Water Canyon CG (Magdalena RD)

RESULTS: 15 volunteer trail workers and 2 volunteer cooks assembled in the Magdalena Mountains for a weekend of trail work, removing 107 deadfall from the following trails: South Canyon #11, Copper Canyon #10, Hop Canyon #25/#25A, and North Baldy #8.

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Description: Please join us in the rustic and scenic Magdalena mountains for a weekend of hard work and good times! We have numerous geographically dispersed trails that need a smaller amount of deadfall removal and brushing work, therefore the plan will be to have several small teams tackle these trails independently. Currently we plan on working on some of the most popular trails including on Mesa Trail #13, South Baldy Trail #11, Hop Canyon Trail #25 to North Baldy Trail to #25a (a ~9.5 mile loop), and possibly Copper Canyon Trail #10. We’ll have the Water Canyon Campground group area reserved for tent camping, which includes a very large wooden gazebo with tables, fire pit, and toilets nearby. The group site will be available from Friday 25 September @4PM. Unfortunately, we won’t have a cook so you must provide your own meals, however we will have a stove, water and wash basins (and maybe some delicious homemade dessert Saturday night). Our project chefs will keep us well fed with breakfast Saturday, dinner Saturday, and breakfast Sunday morning. All tools and training will be provided….. more details to follow! As always, Covid-19 protocols will be in place during this project.

Difficulty: 2 Pulaski (moderately strenuous)

Group Size: 15

Sign up deadline is Tuesday, 9/22 at 5pm:

For more information: If this is your first NMVFO project, you can find more information about difficulty ratings and what to expect at https://nmvfo.org/volunteer/volunteer-faq, or email the project leader.

Sign-ups are now closed. Please email project leader to be added to the waiting list.

South Baldy Trail #11 (Magdalena RD)

RESULTS: We had a challenging project in the Magdalena mountains doing maintenance on South Baldy trail. We had a good crew and had fun….we’ll be back for more! Thirteen volunteers removed deadfall, redefined tread, re-benched, brushbacked trail, built 12 rolling dips, and refurbished 2.5 miles of trail.

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Carpooling: We always encourage carpooling, particularly from the Albuquerque area. If you are interested in carpooling please reply to me directly and I will put you in touch with others interested. Right now I have one volunteer interested in riding with somebody from Abq area.

Arrival & start times: I plan on being at the groupsite between 2-3PM Friday to setup camp & kitchen. For Saturday & Sunday day workers please arrive no later than 8 AM at the groupsite. We’ll do a safety brief, discuss the plan of attack, and get busy.

Driving directions: Most mapping programs will direct you to the incorrect “Water Canyon Group Shelter Picnic Site”. The Water Canyon “Groupsite” where we’ll be at is located beyond the main RV campground, and there will be a couple green NMVFO signs to help guide you. Attached is a map, but please use the following Google maps link for your drive in: https://goo.gl/maps/5i1N5sULTYaW6nMV6

Road conditions: It’s a paved road all the way up to the last .5 mile. A major rain storm recently rutted out some parts of the short .5 mile leg of dirt road that leads to the groupsite. It’s certainly passable for 2wd passenger cars but a bit rough. When you get there and you don’t feel comfortable driving it, I would suggest 1) calling me on cell and I can drive down and shuttle you and your gear to groupsite, or 2) if you don’t have cell service, park and walk up to the groupsite and we can shuttle you back to get your gear. There is plenty of parking space and the end of that paved road for us to do this.

What to bring: Sturdy hiking shoes/boots, light-weight long sleeve shirt, long pants, hat, sunglasses, bugspray, sunscreen and work gloves. Plate, bowl, coffee mug, and eating utensils. Daypack with lunch/snacks and plenty of water as we’ll be eating lunch on the trail Saturday. NO PETS! We love dogs too but they are not compatible with trail work.

Camp logistics: This is a dry campground, but we’ll be bringing in 40+ gallons for kitchen/camp use. There is a vault toilet at the groupsite. Plenty of tent spots for everyone, although we’ll be a little tighter than we typically setup. I’ll be bringing a small bundle of firewood, but if you have some extra laying around and have the room…more is always better!

Weather: We are forecasted to have some excellent weather in mid 70’s day/mid 50’s night, no rain expected but this is NM so be prepared for random showers.

Menu: We wanted to share the menu in case you had any dietary issues with our meal plan. There will be vegetarian options for all meals:
Sat breakfast: Sourdough french toast, bacon, yogurt, granola mix, fruit, coffee, chai tea, milk, OJ.
Sat dinner: Smoked pork carnitas soft tacos, pinto beans, Spanish rice, pico de gallo, cheese, avocado, lettuce. Peach & apricot crisp with whipped cream.
Sun breakfast: Breakfast burritos with eggs, hash browns, green chile, yogurt, granola mix, pumpkin bread, coffee, chai tea, milk, OJ.

Please reach out if you have any questions or concerns.

-Nick
575-418-9339 (call or txt)

Join NM Volunteers for the Outdoors for a 1.5 day project in the Magdalenas of the Cibola National Forest. We will be rerouting, improving drainage, repairing/redefining tread, clearing brush, and removing dead fall on South Baldy trail #11. We will be setting up Friday evening 9/20 at the Water Canyon Group Site which has a large gazebo & fire pit. Volunteers can tent camp at the group site. Camp cook will provide breakfast & dinner 9/21, and breakfast 9/22. Volunteers are asked to supply their own drinking water, lunches, plus dinnerware (cup, plate, utensils, etc). Vegetarian options will be available for all meals. Note that the farthest end of the trail is 2.5 miles with over 2,500 ft elevation gain, but don’t worry if that seems too much as we can keep you on the lower section. Required: Day pack, water, sturdy boots, long pants, work gloves, eye protection (sunglasses). Sorry, no pets. Due to cooking logistics, sign-ups close Tuesday evening 9/17. For more information or to sign up, please contact Nick Tenorio, nick@zder.net, 575-418-9339. Hope to see you there!