Overview:
Are you yearning for a morning in the mountains complete with canyon scenery, numerous small bouldering problems, blue sky, variegated rock and a desert-dominated biome? This is the hike for you! Nestled into the corner where US-82 departs west from US-70, this small canyon brings you into some lonesome terrain. The highlight of this off-trail scramble is a bouldery segment of canyon known as the Jumble. Wending your way up, over and around this boulder barrier is a fun and mildly athletic challenge. At the upper end of the Jumble is a dry waterfall, which might be climbable but is characterized by seriously rotten rock. A better alternative is to ascend the steep canyon wall and discover an unlikely horse path called the Sentinel Trail. On this date we turned west and headed back towards the basin on the trail. A longer day could be made by following the canyon as it reaches towards the sky on the flanks of Horse Ridge.
Driving Directions:
- From University Avenue in Las Cruces, enter Interstate-25 going north
- After 4.3 miles, take exit 6 for US-70E to Alamogordo (the exit splits into three roads, stay in the center for US-70E)
- After 63.6 miles, immediately after the third stoplight entering Alamogordo, take the exit ramp for the Charlie Lee Memorial Relief Route (CLMRR).
- After 0.2 miles, at the end of the ramp, turn left onto the CLMRR (going north).
- After 5.0 miles, at a lighted intersection, turn right onto US-70.
- After 0.4 miles, at a lighted intersection, turn left onto Scenic Drive.
- After 1.5 miles turn left into the parking lot for the Christ Community Church.
Trailhead:
As you enter the grounds for the Christ Community Church there is a small gravel pad immediately on your right (east of the entry lane). Park in the gravel lot.
You will need to find alternative parking on Sundays or whenever there is any sign that the church has need of these parking spaces. We did not test this, but a possible alternative might be found immediately uphill of the church. On Scenic Drive, go past the church to the next opening in the concrete center-strip. There turn left and enter onto a dirt road. This dirt road takes you about 0.1 miles east, turns 90-degrees to due north and travels towards Beeman Canyon. After driving past four houses on your right (and just past the church on your left) you should be able to find a suitable parking space on the side of the road. There are no trailhead amenities at either trailhead. There are no fees.
Data:
- Starting Elevation: 4560 feet
- Ending Elevation: 5600 feet
- Net Gain: 1040 feet
- Distance: 6.1 miles (round trip)
- Maps: USGS Alamogordo North
Hike Description:
From the trailhead, head north and walk past the church towards a water tank at the rear of the property. Just past the water tank is a small dirt berm that blocks vehicular traffic. Cross the berm and join up with a dirt road headed north. (This is the same dirt road that is suggested as an alternative trailhead).
At 0.5 miles the road crosses a broad and stoney wash that is the outflow of Beeman Canyon. Past the wash (actually, teetering on the edge of its far bank) a second dirt road departs to the right. Go right as this road swings northeast towards the mountains and then shyly turns back to a northerly course. In little over 0.1 miles from the first turn come to a four-way intersection of dirt roads and go right. On this new road you will be heading directly east. Go boldly into the mountains. A plethora of possible roads come in on your left, but ignore them. As long as you keep the wash on your right you can’t miss the canyon. At about 0.9 miles from the trailhead the wash makes a sharp S-bend and rock walls arise on the outside curves. Welcome to Beeman Canyon.
The hike into the lower canyon is a very mellow stroll. The bottom switches between scrubbed bedrock and stretches of sand and small rock. Layered limestone lines the walls. The available soils are so thin that you might expect to the canyon to be completely barren, yet cacti cling to crevices and both yucca and sotol will sprout where-ever a cup of earth has been deposited. There are no navigation problems – you simply stay in the canyon bottom. At about 1.7 miles from the trailhead, come to a pair of trailer-sized boulders that serve notice that the Jumble is nearby. The hike immediately above this portal is fairly open. There may be a few isolated, easy boulder blocks in the canyon bed, but it will be another 0.4 miles to get to the continuous heap-o-boulders that characterizes the Jumble.
At about 2.1 miles from the trailhead the bed of the canyon becomes thick with person-sized, roughly egg-shaped boulders. It is a puzzle to explain how the huge, angular rocks that protrude from the canyon walls become so markedly rounded on the canyon floor. Wind and water doubtlessly have central roles. Both factors, however, are at play in nearby places like Ortega Canyon, North Marble Canyon and South Marble Canyon. None of these nearby canyons present similar boulder playgrounds. Is the rock softer in Beeman? Does the lower angle of the grade allow for longer weathering? Regardless, the playground is there in front of you. Enjoy the challenge.
In most places the climbing moves are straightforward and scramblers will have little problem getting past them. There are a few spots, however, where boulder has piled upon boulder and climbing brings exposure. Scramblers who are not comfortable with these moves need only look around. There is almost always a side trail that will take you up the canyon wall and around the climbing problem, although with new challenges in the form of “shin stabbers” and prickly pear. You can’t avoid those problematic plants by climbing. Several of the hardest moves in the canyon are complicated by vegetation that is every bit as prickly as it is inconveniently placed.
The canyon ascent ends at a tall waterfall at about 3.3 miles from the trailhead. Be careful around this waterfall as the rock is notably rotten and there are huge boulders hanging overhead. You will find freshly fallen rock right at the base of the falls. Unlike their rounded downstream relatives, each new-fallen rock looks as though it had been had been squared by quarrymen. This dry waterfall is an outstanding place for a break. Have a snack and take in views across the Tularosa Basin to the San Andreas Mountains or scope out the high canyon walls above you.
Although it seems improbable, there is an old horse trail on the steep southern wall of Beeman Canyon (looking up-canyon it will be the right wall). Ascend on loose gravel, past sotol and yucca, in the direction of the cliff that forms the canyon top. Less than 50 feet above the floor of the waterfall you should encounter a faint old track. (Keep checking over your shoulder since it is easier to see the trail from above than from below). You could turn uphill and follow the track as it climbs into the upper end of Beeman Canyon. On this date, however, we turned right to gain the ridge and then begin a descent.
This trail, called the Sentinel Trail, makes a brief and gentle climb to just above 5600 feet. There it contours below the cliffs on a sloping shelf. The cliffs are being slowly worn into hoodoos – several free-standing stone towers become apparent as you near them. The shelf itself is a desert wonderland of brown grasses, chaparral and stuff that prickles or stabs. If the grasses have grown over the trail then walk along at mid-shelf until you regain the tread. Great views open to the northern ridge above Beeman (Horse Ridge) and beyond to the northern Tularosa Basin. Don’t forget to look down into the canyon bottom, the view of the waterfall and the top of the Jumble is extraordinary.
While you walk west on a nearly level path, the rocky rim above you is descending. The top of the ridge approaches the level of the trail at about 3.8 miles from the trailhead. Here you will find a cluster of house-tall hoodoos known as the Sentinels. There are views past these towering rocks and across the basin to White Sands National Monument. We had an exceptionally clear day for this hike and the individual sand dunes in the Monument were clearly visible. The tread becomes more obvious beyond this spot as it eases out onto the broad top of Beeman Ridge. The trail is rubbly and in places rather deeply cut into ridge-top soils. From the ridge you can look south across the Sacramento Mountains as they tower above Alamogordo.
As you get close to the basin watch for a junction where the main trail diverts north to skirt around a knoll. You will want to find a secondary trail that goes east (left, looking downhill) and descends a rib in the direction of the trailhead. In ordinary weather the large building of Christ Community Church will be in sight. While descending the rib you may spot an old well on a flanking arroyo wall. The well appears to have been dug into a seep above the arroyo, years ago. Since that time the walls of the arroyo have worn down and opened the well like a cut-away diagram.
Return to the trailhead having hiked 6.1 miles.
Recommendations:
♦This is a great hike for folks who are comfortable being off trail and in good enough shape to do small bouldering problems. Beeman Canyon is probably too difficult for young children, risk-adverse parents or the strongly acrophobic. Just about anyone, however, may find that the road and the broad canyon bed in the lower part of the canyon makes for a very enjoyable stroll. An easy hike can be had by turning back at the “gates” for the Jumble.
♦This was a terrific mid-winter scramble. On this date the weather was very mild, so I only went through a liter of water. Under warmer conditions this west-facing canyon would get toasty. Adjust your water load accordingly.
♦The Sacramento Mountains do rattle and they are home to various stinging insects. Especially in warmer weather, be careful about where you place your hands. Even the plants can sting, so gloves are strongly recommended.
♦This hike crosses private land. Please keep these kind folks happy by treating their property respectfully.
Links:
♦Mike, who led this hike, has a description on the Hike Arizona site that takes you all the way into the upper part of Beeman Canyon and its North Fork.
♦That’s about it! This fun little scramble seems to be almost unknown on the web.
New Mexico Meanders 
Nice write up… we locals tend to call the spires the Sentinels… but Spectacle fits!!
Howdy Mike,
Thank you! I goofed on the Sentinels/Spectacle nomenclature. It will be fixed in a moment.