New Mexico Backcountry Discovery Route

[jeepers29]

Fantastic write up Thanks so much. Where did you get the maps/ directions for this trip?

 

[velo47]

Thanks!
I downloaded the gpx routes from www.ridebdr.com
You can also get the paper Butler maps there (for a fee). They're handy too.

 

[jeepers29]

Thanks!
I downloaded the gpx routes from www.ridebdr.com
You can also get the paper Butler maps there (for a fee). They're handy too.

thank you

 

[BPCLFD]

Did the 1st half of NMBDR a few yrs ago. Me and a buddy are headed out to do the 2nd half (Reserve to CO) Sept, 29. How was it with all the craziness. I know NM has a 14 day quarantine for travelers right now, was that the case in June.

 

[USStrongman]

Great write up. Great detail in the stories of your passings.

The quarantine is for air travelers only. Vehicle travel is not affected nor is it reasonable. Traveled from Lubbock to Taos a month or so ago and we had zero issues. Traveling on reservation land is not possible in most places as noted previously. Large families populate most homes on most reservations so if one gets sick, they all get sick and the hospitals are overwhelmed in small communities. I was respectful of the communities we stopped in for fuel, groceries or coffee by wearing a mask, even if the staff or local didnt. Texas always gets besmirched when out of state. I don't need to add to the problem.

 

[velo47]

Did the 1st half of NMBDR a few yrs ago. Me and a buddy are headed out to do the 2nd half (Reserve to CO) Sept, 29. How was it with all the craziness. I know NM has a 14 day quarantine for travelers right now, was that the case in June.

The quarantine was not in place when I did the NMBDR. In many of the rural areas in the southern part of the state, people didn't seem too concerned. The Jicarilla reservation roads around Ruidoso were closed, though. There was heightened awareness around the Navajo and northern pueblo lands, which you will be traveling through. Best to check before you go to see if any of those tribal lands will be closed. We went up to the Valle Vidal this last weekend, and we saw road closures on Taos, Ohkay Owingeh, Pojoaque, and Tesuque pueblos, for example

 

[BPCLFD]

The quarantine was not in place when I did the NMBDR. In many of the rural areas in the southern part of the state, people didn't seem too concerned. The Jicarilla reservation roads around Ruidoso were closed, though. There was heightened awareness around the Navajo and northern pueblo lands, which you will be traveling through. Best to check before you go to see if any of those tribal lands will be closed. We went up to the Valle Vidal this last weekend, and we saw road closures on Taos, Ohkay Owingeh, Pojoaque, and Tesuque pueblos, for example

OK thanks I had read that the tribal roads where being blocked to thru traffic I will keep a ey out thanks

 

[Shamu]

Para 3 defines those not required to self iso for 2 WEEKS (sounds like the movie ”Better Off Dead”...2 dollars)

https://www.governor.state.nm.us/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/Executive-Order-2020-056.pdf

It reads as though a petulant ruler trying to punish their subjects. Not applicable if you are in possession of those sciencey .gov/.mil TDY orders (magic paper that prevents transmission of viruses). Avoid blue areas such as Santa Fe where Alexis Martinez Johnson was issued a citation by the SFPD for not wearing a mask on 3 July.

 

[BPCLFD]

Yes we plan to self quarantine for campsite to camp site. If we need to go anywhere near a city things have gone bad. Last time we did the 1st 1/2 of NMBDR we seen exactly 2 people "hunters" and they came over to us to see out rigs. If it gets 2 stupid we will just head to CO and UT

 

[Shamu]

Yes we plan to self quarantine for campsite to camp site. If we need to go anywhere near a city things have gone bad. Last time we did the 1st 1/2 of NMBDR we seen exactly 2 people "hunters" and they came over to us to see out rigs. If it gets 2 stupid we will just head to CO and UT

Ha, good call! You’ll be fine, no problems in the southern half of NM. If you cruise through Capitan, grab some chow (they told our Diminutive Tyrant to pound sand after she pulled their Independence Day parade permit and had their parade anyway - people are getting ticked). If you see a NMSP vehicle parked at a business, skip it or come back later. Grisham has been using them to harass those that haven’t bent the knee. A local hardware store has told them they will not bend the knee and now the place is busier than it used to be, not able to run in for a quick purchase as before (still, a good thing).

 

[BPCLFD]

Ok thanks for the heads up and info

 

[Jim SoG]

Para 3 defines those not required to self iso for 2 WEEKS (sounds like the movie ”Better Off Dead”...2 dollars)

https://www.governor.state.nm.us/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/Executive-Order-2020-056.pdf

It reads as though a petulant ruler trying to punish their subjects. Not applicable if you are in possession of those sciencey .gov/.mil TDY orders (magic paper that prevents transmission of viruses). Avoid blue areas such as Santa Fe where Anne Frank wouldn’t survive 2 days let alone 2 years.

I see why the reference (after reading the "Order")but some people get upset at the Anne Frank ref, so please lets remember this for future posts.
Appreciate it....

Jim
I will say, I loved the part of the order about forced isolation.

 

[jeepers29]

This week, I drove from Phoenix to Colorado, then Colorado to Texas, through many pueblos. I never saw anyrhing other than the digital signs saying to wear a mask and remind visitors to quarintine for 14 days.

 

[BPCLFD]

This week, I drove from Phoenix to Colorado, then Colorado to Texas, through many pueblos. I never saw anyrhing other than the digital signs saying to wear a mask and remind visitors to quarintine for 14 days.

thanks fo the info looks like we should be good

 

[Lanlubber In Remembrance]

Day 2

View attachment 159879

This Wednesday morning I got up just before 6 A.M. and puttered around in the van, getting dressed and setting up my coffee. I looked out the driver’s side window and there are 2 cow elk grazing in our camp!

View attachment 159881

View attachment 159882

View attachment 159883

The traveling day began with some narrow rocky trails through the pine forest, and then a descent back into High Rolls.


Road signs here take a beating out here.

View attachment 159884

The route continues to drop into the desert of the Tularosa Basin. That's White Sands National Park in the distance.

View attachment 159885


There it turns onto the highway for what was expected to be a 40 mile run to the area around Ruidoso. We aired up and rolled up the highway. At Mescalero there was a large sign saying that all Mescalero Apache Tribal roads were closed. We stopped at the turn-off to assess, and by chance ran into a tribal official who confirmed that the Nation had experienced an outbreak and that we were not allowed on the off-road route to Ruidoso. We continued on pavement another 25 miles or so to Ruidoso, where we rejoined the route.

Ruidoso is at the foot of the 12,000 ft Sierra Blanca Peak. Native American ruins dating back to between 900 and 1400 AD have been found at the mountain. The Mescalero Apache consider the mountain to be the home of the mountain gods, their protectors.

View attachment 159886


The original name for the town was Rio Ruidoso, or “noisy river,” but the name was shortened sometime along the way. The current town dates back to about 1870, when the first building was erected. That building, Dowlin Mill, still stands today. In 1914, the first tourist cabins were built in Ruidoso. Others followed, and tourism took off with the building of the first ski-tow in 1938. The current ski area was opened in 1961. In 1963 it was purchased by the Mescalero Apaches. Ruidoso Downs is the home of the All-American Futurity, one leg of the Quarter Horse Triple Crown.

The route proceeds back onto to dirt outside Ruidoso, near Bonito Lake. The original dam was built by the railroad in 1907, and had a 132 mile wooden pipeline to provide water for steam locomotives at Pastura, NM. The current dam, built a little downstream, was completed in 1931. The lake was a source of drinking water for the city of Alamogordo, and a popular fishing and camping spot. In 2012, the Little Bear Fire and the subsequent monsoon rains filled the reservoir with mud and ash. It was drained and dredging and repairs began in 2015. The lake is still empty and work continues today.



From Bonito Lake we eventually dropped down to the desert floor and fueled up in Carrizozo, where I got my only Allsups burrito of the whole trip.

Carrizozo was established when the railroad put a station there in 1899. Carrizo is a grass which is excellent fodder for cattle. The extra “zo” denotes an abundance of such grass in the area. In 1909, it became the Lincoln County seat, sparking a legal battle that went all the way to the US Supreme Court. The town’s population peaked at around 2,000 by 1920. With the decline of the importance of the railroad, the population has halved since then.

About 35 miles west of Carrizozo on the current-day White Sands Missile Range is Trinity Site, where the first atomic bomb was detonated on July 16, 1945. Carrizozo was the first town downwind of the explosion and received some radioactive contamination from the blast. The blast vaporized the steel tower on which the bomb was mounted, melted the sand around the tower forming a mildly radioactive glass called Trinitite, and broke windows 120 miles away. The blast was felt over 150 miles away. The 51,500 acre Trinity site was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1975 and is open for visits only twice a year, in April and October.

The route heads west on the highway out of Carrizozo, across a lava flow known both as the Carrizozo Malpais and the Valley of Fire. Shortly thereafter, it turns north into the desert and then west, roughly paralleling the highway. Along this section, we met a couple ranchers traveling the opposite direction. They surveyed the vans and told us they see a lot of motorcycles on the route, but no rigs like those. But, they said, it looks like you’re well equipped, good luck to you and safe travels. Once back on the highway, we travelled west a little way towards San Antonio.

San Antonio can trace its history all the way back to 1629, but in recent times has been best known for being the home of great green chile cheeseburgers at the Owl Bar and the Buckhorn Tavern (now sadly closed). The Owl Bar was built by the Brunswick Balke Collender Company (you’ve probably used their bowling balls!). Prior to statehood, while New Mexico was still a territory, Conrad Hilton was born, the son of a merchant and hotelier in San Antonio. A.H. Hilton’s original mercantile burned down about 1930, but the wooden bar was saved and later installed in the Owl Bar, where it remains today.

We turned off the highway just short of San Antonio. Once the route heads south through the desert, it follows the fenceline along the western edge of the WSMR. The roads were pretty good through this section all the way to Elephant Butte Reservoir and the town of Truth or Consequences, our destination for the day.

​

Originally developed as a test site for the V-2 rocket, WSMR is the largest military installation in the US. It covers almost 3,200 square miles, and is contiguous with the 900 square mile McGregor Range Complex at Fort Bliss, TX, and Holloman Air Force Base near Alamogordo. In 1982, the Space Shuttle Columbia landed at WSMR. Twice over the years, rockets either launched at, or launched toward, WSMR have veered off-course and exploded in Mexico.

View attachment 159887


Interestingly, on the road along the WSMR fence, my GPS acted very strangely, losing maps, turning off, and flip-flopping North and South. Other travelers of the BDR had mentioned this, but I didn’t believe it until I saw it for myself.

This area, from Socorro south to Las Cruces/El Paso, is known as the Jornada del Muerto, or “journey of the dead.” The name was given by Spanish conquistadores, denoting the especially hot and arid journey between the two cities. During the Pueblo Revolt of 1680, more than 2,000 Spanish, Isleta, and Socorro Pueblo residents were forced south out of Socorro. Fewer than 1,200 survived the journey to El Paso. Now, we cross that territory in just a few hours, even off-road.

We saw quite a few pronghorn, or “speed goats” in this area. In fact, the route traverses the eastern edge of the BLM Pronghorn Wilderness Study Area just south of highway between Carrizozo and San Antonio. Pronghorn are the fastest land animal in the Western Hemisphere and second in the world behind the cheetah. Unlike the cheetah, though, pronghorn can sustain high speeds over long stretches. They can reach speeds of upwards of 60 MPH in full sprint, and can sustain 35 MPH over 4 miles. They have a 320 degree field of vision and their vision is said to be equivalent to a human looking through 8-power binoculars. Because speed and vision are their main defenses against predators, they inhabit the wide open, and are seldom seen in more forested areas. Although they have horns, not antlers, they do shed regrow the outer sheath of the horns each year. They are not antelope, although they are often called such. They are most closely related to giraffes and okapi.

In the late afternoon, we rolled into T or C and all the State Park camping at Elephant Butte Reservoir was still closed, so we got a motel for the night. The dam at Elephant Butte was started in 1911 and finished in 1916. At the time, it was the largest irrigation enterprise in the US, and holds the largest body of water in the state of NM. T or C is a town of about 6,500 residents. Formerly known as Hot Springs, the first hot springs bath there was built in the late 1880s. By the 1930s, there were approximately 40 hot springs spas, with a population of only 3,000 residents. Currently, there are about 10 spas in operation. Hot Springs officially changed its name to Truth or Consequences in 1950, when it was announced that the popular radio show would host its 10th anniversary show from the first town to name itself after the show.

As we headed towards T or C, we could see the plume from one of the wildfires in the Gila National Forest. Hopefully the area to which we were traveling the next day would be unaffected.


View attachment 159888

Total miles for day 2 was about 260. After traveling over 600 miles in 2 days, we spent the night only 75 miles north of our starting point in Las Cruces.

Very good accounting of your journey (my backyard)

 

[OkieDavid]

Great write-up, thanks.

 

[jeepers29]

A couple friends and myself are looking to do a trip but dont think we have enough time to do this whole route. We have 8 days to get from central Texas and back. Are there roads to get off the trail and back to major highways before the end or will we be stuck on backroads for a long time. We want to stay on the trail as long as possible then make tracks back to Austin. Any insight would be appreciated. Also, any updates on covid closings?

 

[velo47]

A couple friends and myself are looking to do a trip but dont think we have enough time to do this whole route. We have 8 days to get from central Texas and back. Are there roads to get off the trail and back to major highways before the end or will we be stuck on backroads for a long time. We want to stay on the trail as long as possible then make tracks back to Austin. Any insight would be appreciated. Also, any updates on covid closings?

From the south end:
Section 1: Hwy 70 between Tularosa and Ruidoso will take you back to I-25 to the west, and US 380 to Roswell to the east.
Section 2: T or C is on I-25. You are also very close to San Antonio and I-25 when on US 380 just before you drop south along the WSMR boundary.
Section 3: This section is remote until Reserve, where you can catch US 180 south, or go east on hwy 12 to US 60 to I-25 at Socorro.
Section 4 & 5: You cross US 60 which will take you east to I-25 at Socorro. The rest is pretty remote until you get to hwy 53 and I-40 at Grants.
Section 6: Remote until you get to US 550 near Cuba. 550 south will take you to I-25 at Bernalillo.
Section 7: US 84 south at Abiquiu will take to Santa Fe and I-25. From Santa Fe, you can also take US 285 south to Clines Corners to I-40 east of Albuquerque.

 

[Sparksalot]

A couple friends and myself are looking to do a trip but dont think we have enough time to do this whole route. We have 8 days to get from central Texas and back. Are there roads to get off the trail and back to major highways before the end or will we be stuck on backroads for a long time. We want to stay on the trail as long as possible then make tracks back to Austin. Any insight would be appreciated. Also, any updates on covid closings?

Just the perfect amount to get to the Gila NF, mess around 4 days, then head home.

 

[BPCLFD]

A couple friends and myself are looking to do a trip but dont think we have enough time to do this whole route. We have 8 days to get from central Texas and back. Are there roads to get off the trail and back to major highways before the end or will we be stuck on backroads for a long time. We want to stay on the trail as long as possible then make tracks back to Austin. Any insight would be appreciated. Also, any updates on covid closings?

Each section is setup to be 1 day (motorcycle) I did sec 1-3 in 3 days in Tacoma so it spot on, the 4th sec runs right thru 90-36-53 and if you make it as far as Grants you hit I40 you guys have tons of bailout points. As far a COVID NM has a 14 day quarantine if you come from out of state but I was told as long as you stay away from the big cities no one even care, besides last time i was there we meet a total of 2 people and they came to us, anyway we will be out there 10/1-10/5ish