Lookout Mountain Traditional Cache
Cracker Soul: Too few visitors to maintain.
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Difficulty:
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Terrain:
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Size: 
(small)
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At nearly 12,000 feet, Sierra Blanca is the highest peak in the southern half of New Mexico. And during those increasingly rare times when it’s topped with a healthy dose of snow, it is also easily the most beautiful. But unfortunately for most folks, it’s on the Mescalero Reservation so access is restricted. In light of this I’ve created a cache for the next best thing: another peak, about a mile away, with a concrete observation pad and an unsurpassed and unobstructed view of Sierra Blanca plus the surrounding mountains and Tularosa Basin.
Local hikers know the way to Lookout Mountain, but on the hopeful assumption that not everyone who goes after this cache will be a local, I’ll tell you that there are two main approach routes. And to help you along I’ll give you the easiest route to follow:
From Ruidoso, take Hwy 48 north approximately 4 miles. At NM 532, Ski Run Highway, turn left and take this winding road 12 miles to just outside the Ski Apache gated entrance. There is plenty of parking here, with the beginning of your first signed trail, #15, at the last road curve before the gate. You’ll follow Scenic Trail #15 for less than a mile before it intersects with Crest Trail #25. Go left on Crest Trail and follow it for approximately 2 miles until the trail comes to a “Y”. Crest Trail will turn sharply to the right and you can follow it half a mile until it connects with Lookout Mountain Trail #78 on your left. If you prefer, you can instead take a left at the “Y”, leaving Crest Trail and following an unsigned trail across a natural spring and up the side of a hill until it connects with the Lookout Mountain Trail at the top. This route is shorter and preferred by most. Whichever way to Lookout Mountain Trail you choose, go left on the trail when you come to it and then follow it to its namesake. The trail can be vague in spots -- just remember to keep going up!
Additional Hints
(Decrypt)
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Treasures
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