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| Cruces Basin Wilderness |
Wilderness area designation grew out of conservation efforts
early in the last century. Through a
long struggle to preserve at least a part of rapidly disappearing public lands
and overuse of the National Park system a movement developed to preserve parts
of the remaining wild county in pristine condition for future generations. As with the National Parks it is a way to
provide a continuing reminder of the heritage everyone was granted.
In 1880, just 8 years after the designation of our first
National Park – Yellowstone, a brash golden age transportation boom a railroad
was thrust through pristine forests and glades in remote southern
Colorado. The mountains in this area are
lower and gentler than those immediately north but they still presented a
unique civil engineering challenge for a railroad builder. Using every technique available for railroad
builders, except one, a 64 mile section of railroad was pushed across the Tusas
Range of the Rockies. Construction
through this empty and wild area was accomplished through the toil and effort
of the local Hispanic population using hand tools, blasting powder and simple
steam machinery. Over a 9 month period
from March 31, 1880 to December 31, 1880 the rails pushed from Antonito,
Colorado over Cumbres Pass and on the Chama, New Mexico.
On the entire 1,300 mile Rio Grande narrow gauge system
there were only four tunnels and two, which are the only remaining in service,
are on the San Juan Extension, today’s Cumbres and Toltec Scenic Railroad. Each is unique to the specific situation in
which it exists.
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| Tunnel 1 - "Mud Tunnel" |
Thirty one miles west of Antonito (Mile post 311.30) Tunnel
1, “Mud Tunnel”, cuts through 342’ of volcanic ash and breccia – Breccia is a
combination of volcanic ash, pumice and small sharp rock. The overburden becomes greasy when it is
engaged with moisture thus; the prominence which the tunnel is bored through
cannot support a deep cut. Hence a
tunnel is the only alternative and then it must be fully lined with timber to
keep the slippery geological media in place.
That lining caught fire in the early years of the last century which
required the construction of a “shoefly” to bypass the tunnel as it was
re-lined. Early in the “Cumbres and
Toltec era” the tunnel footings were strengthened and the tunnel continues in
service to this day.
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| Tunnel 2 - "Rock Tunnel" |
The second tunnel, “Tunnel 2 – Rock Tunnel”, is 4 miles
further on (Mile post 315.20), and it cuts through 366’ of hard igneous and
metamorphic rock. Igneous and Metamorphic
rocks are very hard and often infused with quartzite material created through
direct contact or immersion in hot volcanic material. Rock Tunnel is 600’ above the Los Pinos River
and 800’ from the South Rim of Toltec Canyon.
A brief view into the bottom of the Canyon is possible right at the west
portal of the tunnel.
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| View into Toltec Canyon of Rio Los Pinos |
The approaches at either end of Rock Tunnel were originally wooden
trestles let into the side of the canyon wall.
This section of the railroad was
nicknamed “Aerial Railroading” in the few years the trestles existed. As part of the continual upgrading of the
line those trestles were replaced early-on with cut stone retaining walls filled-in
with material quarried and brought in by rail from outside the San Juan
Extension.
Looking across the chasm one is thrilled by the view below
but looking up one sees a rough ridge some 800’ beyond. That ridgeline is the northern border of the 18,000
acre Cruces Basin Wilderness. It has
been described as a “Small Gem” of open meadows and gentle slopes. The high point is above 9,000 feet and it is bordered by
steep bluffs on two sides. Access is
difficult and there are no marked trails or camp sites as in other well-traveled
Wilderness areas.
Northern New Mexico is indeed a land of contrast from
mountains to ancestral homelands of the indigenous Pueblo, Apache, Navajo and Utes
peoples. Remote quiet and slow paced,
just the place for someone, “Born too late”.
