It was a windy Wednesday with deteriorating forecast for the next several days, but bright sunshine and rising temperatures gave me hope for a good hike. I unloaded my motorcycle at the visitors center and drove the van to the top of Montezuma Pass. My plan was to hike the trail from the pass down to the Mexico border, return part way and take a side trail to the visitors center, where I would pick up my motorcycle and drive back to the van.
The AZT is like the AT in that there is no road to the starting point. You must hike an approach trail or backtrack for three miles. I figured if I ever want to hike a section of the trail it would be good to get this part out of the way, and I could do it downhill without a full pack.
The wind was really blowing when I left the pass and climbed the first hill, but as I descended the ridge towards Mexico, the slope seemed to help slow the wind to more of a stiff breeze. The trail is mostly a gravely consistency that is known as scree. I slipped a couple of times going downhill.
I soon arived at the border. I thought there would be a solid fence of some kind but it was only a broken barb wire fence. You could tell that this was a place where illegals come through; the fence was broken and pulled apart, and the grass was beaten down to a well used path. I took several pictures of the marker from the US side and then walked a few yards into Mexico for more. I have to admit that I felt a little naughty crossing the boarder.
The climb back to the ridge was uneventfully, but when I reached the saddle, the full force of the wind tried to knock me off my feet. It reminded me of some of the wind we encountered in the White Mountains of NH. I’m glad I had my trekking poles with me to brace against the wind.
Once I cleared the ridge line and started my descent, the wind eased and the air felt warmer. The trail down through Joe’s Canyon was nice. The builders constructed a path along a rock wall and the views into the canyon were spectacular. I arrived at the visitors center after three hours hiking and rode back to the van.
Because I liked the area I came through on Tuesday, I drove back over the dirt road to Parker Lake and stayed one night at the campground there. This morning I drove to a secluded spot in the national forest where I may stay over the weekend. It has been raining since last night and tonight it has started to snow. I just took inventory to see how long I can survive if I’m snowed in.
Crossing into Mexico is not illegal. It’s the coming back into the U.S. that’s the problem. Glad you didn’t get caught and hauled away to a Mexican jail, or we’d be coming down handing you a sandwich each day through the open window.
So are you going to answer the question you posed in the last sentence?
Stay warm. You can always melt snow and eat bugs, just like Survivorman.
I bet the Mexican government would disagree that it isn’t illegal to cross over. But I won’t report you.
You might be right, Daryl. I was basing that assumption on crossing into Los Algodones for dental work. But maybe you can’t get out of town without going through some Mexican portal.
I remember that wind in the White Mountains! 🙂 Hope you had a great Thanksgiving and are enjoying December!