Saturday, May 30, 2018 Cobra flight #632, PIC #645, 3 landings Rio San Jose, Salado Creek, Puerco Ruins, La Ventana, Nuestra Senora, Puerco Volcanos

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1 Saturday, May 30, 2018 Cobra flight #632, PIC #645, 3 landings Rio San Jose, Salado Creek, Puerco Ruins, La Ventana, Nuestra Senora, Puerco Volcanos Belen: 6:43 am Belen: 9:45 am Today s Airtime: 3.0 Total PIC Time: Total Logged Time: After my last trip to Mt Taylor, I wanted to take the Rival-X and Fusion camera back up to my favorite sites in the Rio Puerco. We had some rain recently, so the Rio San Jose was wetter and greener than it had been for a while.

2 I crossed I-40 and flew over the Canoncito Reservation, and flew up a Canada de las Apaches to the top. I had done this before and knew there was an scenic canyon on the other side. I crossed over the divide and picked up a tributary of Salado Canyon. On the horizon I could see the volcanos of the Rio Puerco Basin, with Cerro Nuestra rising into the sky.

3 The canyon opened up and there was water flowing in it in short stretches, the remnant from last week s rainstorm.

4 This is a fun part of the canyon, winding back and forth down the bends of the of the canyon. I followed the stream bed all the way to the Rio Puerco, then turned upstream to the north.

5 I made a pass over the twin buttes with ruins on top. The southern ruin is just ahead of my trike in the picture above, the northern ruin is on the center right side, just below the horizon.

6 I flew up to La Ventana Mesa. The winds were swirling around so I passed over the first window with plenty of room to spare.

7 I headed up the canyon to take a look at the hidden window.

8 I started to head back home. I saw Cerro Nuestra Senora rising high above the horizon. I thought it would be cool to take the Fusion camera over the top of it, and the other volcanos in the chain. The terrain at the base is lower on this side, making the peak look very tall and slender.

9 I really get a kick out of flying over this peak. The winds were not trapped in a canyon here like they were back at La Ventana. It was almost smooth going over the top. What a beautiful peak.

10 The peak looks almost impossibly hard to climb with very steep sides and loose rock. I have searched the internet for any records of someone climbing to the top, but I have not found any. However, there is a stone structure on the small flat summit of the peak. It was obviously made by someone. It is sort of similar to the structure on top of Cabezon, though not as large. I think the structure on top of Cabezon gets improved by every summit party. The structure on Nuestra Senora gets far less visitors.

11 I made 3 passes over the top Here is another view of the structure on top of Cerro Nuestra Senora.

12 I left Nuestra Senora and headed south into an area I call the Valley of Volcanos. There are 7 large volcanic spires here. 3 on one side, 4 on the other. Some are impossibly hard to climb, others like the one directly ahead (Cerro de Jacobo) are much easier.

13 Here is a view of the south side of Cerro de Jacobo, a huge pile of rubble with cliffs above. Note Cerro Nuestra Senora on the right and Cabezon near the horizon.

14 The next peak I visited was Cerro Santa Rosa. This peak has an interesting columns of basalt near the top.

15 The next peak is called Cerro Chato. There are a lot of Cerro Chatos scattered across New Mexico. I wondered why and finally looked it up. Chato means pug nosed in Spanish. Now it makes a little more sense.

16 Here is a rear view after flying past Cerro Chato. Your can see Cerro Nuestra Senora, Cerro de Jacobo, and Cerro Santa Rosa in a chain leading up to Cerro Chato. I usually fly this chain on my way into the Rio Puerco, the opposite direction of todays volcanic peak pass. It was fun to mix it up a little.

17 This is the last peak in the chain, Cerro Vacio. What a nice tour of the volcanos and in nice conditions.

18 Continuing south, I flew past two canyons that had dense growths of vegetation under some deep overhanging cliffs. They almost appear like gardens in the desert. Could their be some ruins in there? It was to thermally and windy for me to get down for a close look. I come by again in the early morning to check them out.

19 Here are my GPS tracks the day s flight. Cerro Nuestra Senora La Ventana Mesa Ruins Albuquerque Cerro de Jacobo Salado Canyon Cerro Chato Cerro Santa Rosa Canada de las Apaches Cerro Vacio Gardens Rio San Jose Rio Puerco Belen