Our 3rd visit to the Cuba Badlands in the San Juan Basin, this to the Ceja Pelon the 4th badlands going west from Mesa de Cuba. Like the other recent hikes, this is the time of year to visit these Badlands, before the hot weather of summer arrives. And this is a return to Ceja Pelon, having hiked there back in 2018.

The San Juan Basin covers the northwest quarter of New Mexico and a portion of Colorado along the NM-CO border. There are -many- Badlands including the Ojito (near San Ysido), San Jose (north of Cuba), and going west Lybrook, Bisti/De-Na-Zin, Ah-Shi-Sle-Pah, and several others (see the map at American Southwest).

Plus these five south and west of Cuba: Mesa de Cuba, Mesa Chijuilla, Mesa Penistaja, Ceja Pelon, and Cejita Blanca Mesa.

A closeup map of the first 4 of the 5 Cuba Badlands.

The Drive In

From Albuquerque, take US 550 to Cuba, but -at the entrance- to the town turn left onto NM 197. Continue south along the east of the very large Mesa de Cuba (one of the badlands) – the scenery as one reaches the end of Mesa de Cuba is quite interesting. Continue for 9.2 miles from US 550 to where NM 197 takes a sharp turn to the left. Midway around this turn take the road to the right (known as Valle San Ysidro); it is a well used (and graded) dirt road.

Continue for 7.2 miles from NM 197, then turn right onto another graded dirt road (not as well maintained as Valle San Ysidro, but suitable for “city vehicles”). Continue for 1.3 miles, then turn left onto a two-track. About 200 yards on, you will encounter a wash with a very steep drop from the edge. This probably requires a high clearance vehicle, and best done with four-wheel drive since even when dry that sand can be soft. From there continue on for for three or four hundred yards, tell you come across a large open area that appears to have been a wellhead. We parked there for our hike into Ceja Pelon.

The Hike

Notes about the Google Earth screenshot: the graph at the bottom shows elevation of the track (pink area) and speed (the blue line).

We began our hike by going up small canyon and then turned left to go up over a ridge into another slightly larger canyon. From there we followed that canyon for about a third of a mile, then turned to the right and worked our way up to the top of the Mesa. Along the way it was hard to take a step without trading on petrified wood from small shards to pieces maybe three or four inches in size. And occasionally we would see a section of a tree trunk, petrified.

From there we walked along the edge of the Mesa for about 6/10 of a mile. We enjoyed a great view of a field of mounds of black capped with gray materials (later, up close, the materials appeared to be some sort of crumbly clay, with near vertical faces of pockmarked surface in many patterns). We also came across rocks of almost every color, from tan to red, some yellow (some of this moss or lichen) – all very interesting. Along the ridge we did come across two petrified tree trunks, partially buried in the sand.

As on our previous visit to Ceja Pelon, on the return we found some shade under a piñon tree and shelter from the furious winds that followed us on this hike. We returned to the Tacoma by a different route, one that did not have such a steep slope to descend.

Statistics

Total Distance:  2.69 miles
Elevation: start 6,945 ft, maximum 7,237 ft,  minimum 6,945 ft
Gross gain:  292 ft.  Aggregate ascending 475 ft, descending 475 ft
Maximum slope: 29% ascending, 23% descending, 5.8% average
Duration: 4:11, Average Speed: 0.6 mph

GPS Track Files for Download
Ceja Pelon Mesa Hike.Pat.2024-05-07 (KML)	39 Downloads
Ceja Pelon Mesa Hike.Pat.2024-05-07 (GPX)	37 Downloads
Ceja Pelon Mesa Drivein.Pat.2024-05-07 (KML)	33 Downloads
Ceja Pelon Mesa Drivein.Pat.2024-05-07 (GPX)	31 Downloads

If you haven’t explored these hiking tracks with Google Earth, I urge you to try it. With the virtual 3-dimensional presentation, achieved by panning and tilting the view, you can get a much better idea of the hikes and terrain than you can get from the screenshot above. For some ideas, check out  Using Google Earth Track Files.

Related Posts

Ceja Pelón Mesa Hike – 05/08/2018
All San Juan Basin hikes

References and Resources

New Mexico Magazine: Badlands Walkabout
     Directory of the 5 badlands near Cuba, NM
PhotoTrek New Mexico:  San Juan Basin Badlands
The American Southwest:
     San Juan Basin Badlands     
    Map of the San Juan Basin Badlands       
    Ceja Pelón Mesa
AllTrails: Caja Pelón
Living Wonderously: Enchanted Excursion
Two Swiss Hikers: Ceja Pelón Mesa
Jim Caffrey Images Photo Blog: The Other Badlands
Arthouse Photography: New Mexico Badlands: Ceja Pelón in color

Photos 
Here are a few photos that Pat took during this hike; there are many more great photos on the References and Resources list above.

Pat's Photos w/ Captions: Click on a Photo for Gallery Show.

Weather continued to be perfect for visiting the openness of the San Juan Basin and the Badlands near Cuba, NM.

The San Juan Basin covers the northwest quarter of New Mexico and a portion of Colorado along the NM-CO border. There are -many- Badlands including the Ojito (near San Ysido), San Jose (north of Cuba), and going west Lybrook, Bisti/De-Na-Zin, Ah-Shi-Sle-Pah, and several others (see the map at American Southwest).

Plus these five south and west of Cuba: Mesa de Cuba, Mesa Chijuilla, Mesa Penistaja, Ceja Pelon, and Cejita Blanca Mesa.

A closeup map of the first 4 of the 5 Cuba Badlands.

The Drive In

From Albuquerque: I-25 to Bernallilo and US-550, then US 550 to the south edge of Cuba. At the edge of town turn left onto NM 197. Continue south along the large Mesa de Cuba on your right; NM 197 bends around to the west; at 5.6 miles, just past the top of a rise in the road, turn right onto a dirt road. Go around a depression (muddy after rain or snow), proceed for .6 miles. Approaching a nearly-washed crossing of an arroyo, we turned right onto a 2-track and proceeded .7 miles to our parking place. There are a few spots along this 2-track that suggest a high-clearance vehicle (we drive a Tacoma). But one could stop anywhere along this 2-track and walk from there towards very interesting territory.

The Hike

Notes about the Google Earth screenshot: the graph at the bottom shows elevation of the track (pink area) and speed (the blue line).

We began our Walkabout by seeking a path up onto a ridge south of were we parked. Alighting from the Tacoma, we immediately came across interesting features – the light and dark gray mounds and rocks on pedestals. After a bit of reconnoitering, we found our way up the steeper slope to the top of the ridge.

From there we enjoyed a good view of the light and dark gray mounds between there and the open plains beyond. We explored this ridge top, considered going down among the mounts but … continued on looking for more interesting features.

Before descending, our view was punctuated by small rock monuments on the end of this ridge.

From there we explored the lower level of this area enjoying the wonderful weather, walking among the scattered juniper trees, and the views of the the mesa around us. We explored a couple of small canyons that penetrated the mesa. And the edges of the dark/light gray mounds have quite an interesting appearance and texture – erosion of the fragile material forming various patterns and shapes.

We came upon more upstanding rocks, sentinels in this fascinating geology.

And we came across a few spherical shaped rocks – what variety Mother Nature produces.

Highlight

Wherever we hike, even in what seems to be the driest setting, we come across more of Mother Nature’s glory – flowers in bloom, the sculpture of skeletons of juniper trees, and sagebrush and a healthy juniper tree forming a backdrop.

Statistics

Total Distance:  2.06 miles
Elevation: start 6,963 ft, maximum 7,021 ft,  minimum 6,948 ft
Gross gain: 73 ft.  Aggregate ascending 424 ft, descending 424 ft
Maximum slope: 34% ascending, 43% descending, 6.5% average
Duration: 3:53, Average Speed: 0.5 mph

If you haven’t explored these hiking tracks with Google Earth, I urge you to try it. With the virtual 3-dimensional presentation, achieved by panning and tilting the view, you can get a much better idea of the hikes and terrain than you can get from the screenshot above. For some ideas, check out  Using Google Earth Track Files.

Related Posts

Mesa de Cuba:
11/09/2014: Mesa de Cuba & Penistaja Driveabout
03/27/2015: Mesa de Cuba Hike
03/25/2018: Mesa de Cuba West Hike
All San Juan Basin hikes

References and Resources

New Mexico Magazine: Badlands Walkabout
The American Southwest: San Juan Basin Badlands
PhotoTrekNM: San Juan Basin Badlands
AllTrails: Mesa de Cuba

XXX’s Photos w/ Captions: Click on a Photo for Gallery Show.

Photos

George’s Photos: Click on a Photo for Gallery Show.

To date: 82 views.

This is the time of year to get out into the open plains, when the temperatures are moderate. After a driveabout the week before into the San Juan Badlands south and west of Cuba, we returned this week with sufficient time to walk among the varied geologic features of the west side of Mesa Penistaja.

The San Juan Basin covers the northwest quarter of New Mexico and a portion of Colorado along the NM-CO border. There are -many- Badlands including the Ojito (near San Ysido), San Jose (north of Cuba), and going west Lybrook, Bisti/De-Na-Zin, Ah-Shi-Sle-Pah, and several others (see the map at American Southwest).

Plus these five south and west of Cuba: Mesa de Cuba, Mesa Chijuilla, Mesa Penistaja, Ceja Pelon, and Cejita Blanca Mesa.  A closeup map of the first 4 of the 5 Cuba Badlands.

The Drive In

US 550 to Cuba, but -at the entrance- to the town turn left onto NM 197. Continue south along the east of the very large Mesa de Cuba (one of the badlands) – the scenery as one reaches the end of Mesa de Cuba is quite interesting. Continue for 9.2 miles from US 550 to where NM 197 takes a sharp turn to the left. Midway around this turn take the road to the right (known as Valle San Ysidro); it is a well used (and graded) dirt road. Continue for 7.2 miles, then turn right onto another graded dirt road (not as well maintained as Valle San Ysidro, but suitable for “city vehicles); continue for 2.2 miles. For this walkabout we parked in an open area just beyond a cattle guard/fence line.

Side Note: On the way out after our walkabout, we explored other roads that go north from the main dirt road. We wanted to get more acquainted with the layout of these Badlands and routes to access the others (Mesa Chijuilla and Mesa de Cuba). We will return – as one can see on GoogleEarth check out the links below:  “… Driveout” in the Statistics section and the Related Posts, there is much more to see.

The Hike

Notes about the Google Earth screenshot: the graph at the bottom shows elevation of the track (pink area) and speed (the blue line).

Highlight

To see the geology, exposed as it in these Badlands, is most fascinating. There are the various colors and textures of the surface: charcoal black, gypsum-like white, browns, tans, some with a hint of red, even pockets of yellow. And there are so many interesting rocks – petrified wood in abundance, dark brown egg-shaped rocks (large globs that have cracked open), and then there is the petrified wood: small slivers, larger sections of a tree’s trunk, many colors and textures, and ….. There is so many interesting things on the ground that it takes a conscious effort to look up, to look around at the terrain let alone the views of mesas nearby.

Statistics

Total Distance:  2.3 miles
Elevation: 6,919 start  ft,  maximum 6,993 ft,   minimum 6,914 ft
Gross gain: 79 ft.  Aggregate ascending 238 ft, descending 240 ft
Maximum slope: 23% ascending, 25% descending, 3.3% average
Duration: 3:13 , Average Speed: 0.8 mph

If you haven’t explored these hiking tracks with Google Earth, I urge you to try it. With the virtual 3-dimensional presentation, achieved by panning and tilting the view, you can get a much better idea of the hikes and terrain than you can get from the screenshot above. For some ideas, check out  Using Google Earth Track Files.

Related Posts

Mesa Penistaja Hikes:
11/09/2014 Mesa de Cuba & Penistaja Driveabout
11/30/2015 Mesa Penistaja East
04/07/2018 Mesa Penistaja West
04/22/2018 Mesa Penistaja West
All San Juan Basin hikes

References and Resources

New Mexico Magazine: Badlands Walkabout
The American Southwest: San Juan Basin Badlands
PhotoTrekNM: San Juan Basin Badlands
AllTrails: Penistaja Mesa

George's Photos: Click on a Photo for Gallery Show.