I did it, I did it, I did it……….. Here’s a view looking south across Abiquiu (Abi-Cue) reservoir to Cerro Pedernal (Flint Peak). Looks like a volcano, eh ??………..

Maybe, not sure. The internet says not, but the whole upper section was solid lava, so I think it is. Drive to the west around the south side of the reservoir toward Youngsville and look back to the east. You wouldn’t know it’s the same mountain………….

As before, drive 5.5 miles up the 100 road, then left on the 160 road. (At Peder2 on the map) Rough, muddy, overgrown, and steep. Toward the top, the mudholes were getting deeper and more frequent. Here’s one of the better stretches………..

Finally I hit one spot that wasn’t too big, but looked bad. This - miles from anywhere - would be a bad place to get stuck, so, cautious from years of 4 wheeling experience in Idaho, I eased the front wheels in and they went way down, right now. Eased back out, parked the car, (Ped Car - 8397 ft elevation) and got ready to walk. Right there in the mud, there were a set of fresh, large bear tracks. I’m terrified of bears and going on was…difficult…in spite of the fact that I carry a canister of bear spray, and could use the monopod as a club…………

But, go on I did, and glad I did. At 1st, not too bad, then it began to tilt and after about ½ mile, (Ped Base - 8556 ft) it started up at about a 45º angle. About ½ mile of this, and by (Ped Tired - 9029 ft) my legs were burning. Figured it out on the GPS and thought I was about ½ way, so why stop now ?? At 1 of the infrequent clearings, I got a good view of the peak…………

Most of the way was in heavy brush - Pine and Juniper - and there was no trail. Very steep and very rough. Just bushwhack on up and hope you’re aimed true by glimpses of the peak thru the trees…………

Higher up it gets even steeper, and I was puffing and blowing pretty good, and stopping for very frequent rests…………..

A cliff (Ped Cliff) with the base at 9671 ft surrounds the summit, and according to the web page I found, there’s only 1 way up without heavy duty climbing equipment………….

I sat and rested for a few minutes but didn’t want to stiffen up, so after 10 minutes hit the cliff. The 1st 10 feet was pretty bad, with poor handholds. My rock climbing experience 30 years ago really paid off. Like riding a bike, the moves came right back. Then it became more workable, and about 30 feet up there was a very steep switchback trail leading the rest of the way to the summit. This is looking straight up. The trail is the crack between the bush on the left and the white arrow on the right……………

When I hit the ridge, I screamed “YESSS” at the top of my lungs. Then, again. The only word for my feelings was “exultant.” Suddenly my legs didn’t hurt anymore. The trail hits in about the middle of the ridge, so I walked to the left across the very narrow, extremely rough ridge for about 150 yards. You don’t want to slip here, especially to the north - it’s straight down for 100’s of feet………………

…………..to the highest point, at the extreme west end of the ridge. I had carried the tripod all this way, just for this moment, and now it paid for the weight penalty it cost me. As at Otowi Peak last weekend, it was worth every ounce. Temperature was mild, around 70º, but I was soaked with sweat……………

On top of the world. 1:04 PM, Saturday, Sept. 8, 2007. Left the car and started the hike at 10:58 AM. What a feeling. What a view. Official altitude here is 9862 ft. GPS was off by 15 ft, (it said 9877 ft) which isn’t bad for it. The GPS is poor on altitude, and I’ve seen it off by 100’s of feet, (tho’ it does quite well on location) so I’ll go with the official number. Yabadabadooooo.

Here’s the GPS track that I referred to thru this story………….

Posted: September 30th, 2007 under 07-9-8 Pedernal Peak, 08 New Mexico.
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