"This past winter New Mexico received the least amount of snow that I can remember. Some of the northern peaks in New Mexico cannot be reasonably hiked until mid June if there is heavy snow. Being that it was a low-snow-year, and the peaks I wished to climb were in south central New Mexico, I decided to hike the first peaks that have ever done in the month of March. I hiked with my friend Jim, leaving his home in Albuquerque about 6:00 AM. It is about 2 hours and 15 minutes to reach the start of the hike. From Socorro we went west on Highway 60 for 15.6 miles then turned southwest on Water Canyon road and drove 10.6 miles to an elevation of 9850. We parked where Timber Trail intersects the road. I took my high clearance Land Cruiser but a regular car could have made the trip. We started hiking at 8:50 AM, March 24, 2018. We hiked up the mountain road under beautiful clear skies. We were in a canyon-wind-zone so it was cold and windy. I put on 2 coats. About a mile up the road is a gate that is locked to motor vehicles. It is fairly easy getting to the top of South Baldy, elevation 10,783. It took us 1 hour and 10 minutes and about 2 miles of hiking. We had an elevation gain of..." — Phil-Robinson • Mar 24, 2018