Trip Report: White Mountain Wilderness - Long

Trip Report: White Mountain Wilderness, Lincoln National Forest, NM

OVERVIEW

This national forest, in Southeastern New Mexico, is an alpine island of
mountains surrounded by the vast desert normally expected in this region.
There's "real" mountains here, getting as high as 12,000'+ Sierra Blanca
mountain.  Ruidoso is the nearest major town and the adjoining Ski Apache
recreation area is the southernmost ski area in the US.  The terrain seems
very much like that of the lower Rockies with groves of Aspen and Douglas
firs, mixed with some scrub oak and maples.  The area has many miles of
trails, but unfortunately, it would be difficult to string together more
than 25 miles in a contiguous trip.

DESCRIPTION

Coming from the "lowlands" in Austin, TX, I spent a leisurely overnighter at
the South Fork campground at ~7,500' in order to acclimatize to the
altitude.  I also took Ginko daily to try to stave off any altitude
sickness.  I have no way of knowing whether the Ginko specifically worked or
not, but I definitely didn't have any headaches, nausea or other signs of
illness.  Now if they could only make a pill that would eliminate the
feeling that I'm trying to suck air through a straw when hiking uphill at
10,000'..... 

I took the South Fork trail and then the Peacock trail to get up onto the
Crest Trail, a 22 mile ridge loop around the basin holding Bonito Lake.  The
2.5 miles or so that it took to get from the campground to 10,000' feet on
the ridge were steep, but incredibly beautiful.  The stream was running, the
firs smelled great, and the meadows still had clumps of flowers with
hummingbirds flitting around.  I camped that night a little past the first,
unnamed but welcome spring on the crest.  My campsite was on the "stage"
area of a natural amphitheatre.  As the sun set, deer emerged from the woods
in the seating area of the amphitheatre and began grazing, unconcerned with
me.  However, the best treat was the show a couple of elk put on, as two
huge, majestic elk bulls with giant racks bugled at each other from opposite
sides of the meadow and eventually knocked antlers to settle what I'm
certain were petty differences over women or territory. :>)  That bugling
really resonates.  All night.

Early on the second day I passed Ice Spring, near the high point on the trip
of 11,300', and then another unnamed clear spring near Elk Point.  Since I
still had plenty of water, I moved on.  The views on the crest were
wonderful and the trail traversed many "balds", as the East Coast-ers call
them, in addition to Aspen, Fir, and Oak groves which were just starting to
show fall colors (well...except the firs). As I was leaving the broad Dog
Canyon, I was serenaded by four unseen coyotes that appeared to be
strategically place around the area I just traveled through. 

Past Elk Point, I started seeing signs of serious damage from horse travel.
I've got to admit that I'd love to travel this region on horseback, but I
simply couldn't deal with contributing further to the environmental impact I
saw.  In some areas, the trail was eroded 3' deep.  In other areas, the
trail was worn as wide as a road.  In all cases, the trail was just hard on
the feet, due to all the churned up loose rock. 

As I continued moving around the crest, I became increasingly concerned that
mapped water sources and "seeps" at potential campsites were dry.  I
definitely had enough water for travel, but not nearly enough for a dinner
and breakfast.  So, I continued to move along the trail, counting on the
next water source.  One mile led to another, and although the surroundings
couldn't have been more beautiful, the water issue kept pushing me forward.
I was happy to see a wet Argentina Spring from a distance, but was extremely
discouraged to find, once I got closer, that horses had absolutely
demolished it.  What could have been a sustainable water source for people
and livestock was simply a well-trampled mud hole.  I kept moving only to
find two more dry springs.  At that point, I made the decision that spending
another day on the trail wasn't worth traveling after sunset to try to
locate the few remaining marked water sources.  With sore feet, a dry mouth,
and somewhat dampened spirit, I came off the crest and completed my
originally intended hike, albeit in the dark and a day early.  

GEAR SUCCESSES

Reflector/cheap Target pad - I was very pleased with the combination of a
windshield reflector on top of a wide, cheapo Target brand 3/8" closed cell
foam pad in my Hennessey Ultralight hammock.  Although my feet continue to
get cold whenever the temps drop into the 30's, the rest of me stayed fairly
warm using this pad combo.  In addition, I usually end up sleeping kinda
warm, kinda wet in the hammock due to (I think) the collision of warm body
vapor with the cold outer surface of the hammock.  With the Target pad
*underneath* the reflector, I didn't notice nearly as much moisture.

Mountainsmith Ghost - this was my first trip with the Ghost and I was very
pleased with it's performance.  It's a good size, at 3,000 cubic inches of
space; useful for up to a 5 day trip for me.  It has no expansion capacity,
though.  The pack is light (2lbs 6 oz) and the suspension fits very well
with it's wide hip belt, multiple adjustment points, and generous shoulder
straps.  I did notice that the load-lifter straps loosened up over time and
required periodic tightening.  The panel-loader design of the pack makes
packing and accessing gear very easy.  The zipper on the panel is a heavy
duty monster and appears to be weather-proof (I didn't have a chance to find
out).  This pack is made out of very durable, grid-reinforced fabric and I
had no concerns about setting it down on rocks or crashing through brush.
Finally, I liked the internal water bladder pocket and hooded drinking hose
hole.  It worked great with a 2L tall platy.  My pack weight, including
fuel, food and water, was around 25 lbs at the start of the trip and I was
extremely pleased with the fit and carry.  All in all, a good value at
approx $170.

Starter shirt - someone on the list mentioned that Wal-Mart was selling
Starter brand shirts which advertised wicking capability.  My wife GAVE AWAY
my favorite wicking shirt just before my trip ("I didn't know you liked
thaaaaat shirt....."), so I stopped by Wally World and picked up a long
sleeve Starter t-shirt for less than $10.  This shirt was worth every cent.
In the cool shade, it didn't feel cold and clammy on the skin.  In the hot
sun, my sweat saturated it, but dried very quickly when I stopped and
dropped pack for a break.  The stink factor after a couple of days wasn't
too bad and was certainly better than with anything made of capilene.  I
rate this one as a bargain along the lines of the famous Grease Pot.

Dr Scholl's Odor Destroyer - if you want to keep your feet from killing
wildlife or hiking partners, use this stuff.

NEED TO IMPROVE

Sleeping clothes - I'm still tweaking the clothes required to sleep
comfortably in my hammock.  My current wardrobe consists of down booties
over heavy wool socks, wind pants over medium weight polyester long
underwear bottoms, fleece shirt over medium weight long underwear top, and a
watch cap over a light balaclava.  Unbelievably, my lower body is still
getting cold when the temp drops to a little less than freezing.  Someone
previously suggested a pair of fleece pants; I'm going to try that next
time.

GPS - I can typically use a map and compass and find my way around pretty
well.  However, I've noticed that I'm much more mistake-prone when I'm
really tired toward the end of the day.  I think a GPS might come in handy
as a cross-check at times like these.

Mountainsmith Ghost - I can't help but tinker with a good thing. :>)  I'm
seriously considering replacing the fiberglass rod which forms the pack stay
with a carbon graphite kite rod to save a few ounces.  In addition, I'd like
to add a couple of hip belt pockets in order to keep essential stuff easily
accessible; a nod to the great thing those guys at ULA have done with their
P-1 and P-2 designs.

DT


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