NM001
Location: 31.4953994750977, -108.208488464355
United States and Mexico border where the Continental Divide Trail Southern Terminus departs from the Crazy Cook Monument. Head N on jeep track along barbed-wire international border fence and follow cross-country route through cactus, creoste and cholla. There are ample views south to the Alama Hueco Mountains over the low-slung scrub.
NM002
Location: 31.4986610412598, -108.230209350586
Middle of the cross-country route. Check out Little Top Hat Butte to the west
NM003
Location: 31.5015850067139, -108.240203857422
Cow camp and windmill; sketchy water in a big tire; decaying adobe
NM004
Location: 31.5029315948486, -108.241775512695
L @ Y onto jeep track
NM005
Location: 31.5458679199219, -108.295845031738
Keep L on jeep track; R goes to Sheridan Tank (unreliable water)
NM006
Location: 31.5555839538574, -108.302322387695
Left onto the gravel track
NM007
Location: 31.5654850006104, -108.314399719238
Cross through barbed-wire fence
NM008
Location: 31.5672874450684, -108.316749572754
Turn L out of the wash and look for cairn and CDT signs. There is a large, now-dead oak tree in the center of the wash. This is where you turn
NM009
Location: 31.568754196167, -108.325263977051
Good camping in a protected pocket of Sheridan Canyon. Shade tree as well
NM010
Location: 31.5675792694092, -108.326446533203
CDT sign that routes north into Sheridan Canyon
NM011
Location: 31.5928058624268, -108.33390045166
CDT Sign
NM012
Location: 31.606954574585, -108.312019348145
Here the CDT re-routes to a cross-country route along the foothills of the Big Hatchet Mountains. Tried to follow the orange flag, but every ochotillo bush has orange flowers that flutter in the wind not unlike the flagging. Constant views over the Hachita Valley and the northern spread of the Sierra Madre Occidental Mountains of Mexico. There will some wind and plenty of drainage crossings, which are short and steep. Watch footing, as the washes are crumbly and must flood during monsoon season.
NM013
Location: 31.6403923034668, -108.33992767334
Road Thompson Canyon
NM014
Location: 31.6598453521728, -108.359664916992
Barbed-wire fence.
NM015
Location: 31.6800308227539, -108.371055603027
Two-track; decent hiking, but not a great driving road
NM016
Location: 31.6905498504639, -108.38191986084
Fence
NM017
Location: 31.7102451324463, -108.406219482422
Dirt road. Continue across the west end of the Hachita Valley near Hatchet Gap--a small break in the hills between the Animas Valley and the Hachita Valley. This section will be windy, hold on to your hats!
NM018
Location: 31.7331218719482, -108.412673950195
Cross blacktop of New Mexico 81
NM019
Location: 31.7353286743164, -108.414039611816
CDT on jeep track, will soon fade and route goes cross country again
NM020
Location: 31.7738246917725, -108.425155639648
Pass a fence then a road
NM021
Location: 31.778715133667, -108.42684173584
Camp at Granite Pass. Best campsites on ridge to the W (off CDT)
NM022
Location: 31.8020706176758, -108.430030822754
Cross wash
NM023
Location: 31.8066921234131, -108.427825927734
Pass through fench
NM024
Location: 31.8192501068115, -108.428871154785
Sign on R
NM025
Location: 31.8612785339356, -108.414451599121
Cross road. Proposed trail heads NE on a cross-country route where there is no trail tread (there is a cairn and orange flags, then CDT signs). We missed this turn and hiked the road up near the old Hachita mining district.
NM026
Location: 31.9049644470215, -108.419189453125
Turn R and head due N
NM027
Location: 31.9082984924316, -108.417366027832
Cairns on both sides of the road. Continue N
NM028
Location: 31.9138469696045, -108.415061950684
Continue R, bearing due N
NM029
Location: 31.9206733703613, -108.408760070801
Here we met back up with the CDT signs and the current re-route. From this spot, the trail heads up and over a series of small hills. In this section, the signs were spaced about 150 yards, which would have been helpful in the previous section that we missed. Collectively, the team wondered about the trail building plan and how best to spread resources in this section. The marking left something to be desired in some crucial areas.
NM030
Location: 31.9303379058838, -108.436653137207
R out of wash formed in Baylor Canyon's eastern spread
NM031
Location: 31.9420623779297, -108.442840576172
CDT crosses two track
NM032
Location: 31.9532203674316, -108.441757202148
The trail crosses the Continental Divide for the first time on the trip. While confusing (and anticlimactic) to the hiker, this route is necessary because the true Continental Divide runs through the Animas Mountains to the W. Those lands are owned by the Animas Foundation, which forbids hiking on the ecologically sensitive desert terrains.
NM033
Location: 31.9652347564697, -108.439384460449
Fence and old railroad bed
NM034
Location: 31.9160976409912, -108.322380065918
The home of CDT Trail Guide Sam Hughes in Hachita.
This section is one of the last remaining outposts where you can
still glimpse the Old West, reports mapper Andrew Matranga, who charted this rugged tour de force through the creosote flats and cholla jungles of New Mexico's boot heel. Here, the desert reveals its Jekyll-and-Hyde dualism. Some moments, it envelops you in a tranquil, gold-streaked sunrise; other times, it lashes you with skinscouring winds. If you go, cache water, buy a wide-brimmed hat, and wear low gaiters to guard against sand and cactus needles.
The flat terrain means you can log big miles, but scant water means you’ll carry hefty loads. From the Crazy Cook Monument, which marks the CDT’s official southern terminus, the path crawls northwest across sagebrush flats to the Big Hatchet Mountains. Camp at the mouth of Sheridan Canyon, 17 miles from the border, where a shade tree blocks the sun. On day two, trek across a windblown landscape and paved NM 81 to camp at Granite Pass, overlooking the Little Hatchets. The next day runs through rock gardens with foot-long lizards, then past Broken Jug Pass, Hachita Peak, and an 1880s mining encampment.
Cross the Continental Divide—here, it’s an indistinct point on the
plain—then press on to NM 9 and your hike’s end.
Mapped by Team Southern Terminus: Dave German, Judy Rittenhouse, Jim Newman Jimmy McElroy, Brian Daigle, Andrew Matranga
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