Enchanted Tower access........?

So this last weekend I arrived at ET via the back way. Friday the following morning I saw several cars come through the front. Gate! I inquired about it and the drivers said "Gate was open....?". So on Sunday when my group left we tired the short way (the original way) out and the gates were unlocked. Also the gate to the Highway was actually open and not closed.

any locals have any insider beta on what's the deal with the gate?

My understanding is that although the gate is mostly kept closed, sometimes the ranchers leave it open for periods as they dont want to be bothered to keep locking and unlocking it.

I'm sure someone more knowledgeable (e.g. Halladay) will contribute a more complete answer for you than this.

Access Fund is currently waiting on a decision in the courts which the Forest Service is pursuing, related to the wider issue of ranchers locking gates on FS roads, which is likely illegal.

Owen Summerscales wrote:My understanding is that although the gate is mostly kept closed, sometimes the ranchers leave it open for periods as they don't want to be bothered to keep locking and unlocking it.

That's my understanding too. It's their gate and their land. Insofar as I know it's not legitimate to use the gate even if it's open. There are still "No Trespassing" signs posted by the gate and I heed those. One party that came in via the gate this past weekend said they stopped, found the chain wrapped around the gate/post but it wasn't locked so they opened it and used the access. That seems shady to me. And it could have been something like this took place and the folks opening the gate didn't re-wrap the chain so subsequent visitors thought, "hey, the gate's open!" and used the access leading to a snowballing affect of trespassing.

I know it's super tempting to use the access if the gate isn't locked but until I hear from the Socorro contacts, the AF or some other authority that access is truly restored and allowed, I'll continue to do the long drive around in hopes this keeps us climbers looking respectful and doesn't jeopardize future access potential.

But I digress. To answer your original question, Pat, I have no knowledge of access actually being granted again.

Like most of us, I have no direct information about what the situation is with the rancher and access through that property. Unfortunately, in the past there has been what has appeared to be deliberate misrepresentation by some about problems with this area in what has seemed like an effort to discourage others from going. Crowding is a real problem in many places and I sometimes think it might be better to resist the urge to actively advertise the awesomeness of a local area. However, I would like to think that intentional dishonesty is something that climbers would reject. I do believe in a self-regulating climbing community because almost all the climbers I have met have been really good people. This weekend we drove in and out the long way because I believe what climbers post on a site like this regarding access issues. It would be depressing and ultimately detrimental to access if warnings or concerns posted on a site like this could not be trusted. It was a little depressing to find that the length and severity of the dirt road around the back way had been exaggerated a bit in earlier posts. It is annoyingly rocky for a while on the west side, but its not nearly as bad as the Homestead or some of the roads in the Queen Creek area, for example.

Eric, I might be wrong, but I dont think its as simple as that, in terms of trespassing. It's a forest service road, which is public property and should represent an easement for the purpose of accessing national forest land. I heard that the FS are pursuing cases like this - locking gates on FS roads by ranchers rather than rangers - in the courts because they believe it is not legal for them to do this.

The real situation is a crap shoot. I went in the back and out the front last time (a month ago). Caretaker may lock it, he may not.

Just pack a bolt cutter and you won't get locked out/in.

just kidding, this sucks as most us that pass by this area would like to climb there.

About 40 minutes, and it is a really pretty drive. I do not have 4wd by the way.

I don't think you'll be shot for trespassing, or ticketed, but do you want to run that chance? Obviously the land owner isn't policing or enforcing it heavily right now, but you never know when that will change.

I will stick to the back way in.

The road isn't privately owned, it is FS-59. Like I said, its a legal grey area whether you are trespassing or not when on a forest service road that passes through private land.

Is the road marked as a FS road out on the highway ?

I totally understand the caretakers POV. I always hated the rude people coming in after dark.

I have to say, it is the amazing place it is because the access is tougher. Don't think I'd want to go back if there was 100 people in that hole at one time. I saw more squirrels than people, I guess I just enjoy nature as a backdrop to climbing rather than people. Glad it keeps the masses at bay!

Its definitely nice without the crowds. I would say the closure cuts the numbers by 80%

I'll 2nd that the limited numbers are a nice by product. The tower loses some of it's charm when it's under siege. Especially if you are on the lower end of the spectrum where the choices are rather limited.