Beyond the Rough and Readies
After a couple of weeks of struggling with head colds, and other of life’s maladies, we were able to get in a long weekend ride finally.
This day’s destination were the miles of endless roads that extend west of the Rough and Readies, a small mountain chain that runs north to south behind the Corralitos Ranch, West of Las Cruces, NM.
From https://www.summitpost.org/rough-and-ready-hills/761966:
The Rough and Ready Hills are a set of volcanic hills west of Las Cruces, NM just south of the larger Sierra De Las Uvas mountains which are also volcanic. To the south of the Rough and Ready Hills lies the Potrillo volcanic field. These hills have started to become popular for rock climbing. This is not a remote area, but it is further away from Las Cruces than the popular Organ Mountains so it doesn't receive too many visitors. This area only started to become developed for rock climbing in 2000 by students from New Mexico State University. The difficulty of routes ranges from a 5.7 to a 5.12a. Even if you are not a rock climber you can still enjoy climbing this mountain. The western side of the mountain is a fairly gentle and short slope to the top and no rock climbing is required. The high point of the hills has a prominence of 672 feet. Because of its low elevation and low prominence it is not a popular spot to go hiking. Although climbing it can provide a beautiful view of the Organ and Franklin mountains to the east.
The ride started off with a quick trip to “A Mountain” so named for the iconic NMSU Aggies “A” on the west slope. (Originally called Tortugas Mountain). We finally met or riding partner Anthony Siino for our 80 mile or so trip to the far west reaches of our ride.
Due to the plentiful spring rains in Southern, NM, there is an abundance of wild flowers and weeds everywhere in the area. Most of these will be gone in a few weeks, as the heat rises and the ground dries. The drying brings another unwelcome site. The hard-packed roads that we ride will soon turn to very sandy pits (already starting in a large number of areas) that afford great “training” opportunities.
For now, we ride and enjoy the sites, which on this trip included a large stock tank with ducks and a great blue heron. None of the birds paid us much mind and simply moved to another section of the water as we passed by.
All in all a great day with great friends (socially distanced at this time!)
