Solo in the Aldo Leopold Wilderness: Fire Towers, Mountain lions, and a Grumpy Hermit.

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Solo in the Aldo Leopold Wilderness: Fire Towers, Mountain lions, and a Grumpy Hermit.

Рет қаралды 3,418

Күн бұрын

You can't make it on horseback. Going solo up the Mimbres to Reeds Peak and across the Crest Trail on the CDT to Reeds meadow. Here is a brief history of this area including Reeds fire tower, Aldolphus Reed, the Mimbres River and everything along the way. There were lions, bears, deer, elk and other wildlife seen on the trip.
ty.makingitwild@gmail.com

Пікірлер: 42

@BrettVaughnB100 Жыл бұрын

I really enjoy hearing your stories about the area .. I use to own a place on North Percha where the old Cabin was and the yellow house ... I've packed in to Reeds meadow and across I think down through black canyon to north star rd with a buddy of mine .. also came from Willow creek in the Gila to Diamond Peak in December then got snowed on and went back to North Star rd.. That Silver fire really tore things up .. I sure wish the forrest service would do more ..wouldn't be nice if they had trail crews working all the time ... I believe those fires are just a cash cow lots of people make good money off of them .. keep up the good work I enjoy your videos .. we might just bump into each other some day ...

@Makingitwild Жыл бұрын

Thanks. I think black canyon is the best way to get up there now after the fires but the forest service really needs to take a break from behind the desk and do their job. There is a good chance we’ll bump into each other someday.

@pintahalfmusic 10 ай бұрын

I'm enjoying your videos; over the last few years, we've been exploring a lot of the same areas that you film. Absolutely love the Gila and Black Range!

@Makingitwild 10 ай бұрын

That’s great. It’s a great place to explore.

@RiverbendlongbowsOutdoors Жыл бұрын

That was great Ty 👍🏻 Always wanted to explore that area. Used to hunt Emory pass and north when I was younger

@wolfcrossing Жыл бұрын

Wonderful I’ve always wanted to go to Reeds meadow. I have an old picture of when it was a homestead. The black fire last year sure messed up the watershed.

@Makingitwild Жыл бұрын

The black fire sure did a lot of damage but I think the silver fire did most of the damage on the mimbres. Does your picture of the meadow look different than the ones in the video?

@wolfcrossing Жыл бұрын

@@Makingitwild its kind of an overview of the homestead, corral barn. I need to find it for you. Its in the book, Log of a timber cruiser.

@Makingitwild Жыл бұрын

@@wolfcrossing thanks. I’ll look for that book.

@ClaytonSensiba Жыл бұрын

Man thank you for your videos. I am itching to get out into that area again. I’m laid up right now after a heart attack. Last thing I ever thought would happen to me at 25 years old. I’ll be ok and back out there in no time. But for now these videos are great to watch

@Makingitwild Жыл бұрын

I hope you get back to normal soon. The good thing about that area is that it doesn’t change so it will be there waiting

@nmelkhunter1 7 ай бұрын

Best of luck and I hope you’re on the mend!

@ericglass398 7 ай бұрын

GREAT video -- really enjoyed it.

@Makingitwild 7 ай бұрын

Thank you.

@naturalstatehunter5591 Ай бұрын

Please do more videos on the trails. You go to some interesting places.

@Makingitwild Ай бұрын

@@naturalstatehunter5591 thanks. I’ll drag the camera around on some more trips.

@jerryransbarger8927 Жыл бұрын

Great job on the video I really enjoyed it.

@billhillify4924 5 ай бұрын

I can imagine that is the toughest 17.6 miles walked…I spent time around fly fishing in Black Canyon when that opened up 15 years ago and 40 years ago horsebacked over Holden Prong saddle into Animas Creek catching Cutthroat’s. I imagine that trail is close to impassable now. At that time you could see remains of the McKnight Fire from the 1950’s. My godmother used to man the fire tower at Black Mountain a bit NW of Reeds Peak. She told me that when a thunderstorm would come up while in the tower they would sit on their wood chair with glass insulators on the feet. Said it was pretty scary at times.

@Makingitwild 5 ай бұрын

I couldn’t imagine how scary a thunderstorm would be in one of those towers. It’s been a few years since I’ve been over the trail from Holden Prong to the animas but I think you could still make it on horseback. Thanks for sharing

@user-mm7sh1pm9c 6 ай бұрын

Pretty cool video Ty. There used to be an aspen tree with Jake Osborn 1937 carved on it near reads meadow. Had a horse head carved next to it. I may have the year wrong but it was 1930s. Was probably around 2003-4 when I saw it. There Was a few other names you would recognize.

@Makingitwild 6 ай бұрын

I’ve heard of that tree. I don’t know if it’s still there. There are also a lot of names on aspens around Mimbres lake. I haven’t seen them in years and they probably got burned up but it shows a lot of history.

@garymason1916 2 ай бұрын

No sir, you have it wrong. Because of the long history of fire suppression, what used to naturally burn of low intensity now becomes a conflagration. Also, wilderness area fires are generally allowed to burn which replicates what naturally occurred. It's a tough situation we have got ourselves into, especially here in the West.

@Makingitwild 2 ай бұрын

I agree with your comment. When you say I have it wrong, which part do you mean?

@garymason1916 2 ай бұрын

@@Makingitwild I retract that statement as I made it before you finished yours. Please disregard, sorry! I very much enjoy your horseback rides through the Gila since I have never been to it except for the part that is encountered from Snowflake to Benson which I did at night! I am a fan of Also Leopold and his fascination for that unique area! On top of a horse in generally the best way to view the country side!

@markeverson5849 Жыл бұрын

Thanks brother you know one time I threw the woodstove out of the top of a ranger Tower and it was much taller than that one and yes I took it home and used it. And it was very cold country and so I needed a wood stove I was also very young and stupid back in those days but the towers were no longer being used and I did know the man that work in the ranger Tower in actually carried the stove up there it was small

@Makingitwild Жыл бұрын

The ones around here were only used in the summer. I wouldn’t want to pack wood up there every day.

@ewmetzler Жыл бұрын

Hi Ty. Thanks for this. I am planning to be there next week. How far from the parking area before the fire damage begins? And is there water all the way? Thanks. Carolyn

@Makingitwild Жыл бұрын

You will start to see sign of fire within a mile of the trailhead but the real damage is 5-6 miles up the river. There is more water in the mimbres than most years so you shouldn’t have problems finding water. All the springs along the way had water as well. Depending on where you want to go black canyon might have a better trail. Have fun on your trip.

@ewmetzler Жыл бұрын

Thank you for this. I want yo find a place and just hang out for 6 days. Is the fire damage extensive enough several miles in that it would be hard to hang a hammock? Carolyn

@Makingitwild Жыл бұрын

@@ewmetzler you won’t have any problem finding a place to hang a hammock.

@ewmetzler Жыл бұрын

Thank you. I appreciate you post and response.

@markeverson5849 Жыл бұрын

It's okay to write your name down in a ranger tower that we the people own! especially if you were conceived in a ranger Tower like I was in Jackson's Hole Wyoming in about 1955! because I was born nine months later in 19 56 maybe that's why I always used to say I want the frontier back!:-)

@Makingitwild Жыл бұрын

My dad has a similar story at another one of these towers. I’ll get around to making a video about it one of these days. My grandparents were stationed at Hillsboro peak. My dad was born in January of the next year. He figured it out from the dates on the wall.

@markeverson5849 Жыл бұрын

@@Makingitwild wow that's too crazy brother that's what you call getting high on love an elevated relationship:-) I wish I could find those pictures they're amazing of my Mom and Dad running that Ranger Tower in Jackson's hole in the middle 1950s look more like the 1890s

@ewmetzler Жыл бұрын

5:44 is that a raven or some other bird squawking? -Eric (sharing YT acct. with Carolyn)

@Makingitwild Жыл бұрын

There are all kinds of birds up there. I’m not sure what was squawking but I did see some ravens.

@scrimmer20 Жыл бұрын

I haven't seen this country in a really long time. It has changed a lot! I'm curious though as to why you would want to kill a lion you happened to see along the way. It doesn't appear to me that you have the equipment to pack it out and would just be leaving it to rot had you been successful. That seems strange to me.

@Makingitwild Жыл бұрын

That area has changed a lot just in the last few years. There are many reasons on why I would try and kill a lion I ran into but the odds of it coming back to a call are slim. If I did kill it I would change my plans and gone back to get horses to make the pack out easier. You could pack it out in a backpack though. Thanks for the comment.

@jerryransbarger8927 Жыл бұрын

A really good reason is lions are out of control. They’re too many everywhere and that’s why game and fish issue 2 tags state wide. ITS Called predator control.

@jerryransbarger8927 Жыл бұрын

Seems the forest service is really good at starting fires but could care less about the forest. Now they set in pickups and spend tax dollars what a waste.

@Makingitwild Жыл бұрын

Some of them work hard but there always seems to be a lot of fire fighters sitting in the truck watching from a distance.