Not for the first time, I've found myself on a geocache inspired drive through rugged and remote back-country. This latest trip was in the Jemez mountains, taking back-roads between Espanola, the Cladarea, and Abiquiu. One of Santa Fe's local cachers recently placed a bunch of new caches on a back road out there, leading up to the high point of the Jemez mountains, Chicoma. These caches, and the few peaks along the route were my main goal, but there was one very lonely cache on dirt road connecting the road near Chicoma to Abiquiu that I also was interested in getting, mainly for the Lonely Cache Points. Why not right? I'll tell you why not, that road was a rocky, rutted mess. Twice I used the maps I had both in the car, and on my GPSr to find ways to get off that road and to other parts of the mountain range, but both times I failed. The first time the road ended up at the edge of a plateau. My map showed a zig-zag path down this steep slope, but there was no passable road to be found. The second time I ran into a locked gate. I bet that road would have eventually gotten me off of the Polvedera plateau, but what can i do about a locked gate? Not much.
So what I originally thought was going to ba a half-day trip driving up into the mountains, turned into a full-day rough trail ride. Luckily, i had the presence of mind to fill up my gas tank in Espanola before tackling the mountain roads.
This part of the Jemez is pretty inaccessible. Sure there are some roads that can get you back out there, but they are slow going. There is also a lot of exploring that can be done out here though. Not hiking trails, just old logging roads, mining camps, remote volcanic peaks... I'll have to come back out some time to see what i can find.
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| Near the top of Chicoma Mountain GC7DZ1Z |
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| Herd of elk on the way to Abiquiu |
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| My dusty TB |
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| A very lonely cache deep in the Jemez on the Polvedera Mesa, GC3RGEB |
