Tag Archive for 'Franklin Mountains'

On Walkabout At: El Paso’s McKelligon Canyon

Published on April 3, 2010 in Southwest America. 2 Comments Tags: El Paso, Franklin Mountains, McKelligon Canyon, Texas.

Quite possibly the most visited location in the Franklin Mountains State Park located in El Paso, Texas is the scenic McKelligon Canyon:

The turn off to the canyon is located right in front of the William Beaumont Army Medical Center which is probably the most recognizable building in El Paso. The twisting road that leads up the canyon is a popular route for joggers and I occasionally jog up the road myself in the morning. At the end of this road is a picnic area where a number of hiking trails into the surrounding mountains begin. Many of the trails lead up to a variety of caves that litter the sides of the Franklin Mountains:

I headed up a trail leading to one of these caves:

The trail was steep in some areas and all around I was surrounded by lush Chihuahuan Desert scenery:

Along the way up the mountain there was plenty of nice rocky mountain scenery to enjoy as well:

The trail became steeper and steeper as I got closer to the cave:

Something that really annoyed me as I hiked up the mountain was the graffiti that various people have littered the mountain side with over the years:

Anyway I was just about to reach the cave:

As I approached the cave I could see that it to was covered in graffiti:

The entire inside of the cave was covered in graffiti as well:

I just don’t get why the first instinct someone would have after hiking up here would be to pull out a can of spray paint? Anyway the view looking down into McKelligon Canyon was tremendous from the cave:

After spending only a few minutes at the cave I then next proceeded to head up to the ridgeline of the Franklin Mountains above the cave. The trail became much steeper now and the wind was getting pretty bad at this point:

The wind during the spring time is notorious in El Paso and so I was getting a pretty good taste of it once I reached the top of the ridgeline that offered views over to the west side of El Paso:

Here was the view looking towards the northwest where the green farms and ranches along the Rio Grande River can be seen:

Here is the view from the ridgeline looking back down to McKelligon Canyon:

Here is the view looking towards the 6,791 feet (2,069 meters) South Franklin Mountain:

As I looked towards South Franklin Mountain I noticed these two hikers standing at the top of on the slopes of the mountain:

From the ridgeline I also saw a rock outcropping with something posted at the end of the rock:

So I decided to walk out to the end of the rock formation and saw this Mexican flag posted at the end of the rock:

From the rock formation I also was able to get a great view of some of the posh homes that can be found on El Paso’s west side:

Here are a few of the nice homes that can be found at the base of the mountains:

I thought this home was particularly nice:

Here is the view looking towards the northwest of El Paso:

Here is the view far to the west and of the Potrillo Mountains that lie in the remote southern New Mexico desert wilderness:

Here is the view of Mt. Cristo Del Rey:

Mt. Cristo Del Rey is one of America’s most dangerous tourist attractions because the Cross that is built on the mountain is located at the point where New Mexico, Texas, and Mexico all share a common border. Due to this bandits from Juarez regularly cross over and assault hikers that are climbing the mountain to visit the shrine. Thus authorities advise potential walkers to only climb the mountain in a large group in order to fight off potential attackers. Sounds like a lot of fun, huh? Needless to say I have no plans to hike up that hill.

Here is a look at the Rio Grande River which by the time it passes through El Paso it has little water left in it:

After I finished checking out the view I walked back to the ridgeline from the rock outcropping and continued to walk along it and enjoying the views:

I eventually had enough of the wind on top of the ridgeline and then proceeded back down the mountain to the McKelligon Canyon picnic area:

As I headed down the mountain I had a nice view once again of South Franklin Mountain that loomed in front of me:

Here is the view looking back towards the ridgeline of the Franklin Mountains that I traversed during this hike:

McKelligon Canyon is very popular with locals, but it is also nice place for people visiting the city to have lunch and take a quick hike into the mountains if looking for something to take up an afternoon while visiting the city. The gate is open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily for those interested in visiting the canyon. During the summer the canyon is also the location of the Viva El Paso show that is well worth checking out as well.

Picture of the Day: Sunrise Over the Franklins

Published on March 25, 2010 in Southwest America. 0 Comments Tags: El Paso, Franklin Mountains, Texas.

Sunrise over the Franklin Mountains as seen from the desert behind my neighborhood in El Paso, Texas.

Picture of the Day: Sunrise Over El Paso

Published on March 24, 2010 in Southwest America. 0 Comments Tags: El Paso, Franklin Mountains, Texas.

This is a picture of the sun rising over eastern El Paso, Texas as seen from the slopes of the Franklin Mountains.

Picture of the Day: Moon Over the Franklins

Published on March 22, 2010 in Uncategorized. 0 Comments Tags: El Paso, Franklin Mountains, Texas.

This is a photo I took from the desert behind house early in the morning of the moon slowly dropping below the cloud covered summits of El Paso’s Franklin Mountains.

Will This Be the Last Snow Fall of the Year for El Paso?

Published on March 2, 2010 in Southwest America. 0 Comments Tags: America, El Paso, Franklin Mountains, Texas.

Here are some pictures from the most recent snow fall we had in El Paso, Texas. The first picture is of North Franklin Mountain, the high peak in the Franklins Mountains with a maximum altitude of 7,192 feet:

This next snow covered mountain is South Franklin Mountain with an altitude of 6,791 feet:

This picture is looking towards Ranger Peak and the Wyler Aerial Tramway:

It has been quite a winter with snow falling on El Paso a total of six times from October 2009 through February 2010. It has been an extremely cold winter in El Paso this year and I wonder if this will be the last snow fall of the year becaue I am ready for spring time, which if the nice weather today is any indication should be right around the corner.

On Walkabout On: Anthony’s Nose In the Franklin Mountains

Published on February 16, 2010 in Southwest America. 4 Comments Tags: Anthony's Nose, El Paso, Franklin Mountains, Texas.

This past fall I attempted to climb the last major peak I haven’t summitted yet in the Franklin Mountains just outside of El Paso, Texas. The mountain is called Anthony’s Nose and is the second highest peak in the mountain range at 6,927 feet:

Here is an image of the east side of Anthony’s Nose after a recent dusting of snow this winter:

Readers may remember my prior hikes in the Franklin’s up it other two prominent peaks:

Back in the fall I didn’t have any snow to worry about, but rather the heat to contend with. Because of the heat that is why I began my hike to the summit of the peak early in the morning. The trail to the peak begins at the Tom Mays picnic area that is part of the Franklin Mountains State Park fee area on the west side of the mountain range:

Just a short walk from the parking lot is this park bench for those that don’t want to wander to far into the desert wilderness:

From the bench it is possible to see a wide variety of Chihuahuan Desert plant life that encompasses the Franklin Mountains State Park such as this large yucca tree:

This plant known as a ocotillo or Jacob’s Staff looks like cactus but it is actually an entirely different plant species:

During the wet seasons in the Chihuahuan Desert the thorns on this plant actually sprout green leaves:

During the spring the ocotillos will actually sprout red flowers on them. The ocotillos may not be cactus, but there is still plenty of real cactus to see:

Anyway I continued north up the trail that runs parallel to the base of the Franklin Mountains towards the distant Anthony’s Nose that can be seen in the distance below:

Along the way there was a number of dry river beds known as arroyos in the southwest that I had to cross:

From there I continued hiking to the north towards the distant Anthony’s Nose:

I took a quick break to drink some water and admire the desert scenery that I had crossed looking towards the south:

Looking to the west I could see the green scar across the desert that is the Rio Grande River Valley out in the distance:

Looking far to the north I could also make out the spectacular peaks of the Organ Mountains:

I continued on with my hike along the base of the mountains and eventually came upon a fence line:

I have no idea what this fence line represents but I think it may just be an old fence that remains from a now discontinued cattle ranch:

As I continued down the trail

After about two hours of walking I finally came the trail that leads to the base of Anthony’s Nose:

This trail leads into a valley with steep rocky walls:

The trail eventually turns into an arroyo that becomes increasingly difficult to climb up due to the large boulders and thick brush:

Due to the difficulty of hiking up the arroyo I decided to try and go cross country up the steep rocky sides of the mountain:

As I ascended up the mountain the summit of Anthony’s Nose was a constant presence in front of me:

The more I ascended up the mountain the better and better the views towards the west became:

My ascent up the mountain even cross country was increasingly difficult because of the thick brush I had to work my way through:

Due to the heat and difficulty of the hike I went through all the water I had brought with me and I wasn’t yet to the top of the mountain. I had to turn around knowing that I had about a two hour hike to get back to the picnic area where I was parked. I would have to bring much more water with me the next time I try to climb this peak as well as hike during a cooler time period than the early fall. So I turned around and headed back down the mountain. On the way down I noticed what look a old mine of some kind:

It looks like a coal seam that was being mined at one time from this location:

Going down the mountain was much quicker than going up and soon enough Anthony’s Nose was well behind me:

It front of me lied the long walk back to the Tom Mays picnic area and I had run out of water:

I wasn’t worried though because I have walked much further than this without water and about a little over an hour later I was back at my truck and on my way home. The summitting of Anthony’s Nose will have to wait to probably spring time when the weather is cooler and I will definitely bring more water for this difficult hike.

On Walkabout At: The Wyler Aerial Tramway

Published on February 2, 2010 in Southwest America. 0 Comments Tags: El Paso, Franklin Mountains, Texas, Wyler Aerial Tramway.

A really great way to spend an afternoon if visiting El Paso is by taking a ride up the Wyler Aerial Tramway that takes visitors to the summit of Ranger Peak that provides sweeping views of the area:

The tramway is located at the top of McKinley Street which zig-zags up to the side Ranger peak where the terminal for the tramway is located:

Of course there is a big Texas flag flying with the Stars & Stripes at the tramway station:

The tramway was first built in 1959 by KTSM radio to assist in the construction of a transmitter tower on the summit of Ranger Peak. The project was managed by a man by the name of Karl O. Wyler. The tramway first opened to the public as the El Paso Aerial Tramway and provided rides to the public from 1960 to 1986. In 1986 high liability insurance costs forced the tramway to shut down public operations. Before his death Wyler donated the tramway for public use and the Texas Parks and Wildlife accepted the donation in 1997 and renovated and re-opened the tramway to the public in 2001.

From the parking lot of the terminal there are some great views of Eastern El Paso:

This was just a preview of the even greater views to come at the top of the 5,632 foot Ranger Peak where the Swiss made gondolas drop passengers off at:

The journey to the summit takes visitor on a 2,600 foot journey that takes roughly about 4 minutes to complete:

Along the way to the top of the mountain there are some dramatic views of the steep, rocky walls of the Franklin Mountains:

At the top of Ranger Peak the Texas State Park Service has an observation platform setup that provides sweeping views of Texas, New Mexico, and Old Mexico:

The platform also offers even more great views of the Franklin Mountains:

The international border that separates the cities of El Paso and Juarez is easily recognizable due to the Rio Grande River that separates the two countries, as well as by this huge Mexican flag that dominates the Mexican-American border:

From the top of Ranger Peak this large Mexican mountain can be seen rising over Juarez in the far south as well:

To the southeast the sprawling city of El Paso can be seen with the extremely busy I-10 running east into the interior of West Texas:

The busiest highway artery in El Paso known as the Spaghetti Bowl where I-10 and US-54 meet is easily visible from the peak:

At the base of the Spaghetti Bowl the Concordia Cemetery where over 60,000 people including gunfighter John Wesley Hardin, Buffalo Soldiers, Texas Rangers, Civil War Veterans, early Mormon pioneers, Florida (Lady Flo) Wolf, and Lawman John Selman are buried. The cemetery was also formerly the first burial site for Mexican Revolution President Victoriano Huerta and numerous other civic leaders, pioneers, and war veterans.

Directly to the east US-54 that runs north to south through El Paso can be seen :

Also to the east the El Paso International Airport is visible:

For an airport that supports a city of about 750,000 it is actually one of the better airports I have ever flown through. To the east the massive Ft. Bliss military base can also be seen:

Here is the northeast of El Paso where I live and if you look closely you can see the Sacramento Mountains in the distance to the north:

At the base of the mountain one of the most prominent buildings in all of El Paso, the William Beaumont Army Medical Center can be seen:

Right across the street from the hospital is the gigantic Jobe gravel quarry:

On the backside of the observation platform views of the west side of El Paso are also available:

The most prominent natural feature of the west side is Mount Cristo Del Rey which is considered one of the most dangerous hikes in America:

The most prominent man made feature on the west side is the ASARCO copper smelting plant:

What is unusual about this mine is that it is literally right next to downtown El Paso and in the very middle of the city. The plant closed in 1999, but there has been recent talks about the plant reopening, but public and governmental opposition to the pollution the plant would make in the very middle of the city will make its reopening unlikely. Another major man-made landmark on the west side is the Sun Bowl on the campus of the University of Texas-El Paso (UTEP):

Of course views of downtown El Paso are also available:

The observation platform actually doesn’t provide the best views of downtown El Paso. The best views of central El Paso can be found at the lookout on Scenic Drive.

All in all a visit to the Wyler Aerial Tramway makes for a nice afternoon out and a great place to take friends and family visiting the city for the first time to get them oriented to the city. I have rode the tramway up to the top of the mountain three times over the past year and always enjoyed it. Definitely worth checking out if visiting El Paso.

Exploring the Franklin Mountains B-36 Crash Site

Published on January 25, 2010 in Southwest America. 2 Comments Tags: air crash, B-36, El Paso, Franklin Mountains, Texas.

A few months ago I became aware of a crash of a B-36 bomber in El Paso’s Franklin Mountains when doing some research on local air crashes for a class I was taking for my Masters Degree in Aeronautical Science. In the 1950′s the B-36 was the key strategic long range bomber for the US Air Force. During its time in service the B-36 was the largest piston engine aircraft in the world and the bomber is still recognized for having the longest wingspan of any combat aircraft ever built. So this is obviously quite a big plane that went down in the Franklins.

The crash in the Franklin Mountains happened on December 11, 1953 when the B-36 was flying from Carswell Air Force Base outside of Fort Worth, Texas to Biggs Air Force Base (Now Biggs Army Airfield) outside of El Paso, Texas. Due to poor weather conditions the B-36 was kept in a holding pattern over Salt Flat, Texas near the Guadalupe Mountains before finally be given permission to proceed towards Biggs. It was during the landing attempt towards Biggs that the aircraft crashed due to a combination of winter weather and poor radio commands from the air traffic controllers on the ground. Here is a great posting from an El Paso Times archivist that shows local reactions to the crash.

Last known picture of the plane taken from an observer on the ground shortly before the crash.

Here are the names of the nine crew members who died in the crash, there was no survivors:

Lt. Col. Hermen Gerick            Aircraft Commander
Major George C. Morford       Pilot
Major Douglas A. Miner          Navigator
1st Lt. Gary B. Fent                  Flight Engineer
M Sgt Royal Freeman               Radio Operator
A/1c Edwin D. Howe               Gunner
A/2c Frank Silvestri                  Gunner
1st Lt James M. Harvey            492nd Bomb Squadron Staff Flight Engineer
1st Sgt Dewey Taliaferro         Passenger

For those interested you can read the complete military report on this accident here.

Using Google Earth and searching the Internet I was able to pin point where the crash occurred in the Franklins. This location is little known and there is no trail to the crash site. However, armed with my print outs from Google Earth I decided to go ahead and find this crash site on a recent weekend when the weather was cooperative. Though there is no trail to reach the crash site there is at least a trail that accesses the lower slopes of the mountains before having to scale up the side of the mountain. This trail begins at the very end of Stanton Street that begins in downtown El Paso and travels northeast and ends at this trailhead:

The trail is easy to spot because you can’t miss seeing this water tower:

In this picture I am standing next to the water tower and looking towards the parking area where I could see my Ford parked below:

Here is the trail that leads to the base of the mountains with the antennas from the Wyler Aerial Tramway visible:

As I followed the trail I could see that it turned towards the south and followed the base of the mountain in that direction:

I stopped at this point on the trail where this pointed rock is located:

Here is the view from the trail looking south with the pointed rock on the left:

Here is the view from the trail up the steep side of the mountains where the crash site is located:

However, this is the type of terrain I had to climb through in order to reach the crash site since there was no trail from this point on:

The best way to reach the crash site is by climbing up the ravine pictured above. As I climbed up the side of the mountain I took a look behind me and could see UTEP’s Sun Bowl Stadium back dropped by the slums of Juarez, Mexico:

As I got to the higher reaches of the mountain I began to escape from the thick desert foliage that flourished in the ravine, but there was still plenty of cactus and yucca plants to be careful of:

Something I wasn’t expecting to see on this hike though was wildlife:

If you look closely at the center of the picture of above you can see the mule deer that I saw running up the side of the mountain. The deer moved very fast and was soon out of sight before I could snap another picture. Anyway I continued to climb up the mountain and towards the rock pillar pictured below:

That is when I began to see the first signs of debris from the B-36 crash:

Eventually I came upon a very large piece of debris which may have been part of one of the landing gears:

This debris can be found by walking parallel to the large rock wall pictured below:

If you look closely at the photograph above you actually can see the large piece of crash debris. Here was the view from the upper reaches of the mountain looking once again towards Juarez:

Here is a closer look of the Sun Bowl from this viewpoint:

From this viewpoint I then began to walk parallel across the mountain to look for more debris:

I was just above a prominent rock pillar on the side of the mountain when I noticed something peculiar on the rock:

It looked like some kind of memorial on the rock:

So I walked down to the rock pillar and took a closer look at the torch memorial:

From the base of the rock I noticed a whole lot more of debris from the crash:

Then I could make out even larger debris right below the rock:

This had to be the epicenter of the crash because I could see areas where the fire from the crash was so hot that it melted and burned the rocks:

Here was the B-36′s landing gear:

Here is the view towards western El Paso from the crash site:

Here is a zoomed in view from the crash site towards the trail head about 1,000 feet below:

As I headed further down the mountain I came upon this propeller:

The B-36 had six rear mounted propellers and this propeller was the only one I found. Some prior visitor to the crash site was nice enough to leave this American flag patch on the propeller:

One of the jet turbines that powered these propellers was lying near by:

There was plenty more debris that I continued to stumble upon as I proceeded down the mountain

This debris may have been part of the frame of the fuselage:

As I continued further down the mountain I was surprised to find yet even more debris:

I even came upon another set of landing gear:

As soon as I came upon this rock slab that was the point where I found no more debris and then proceeded to walk back down to the trail below:

From this rock slab here is the view back up the side of the mountain where the debris field from the B-36 crash is located:

By searching around the two rock outcroppings that is the easiest way to find the majority of the wreckage on the mountain:

From the rock slab it was actually a pretty easy hike back down the trail through the ravine I accessed the crash site from initially:

At the end of the ravine I came upon the trail again that would take me back to my truck. Before getting back to my truck I just took one look at back at the side of the mountain where 9 Air Force veterans lost their lives in the terrible crash:

In the picture above it is easy to spot the large rock pillar where the torch memorial is located. Something I was surprised about is that neither the Air Force or the Army at nearby Ft. Bliss have done anything to erect a memorial in memory of the nine crew members who died at this site. It would be classy of the military to at least construct something here to remember these Air Force veterans with after the passage of all these years. The military may have forgotten about these veterans, but you don’t have to; if you want to visit the site it only takes about 1.5 hours to reach the site from the trail head. Make sure that if you are visiting that you have a moderate level of fitness and bring water with you because like I said before there is no trail up the side of the mountain, which makes hiking difficult. Budget about 3 hours for a round trip and be respectful at the crash site because nine people did die at this location and please do not take souvenirs. May the nine personnel who died in this tragic accident rest in peace.