Carson National Unit 52

[crcountry]

Can anyone give me a reliable source for road closures in Unit 52? I gather that many forest roads get closed for the hunting season, but I suspect more than the 87 road heading to Lagunitas is open?!?
Thxs-
Chris

 

[Trad Bow 1979]

The road closures in 52 do not typically happen until the major snow hits which is usually after the hunting seasons. It can be a little tricky finding your way back to Lagunitas, it is a long drive and it is easy to get on the wrong road. Make sure you have a full tank of gas The Carson forest service in Taos have been very helpful to me in the past when it comes to road closures, fires, etc. That is a really nice area, congrats on getting that tag.

 

[bticked]

I could be wrong but Ive been in that unit from spring through the end of november and dont remember any roads being closed, I have encountered it where they were impassable due to snow however. If you need any help feel free to pm me with what hunt you have or you phone # and I will try my best to steer you in the right direction.

Ryan

 

[Trad Bow 1979]

Haha you aint joking about the snow. One time I was getting near the Cruces Basin Wilderness for some spring turkey hunting and the snow on both sides of the road was up to the window on the truck. It took forever to find a place to turn around!

 

[parecido]

What hunt do you have in 52? I have the muzzle loader bull

 

[crcountry]

We have a MZ tag Ryan- Feel free to call at 410-404-0707. I need to know about one road in particular that will allow us to access a deeper section of the unit and potentially get away from 90% of the hunters....but I hear that many roads are closed. We'll do 2 days of scouting on Th and Friday and cover a many miles while strategically glassing spots at sunrise and sunset. If we can split up and watch a good bit of country in preparation for Sat, I think we'll be in good shape. We're used to super steep DIY in an OTC CO unit with 10% success rates (unit 33), and we're batting 70% over 6 years, so we aren't strangers to going deep and packing meat out. I'm hoping for seasonal weather and hopefully cool nights so we dont have to pack out one bull, then blow an afternoon, then go get re-set up on day 2 or 3 and try for another bull....hopefully we can just hang meat in some dark timber near a quiet spike camp and be a little picky on the raghorns, and try for a couple 280-290" bulls without rushing around in warm weather. We'll see. I have 2 spots that aren't in the wilderness that seem remote and off the beaten path. The carters were helpful with a list of prior hunters in 52, and some have validated my initial google earth/topo ideas that looked nice.
Thxs-
Chris

 

[crcountry]

DareDevil-
Yeah I hear every road other than 87 can be a little hairy, but the trail leading out of San Antonio is only 15 miles over to Lagunitas?...I bet its slow going, but it's not that far is it? The google earth road leading to Lagunita's looks pretty straight forward? I guess we'll bring an extra 5 gallon tank just in case, a good satelite map, and take our time if we choose to visit that country later in the hunt. I assume you really can't get over Brazos ridge, by most accounts, but can you go around brazos through private property in unit 4, head north, and then weave your way up to the western reaches of the crusin basin area or the far reaches of 52's northwestern panhandle?...or do you access that area via Colorado? We have our sites on some completely different country, but if we tag out a little early, I'm absolutely heading over to the cruces basin wilderness just to walk the place and see the scenery. It all looks like super easy walking and only 18,000 acres....but I understand the first 2 days in there is a zoo with outifitters, horses and hunters. We'll pass on that.
Any general road knowledge would be helpful. I also hear that rain doesn't turn that place into gumbo like it does in Colorado?...So that may be a nice change. Rain in CO can shut you down in a hurry
Crcountry

 

[greatwestern]

Hi CrC,

Please feel welcome to send me a message and I'd be glad to help you with access directions for the areas you describe, as well as pertinent road condition potential.

Hunters absolutely MAY NOT access ANY portion of 52 from the TA Grant without express permission(s) from respective landowners.

Thank you,

Adam Simms