Few picks in the Santa Fe NF.
!!! There has been an important change on the original path of the ERT as it goes through the Santa Fe. Where the original path came out of the forest and onto easements of some private property, new land owners from Cali have installed fences and gates. This caused an uproar in the local community with protests, petitions, and threats of violence against the new owners. It is now being played out in the legal system but for now the original path is closed.
There is the FS200 option, which I took, and that’s an iffy. The road is badly deteriorated and littered with technical areas, rock and boulder “mine” fields, bad off camber areas, serious washouts, and rock drops. You will need good lift, armor, tires, lockers, and driving ability to traverse this. I ended up with a bent idler arm, dented driveshaft, leaking steering box, damaged tires, and well scraped up skid plate/belly pan. I was going downhill which made it easier as I would not have been able to make the climb.
Then once I got to the NF boundary I found a fence had been put up. I had done my research ahead of time and knew there was an easement all the way to the highway so I took the fence down and replaced it after I passed. Other than more crappy roadway, I passed through the property line fencing and easements without hindrance the rest of the way. However this could end up playing out like the original path so be prepared.
This is the only good section of that path.
More to come...