This is one of my favorite areas. It is rugged, remote, and beautiful. Getting into the area has become increasingly difficult due to illegal encroachments from Mexico, locked gates, and the Horseshoe Fire of 2011, which made the one forest service road into an impassible mess that forced us to hike in rather than drive in and camp. Bottom line, few people get to see this scenic but remote area.
Within this section of granite topped hills with rocky colonnades and hoodoos is "Red Mountain," a red igneous mountain which we always called "Baldy.". I suspect it is a magma dome, since the area to the south, Jack Wood Pass, appears to have the same kind of rock. It isn't a bad climb, and has multiple approaches. I chose to climb it from the west and north. From it's peak is a great view of Horseshoe Canyon to the north, Jack Wood Canyon to the south, Price Canyon to the west, and the mountains of New Mexico where Geronimo surrendered to the east.
The best way to get here is to follow the directions outlined in Jack Wood, which is across the canyon from this site. Careful planning is advised, because it is a rugged 4X4 adventure to get to the base of the mountain. With my high clearance vehicle I couldn't get that far, and ended up hiking 10 miles roundtrip, with 1500 feet of elevation gain. The terrain rating is not an exaggeration.
This is a letterbox hybrid. In addition to the normal logbook and trade items, it also contains a letterbox stamp, inkpad, spare bottle of ink, and stamp book. Please do not remove the stamp, ink pad, or stamp book. THEY ARE NOT TRADE ITEMS!