A ROCKY INCLINE LEADING to a cloudless desert sky fills the screen. Then the video angle pans down to wilderness adventurer Brett Vaughn as he details his plans to climb the treacherous rock face with his mules and hounds. A retired owner of a corrosion engineering business, the 62-year-old Las Cruces resident has featured his New Mexico wilderness adventures, ghost-town trips, cave explorations, and treasure hunts on his Born 100 Years Too Late YouTube channel (with over 33,000 subscribers) for more than a decade. Vaughn drew inspiration from his father, who used to pack into the Pecos and Gila wilderness areas on horseback. “I heard all these stories,” Vaughn says. “It just fascinated me.” At 17, Vaughn convinced some Estancia High School friends to attempt a three-day horseback trip to fish the Pecos River. “There was a freak storm that came in—a big snowstorm,” he says. “It could have killed us. We barely got out of there. But that’s how I got started.”
AROUND 1981, I went into the wilderness by myself. I wanted to have an experience of being alone in remote country. To this day, I still like that.
I DON’T FEEL any pressure. If you want to ride 15 miles that day, you can. If you just want to ride a few miles—you find a pretty spot and want to stay there—then that’s what you do.
I HEARD IT SOMEWHERE: “Born 100 years too late.” I thought, That fits with what I do. When you envision somebody on a mule riding across the desert with a pack animal, like how they did it 100 years ago, it just kind of fit.
I OWNED A PLACE on North Percha Creek [north of Kingston]. I had 67 acres. It was completely surrounded by forest, totally off-grid. I started watching YouTube to learn how to set up my solar panels.
MY WIFE STAYED in town—she has a good job. So she’d come up on the weekends. I would always tell her the stories about what happened—where I went and what I saw.
SHE SAID, “You need to keep a diary.” So she bought me these books to write in. I was too lazy to write, but I would carry a camera.
I JUST STARTED TALKING to the camera. One thing led to another, and I made some videos.
I ENJOY THE CREATIVE PROCESS, but I never could do anything creative.
I COULD PLAY GUITAR just enough to irritate everybody.
AS A RULE, overall, mules are tougher [than horses]. Their self-preservation instinct is a lot higher.
THERE ARE SOME QUIRKS about mules that some people can’t get along with. A mule never forgets. If you make a mistake on one, it might come back to bite you later on.
I HAVE SOME HOUND DOGS. We trail mountain lions around. It’s about seeing the habits of such a cryptic animal as a lion. People live in lion country their whole life and never see [one] because they’re real secretive. For the most part, they don’t bother people.
SO MANY OF THE PEOPLE who watch the videos are older people that used to do it, but they can’t anymore.
THE COMMENTS I get are people saying, “Oh, thanks for letting me ride along with you.”
I WANT TO RIDE the Butterfield Trail all the way across New Mexico. The Butterfield Stage only ran a few years. I want to stay as true to the trail as I can. That’s something I’d like to do before I get too old to do it.
THAT GROUND is a lot harder now than it used to be 10 years ago.
SEE FOR YOURSELF
Subscribe to Brett Vaughn’s YouTube channel at youtube.com/@BrettVaughnB100, and follow him online at born100yearstoolate.com.