"I left the house at 3:30 AM with my friend Jim to head to northern New Mexico, to the Cimarron mountain range, to re-hike Touch-Me-Not Peak and then Baldy Mountain. I was carrying a 13 pound day pack including 5 pounds of water. I have been trying to figure out how to hike Baldy peak for the last 2 years. The eastern part of the peak is owned by Philmont Scout ranch. I am an Eagle Scout and was senior patrol leader of troop 166 in Albuquerque so I figured they would let me go from their side. They said no for insurance reasons. The western part is gated up and there is not really a way to get close and “burn it” up the mountain. A very long hike seemed the only option. We headed to Taos, then Eagle’s Nest, then east toward Cimarron. A short way into the canyon is a dirt road to the north. We took the fork to the right. You definitely need a 4 wheel drive vehicle from this point. We traveled about 5 miles and parked the SUV at coordinates 36 33.479 N, 105 12.160 W. The elevation was about 10,750 feet. We started hiking at 7:25 on a cool crisp clear morning. I hiked Touch-Me-Not Mountain last year and didn’t want to hike it again but I could not see another way to go to get to Baldy ..." — Phil-Robinson • Oct 2, 2010

"I took a personal day off of work, Thursday Sept. 17, 2009, with a plan to go hike Baldy Mountain in the Cimarron Range. I left the house at 3:00 AM with my dog daisy. Because it is getting colder, I took a 14-pound day pack with emergency items including 4 pounds of water. It was a rainy and misty three-and-a-half-hour drive. I studied maps and found a road that I thought would work well on the west side of the mountain. I got there at twilight and found the roads on the west side behind locked gates. I made a quick switch of plans and decided to do Touch Me Not Mountain in the same range. Luckily, I had planned for both mountains just in case something did not work. I headed back to Eagle Nest, New Mexico and then east into the Cimarron canyon. A short way into the canyon, at the north end of a big switchback, is a dirt road that heads north. There are 2 dirt roads and I took the one to the immediate right. I had my 4-wheel drive Land Cruiser and headed up the road. It was cloudy and misty all the way. There is no way that this road could have been done without a 4-wheel drive vehicle. I went about 4 miles on this road until I came to a parallel road and parked. My parking coordi..." — Phil-Robinson • Sep 17, 2009