Well, Bruce finally cornered me at a recent meeting for an upcoming event. He “reminded” me that I promised an article months ago. I feigned ignorance, not a real challenge for me. At any rate here we go again.

The first thing to do is stop at the Northwest New Mexico Visitor Information Center. Look for the signs on I-40 on the eastside of Grants. This interagency center is a great place for all kinds of outdoor recreation information. The Mining Museum and other locations around Grants have the brochures also. Pick up a brochure on the Zuni Mountain Historic Trail.

This brochure will get you on the right path. Zuni Canyon #1 (GCQK5G) or Zuni Madness (GCV5OH) cache descriptions will also get you on the correct road. Zuni Canyon Road starts/ends immediately west of Grants on Highway 53. It is a well maintained, basically all weather gravel road with seven (7) easy caches at or near historic markers. This string is a do-able long day of caching.

At the other end of Zuni Canyon road you will reconnect with Hwy 53. Head east to return to Grants. If you’re up for more head west. El Morro National Historic Park has a virtual The Tank at El Morro (GCG8PA) to be found on a short walk from the visitor center. This is one fascinating place to be sure. When I was a young lad in elementary school in Massachusetts we were taught about the Pilgrims and settlements along the east coast, but not about what was happening in the Southwest. In fact, dates engraved in the cliffs at El Morro predate the Pilgrims. The Spanish were very active out here early on, mostly in search of gold. Those Entradas must have been something to behold.

Proceed along 53 to Forest Road 157 (Timber Lake). A mile or so on this usually nice gravel road are some cliff dwellings in sandstone. If so inclined drive another few miles to view spectacular Zuni Sandstone cliffs bordering the Timberlake Ranch Subdivision.

Return to 53, driving west again for about a mile into the village of Ramah an interesting Mormon settlement. There is a museum of sorts which is rarely open, but great if you get lucky. It isn’t all that easy to get lost in Ramah. Follow the signs leading to Ramah Lake. There are two caches to be had there, Ramah Lake East (GCVG85) and Ramah Lake West (GCVG7H). They are both short hikes. A recent fish die off made it sort of stinky, but hopefully our fantastic rain has sort of cleaned the place up. Ramah Lake is situated in a very colorful canyon, actually the Zuni River. One cacher recently bagged both caches while kayaking.

There are several more caches around the north and northeast sections of the mountains. Some of these caches are on roads that could be really nasty when wet or snow covered, and you will generally need high clearance vehicles. Take a look at Lewis the Woodpecker and Zuni Mountain Sawyer to begin your search. All caches in the Zunis are in historic locations and reek of quality. There is room for dozens more caches up there.

For the most part you will be traveling in a transition zone, vegetatively speaking, starting in the familiar pinon/juniper woodland going up into the ponderosa/oak/shrub zones loved by wildlife of all species.

Critters residing the area are mule deer, Rocky Mountain elk, black bear, badger, coyote, fox, and the usual mix of four legged types. One of the most interesting to me, is the Aberts squirrel also known as tassel eared squirrel. They are a large tree squirrel with conspicuous ears and bushy tails outlined in white. One must emphasize the Prairie Rattler also calls this home. The subspecies found here are small and non-aggressive.

There is a very good Forest Service campground at McGaffy Lake, a small puddle at best. The campground has RV hookups, electricity, water and dump station. This is a good location to wander in the Zunis from. Forest Road 50 is nearby which is a well maintained road for the most part. One can actually drive from the campground to Zuni Canyon #5 if the roads are dry. There is a stretch of several miles of bad news road when wet. There are other primitive campgrounds in the Mountains.

Off of Highway 53 the commercial campground at El Morro is quite good with a café, propane and ice. The National Park site at El Morro has a nice campground though no electricity or dump stations are available. Motels and RV parks in Grants are very reasonably priced and give excellent access to a lot of caches including those in Grants. A two day visit could yield a dedicated cacher more than a dozen finds even without spending time in Gallup.

I highly recommend a casual weekend exploring the Zunis. The only time I would avoid it is during hunting seasons and rainy times. Even during rainy weather several of the caches could be bagged with no problem.

Other caches in the area include:

Totally Tubular

Zuni Canyon #2

Zuni Canyon #3

Zuni Canyon #4

Son of Chicken Killer

Zuni Mountain Cache

KGNT BugPort

Mission #17, Lava Express

Mission #16, 15 Ton Drill Bit

New Mexico Spectacular