North Dune Mountain

SKLund

Member
Joined
Aug 19, 2016
Messages
459
This is a day hike into the area South of the Chama River in New Mexico. There are millions of acres of de-facto wilderness here from infrequently travelled slot canyons, including technical terrain, to iconic red rock landscapes similar to Utah and surroundings but without the travel time.

I very seldom see anyone in this area (except for folks I bring with me) or in well known and established trails. There are few of those. The following is a trip I did last month after a long time planning. Note: I was not trying for any fine art photography here. Just telling the tale with pictures. Wrangling hikers and taking photos at the same time is hard enough!


The first time I saw Peak 7463 was two years ago while climbing nearby Sierra Negra. That dune, shining in the late afternoon really grabbed attention and did not let go. I’m not the first. Georgia O’keeffe painted here. Ansel Adams almost missed a shot nearby. You know the one, “Moonrise, Hernandez New Mexico”.

The difficulty of this mountain is the route finding. The area is extremely complex geographically, making approaches difficult. It took two tries and many hours staring at a map to determine a route that would work. From then on it was just finding the time.

On other trips in this area, a lot of time and effort was spent slogging through arroyo sand and wasting time in the rincons. I knew that we would take too long on approach so I determined to find a way that keeps us out of the sand. By getting up on the mesas. we could make better time and have better views as well. The problem with that idea is that the mesas are as complicated as the rest of the terrain around here so more map staring was required.

After a couple more practice hikes using this method, we gave it a go and were successful. The hike and climb were everything I thought it would be with just enough doubt to make it really interesting. About that Dune Mountain part, it truly is a mountain, not a peak.. It stands geographically apart from its neighbors as a mountain should. Add in the dune to seal the deal. That’s I’d tell the USGS if they’d listen.
We were myself, Jon, Nancy and Jim. Ted and Pesta joined us for part of the trip. Stats were 10.1 miles, 2027 feet ascent, and hike time of 7 hours.
image.jpg
DSC00370.JPG DSC00371.JPG DSC00375.JPG DSC00376 (1).jpg DSC00377 (1).jpg DSC00378 (1).jpg DSC00380_DSC00382.jpg DSC00384 (1).jpg DSC00385 (1).jpg DSC00386 (1).jpg DSC00387.JPG DSC00388_DSC00393.jpg DSC00395.JPG DSC00398_DSC00399.jpg DSC00400.JPG DSC00401.JPG DSC00402.JPG DSC00403.JPG DSC00412.JPG DSC00413.JPG DSC00414.JPG DSC00415_DSC00416.jpg DSC00418 (1).jpg DSC00370.JPG DSC00371.JPG DSC00375.JPG DSC00376 (1).jpg DSC00377 (1).jpg DSC00378 (1).jpg DSC00380_DSC00382.jpg DSC00384 (1).jpg DSC00385 (1).jpg DSC00386 (1).jpg DSC00385 (1).jpg DSC00386 (1).jpg DSC00387.JPG DSC00388_DSC00393.jpg DSC00395.JPG DSC00398_DSC00399.jpg DSC00400.JPG DSC00401.JPG DSC00402.JPG DSC00403.JPG DSC00412.JPG DSC00413.JPG DSC00414.JPG DSC00415_DSC00416.jpg DSC00418 (1).jpg DSC00966_DSC00970.jpg DSC00976_DSC00977.jpg DSC00966_DSC00970.jpg DSC00976_DSC00977.jpg DSC00976_DSC00977.jpg DSC00966_DSC00970.jpg DSC00976_DSC00977.jpg track.jpg
 
Last edited:
I really enjoyed looking at your photos. They strongly reminded me of the terrain of the foothills north of the Sandias where I grew up. Made me home sick. Thanks for posting.
 
Similar threads
Thread starter Title Forum Replies Date
Timber High Sierra - North Lake to South Lake Loop - Layover Day Trip Planning 9
J Pacific Creek or North Buffalo Fork? Teton Wilderness, Thorofare ,etc. Trip Planning 10
kwc Wandering about In Theodore Roosevelt NP (north unit) Hiking & Camping 5
scatman North Ridge of City Creek Canyon - February 4, 2023 Hiking & Camping 17
kwc Round Lake, north central Adirondacks, in the Round Lake Wilderness On The Water 2
Udink North of Arches Hiking & Camping 6
Janice The Wave - and SO MUCH MORE! (Coyote Buttes North, South, White Pocket, Buckskin, Condors, Bighorns...) - Part 1 Hiking & Camping 14
scatman North Pitchstone Trail, Headwaters of Ouzel Creek, Bechler River and Mr. Bubbles(?) - Yellowstone National Park - September 13, 2021 Backpacking 36
K North To Alaska - The Aleutians and More Everything Else 3
OwenM Anyone here familiar with North Cascades NP? Trip Planning 9
Chuck the Mauler Sierra North Lake / South Lake "loop" questions Trip Planning 10
Bob Morris North Inlet Trail Trip Planning 3
scatman North Summit, Mount Olympus - July 3, 2021 Hiking & Camping 12
BJett Joyce Kilmer-Slickrock Wilderness Area. North Carolina. Backpacking 0
RyanP North Fork Bull Lake Creek Trip Planning 35
BackpackingtheSierras Republic Pass Trail North Absaroka into Yellowstone Cache Creek and Lamar River Trip Planning 1
NorthwestWanderer North Cascades NP : Dee Dee Lakes & the Mcallister Ledge Backpacking 0
NorthwestWanderer North Cascades - Cutthroat/Granite/snowy lakes passes Backpacking 3
scatman North Summit, Mount Olympus - October 17, 2020 Hiking & Camping 16
U Favorite sites in Glacier in North Fork, Lake McDonald or Cole/Nyack? Looking at mid july Trip Planning 2
Bob Grand Canyon North Rim wildfire Trip Planning 4
J North Cascades National Park Black and Corteo Peaks Traverse Aug 21-23, 2007 Retro Backpacking 3
U Glacier North Circle Loop Mid July - Looking for an alternative back-up plan for a 3-4 nighter Trip Planning 0
Mikjik86 FULL Video Part 2 Backpacking Glacier National Park "North Circle Route" Backpacking 0
Dhuff3243 North Fork Robbers Roost and Blarney canyon Trip Planning 0
Mikjik86 Backpacking Glacier National Park (Part 2 Preview) "North Circle Route" Montana, August 2019 Backpacking 2
J Lake Mead Natl Recreation Area North Shore scramble fun. Nov. 28-30, 2019 Hiking & Camping 5
Mikjik86 Backpacking Glacier National Park - North Circle Route Part 1 Preview Video. Backpacking 1
Chuck the Mauler North Lake - South Lake questions Trip Planning 4
Yvonne Kolob Terrace exploration: from Hop Valley to North Gate Peaks, May 2019 Hiking & Camping 7
BJett Linville Gorge Wilderness Area - North Carolina Backpacking 18
Janice Opportunity to provide input on policies for Coyote Buttes North ("The Wave") and nearby areas General Discussion 27
TimeOutside Searching for a 5-ish day trek within 5 to 6 hours of North Dallas Trip Planning 3
DrNed Shift in Magnetic North General Discussion 4
McKee80 Glacier NP, part 2. North Fork, Sept 2018 Backpacking 11
Titans Pharaoh Lake Wilderness - Brilliant Fall Foliage, Pond and Lake Reflections- Adirondacks, North Eastern US Hiking & Camping 20
regehr Mill B North Fork Hiking & Camping 6
msteudel Boulder Mountain North Slope UT: Donkey Res. to Lost Lake? Trip Planning 1
NorthwestWanderer Copper Pass, North Cascades (Day Hike + Bear sighting) Hiking & Camping 1
Jimmy Baker Lake, Lake Diablo, North Cascades, Olympics Family Adventure Hiking & Camping 8
jar155 North Erickson Lake, Uinta Mountains (off trail approach) Backpacking 9
Outdoors24 Things to do north of Durango CO Trip Planning 0
KevinBoyer South Lake to North Lake Sierra Nevada Trip Planning 4
Mountain Wanderer Hello from North Idaho! Noobs: Introduce yourself! 4
DrNed Floating The North Platte June 2017 On The Water 5
AbinadiWitness Chicago Basin - Part 1: Approach - Purgatory Flats, North Eolus, Mt. Eolus - 13-15 Aug. 2017 Backpacking 6
George_Washington_Hayduke White Roost Canyons (east and west forks) & North Fork of Robbers Roost Canyon Canyoneering 3
Ross High Spur and North Wash Canyoneering 5
George_Washington_Hayduke North Wash Canyoneering: Sawtooth, Bingo, Hog 3, Hog 4 Canyoneering 2
D Current Water-Rainbow Bridge North Trail Trip Planning 0

Similar threads

Back
Top