Spent the remainder of my afternoon driving NM-55/NM-337 heading north toward Tijeras. As the sun started to fade I checked the map and found some dispersed campsites in the Cibola National Forest off FR462 at the Coyote trail head which leads to Chamisoso Canyon Road. Overall this road is well graded but a few spots could give lower clearance vehicles problems. I came to my end at this rocky slope – I could probably get past this but didn’t know what lies beyond, and the risk isn’t worth it when other suitable sites were already passed up.
I backtracked about a hundred yards to the next pullout so I could use the remaining daylight to eat dinner. Behind my truck is a small rock fire ring made by past visitors. The pullout is big enough to fit a large trailer but you’d have some challenges turning it around later. Several other people are camping at sites on the lower part of the trail but not many up high, though I did see a few neat 1st gen Toyota tube chassis trucks climbing higher.
Here’s a wider view of the site. I believe the peaks are part of the Manzano mountain range which covers a huge area; this is the far north end, and the range runs south all the way down past Socorro. Hiking trails pass nearby but I didn’t see anybody because it’s a Monday night. Cell coverage here was awesome and I had 5G all night – enough to stream football on my iPad for entertainment. No toilets, but surely having football makes this glamping, no?
I did choose the coldest night all week to be here. Weather Underground says low of 37°F overnight but that’s down low; at this elevation it hovered near the freezing mark or maybe slightly below. Doesn’t bother me, good sleeping weather. Thankfully those daytime temps warm up quickly and become very pleasant.
