take a hike! pumphouse ridge 1 trail

 

Pumphouse Ridge is just south and southwest of Cloudcroft. An old logging road runs along the ridge, and there are five trails off the ridge. I chose this trail after a long day of remote working as a quick little, nearby hike with four additional hikes to try. Boy, was I wrong! You access the trails via a five-mile jaunt down Pumphouse Canyon Road. However, that road is a little rough, and it took me just over 30 minutes to drive on it to my hike, Pumphouse Ridge 1 Trail (page 94 of the trail guide). You'll definitely want, at a minimum, an SUV or a rental car. My Model Y Tesla mad it fine, but it was slow going due to consistent patches of rough road where the underlying geology formed the road base.

Although this hike wasn't spectacular, what made it special was that there was no-one out here, and no road noises or any other noises. Cell coverage was essentially non-existent with small pockets of SOS service. I was alone and became concerned that if I was being followed by a bear, a mountain lion, or a sex-starved wood ape, I would be in trouble. 

The trail is a mile out and then back the same way you came for 2 miles round trip. I did it in two hours. The slope is mostly down on the way out and up on the way back. The trail follows a logging road, so it's an easy hike.


 

  The Trailhead

 

flowers...





Trail's End








Back to the trailhead!





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