V6E11 - Every Obstacle an Opportunity

Written By Chris Shontz / @Venture4WD

When one goes on holiday for a week, or perhaps for two, one often ensures that they have clean clothes and enough food for the duration. However, when traveling full-time, one has no such concern, as doing laundry and shopping for groceries will be a regular occurrence, just as they might be at home. Prior to setting off, there is no worrying about whether or not the cooler is sufficiently stocked, or if you have enough clean outfits, because you’ll be seeing to these things on the road. It’s rather liberating, and in that regard, packing for a mobile lifestyle is easier than doing so for a week long trip, as the small details seem to be far less important.   The History of Space Following a long stint of highway driving, I found myself in Alamogordo, New Mexico , located just east of White Sands National Monument . Alamogordo is the gateway to Lincoln National Forest  in southeastern New Mexico, which I had the intention of exploring. I was on my way out of town, following a grocery run, when I passed the Space History Museum . It wasn’t on my agenda, but I felt like I’d be doing myself a disservice if I left without checking out. The museum was a stately, box-shaped, building of concrete and glass whose architecture seemed fitting for the 20th century air and space industry. Outside, a courtyard was adorned with rockets, engines, vehicles, and capsules. On the inside, after paying a small admission fee, the museum contained four floors of displays, historical technology, and memorabilia, including a tribute to Star Trek. The museum had a good number of guests circulating through its halls, and I found it to be a very tasteful and informative homage to human space exploration. It’s certainly worth a visit if you’re in Alamogordo, and an extremely educational experience for the kids!   Into Lincoln This is certainly not always true, but I’ve found that many National Forests are at a higher elevation. As soon as I venture into public land, to explore and to seek out places to camp, the air becomes much cooler. This is great news in the heat of summer, but can make things challenging and uncomfortable in the cold season. Lincoln National Forest  is no exception! From Alamogordo, the road into Lincoln climbed steadily. When it was time to leave pavement, the ascent continued until the ground was covered with patches of snow. Since it was mid-spring, the snow was melting and turning everything else to mud, making forward progress very messy and treacherous. I could feel the Jeep start to slip on the soft, wet forest road, before the way was blocked by a large fallen tree from a recent wind storm. I usually jump at the opportunity to attach a strap and pull a tree out of the way, but not this time. Even if the tree was gone, I’d still be driving upward into a colder climate, so I took it as a sign to turn back and seek out lower ground.   Technical Spurs As I turned north instead of south, my altitude diminished as I remained in forest land. The trees thinned out and the landscape shifted to that of a high-desert. It quickly became dry, the snow was gone, and it was noticeably warmer outside. I was driving along a main artery when I passed a well-worn, technical two-track up the side of a hill. I wasn’t sure what I’d find, but I engaged low-range, activated my locking differentials, and crawled up the rocky, rutted trail. At the top, it was a dead-end, but there was a flat, grassy spot and remnants of an old fire ring. It was the perfect place to set up camp and spend the night! This is one of my favorite things about having a capable 4x4 as a camping platform. The vast majority of vehicles would not have been able to make that climb. This type of campsite, along a very difficult section of road, really helps to ensure privacy!   Discovering Cloudcroft The next day, I traveled into Cloudcroft, New Mexico [link_05]. Cloudcroft is a rustic mountain town in more of an alpine setting than what is typical for New Mexico. There are shops, restaurants, saloons, and cafes, surrounded by a dramatic, high-elevation wilderness. Winter was still firmly in charge here, in mid-March, as the temperatures were 20 degrees colder than what they were in Alamogordo, just a short drive to the west. From what I gathered, Cloudcroft is a cool destination where the residents of southern New Mexico and Texas can come to escape the sweltering summer heat. I went to a pub and enjoyed a delicious sandwich as I planned my next moves…   Guadalupe Rim Many National Forests in the United States don’t consist of just one single parcel of land. In New Mexico, for instance, Lincoln National Forest  has multiple parcels, one of which is just east of Alamogordo, and another west of Carlsbad. This next parcel, north of Guadalupe Mountains National Park [link_06], is a wildly different landscape than that surrounding Cloudcroft. This part of the forest is 2,000 feet lower, and consists mostly of high-desert along a vast plateau. My goal was to drive the Guadalupe Rim Road, through Lincoln National Forest , north-to-south, and then make my way toward Carlsbad, New Mexico . The Guadalupe Rim Road is a major artery through the forest, and does not require four-wheel drive, or high-clearance when dry, but it is long and rocky, offering amazing views of the valley to the west. There are, however, countless off-shoots that are little more than worn two-tracks which will absolutely require four-wheel drive and careful line-picking. I also found some superb, flat, grassy campsites with large, well-maintained fire rings in this section of forest. It would be a great place to enjoy with a group! If you’re interested in exploring this section of Lincoln National Forest, at the very least, make it an overnighter. There are enough roads and scenery to keep you busy for days!   Sitting-Bull Falls As the week drew to a close, on my way to Carlsbad, I made a stop at Sitting-Bull Falls , which is a small, natural attraction on the southeast corner of Lincoln National Forest. Sitting-Bull Falls is a picnic area featuring pools and some gentle waterfalls in a scenic canyon. It is a fee area, with restrooms, running water, picnic structures, paved walkways, and hiking trails. If you have the Annual National Parks Pass, admission is free, though you’ll still have to fill out a slip to hang on your vehicle’s rear-view mirror. There is a short hike to the top of the falls featuring a few secluded pools. Though it was much too cold during my visit, they looked like they’d be a wonderful place to cool off in the summer! 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