NM unit 9 Nostalgia Trip

OK,

I know the unit has been hammered and is no where near what it used to be. However, I did my first elk hunts there in 1989 and 1990 and I lived in Grants as a kid going up on the mountain with my dad. Right before the draw deadline, I got a wild hair and put 9 as my 3rd choice and I will be in Albuquerque in a couple weeks so I'm going to take a day and make a drive over there in case I draw the tag.

I'd love to visit with anyone who has been up there in the past few years. The main areas I hunted were lost to the land swap as it was checkerboard then. I have some vague memories of my dad's old spots, but he passed away last year so I can't pick his brain.

I loved/hated that mountain back in the day so a trip back up there will be a touch of the past regardless and if I draw the tag (2nd archery), I'd like to at least have a starting place or two even though I know I will be at ground zero.

Email is best for me, but I will try to keep checking my PMs.

Thanks in advance to anyone willing to help me connect back with my dad and my past.

Watch out for snow, take a shovel, food, water, extra gas, etc. try going in the north end.

By going in the North End, I assume you mean through San Mateo? I'll have a friend's ATV and the weather report for the next ten days shows things drying up. I fly out the next day so I will not take too much risk.

Headed up on Tuesday. I have a plan of where to go but it's almost exclusively what I remember from my Dad. I would still love to visit with anyone who has more current knowledge of the area.

In 2017, I hunted my spot in CO that I had last been to in 2009 with my Dad. He had since passed away in 2016. Going back there was one of the most emotional days of my life. Like walking in his footsteps and reliving the memory of walking out that trail with him on our last trip, then walking in without him years later - with what seemed like little more than an instant in between. It's important to have those places and those moments.