- Joined
- Nov 28, 2021
- Threads
- 14
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- 122
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- Location
- New Mexico
- Vehicle(s)
- Ford Edge
- Your Bronco Model
- Badlands
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- #1
I just moved to NM a few months ago, and this is one of the first routes that I've built for the purpose of making a road trip. I spend a lot of time up by Valles Caldera and Los Alamos, but this was the first drive for the sake of a drive. Many more to come though.
The start of the route off of I-40 is nicely packed forest service road. As the trail gets a little chunkier with a couple easily negotiated washouts as you make a beautiful, exposed climb up to Mt. Taylor. This part can largely be done by any 4WD / AWD vehicle, long as you mind the big rocks.
Shortly after the peak of Mt Taylor, things get a little sketchy. For about 500m, the trail turns into a single track, with a deep washout on the bottom and multiple 18"+ washouts that are at odd angles across the trail... which is angled at ~20 degree and after a rain is very, very slick. Truck was on two opposing wheels at times, but with some 4H and being careful it's doable. I think there's a bypass for this section, but I didn't try it on this trip.
The trail then, at one point, turned to what looked like a four wheeler track as it meandered through some open grazing terrain. It took a couple turnarounds to get back onto the main trail, as OnX had some things marked that weren't there, but eventually I got back on to non-maintained forest service roads. The rest of the trip was bumpy, but uneventful. Lots of pretty things to see, and I'm going to end up going back in a few weekends to modify the end of it around Cabazon Peak.
The start of the route off of I-40 is nicely packed forest service road. As the trail gets a little chunkier with a couple easily negotiated washouts as you make a beautiful, exposed climb up to Mt. Taylor. This part can largely be done by any 4WD / AWD vehicle, long as you mind the big rocks.
Shortly after the peak of Mt Taylor, things get a little sketchy. For about 500m, the trail turns into a single track, with a deep washout on the bottom and multiple 18"+ washouts that are at odd angles across the trail... which is angled at ~20 degree and after a rain is very, very slick. Truck was on two opposing wheels at times, but with some 4H and being careful it's doable. I think there's a bypass for this section, but I didn't try it on this trip.
The trail then, at one point, turned to what looked like a four wheeler track as it meandered through some open grazing terrain. It took a couple turnarounds to get back onto the main trail, as OnX had some things marked that weren't there, but eventually I got back on to non-maintained forest service roads. The rest of the trip was bumpy, but uneventful. Lots of pretty things to see, and I'm going to end up going back in a few weekends to modify the end of it around Cabazon Peak.
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