Baylor Pass and Baylor Peak

We woke up to brilliant blue skies and alpenglow on the eastern flank of the mountains this morning!

I got breakfast ready and boiled some water for coffee and tea. The hot beverages sure hit the spot on a cold morning.

We spent some time eating and lounging around camp before hitting the trail.

The plan was for us to hike up to Baylor Pass together. I would then hike up to Baylor Peak while Noelle and Parker waited for me. We would head back to camp together.

The hike started in cool weather as the trail gently ascended the eastern slopes.

There were lots of great views of the Rabbit Ears

and my objective for the hike: Baylor Peak.

Soon we found ourselves at the pass. I bid a temporary farewell to Noelle and Parker and started to ascend Baylor Peak on an obvious user trail. Soon the user trail petered out a bit and I found myself dodging cactus and yuccas as I made my way up. There were some great views to the south and the rest of the Organs.

I ascended what I thought was the summit, only to be disappointed when I discovered it was a false summit. Then I descended to a small saddle and ascended to the true summit. There was a makeshift cross,

a cairn, and even a register. I signed in, took my photo

and quickly made my way down as Noelle and Parker were waiting for me.

Unfortunately, as I made my way down Baylor Peak, I took a wrong turn and found myself in some of the thickest cacti and yuccas on the planet. Travel was slow going. Meanwhile Noelle and Parker were losing patience waiting for me.

They decided to make their way back to camp without me.Once I got back to the official trail the going was much easier and I made it from the pass to camp in a little over a half an hour. 

Back at camp we ate some lunch and then got in the car for a drive to the Chihuahuan Desert Nature Park. We drove back to Las Cruces into a brand new section of town, hit the edge of town where the road changed to dirt. Soon the dirt road was a construction site. We would be forced to turn around. Not wanting to waste the drive into town Noelle and I decided to go into Mesilla to check out the plaza. We parked and walked to the plaza, but its not the best place to have a dog.

We headed back into the car for the drive back to camp. We did manage to see a cool bird though: a curve-billed thrasher!

Once back to camp we ate dinner and I lounged in the cool oak tree in camp.

The early start to the night forced us into the tent where we read and played sudoku before dozing off the sleep.