FOLLOWING THE WARPATH:
In Alamogordo, go east on E.1st Street, right on South Scenic Way to end, turn right at water tank. Look for another tank at mouth of canyon. Lincoln Nat’l Forest Trail #104 is 7.3 miles long from the mouth of Alamo Canyon to Forest Road 90.
The cottonwoods that gave Alamo Cañon its name are long gone, and whatever water once flowed through the canyon is now sucked up to slake the thirst of the growing town of Alamogordo. Although the FS map shows the trail following the bed of the canyon, the path actually crosses a broad alluvial fan at the canyon’s mouth before climbing over the low bench separating Alamo and Deadman Canyon and up over the shoulder of “The Roundup Ground” ridge.
Deadman Canyon branches off south from Alamo Canyon.
Guilfoyle and his scouts picked up Nana’s trail at the mouth of Dog Canyon, about 8 miles south of Alamo Canyon, where Oliver Lee State Park now offers comfortable campsites with fire rings, picnic tables (plus flush toilets and showers!) and great views west towards White Sands and the San Andres mountains. There’s a pleasant walk along the nature trail to the pools of water under cottonwood trees in the bottom of the canyon or a challenging hike up the Eyebrow Trail, a narrow and steep climb up the side of the canyon. The little museum in park HQ is also well worth a visit.
Tracking Nana 