Date: August 13, 2025 • Elevation: 6,503 feet • Prominence: 438 feet • Distance: 2 miles • Time: 1 hour, 15 minutes • Gain: 423 feet • Conditions: Cloudy and warm

New Mexico • Main • PB • LoJ

I was beginning a three-day run of peaks in and around Reserve in Catron County, New Mexico. My summer class had ended the previous night, and I got grades figured out and submitted early this morning. I packed my car and hit the road, leaving Bisbee at 11 a.m..

The drive to Reserve covers about 260 miles and took me about 4 hours, not including a couple of stops along the way. It was warm but not hot, the weather being cloudy all afternoon. I arrived in the Reserve area about 4 p.m.. First, I stopped at a small hotel on highway US-180 in a community called Rancho Grande, and reserved (ha!) a room.

The weather was cloudy but holding steady, no big storms visible. I decided to check out Higgins Mountain, located a few miles north of Reserve. It is a ridge-shaped peak fronting the San Francisco River, rising about a mile north of Peak 6439, which I hiked two years ago. This one peak was set apart from the others, and if I could hike it today, it would simplify logistics for tomorrow.

In Reserve, I followed the main highway (NM-12) north, then about five miles later eased onto CR-B13, following it for about three miles in a southwesterly direction toward Higgins Mountain. I parked in a meadow at the northern foot of the ridge, the summit about a mile to the south. It was nearing 5 p.m. now, and the outisde temperature was 82°. It was humid but not too much so. Conditions were calm and benign.

I went light, just a butt-pack, and was on the move quickly. I walked south into the meadow then angled upward onto the lower slopes, catching a side-ridge up to the main crest, crossing a fence near the top. The slopes were forested but mostly smaller trees, such as juniper, various pines and oaks. The undergrowth was light, no heavy grass or woody crud. The rocks were often loose.

Now on the ridge, I just aimed south and walked, weaving through the trees with many openings and small meadows to easily see my way through. I surmounted one false summit, dropped about thirty feet, then barged up the final slope to the top-most ridge.

The highpoint is not easily discernable so I walked the ridge until I felt I had properly covered it. The highest point appeared to be a large rock about three feet above the ground. A cairn was tucked in behind the rock, and I signed into the register. Not a popular peak, it contained about a half-dozen names going back over twenty years.

The weather was remaining steady, but it was cloudy and dark, so a stray storm could build in moments. I did not rest. Instead, I turned around and jog-walked out. The outbound hike went quickly, and I was back to my car, the time now 6:15 p.m.. I had been gone a little over an hour.

This was a short and easy peak to tag, and navigation was not a problem. I felt good about getting one into the books. Interestingly, the outside temperature had not changed when I started my car up.

I drove into Reserve and looked for a place to eat or get take-out. Reserve has zero chain places and any shops are tiny and usually closed. I saw a lot of cars and trucks parked in front of one place, this being a bar popular with the locals. I got a chicken sandwich to go, and returned to my hotel in Rancho Grande.

The hotel only has about ten rooms, and nine of them were taken by fire-fighters. A bunch were sitting on the benches outside, mostly young guys. We chatted briefly. Suddenly, they get a call and they all book out. A few hours later, they returned. Me, I ate my chicken sandwich and binged on Family Guy and Bob's Burgers episodes.

Tomorrow would be my big day, six peaks, starting with a trio to the north.