One of our more peak-minded leaders, Doug Flynn, led this ambitious and long trip down south solely on his own self-driven motivation to bag peaks. It just happened to coincide that some of his goals were those on the Peak Prominence Challenge and he was gracious enough to share a trip report and photos. Enjoy!
Hike Leader: Doug Flynn
Date: February 28-March 7th 2020
Photo: Doug Flynn
I had looked forward to a trip down south to bag a couple of peaks I climbed last Thanksgiving, plus two I had not done due to the weather at the time, especially since this would be my first camping and hiking trip of my retirement. Thankfully, my bones and joints had healed enough to make it possible. There had been three other members who had signed up for this outing but only Kate tagged along; Z’s dog Lulu died while she was on a camping trip and TKD had something come up from work. It was especially pleasing to see that the 10 day weather forecast was dry and warm with no mention of spring winds.
Photo: Doug Flynn
Kate and I were both eager to hit the road and get outside. We caravanned to the Cooke’s Peak area, arriving in the early afternoon. Luckily, we both saw photos of the starting point and were able to locate it after some trial and error. The road is impassable to a low clearance vehicle and by being able to drive to the high starting point described on Summitpost.com and also as the alternative approach in the Falcon Guide “Hikes of New Mexico” you can take 5 miles off of the roundtrip starting here instead of the gate. After locating where the route begins, we went back to where Kate parked her car and found a decent disturbed campsite. Neither one of us had ever hiked the peak so we were pleasantly surprised to find a good use trail all the way to the summit. The scramble up the summit block was much easier than anticipated and the views were outstanding. An unusual feature on the mountain is the peak’s south facing ridge that forms a huge alcove that could easily fit a full orchestra. After successfully summiting the peak and getting back to the vehicle, we spent some time exploring the ghost town and mines near the end of the road.
Cooke’s Peak
Photo: Doug Flynn
Photo: Doug Flynn
Photo: Doug Flynn
The second objective of this trip was to climb Florida Peak and possibly its slightly higher north peak. I had climbed Florida Peak back in November and was struck by the areas rugged beauty. The Florida Mountain Range is small, and is not a big draw for hikers as the mountains look imposing and steep. During the two days we spent here, we did not see another person. After arriving in the afternoon and locating a suitable disturbed campsite in Windmill Canyon, we decided to do a short hike along the north ridge of the canyon. The ridge has several small but prominent peaks which we reached with some fun route-finding and class 3 scrambling along the way. The following day we climbed Florida Peak. Going up, we explored an arch along the south slope of the canyon. The arch was somewhat difficult to reach, as it is on a steep field of unstable talus, and is easy to miss if you are not looking for it. A bus could easily drive through the opening of this freestanding arch that could also be aptly named, Talus Arch. Upon reaching the south summit, the view of the north peak is one of the more memorable mountain scenes in New Mexico. After a good rest, we decided to go to the North Peak and check out what the 4th class scramble to reach the summit looked like. Neither Kate nor I liked seeing the route to the summit, which looked 5th class through a vertical looking weakness. However, we both thought it was worth the extra time to head up to the North Peak as the gully that cleaves the summit block has a huge and sublime arch on the west fin. This is the coolest arch I have seen in New Mexico and the neatest mountain arch I have ever seen. It reminds me of a crocodile.
South Florida Peak
Photo: Doug Flynn
Photo: Doug Flynn
Photo: Doug Flynn
Photo: Doug Flynn
The following morning we checked the weather for the Big Hatchet Mountains and were disappointed to see that there was a 90% chance of showers that had begun early in the morning and were not predicted to stop till well after midnight. Neither Kate nor I were thrilled about the idea of hanging out in the rain and were not sure about the road leading to the area. I called Border Patrol to inquire about the road conditions and was told that it was pouring now and had been raining since the previous evening and didn’t recommend driving there in these conditions. Because of this, we decided to do Big Hatchet Peak another time and drove to the campground at Aguirre Springs in the Organ Mountains. This turned out to be a good choice as it rained close to two inches in a 15 hour period where we were glad to have a large roofed picnic spot at our campsite to stay dry and out of the rain. I chose to hike up Baylor Peak that day and ended up in a blizzard. Where there had been no snow 2 hours earlier, there was now 7-8 inches. It rained throughout the night and snowed at the higher elevations. Upon waking we were treated to the rare and spectacular sight of seeing the Organ Mountains capped in snow and ice. The white coating along the entire feature of the Rabbit Ears gave the impression you were in the Tetons or some other rugged alpine range. We could see a lot of snow on Baylor Peak, which we decided would be the best peak to attempt on that day, as the approach is mostly along a south facing slope. Around noon, when a large chunk of the snow melted, we successfully hiked up Baylor Peak, snow and all. The view south, of the Organ Mountains, is quite a sight, especially in March when they are coated in a blanket of snow.
Baylor Peak False Summit
Photo: Doug Flynn
View From Baylor Peak
Photo: Doug Flynn
Photo: Doug Flynn
The next day, we decided not to attempt Organ Needle. With meltwater flowing down slick rock, snow and ice in Dark Canyon, and an exposed scramble up an icy northeast facing summit block, this was out of our league and would bring this normal hike/scramble into the realm of mountaineering. Instead, Organ Baldy with its south ridge approach seemed like a viable alternative. We approached the peak via Soledad Canyon and were blown away when we got Barr Canyon where we were greeted by a roaring waterfall. What normally is a wet streak along a vertical outcrop of rock was now gushing forth with water. Above the waterfall the creek was flowing for a good half mile where we had to scramble, route-find, and bushwhack to keep our feet dry. The sound of rushing water in the southern desert was music to my ears and the creek hopping was a lot of fun. Upon reaching the upper valley, where the creek stopped flowing, we chose to wait another day before attempting to climb Baldy as the slope leading to the saddle was still covered in snow and would be slick and muddy. We did not let this spoil our day and ended up hiking the ridge dividing Barr and Ice Canyons and followed it west up several small peaks to the top of Squaw Mountain. Although the climb to the peak involved only gaining about 1,000 feet, it was one of the more difficult hikes of the trip, as the slope along the west ridge was wet, where the rock was slick, steep, and exposed, approaching 45 degrees. We were both relieved when we made it to the top unscathed.
Icebarr Ridge/Squaw Peak
Photo: Doug Flynn
Photo: Doug Flynn
Finally, on the last full day of this trip, the approach to Organ Baldy cleared up. This is a fairly easy big peak in the Organ Mountains to summit. Some of the route descriptions to climb this peak are up Ice Canyon, which is unnecessarily difficult and unsafe. Unlike our route, it involves lots of bouldering on down slopping exposed rock and climbing at least 1,500 feet up a steep loose scree and talus slope. The route up Barr Canyon via the Soledad Canyon Trail involves nothing more than steep hiking and possibly one or two spots on the false summit ridge where you may end up putting your hand on rock. On this day it was very windy and both of us had contemplated turning around if the gusts were much stronger after reaching the saddle. Luckily the wind subsided modestly and we were able to summit the peak with ease. We avoided snow till the summit ridge which still had pockets of snow up to a couple of feet deep. The view near the top, on the false summit, and summit is superb. It was a glorious day to be outdoors and alive.
Photo: Kate Schenk
Photo: Doug Flynn
Organ Baldy
Photo: Doug Flynn
Before heading home on Saturday I climbed a small peak just south of the Dripping Springs Visitor Center. Although it is a small peak with only about 500-600 feet of gain, the view from the summit of the west face of the Organ Mountain Range is well worth the effort. I was surprised to find a summit register for the peak that was named The Thumb. All in all it was a great trip. The intent had nothing to do with the NMMC peak challenge but would have included two more on the list if the weather hadn’t thwarted our attempt. As for Florida Peak, which I believe is the south peak, I think the ascent to the non-technical summit should count in the peak challenge as the north peak is only 15 feet higher, which would still put the south prominence in the top 25 list. It was a very enjoyable trip and was glad to have spent time with another member who I can now say is a good friend. I hope to summit Big Hatchet and Organ Needle in April or next fall.
The Thumb
Photo: Doug Flynn
Our Fearless Leader!
Photo: Kate Schenk