Carlsbad/Lincoln, Barbary Sheep, water sources and Double Canyon

[Elirobert]

I am hoping to get some pictures of Barbary Sheep with my telefoto lens, so I'm Going to hike up into Lincoln from Slaughter Canyon and spend a couple of days next week. I was thinking about tryin to camp near the back of Double canyon on the first night. Is there any reliable water in that area...Maybe at the dry falls? Does anyone know anything about the western branch of Double canyon, or Wild Cow Mesa, Ussery Trail? Anything I shouldn't miss out on? Are there any  protected areas back in that country where I can hole up out of the way of some really nasty weather or winds if it comes to that? Are there many sheep back there? Any and all information is appreciated.

[okiehiker]

As you come in from the Slaughter Canyon Trailhead the trail will fork and you will go left up West Slaughter Canyon.  It is a fairly long hike up West Slaughter to Double Canyon.  The canyon bottom is very level easy walking.  In about three miles Lower Painted Grotto will be on your left.  It is a very nice set of pictographs.  There also are some at Upper Painted Grotto, another 8 miles or so upstream. 

Above Upper Painted Grotto you will find a small spring.  It should be good this year.  Half a mile up from UPG there is a very low saddle to your left that allows you to drop in to Double Canyon.  The route up West Slaughter gains 1,600' in 13 miles or so with no falls and is quite easy.  The drop into Double Canyon is quite steep and rarely taken dropping more than 700' in about half a mile.

Double Falls is just a mile and a half upstream from the point you reach the canyon bottom.  There is a fairly large tinaja midway up the falls.  This has been a good year, but I would make sure that you havce water following the spring in West Slaughter.

Alternatively you can take the Yucca Canyon Trail and drop to Longview Spring, off to your right, down about 200 vertical feet from the ridgetop.

The falls is a fairly easy climb, even with a pack. 

Regarding the ridgetops, such as Pacific Slope or Wild Cow Mesa, there is generally not a lot to see along the ridge per se.  The views to the horizon and down into the canyons are spectacular, but the ridges generally are not at all rugged.  The Guadalupes are the exposed permian Capitan Reef formation, and what is noteworthy are the amazing and varied canyons that cut into the ridge.  Each canyon is amazing in its own right.  I prefer dropping down into Gunsight Canyon to make the exit rather than following the ridge.  If you are looking for vantage points to look for sheep, however, the ridgetops might be just the place.

Regarding getting out of the weather, in the bottoms of the canyons there are lots of overhangs that can provide shelter.  The Guadalupe ridgetops can be among the windiest places in the southwestern US. 

Something of note, almost the whole area you are describing (Slaughter Canyon, West Slaughter, Double Canyon, even the east end of Wild Cow Mesa and two miles of the Ussery Trail) are in Carlsbad Caverns National Park.  You will need a backcountry permit (easy to get, but you must go to the visitor center during business hours.) 

[presidio]

Something of note, almost the whole area you are describing (Slaughter Canyon, West Slaughter, Double Canyon, even the east end of Wild Cow Mesa and two miles of the Ussery Trail) are in Carlsbad Caverns National Park.  You will need a backcountry permit (easy to get, but you must go to the visitor center during business hours.) 

Or, just stay on the USFS lands, where you don't need 'no stinkin' permit' (and avoid the time, distance and inconvenience of getting NPS permits, which are available solely on their schedule, not yours).

Of course, if you hike the remote backcountry of CACA, they won't know you're there as they almost never get far from the visitor center. However, remember, as noted in the book on the Rattlesnake Canyon incident, by getting a permit, the NPS is tacitly executing a contract with you for your protection. Sort of like a backcountry valet, even though they didn't provide anywhere near that good of service in said event.

Of course CACA is one NPS area where there is almost zero use of the surface away from the prime attraction of the cave. It IS quite unique in that regard. Unless it is important to you to actually be in the NP area, you won't be able to tell the difference between it and the forest lands; it's all awesomely rugged country.

[okiehiker]

You are quite right Presidio.  Actually the very best spots in the Guadalupes are not in either park but in LNF.  I am disinclined, however, to reveal them publicly.

[riko]

okie    How does one locate Lower Painted Grotto?   Landmarks?

[okiehiker]

It is marked on the USGS 7.5' quad.  If you are proficient at map reading it is easy to locate from the map.  You will find in an overhung grotto, just as the name implies, on the left hand side.

From the Slaughter Canyon Trailhead (well documented in Carlsbad Caverns NP literature as it is the trailhead for Slaughter Canyon Cave ...formerly called New Cave) you head north just over .4 miles and the Slaughter Canyon Cave Trail takes off to the left.  Go past this junction, continuing north for another .4 miles. 

Leave the trail taking West Slaughter Canyon to the left the main trail goes up North Slaughter Canyon.  There will be several bends in the canyon as you head west for almost 3 miles.  Just past the grotto the canyon turns almost 180 degrees from SSW to almost due north.  If you make this turn you have gone too far. 

If you are going further up the canyon to Upper Painted Grotto or Double Canyon, there is one spot, just under 3 miles up from LPG that the canyon forks.  STAY LEFT.  There are three drainages, and it is very easy to take the middle one rather than the left one. 

About a mile up you will come to a dryfalls and find yourself completely walled off.  The main West Slaughter drainage is easy for its full length.

[mountaindocdanny]

In nine trips to the Guadalupes (the majority being in the LNF) I've yet to come across an Aoudad (Barbary Sheep). Has any one else seen one? I've seen many over at Palo Duro Canyon.

[okiehiker]

I have never seen any either.  I have tended, howeer, to focus on hiking, climbing and caving, so I am sure that I have missed some wildlife.

[presidio]

In nine trips to the Guadalupes (the majority being in the LNF) I've yet to come across an Aoudad (Barbary Sheep). Has any one else seen one? I've seen many over at Palo Duro Canyon.

The NPS did their best in the late 70s/early 80s to exterminate the Aoudad from at least their two portions of the Guads. Did pretty well, too. If I recall correctly, New Mexico also had some hunts that were designed to finish off the population. Shouldn't be any left at this point. Back when the NPS was shooting them, very discreetly of course, the word still got out and there was a great hue and cry that they shouldn't be doing such, like also happened when they were shooting burros in the Grand Canyon. Burros, being deemed cuter, got a reprieve and the NPS had to trap and helicopter them out, a huge waste of money and time when a 50 cent bullet was the best solution. That damned 'Bambi syndrome' bites them every time.

[riko]

In 100+ trips to the Guadalupes over the last 15 years I have seen exactly none, but I met guy that had been on the trail a few minutes ahead of me that saw about 10.  That was on the Tejas Trail in Pine Springs Canyon two years ago. From what I gather, the most likely place to find them would be along  "the rim" that parallels Dog Canyon to the east.  But again, I have not been looking for them either.