This ride did not disappoint on several levels: folks, weather, scenery, history, geology, and wheeling of course.
16 people with 11 rigs met at the Magdalena Ranger station and were greeted by a morning that was cool with bright fall sun. Everyone was on time in spite of changing clocks back to standard time. Matt Martel and Trish Weller stayed Saturday and Sunday nights in Magdalena since their residence is in Santa Fe. Don Ross just rolled out of bed, hopped in his truck, and met the group as he lives in Magdalena a few blocks from the ranger station.
After a driver's meeting the group headed south with Jack and Cathy out front in their TJ and Diego and Lysle at the tail in their ZJ . After turning next to the historic church at Kelly, the road immediately got steeper and rockier, 4-low and game on. There were small ledges, ruts, washouts, boulders, and drop-offs along shelf road portions that required driver attention and careful wheel placement. Everyone did great with the group steadily moved along.
Several historic mine sites were passed along on the way to North Baldy: Kelly, South Juanita, Black Cloud, and Mistletoe. Numerous prospects are present along the road. Magdalena Mountains geology is complex. Features include intrusion of pre-Cambrian granitic rock with associated metamorphism and mineral replacement in limestone, six calderas (super volcanoes), and uplift associated with the Rio Grande Rift. Prospects and mines generally were excavated along faults where limestone is in contact with granitic rock.
The group readily reached the ridge top, taking a break at a small saddle to enjoy Rio Grande valley and Magdalena Mountain views and exploring prospects and outcrops with interesting minerals. The crew continued south on a road with rises and falls through trees and brush. Lunch spot for the trip was in a wide saddle with oak brush and large Ponderosa pines. Like the previous stop, east views of Magdalena Mountains and Rio Grande valley made for satisfying lunch time gazing. Minor repairs were needed to one of the jeeps. One of the axle sway bar link brackets had broken away. All that was needed for the time being was to remove the dangling sway bar link.
Following lunch the group traveled more of the steep rocky road to reach North Baldy trail head and our turn around spot. A few folks with enough physical prowess made a short summit hike to an elevation of 9858 feet. The hikers were rewarded by tremendous views in all directions. On October 15, 1942, a B-17 airplane crashed at the peak. It is said that wreckage can be found on the northwestern slopes below the peak.
The crew then gathered and carefully made the trek back down toward Magdalena. It's always amazing the realization of how steep the road is when heading down!
At the church, since it was a few hours before sunset, Jack and Cathy offered to take folks over the the Linchburg mine. About half the group decided to air-up and head home while the others wanted to continue exploring. The road over to the Linchburg is neither as rocky or steep. The mine is about a mile south of Kelly. It was begun by the American, Zinc, Lead & Smelting Co. in 1910. The workings were purchased by C. T. Brown in 1912, who in turn sold it to the Empire Zinc Co. in 1915 or 1916. The mine was idle between 1921 and 1941. The mine was reopened in 1942 for the WWII war effort. This attempt was successful in producing high grade zinc ore, and some copper. Active mining was conducted until 1972 when operations ceased. In 1994, the US Army Corps of engineers leased the mine to conduct underground explosive testing for improved underground ammunition storage technologies. While at the mine, Jack reminded everyone of the dangers of mine sites, while pointing out remnant explosives from the previous testing.
As the sun was getting low on the horizon, a few folks headed to Tumbleweeds Cafe in Magdalena for a delicious dinner at the end of a fabulous day four-wheeling in the mountains.
