The Rio Puerco; Byron and I have been looking forward to
returning here since we got back home from our visit last year. It is a long hike, approximately five miles,
but that makes the fishing and photography all the better. We only know of a few other diehard fishermen
or women that will make this hike for the opportunity to land wild cutthroats
in a pristine river valley. Last year’s
visit was the first time I gave fly fishing a try, and was successful at
landing a few trout.
Knowing the long hike ahead of us prompted our earliest
start yet. The forecast is for most
cloudy skies, a rarity in New Mexico.
‘Good fishing weather’ was the general statement and feeling from my two
fly fishing partners. Cloudy skies are
great for photography too; I know I will try my hand at fly fishing before the
day is over, but first I will concentrate on photographing the river and valley.
Once in the San Pedro Parks Wilderness our first goal is the
San Gregorio Reservoir. The water level
in the reservoir is high in comparison to previous visits. The ground is wet from the recent rains; we
don’t need wading boots but we do have to watch our steps as the mud will
easily give way to your ankle leaving you with heavy, dark brown hiking boots. We pass from one valley to the next making
our way to the Puerco. The trails follow
along several small creeks too small to support trout. Byron and Mark stop several times scouting
spots where trout should be hiding but there are no trout to be seen. On earlier hikes during our multi-year
drought these same creeks were dry beds.
As we make our way further along the trail we run into an overnight
backpacker enjoying the day. His two
dogs came running to greet us, we were probably the first people they had seen
since they had arrived. The reservoir, a
popular short hike ending at a fishing hole, is popular with families of ages. After leaving the reservoir the crowd thins
to ardent hikers. Between the reservoir,
our destination and back again we only encountered three other people. As I mentioned earlier you have to want to
come to this location.
We ford several small streams using well placed rocks
allowing for dry transits. Upon exiting
the forest into one of the high mountain meadows we encounter heavy dew on the
knee high grasses.
Upon passing back into forest it is apparent this part of
the wilderness is shared between humans and cattle. The trail is hard to miss; it has become a
muddy road made by cattle trampling down to the valley. In order to keep from sinking in the muddy
mess we skirt alongside the trail until the cattle and human trails separate.
After 2 hours of non-stop, push ahead hiking we arrive at
the Rio Pureco about 1030. It is just as
I remember; a lush meadow with thick grasses and wild flowers surrounded by
pine trees making up the edges of the valley.
The only traces of humans are from tracks of the cattle that had been
grazing while being herded through the valley.
You have to watch your step because your foot can end up in a deep hole
from cattle sinking into the soft earth.
After a quick recon of the river we all break out our
fishing or photography equipment and decide ‘upstream’ or ‘downstream’. The river is fairly small, in straight runs it
is four to five feet wide with pools up to 10 feet wide and up to 20 feet
long. I take off downstream looking to
make close-up images of the flora blooming along the river. The grasses are very wet; I put on my rain
pants so I can get down into the grasses for close up shots without getting
soaked. Byron and Mark stop at the first
pool not leaving for over a half hour continuously catching one cutthroat after
another. They were catching so many
cutthroats that neither of them was keeping track to see who caught the most. With all the moisture come the usual insects,
mosquitoes. This is one of the first
hikes this year where I actually hear and see them. I think we must have confused them; they land
on me but at that point they aren’t certain what to do. I swat them on occasion but in general they are
not biting. Maybe all the green chile I
have been eating lately has made my blood too hot for them. 
As we work out way down-river we are forced to crisscross
several times as one side of the valley becomes impassable while the opposite
side opens into small a meadow. With
careful scouting and foot placement I am able to cross the river without
getting wet. I am always paranoid about
river crossings carrying camera equipment.
After several hours we break for lunch. Neither Byron nor Mark has experienced such a
successful day fishing, and we are only half-way through. As they work their way further downstream I
decide to hang around the meadow looking for flowers and one of the pools where
I saw trout darting back and forth while I was shooting earlier. I was able to do my own ‘catch and release’
patiently sitting alongside the pool peaking through the grasses lining the
shore. I shot many images of brownish
rocks lining the bottom of the pool but my patience paid off catching a few
cutthroats hanging out in eddies waiting for tasty morsels to drift by.
As the afternoon wears on we make our way back towards the
trail that brought us into this valley.
Before starting back we try our luck upstream. I even get in the act and successfully pull
in a half dozen cutthroats within a half hour.
It is a lot of fun but being left handed I find that I was never casting
and retrieving the same way twice. At
least this time it didn’t seem to make any difference, they were biting
whatever I was throwing at them.
For me, the hike back was longer than the hike in. We started out as a group of three but by the
time we got to the end the three of us arrived back at the trailhead at three
different times. I did notice that fly
fishing equipment is by far lighter than my photography equipment. My feet, knees and back were wishing I was
carrying fishing equipment instead of camera equipment.
Before our return home we drove another couple of miles into
the wilderness to find the Rio de Las Vacas.
We have fished and hiked this river much farther downstream. We want to see if this is another candidate
to fish and photograph on another trip.
Byron and Mark were excited seeing that it is somewhat larger than the
river we just came from so I see us making more trips to this wilderness area.
On the way back we
were all too tired to stop for a formal dinner at El Bruno’s where we have had
great food before. Instead we stopped at
McDonald’s for a quick bite and a quick drive home. El Bruno’s next time.
Thank you for stopping by,
Mark
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