A Santa Fe Shutdown

[yetigonecrazy]

Friday 6/28- 11:35 pm- Gallina, NM-
"Was that it?"
The numbers on the street sign are fuzzy as we flash past it the turn, and Ben wants to know if this is the right road. Both of us are bleary tired after our non-stop six hour push from Gunnison, and while we think we know where we are headed, the right turn is hard to find in a pitch dark and completely asleep Gallina. We turn around, and sure enough, it looks like our road. We turn and take off, stoked to be on the last leg of a long drive. Our elation is short lived after perhaps a mile, when out of the dark comes a large red and white sign, with the words "FOREST AREA CLOSED" in huge letters. Ben slowly pulls to a stop. The sign says the entire Santa Fe National Forest is closed. Both of us sit, stunned, unsure of what to do next. Six hours of driving and now....this? At this point it is all too much to handle, and we throw down the sleeping bags right there next to the sign. This one is going to have to wait until morning.


closed sign

Wednesday 6/26- 7:15 pm- Gunnison, CO-

I hit the "End Call" button with a smile and a good feeling. I just got off the phone with my friend Ben, and he is confirmed on the team. This improves our number to three. Everything is looking good to go for this weekend's exploratory trip to New Mexico. Although we aren't sure exactly what we will find in there, it is our hope that with positive attitudes and a little bit of homework, we will do just fine with whatever we encounter. With Ben on board, our number is three, as he joins myself and our friend Kris. I've got maps printed off for both of our target canyons, topo maps of the area, and some other literature I have garnered from the internets. I've checked the status of the roads with the USFS, and let my folks and wife know when and where we are going, and when to expect us back. The weather looks like it is going to be nice, albeit a little warm, but nothing too bad. No wildfires in the area. Everything is looking good to go. Time to start packing.

Saturday 6/29- 7:15 am- Llaves, NM-

The nice looking Hispanic man we pulled up to, hoping to score some local info, has turned out to not be so friendly. He keeps re-iterating that the forest is closed, and despite my repeated attempts at letting him know we only want to pass through the National Forest and access the area just outside of it, we get nowhere. I know we are on the right road, and that we should be able to go through the public gate next to his property, but he doesn't seem to want any of it, and we decide it's not worth it to push the issue. His worries stem from the fact that the entire Santa Fe National Forest has been closed because of extreme fire potential, as well as a lack of staff because of fires elsewhere in the SFNF. The man is understandably concerned about a fire near his home, and while according to the law and the current legal situation we should have been able to go there, it's a pretty easy choice to let him be at peace and head out. We do a quick powwow in the car and decide to head for plan C......


Gallina, NM

Saturday 6/29- 12:15 pm- Chavez Canyon, NM-
My sweat rag has turned into a suffocating helmet of death. We've only been hiking for perhaps 25 minutes, but the direct heat reflecting off the cliffs fills this narrow valley with the heat of an oven. I keep plodding forward, telling myself that this is a beginner hike, and families with children often do this. Well, not children from Colorado anyway. Still, I look up and find the rock walls narrowing. My heart rate quickens a bit and a I turn the corner. Nohing of interest, just a dryfall with a mini narrows below it. However, a couple of minutes upcanyon and I am met with a very neat scene: two slots branching off. The southern one extends a ways back into the rock, offering a handful of dryfalls to scramble up and over before the slot runs out.while the one on the north is merely a large chamber below one dryfall. We spend some time exploring these, as well as one more chamber a touch higher up in the north drainage. I tell the boys we should rest in the shade, and in doing so, tell them what a fun time we would have if we hiked back down and swam in the river. At this point, on this trip, that sounds better than anything.


almost to the slots

-----

We never ended up near our destination this trip.

I have had pretty good luck finding and getting into slots. With the exception of a trip to North Wash where we were shut down by rain on Blarney and Shilleleigh, almost every time I've tried to get into a canyon it has worked. Sometimes I have had to call off trips before I can leave, but very rarely have I not been able to access what I wanted to. This weeked was tough because not only were we forced back by the fire danger, but we were also shot down trying for our plan B. We were lucky that Chavez Canyon was around, because it ended up being the only canyoneering we did this weekend. Still, it was a good lesson to learn, and while it did cause some momentary frustration, we were never upset with the USFS for the decision. In fact, we agreed with it and thought it a good idea. Still, it did suck to drive six hours and find that out. I wish the SFNF would update their website a little more.

Here is the beta we did get:

Chavez Canyon
2A/B G II (3 optional raps of ~40'/~40'/~25')
Trailhead: Chama River Road, 0.5 mi south of the monastery
Length: ~1 mi to the "slots"
Rock: Entrada

Chavez Canyon is actually two small mini slots right next to each other. The trail approaches from the bottom, and goes through one mini slot before the confluence of the two drainages. The one on the left (north) is nothing more than two short chambers, located perhaps 50 yards apart. The top chamber has a drop of about 40' to a large, filled in pothole. There are two small dryfalls below this (d/c's) and then you are out. The second, lower chamber is a fluted dryfall perhaps 25' high, with a chamber extending about 50' below it. Both of these were slung with man made natural anchors; both looked pretty reasonably fresh. The right (south) fork leads back into the rock, then you must upclimb three dryfalls (all in the neighborhood of ~15'-20') before the slot peters out. A short distance above another chamber, about the same as the other fork. Two of the drops had handlines we used, and all of the drops may bypassed to come down from above and set up raps. Getting to the top of South Chavez requires going up and over a small ridge above North Chavez. Above this the Entrada disappears and so do the slots. Return to the car the way you came.


cool Zion esque scene


[i]entrance to the slots, North Chavez on the left, and South Chavez on the right


South Chavez


Kris upclimbing in South Chavez


Kris on another South Chavez upclimb


North Chavez


North Chavez


Chavez Canyon


North Chavez upclimb


Potholes in the Entrada


lots of lizards


swimmin in the Rio Chama to cool off


flowers at Treasure Falls, CO on the way home