Madre Mountain and Davenport Lookout in Cibola National Forest, NM

Hike Madre Mountain and Davenport Lookout Cibola National Forest, NM

Class 1 9.2 miles 2800 gain 4-6 hrs Loop Oct 17, 2024
Effort
Beauty
Personality
Solitude

Madre Mountain and Davenport Lookout GPX Track

I need to offset my substantial website costs somehow! You can download a hike/drive GPX to assist you here. Before sharing my GPX tracks with others, please remember my site is otherwise a free resource.

I met up with Kevin to hike Madre Mountain, a summit in the middle of nowhere in New Mexico with just under 2,000 feet of prominence. Unfortunately, there are dirt roads leading most of the way to the summit, but we managed to extend the hike a bit by taking a detour to Davenport Lookout as well as to unnamed lump Peak 9275 to the south. If you have a good vehicle, you could drive up to Davenport Lookout and reduce the approach to Madre Mountain to just a couple of miles. However, Kevin, the addicted peakbagger and sweetheart that he is, drove nearly four hours to do this hike with me. So, we opted to hike the roads and form a loop instead, giving us more time to explore the area on foot. We parked at the National Forest border, just before a pocket of private land where parking is prohibited.

We started by hiking up the road to Davenport Lookout, an uneventful set of switchbacks with some nice views of the surrounding hills. The summit has a lookout tower, but people were working on it, so we didn’t climb it. The dirt road continues toward Madre Mountain, descending first to just below the saddle. Here, we encountered a junction with another approach road. I had read that this road was in rough shape, but it seemed perfectly fine near the junction, but it might be another viable option for reaching the base of Madre Peak via vehicle if that's your preference. We decided to take this road later to reach unnamed Peak 9275. First, though, we headed north on a much rougher dirt road up to the southwest ridge of Madre Mountain.

From there, an even rougher road climbs steeply north before transitioning into a degraded trail leading up the grassy slope. A cairn marked the existence of this trail, which might have been official at some point but is now little more than a social trail. It continues along the ridgeline, wrapping around a few lumps along the way. We headed up the steep northern slope of Madre Mountain and reached the bald summit, where the views of the surrounding area were excellent.

After backtracking to the road junction, we decided to form a partial loop rather than retracing our steps entirely. We headed south, leaving the road when a gully became visible on our right. There was a faint hint of an old road here, but it didn’t last long. The gully soon became brushy, so we ascended the steep northern slope of Peak 9275 instead. It might have been easier to continue to the saddle between Peak 9275 and Davenport Lookout, but we were fine with taking the steeper option. There wasn’t much bushwhacking, though it wasn’t a particularly interesting peak. At the top, Kevin called me over to admire what he described as "an excellent view of some bushes" that he was sure I had missed.

From Peak 9275, we descended north to the saddle through more forest, then followed a gully with a faint social trail on its north side. Eventually, the gully brought us back to the start of the Davenport Lookout Road.

PEAKS ON HIKE
Elevation (ft) / Prominence (ft)
Peaks on hike
Elevation
Prominence
1
Davenport Lookout
9358 ft
406 rise
2
Madre Mountain
9567 ft
1988 rise
3
Peak 9283
9283 ft
304 rise

Hire me or show me some love!

Hire/refer me as a web developer or send me a few bucks if you find my site useful. I'm not sponsored, so all fees are out-of-pocket and my time preparing trip reports is unpaid. I really appreciate it!

We parked at the National Forest boundary.
We parked at the National Forest boundary.
Heading up the service road on foot.
Heading up the service road on foot.
Davenport Lookout seen left, Peak 9275 on the right.
Davenport Lookout seen left, Peak 9275 on the right.
Davenport Lookout tower seen left. We headed next along the service road to Madre Mountain.
Davenport Lookout tower seen left. We headed next along the service road to Madre Mountain.
Descending to the saddle.
Descending to the saddle.
Road junction, we took a less good road heading north.
Road junction, we took a less good road heading north.
On the way up to Madre Mountain.
On the way up to Madre Mountain.
We left the road when we reached the saddle on the southwest side of Madre Mountain.
We left the road when we reached the saddle on the southwest side of Madre Mountain.
View back toward Davenport Lookout as we headed up Madre Mountain.
View back toward Davenport Lookout as we headed up Madre Mountain.
A nice clearing along the slope.
A nice clearing along the slope.
Along the ridgeline.
Along the ridgeline.
A social trail leads along the ridgeline. Madre Mountain seen on the right through the trees.
A social trail leads along the ridgeline. Madre Mountain seen on the right through the trees.
Approaching the peak.
Approaching the peak.
Hiking up the north ridge.
Hiking up the north ridge.
View back from the summit of Madre Mountain.
View back from the summit of Madre Mountain.
Davenport Lookout seen left, Alegres Mountain center.
Davenport Lookout seen left, Alegres Mountain center.
Close-up toward the cool peaks labeled Sawtooth Mountains to the northwest.
Close-up toward the cool peaks labeled Sawtooth Mountains to the northwest.
We backtracked to the road and headed next for Peak 9275.
We backtracked to the road and headed next for Peak 9275.
Some deadfall, but nothing too bad. The slope was steep.
Some deadfall, but nothing too bad. The slope was steep.
View back down as we head up Peak 9275.
View back down as we head up Peak 9275.
Peak 9275 partial view.
Peak 9275 partial view.
Descending from Peak 9275.
Descending from Peak 9275.
Davenport Lookout seen above.
Davenport Lookout seen above.
A social trail within the drainage separating Davenport Lookout from Peak 9275.
A social trail within the drainage separating Davenport Lookout from Peak 9275.
Easy hiking back to the road.
Easy hiking back to the road.

Hire me or show me some love!

Hire/refer me as a web developer or send me a few bucks if you find my site useful. I’m not sponsored, so all fees are out-of-pocket and my time preparing trip reports is unpaid. I really appreciate it!