Redondo Campground

The camping spot, the tall trees, Not crowded, plenty of privacy between campers, easy paved road bed all the way through, fire ring, picnic table. And all that for just $10 per night. And I had one splendid night. However, I must mention the toilets because that’s the main reason I car camp in fee campgrounds, so I can have the use of a toilet. But these guys and indeed most campgrounds are following a protocol which renders them completely useless, they leave doors open for ventilation and post a sign saying to leave doors open because they’re not staffed well enough to do the cleaning and sanitizing. This lets flys by the hundreds inside and since most campers don’t seem to learn about closing the lids on a vault toilet the flies inhabit the vault by the dozens and pardon my graphics but who is going to bare their bottom to those insanely hungry critters! I quickly unpacked my personal pee jar. Don’t go there without one! The morning came and I needed a more serious moment in the toilet so I had to leave earlier than planned, stopping at other picnic areas only to find all toilet doors propped open, I drove south on Hiway 4 until I found a FISHING ACCESS turnout with a closed-door toilet. It was pristine. Not one fly. The sign inside said “Please close the lid and the door when finished. Help us keep our toilets clean”. And they also posted the sign informing lack of services, use at your own caution. This is the right way to keep these toilets.

However, let me stress, after all that, how much I loved this campground and the sunny small grassy meadows spaced apart among the fabulous tall ponderosa pine trees. I do hope the Forestry Service can correct their misinformed protocol for the toilets. I will write them. Maybe next time I can stay the next day for a longer visit.

Campground Review

This campground is an excellent basecamp to explore the Jemez area, with excellent access to quality rock climbing for everyone from beginners to experts (5.5 sport routes to 5.12+ sport and trad, and mid-grade alpine routes are nearby at Los Conchas, Battleship Rock, and the Gilman Tunnels), wonderful day hikes near the Jemez River and it's tributaries, and is a short drive from the Valles Caldera National Preserve and Bandelier National Monument.

This campground is busy, and is immediately off NM highway 4, so you can't expect solitude and silence. Also, plan on arriving early if you want to get a good site, as reservations are not accepted and when we arrived in the early afternoon on a Friday, the grounds were already filling up. Despite this, the campground is beautiful, the spaces are large enough to easily accommodate two vehicles and multiple parties, likewise allows plenty of room for setting up goodies like slacklines and hammocks, and the size of the sites allows you plenty of room to set up away from adjacent sites if you want a bit more privacy. The sites are flat, but there are not designated pads, so you have options in tent placement, but might have to move some debris to get a comfortable set up. All sites have an enclosed fire pit and older-style large, concrete picnic tables. The campground is affordable at $10/night, and has serval different loops with group sites, trailer/RV comparable sites, and walk up primitive sites.

Overall, this is a great site for family and group camping as long as you don't mind a bit of noise. The only detractors keeping it from being a five-star site for me are the noise level that comes from such a popular campground, and the pit toilets did not appear to be cleaned regularly, and two of the restrooms on site seemed unsanitary.

Product Review

As a Ranger for The Dyrt, I'm fortunate enough to have the opportunity to test products now and then. On this trip, I tried out the Andre Shirt by Fayettechill, provided by the good folks at Roanline.

I'm not typically one to wear button ups while outdoors--mostly because I'm boring and just pack a few plain-jane tee shirts for a weekend outside--but with this shirt I'm a convert to more stylish and comfortable options. The lightweight fabric made this a wonderful choice for late spring southwest weather with temperatures in the upper-80s, and the wide sleeves provided enough dexterity for comfortable wear while climbing, even while reaching well above my head and making poor racking decisions that required reaching around to the opposite side of my harness while locked out.

Style-wise, this shirt fits well in my closet alongside the less functional and more expensive button ups that I'd normally wear for a night out. Similarly, I typically wear a size small, and am on the thin and tall end of the spectrum, and the shirt fits true to size. Similarly, I was concerned that the wide sleeves that provide a wide range of motion would look awkward on my frame, but they managed to fall well, even on my more narrow arms. Additionally, the shirt resisted bunching, even on a three mile approach with a pack carrying a full rack, a day's water, and a 60m rope.

So, while my days of throwing a couple beat up shirts in my bag might not be quite behind me, I'll definitely be poking around Roanline for other comfortable Fayettechill products and similar comfortable and stylish options that can hold up to time in the woods to replace my tee shirt dweebery.