Ever since I arrived in New Mexico a year ago, the looming presence of mighty Chicoma Peak (some say the spelling should be “Tse Como”) has held my interest and after I’d climbed several local peaks it began to fascinate me. “Look at that monster,” I thought………..”it goes Waaay up there.” Yes, it does, but at 11,561 ft., it’s not the biggest local peak by far. This shot was taken from Chino Mesa on Caja del Rio last spring. That big white snow covered triangle is beige with grass in the summer…………….

Finally I did some research and found that Forest Road 144 goes west from Española, 25 miles north of Santa Fe. Just 25 more miles on 144 would put me just over a mile from the summit of Chicoma, so, on Sat., Nov. 3, 2007 I jumped into the Diesel Dodge and headed north - after a hearty breakfast at Dominic’s. Going in on the 144, it was tremendously rough and I couldn’t figure out what was causing the huge pounding of the suspension of my truck. Looking ahead on the road toward Clara Mountain on the right and a glimpse of Chicoma near the left, all looked fine. Yes, the road goes way up the side of Clara. and climbs from about 6,000 ft at Española to 10,800 ft at the base of the peak………..

Then, I glanced in the rear view mirror and saw how the morning sun was silhouetting the culprit………….

Out of a 25 mile run, the 1st 10 or 12 miles were misery. Miles of washboard and ruts and rocks.  Clara Mountain was really bad. Farther in it eased up and wasn’t bad at all. Hunting season is open now, and several hunters passed me, suspensions hammering. You can see one coming up behind me in the shot above. He’ll keep the alignment shop happy, you bet. As you climb, you’ll pass some huge canyons, this one is Gallina Creek……………..

And also, to the north toward Abiquiu, enormous grasslands. There’s much evidence of a major fire throughout this area. This is looking toward Ghost Ranch, made famous by Georgia O’Keefe……………

Up around the 10,000 ft. level, about 20 miles in, a new problem showed up, but fortunately didn’t get any worse than this. I was watching that thick Spruce forest with a sinking heart - this is what I’d have to hike thru, with no trail……………

Then, when I got to my take-off point and parked the truck, I saw that this area had been logged off years ago, and was partially cleared. This went up for about ¼ mile, and helped a lot. I’d carried a Merino wool neck warmer, but didn’t really need it so stuffed it under a suspender strap. Farther up the hill it was gone. Phooey - $30.00 piece of fabric, I’d used it once, and it’s gone. Figured I’d watch the GPS real close on the way down, and hope to find it again……………

Too soon, I ran out of clearings and entered the heavy timber. Small stuff at this altitude (11,000 ft) but dense, and lots of blow-downs. This, I didn’t like. Dark and gloomy, poor visibility, strange noises, strong imagination……….ol’ Lar was getting his-self spooked, watching for Bears and Cougars. You can bet I kept my head swiveling the whole way………………

Half a mile of this, and Lar was not a happy hiker. Fortunately it wasn’t too steep, and soon I came out onto the meadow leading to the summit. Phee-eeewwww…………..

About ¼ mile more of this and I reached the summit, marked by a huge cairn erected by some ambitious soul(s). This was an easy hike, compared to others I’ve made recently, such as Lake Peak, Pedernal Peak, Gray’s Peak, etc., but it were still a good effort………….

There was a ring of trees to the south, and I had to drop over the face a little to get a look toward Santa Fe, etc……………….

This was a spectacular view, and seemed like it went forever. This was very worth the effort and slight frustration. Looking to the south to get oriented, I finally spotted the Pajarito ski area at Los Alamos. High on the right side of the above shot, here’s a better look at it……………

Lots of haze in the air here today, but later on it was crystal clear to the east. Dunno why. Then, looking to the northwest, I suddenly spotted an old friend - here’s Pedernal Peak, that I climbed on Sept. 8th. Doesn’t look like nearly 10,000 ft high from here, does it ?? Now I know where I’m at. From below and looking up, Pedernal looked higher in the middle and east ends, due to the angle and the wide angle lens. Here, you can clearly see how it slopes up to the west……………..

Coming down was easy. The slope was moderate, I knew which way was out (downhill and I had the GPS. No, I didn’t forget about the neck warmer. Set the GPS on a close range and started on down. Very soon I was thru the trees (I made 360º turns quite frequently to check for unwanted company and kept the flap loose on the Bear spray holster) and into the logged area. Followed that GPS, and suddenly……………..

Yup, there was my warmer. Lucky Lar, eh ?? Sadly, when I got home and was unloading the truck, there was no monopod for the camera. THEN , I remembered laying it down near the cairn on the summit of Chicoma when I was setting up the tripod to take the self-portrait at the summit. No, I’m not going all the way back up there for a $90.00 monopod, but it sure burns me up. Dumb Lar ! ! ! Idiot ! ! ! It’s only a hunk of metal, but I’d bought it in Prince George, B.C. several years ago, it’s gone 10’s of 1,000’s of miles with me, I’ve used it for a walking stick for who only knows how many miles of distance and feet of altitude……….like losing an old friend. Some strong language would fit in here real easy. That was a Slick Model 600, and I’ll sure be getting another one. I’m sitting here fretting over that thing like an old friend. Oh Well. I hope you’ve enjoyed my little story of the big trip. This is likely the last big hike of the season. Gonna snow any time now……………….

Here’s the GPS tracks for the day. Chic 3 is where I parked the truck and started hiking. I covered a fair stretch of territory on this little jaunt………….

Posted: November 3rd, 2007 under 07-11-3 Chicoma Peak, 08 New Mexico.
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