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| Rio Mora |
We know we are taking a chance on hiking today. The monsoon has appeared this July. I hope I am not jinxing the balance of the
year, but I think it may be wet enough that we will not have the widespread
forest closure we have had the past several years due to the drought and
subsequent fires.
On our way up to the trail we ran into a doe, not literally,
with her two fawns. I didn’t get photos
of the whole family but one did hang around enough for a photo.
We have heard there is good fishing on the Rio Mora just up
from where it joins the Pecos River.
There is a campground within stone’s throw of NM 63 so we know where to
start our hike. We have found that unless
there is a real site to see along the trail, hiking up one half to one mile
from a trailhead clears out all but the most diehard fishermen and hikers. We found that again this time. After we went up our traditional half mile we
ran across only one other person coming down the trail.
The Pecos river was muddy the entire drive up the valley. Once we got to Tererro it started clearing; when we met up with the Rio Mora on our hike we were happy to see a clear flow. The Mora is very rocky over
the distance we hiked, about 1.5 miles.
It is also a bit steep with a fast flow over layers and layers of rocks,
there are not may pools in this stretch.
It was partly cloudy when we started. Weather Underground reported spotty showers
around the area but nothing close.
The valley is gorgeous; there are small open meadows at the
start of the hike which became wooded as we went on, one should be up on their casting skills in this area. The valley walls are quite steep and high,
I’m guessing up to 100’ above us at some points.
About 45 minutes into our hike the sprinkles started. Byron put on his rain jacket and pants right
away. I took my time… putting on my rain
jacket five minutes later. I was still
hoping that the rain would stop and we would go on. About 10 minutes after I put in my rain
jacket I put on my rain pants and a rain cover for my camera.
Neither of us is ready to turn back, yet. The fact that rain is forecast for the area
does not dampen our spirits with the possibility of ending our hike early. Neither of us forgot that last year we were
hiking only a few miles away on the Hamilton Mesa and got rained out. Byron was having a good time catching brown trout most of
the time; I even got a photo of one. I was having a good time photographing under cloudy and rainy conditions, which doesn't happen very often.
After another hour on the trail we regrouped and ate lunch
under a tree which filtered out some of the moderate rain. As we ate lunch we kept looking at the far
side of the valley seeing it gradually disappear under the increasing rain. When we finished lunch, looked at each other
and finally gave in deciding to return to the car. Byron packed his fishing pole and I packed my
camera. The camera cover worked great at
keeping the camera dry but I didn't want to push my luck with the continued
rain and increasing muddy conditions. The
flat spots of the trail were turning into pools of water with the sloped portions
becoming small streams, either going with us or against us depending on the
direction of the slope.
The rain started subsiding when we got to the car but we weren't enthused about trying the hike again.
We drove around the Pecos Wilderness looking at other areas and
trailheads planning for future hikes. We
stopped and took a few photos of the storm as it rolled out.
As a part of our ritual we stopped at the Dairy Queen for
our traditional shakes to refortify ourselves for the trip back. It was a good day.
Thank you for stopping by.
Mark
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