Backroads Adventure from Central New Mexico to Colorado

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I have long had a plan to travel from the Jemez Mountains in central New Mexico to Colorado on as many dirt roads as possible. I finally made that happen last weekend. I have created this thread to share the experience. It was a three day trip, which I will break out each day in separate posts.

 

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Day 1:

23 July, 2021, eight vehicles from the New Mexico 4-Wheelers met near Jemez Pueblo. We all gathered at the Walatowa Convenience Store on HWY 4, making sure we were topped off on gas and all the necessary supplies. A short trip up the highway, we departed NM4 to NM485. The road parallels the Rio Guadalupe and transitions to FR 376 at the boundary of the Santa Fe National Forest. We reached the Guadalupe Box, driving through the Gilman Tunnels.

Just past the tunnels, FR 376 turns to a dirt road full of washboards. Just prior to the end of the pavement, we found a spot to pull over and air down.

FR 376 is a well traveled road that continues to follow the Rio Guadalupe until you reach Porter Landing. At this point, there is a bridge that crosses the river and the road continues up Lake Fork canyon. At the North end of the canyon, FR 376 crosses NM 126. We took a left, climbing the hill to the next dirt road, FR 144 where we continued north. Lunch time was approaching, so we found a nice spot to pull off the main road and have lunch.

Then we continued to follow FR 144 to the north end of the Valles Caldera National Preserve. This part is very rough and rocky. Nothing hard, but slow going.

FR 144V is a short spur road that took us to Poachers Point which affords a spectacular view of Valles Caldera looking south.

After taking in the views, we continued on FR 144 to FR 27 that put us pointed north, making forward progress to the goal to reach Colorado. Between FR 144 and Cienega Redonda, we made camp for the night.

Day 1 stats: 58.5 miles.

 

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Day 2:

On Saturday, the whole group packed up and we were moving just shortly after
9AM. We were continuing north on FR 27 towards Abiquiu, NM via the Polvadera Mesa.
After being in route for almost an hour, we spotted a nice-looking buck, then stopped for a
10-100. This road was very rough from recent rains which had caused washing out. This
section took twice as long as I had expected, and we didn’t reach Abiquiu till around 11AM.

Everyone stopped at Bode’s for gas. I was relying on getting more ice for my cooler here,
but they were out! Thankfully, there was a Family Dollar about 2 miles down the road that
was fully stocked. I was beginning to think that I was going to have to go about 13 miles to
find ice, what a relief!
The group went about ¼ mile up US 84 and turned on another dirt road CR 155
which parallels US 84 on the other side of the Rio Chama River. Rain began to pour about
that time, and we ended up crossing several flooding arroyos along this route. Thankfully,
there was a local in a 4x4 Dodge in front of me who tested the waters for us. I’m glad that
I didn’t have to be the guinea pig for the group. Then we had about 15 miles of pavement
to El Rito, NM. Shortly after returning to the dirt, we found a place to pull over for a quick
lunch. We were now on the northern half of section 7 to the New Mexico Backcountry
Discovery Route (NMBDR). We were now in the Carson National Forest following the El
Rito on FR 559. Where 559 turns towards Canjilon, we turned left on FR 106 towards
Vallecitos, NM. This road quickly climbs the Tusas Mountains, peaking at around 9400 ft.,
then descends eastward to Vallecitos through lush and green canyons. The route then
took us back north on NM 111 for roughly 3 miles of pavement to reach FR 45 where we
climbed on Mesa De La Jarita where we picked up FR 110 continuing north. This area was
being logged and there were many stacks of timbers alongside of the road. In a couple of
years, this forest is going to be very beautiful with the thinning that has been done. FR 110
continues north terminating at FR 42 where we headed east crossing the Cleveland Gulch.
On the east side of the gulch, we made a left on FR 91 and FR 712, returning to our northern
trajectory and eventually crossing US 64. This portion of the trip was pretty smooth, and
we were able to pick up the pace and cover some ground quickly. We picked up FR 421
and FR 133 which climbs the Tusas Ridge to Cisneros Park. From there, we got our first
view of San Antonio Mountain. We continued on FR 133 all the way to FR 87 heading back
west up the Rio San Antonio, then north again all the way to the southeast corner of the
Cruces Basin Wilderness. We decided to head west about 1.5 miles to make camp on FR
572, a corridor into the center of the wilderness area. Day 2, 128 miles.

 

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Evening 2:

It was a relaxing evening, setting up camp, making dinner, and some campfire time.
This was a beautiful area! Jason said, “I counted 7 different flowers just sitting at camp.”
There were dark clouds and lots of thunder to our south, which was somewhat ominous.
Then a little after 9PM, it began to rain. We all quickly retreated to our tents. Jason said
“Nature threw quite the concert the last night. Surround sound and all. Day making
lightning and heart stopping, hold your breath booms, cracks and pops. Wind and big fat
rain too.” I could feel the mist from the raindrops beating on my tent through the nylon
shell. I adjusted myself closer to the center, checking all my belongings to make sure that
they were staying dry. Jason was cozy in his hard-shell rooftop tent above his JK. In his
elevated position, he had cell service and opened his weather app and took a screen shot
of the live radar, which revealed that the most intense part of the storm passed right over
us. I remember waking at about 11:30PM, it was bright! The clouds cleared, and the moon
lit up everything. I survived the intense storm. The next time I woke up, it was 4:30AM, I
was crouched up in my sleeping bag. I stretched my feet out to find the bottom of my
sleeping bag was soaking wet. Last night’s rain must have run in the door zipper and
pooled in a low spot near my feet. Thankfully, my inflatable sleeping pad saved me from
being completely soaked. So, I rolled over, curled back up, and drifted back to sleep as an
owl was calling out from a nearby tree.

 

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Day 3:

We left camp at about 9:30, backtracking to
FR 87A where we continued north on the east side of the designated wilderness to the Rio
De Los Pinos at San Miguel. We took FR 284 upstream to where it
terminates at private land. A sharp, near 180-degree, turn got us on FR 494 that climbs out
of the valley, crossing the narrow-gauge tracks of the Cumbres and Toltec Railroad. A
short jaunt on FR 75 got us to FR 103 which led across the state line into Colorado and the
Rio Grande National Forest. We continued west on FR 103 west to the first switchback
down the hill to Osier. From there, we took FR 107 paralleling Osier Creek. The trail begins
through an aspen grove where we spotted a deer in the road.

Not long after that, we
cleared the aspens to find a group of pronghorns in the clearing.

FR 107 climbs up
Pinorealosa Mountain to an elevation just shy of 11,000 ft. Then, we went down to Spruce
Hole to have lunch and air our tires back up. After lunch, it was just a short trip on FR 108
to HWY 17, just north of La Manga Pass. Day 3, 36.3 miles.

At this point we hit the pavement, headed to Chama to top off on gas, then back home.
222 total miles, very little paved. This was an epic trip that I can cross off my bucket list. I
got to see parts of New Mexico that I had never seen before. It was a great trip with very
little traffic. We found campsites that we had all to ourselves reminding me of past
camping trips closer to Albuquerque when I was a kid.

 

[BLand Cruiser]

Looks like a great trip. Thanks for sharing!

 

[FAW3]

Just researching this area now for a trip I'm starting next week. Thanks for the photos, report and route #'s!!!

 

[jawha1020]

If you're attempting to do this route next week, I highly doubt it will be passable due to snow. The jemez mountains had an above average snow pack this year.