Trail building equestrians of New Mexico

["marie_griffith" <marie_griffith AT q.com>]

Sorry we missed the ride. Sounded great. Looks like you escaped the rain
that much of New Mexico is getting. 

Marie Griffith


-----Original Message-----
From: treq-nm-bounces AT lists.ibiblio.org
[mailto:treq-nm-bounces AT lists.ibiblio.org] On Behalf Of Una Smith
Sent: Monday, June 29, 2009 1:58 PM
To: treq-nm AT lists.ibiblio.org
Subject: [TREQ-NM] San Miguel (Pecos River) meet-up ride

I had a lovely ride with Karla and Lonnie Kingery on Saturday.  They
went to great lengths to prepare for this ride, clearing and grooming
their largest paddock to make a safe fenced parking area for us, and
fixing food ahead of time for the barbecue.  From their property on
the banks of the Pecos River we rode up an arroyo through a box
culvert under NM 3, then headed cross country west toward Glorieta
Mesa.  The area is old cattle ranching land with good water, and we
rode through several arroyos to a small valley that featured abandoned
dwellings built of the local stone that naturally forms rectangular
blocks.  We saw cattle (a well mannered bull and several cows with
fine new calves) and two very attractive horses on a "ranch vacation".
We "found" a waterfall and pothole that Karla and Lonnie had not seen
before.

The weather was ideal.  Warm and mostly sunny, with enough breeze and
fluffy clouds to keep the heat away.  The flies in the arroyos were
minimal.  We kept the pace to a fast walk or slow trot.  All horses
were barefoot.  The footing was mostly coarse sand and sandstone
outcrops.  My elderly mare, a woolly yak and shedding unusually late
this year, was the only one who broke a sweat.  She sweated heavily;
San Miguel, at 6000 feet elevation, is 1200 feet lower and noticably
warmer than Los Alamos.  The following day she enjoyed a long hose
bath and brushing.

Dinner was delicious barbecue chicken, beans, and potato egg salad,
enjoyed in a shady bosque on the banks of the Pecos River.  It was a
special treat for me to see and hear the river passing by as we ate,
looked at maps, and talked of future rides.

Karla and Lonnie Kingery's location, the unincorporated village of
San Miguel in San Miguel County, has real potential as a ride venue.
It is very easy to get to:  just a couple of miles from I-25 on a
paved secondary road.  It has significant historical interest, being
an early Colonial settlement in the Glorieta pass where the old
Santa Fe Trail crosses the Pecos River.  The terrain is scenic and
mostly easy to ride (not "technical"), but a ride could be routed
through many potential obstacles.  There are reliable springs, in
addition to the river, which here is 30 feet across and shallow over
cobbles, very easy to ford.  The Kingery property has enough parking
for a small base camp or a vet check location. There are several
possible locations for a large base camp, including a former stock
yard.  From San Miguel there are a couple of good 10+ mile loops on
ranch roads west, connecting to trails in the Glorieta Mesa section
of the Santa Fe National Forest.  From San Miguel south, east, and
north there are additional potential loops involving river crossings,
old ranch roads, and acequia ditch banks.  

San Miguel is on the USGS 7.5 minute topographic map named "Sena".
Attached is a jpeg snippet of the USGS 7.5 minute series topo index
map for New Mexico, naming all the surrounding topographic maps in
that series.  High-resolution scans of the maps can be downloaded
free of charge from http://sar.lanl.gov/maps_by_name.html .

Is anyone else wanting to host an endurance ride, competitive trail
ride, competitive trail challenge, judged trail ride, or other, and
wanting someone to come visit for a look-see?

        Una
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