DESCRIPTION:

 I have not hiked T71 so I have no detailed description and no Scenic Rating.  I do have the words of a friend:  “A buddy and I took horses down T71 one day, and we are pretty sure that we found it.”  I drove to the T71 trailhead at the peak of Tucson Mountain, and I found an opening in the barbed wire fence.  I scouted about fifty yards east of that opening, but I could not find a trail worth following.  In addition, the eastern end of the Forest Service GPS track does not match well with the trail location shown on the topo map.  This one needs work.

 However, if you go to the trouble to drive toward the peak of Tucson Mountain, you will encounter a “Y”.  The right fork leads toward the peak and the gate mentioned above.  The left fork (FR995) ends near a cliff with spectacular panoramic views to the north.  Reap this reward for the abuse of your vehicle.

 ACCESS:

A high clearance vehicle, preferably 4‑wheel drive, is needed to reach the eastern trailhead. From the US380 and US54 intersection in Carrizozo, drive US380 east 13.6 miles to milepost 79. Just beyond milepost 79 turn left on County Road C011 and follow it. At mile 1.6 from US380, C011 ends and FR84 begins as a very rough and rutty primitive road [Lynn Melton: “This is the roughest road I have been on, lots of basketball sized rocks.”]. At mile 4.6, there is an earthen tank.  Make a hard right turn on to a bad road that may be signed FR995 (or FR1056 or FR9038).  When you encounter the ledge, keep far right.  Several roads branch off the correct route, but there is not much in the way of signage to help you.  If you manage to stay on the correct route, at mile 1.5 from the earthen tank, you will encounter a “Y”.  The left fork comes to a dead end near spectacular views.  The right fork leads toward the peak of Tucson Mountain, 0.5 miles further.

Below this text, I have included a link to my GPS track for the correct route from the earthen tank to the peak of Tucson Mountain.  No need for you to do the trial-and-error work that I did.