up with these names. The forest service calls this peak "Glenwood Brushy Mountain".
Access to the peak is via a series of decent tracks that begin in Alma, a smaller village about five miles north of Glenwood. I was on these tracks once before, in 2006 when I climbed Maple Peak. I followed the route described here at Peakbagger, which worked well. Not all the signs were up, but the junctions were obvious.
The tracks are well-maintained but can be slightly rocky in places. Four-wheel drive is not necessary in dry conditions, but high clearance would be. The last road, Holiman Cabin Road (also signed as CR-057), was a notch rougher than the other roads. The access road to the summit towers is signed but gated closed. I covered 12.9 miles to get here, taking about 45 minutes.
It was about 9:20 a.m., but very warm, in the mid 80s. It was sunny with no clouds, and the smokey haze was still present but not as thick as before. I was in the direct sun with no shade. Fortunately, the hike would be short and all along a road.
The road makes one sharp bend, then curls around the south slopes of the mountain, gaining at a steady grade. In time, I could see one big tower rising above the trees. Soon, I was at the tower complex, the one-way hike covering under a mile and a half, taking about 35 minutes.
The highest point(s) appear to be some rocks outside the fencing of one such tower. I found a register underneath one rock, and felt some rocks nearby were almost as high. I signed in, then found a place to sit and have a drink break. Views weren't that good due to the haze.
The hike down went well, and I was back to my car about 10:20 a.m.. In that time, the outside temperature had risen another 8 degrees, now in the low 90s, and it felt like it.
I drove out the same way, going slow and taking my time. I stopped in at the general store in Alma for drinks. Now about 2,500 feet lower in elevation, the temperature here was in the high 90s. I felt fine but had little energy.
This was not an exciting peak, but having a thousand feet of prominence and easy logistics, it was one I was interested in and happy to complete. In cooler weather with less haze, I am sure views would be worth the effort.
Elevation: 9,961 feet
• Prominence: 1,430 feet
• Distance: 2 miles
• Time: 20 minutes (hike), 3 hours total
• Gain: 440 feet
• Conditions: Very warm
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I drove a couple miles south on the main highway, US-180, to where state route NM-159 heads east toward the old mining town of Mogollon. This road is directly opposite from the access road I had just been on, to and from Brushy Mountain.
Mogollon was a mining boomtown about a hundred years ago, hundreds of homes and building crammed into a very narrow mountain canyon. These days, it is a "living" ghost town with a population in the dozens and some old original buildings on its main street still standing, open to tourists.
Getting to Mogollon is a classic drive, but not for anyone with a fear of steep, curvy mountain roads. The initial few miles is along a normal two-lane highway, but near the 5-mile mark, it narrows into a single lane and stays this way for about 4 more miles. It is paved but extremely narrow and curvy, with no guard rails. I've been on this highway twice before, in 2000 when I climbed Whitewater Baldy and again in 2007 when my wife and I stayed in a cabin in Glenwood.
I drove through Mogollon. The pavement ends about a half mile later, the road continuing on, signed as both NM-159 and FR-159. The next six miles were a steady and steep uphill grind, gaining 2,500 feet to top out at the Silver Creek Divide. The road was a little rough, and high clearance would be necessary.
Once past Silver Creek Divide, the road changes flavor slightly, now a shelf road hugging the sides of the mountains with thousand-foot drops below. Ironically, the road's tread was slightly smoother and easier to drive. I was on this road for about another 7 miles, coming to a junction with FR-153, signed for Bearwallow Mountain Lookout.
This road turned out to be an excellent road, much better than what I had just been on. I went north on it for about 7 miles, parking at a saddle at the base of the final access road to the top. I was at an elevation of 9,521 feet, going by the map. It was about 12:30 p.m. now, and even at this elevation, still very warm, in the mid 80s.
I walked the last road up to the top, a mile-long hike with a gain of 440 feet. The road was easily drivable, but I wanted a hike. The top features a lookout and today, it was manned. The person's car was parked below and I could hear some radio traffic from the tower. I walked around the summit area and snapped some images, but did not want to disturb the lookout person. I got what I came for, and started down.
I was back to my car quickly, then drove back to the "main" road, FR-159. I wasn't eager to go back the way I came, but there were no other options that didn't involve significant distances, so I went with the default.
The drive out wasn't too bad, just tedious. Going downhill helped. I thought about stopping in Mogollon, but it appeared everything was closed. I continued onward, coming back out to the main highway, US-180. It was past 2 p.m. and damn hot.
According to my odometer readings, it was 30 miles from the highway to the high saddle where I parked below the summit. It was 9 miles to Mogollon, 6 miles of rough uphill forest track to Silver Creek Divide, another 7 miles to the turnoff to the road up to the mountain, and 8 miles on that road to the saddle. The drives both ways took over an hour, and when all other delays were added in, this journey took almost 3 hours. This was a good example of "hiking by car", as the main challenge was just managing the roads and being patient. The hike was trivial.
When combined with the driving mileage over at Glenwood Brushy Mountain — nearly 26 miles round trip — I drove about 86 miles total to bag two peaks while hiking only 4.4 miles. Given the hot weather, it was worth it.
I had planned to camp a night somewhere up by Reserve, but it was 104° here, and probably about the same near Reserve. Plus, I was feeling sapped. The hikes had both been short, but the warmth seemed to hit me hard. I got on my device and looked for a place to stay in Reserve ... or anywhere close by. But options were limited. Either way too expensive for some cutesie cabin or simply sold out.
The heat was just too much and I was feeling really beat. I decided to get a place in Silver City, about 70 miles away, then head home the next day. On the drive in, I could see the plumes of smoke from the big fire north of the city. The smoke was all billowing to the east for now.
I had a relaxed night at the hotel, then the next morning, did some basic yard work and pruning of our house in Silver City that we're trying to sell. I drove back to Bisbee, arriving home about noon.
Later that day, I started to feel dreadful. Everything just went south all at once — chills, stomach distress, malaise. I think I caught a bug and those feelings of being "sapped" I mentioned earlier may have portended this. I spent the better part of the next few days trying to sleep it off.
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