About 40 miles south of Tres Piedras, one could see the fantastic smoke clouds billowing from the fires near Las Vegas. My grandmother had been forced to leave her home since she was having trouble breathing.

Here are two photos of the big old bastard. One is from just north of Tres Piedras, about 14 miles due south of the mountain. The other is from near where my campsite would end up.

Once off the highway, I began scouting for both a campsite and a line that I'd take up to the summit. There are no trails, but that type of remoteness also meant that I didn't see a soul anywhere near me for the next ~10 hours. I didn't see anyone west of the highway, but once on top of the mountain I could see the freeway, and of course there was traffic there. The pastel hues and the natural beauty of Northern New Mexico meant that I kept stopping on my scouting to take pictures.