Category Archives: Rio Puerco

In the vicinity of the Rio Puerco, NM.

La Mesita Blanca Hike – 03/12/2016

Flora for this hike: Winter colors: scrub oak, pinon, and juniper.

Headed off in a different direction today, into the Rio Puerco valley from the south, off of I-40.  Destination – La Mesita Blanca, where Pat and had visited a year ago.  On that trip, we found the road was blocked by a washout, so that day we followed a two-track to what I now know was just the southern corner of this formation.  Today, we found that there is a lot more.

The Drive In

The road from I-40 is paved for the first 5 miles or so, until one is abreast of the village of To’Hajiilee; it then changes to a really good gravel/dirt surface.  The washout area Pat & I encountered is another 7.4 miles from the end of pavement; today Jay and I proceeded beyond the washout another 1.1 miles on the road, then took a two-track to the right, approaching the base the eastern edge of La Mesita Blanca.  

The Hike

Mesita Blanca Hike.Jay.2016-03-12

We then proceeded along the base of the mesa, continuing along the western face for about a mile.  We were enjoying so many different and interesting geologic features – different types of rock, different shapes, varying colors and patterns – so many curiosities; oh, to have a geologist accompanying us.

This is unusual, but .. Fauna for this hike: A small herd of horses. The white one on the ridge was clearly the “master of the herd”. He kept his eye on us, staying on the high ground, as the others went ahead, until they were out of site.

Thinking we may have gone far enough for today, finding ourselves near the end of the cliff, we saw a route the allowed us to ascend onto the top of the mesa.  From that vantage point, looking east, we saw that there is much more to explore here at La Mesita Blanca. Although vehicle tracks on the mesa top suggested that we could continue south and be able to descend to the car, we didn’t have time to explore that possibility so we returned along the route by which we had come.

Jay here: This was a unique hike for many reasons, but most of all because I had never been hiking beyond West Mesa on the far western side of Albuquerque. Also, we were hiking on the Canoncito Navajo reservation heading towards a white rock mesa that looked very far away when viewed from Interstate 40. There’s more to explore here when time permits but not a hike you would want to do in summer heat.

Statistics

Total Distance:  2.67 miles
Elevation: start 5,930 ft , maximum 6,075 ft,  minimum 5,905 ft
Gross gain: 170 ft.  Aggregate ascending 509 ft, descending: 509 ft
Maximum slope: 41% ascending, 32% descending, 7% average
Duration: 1:45

GPS Track Files for Download
141 Downloads
136 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.

File for Interactive Topo from Gmap4: Mesita Blanca Hike.Jay.2016-03-12

Tapia Canyon Hike – 05/10/2015

Vince set us on this site for a hike, expecting to see petroglyphs, an arch, and maybe ruins. He had been stymied on past trips by the road – it crosses the Rio Puerco and tributaries 2 or 3 times.  Crossings are made in a steep descent from the surrounding terrain into the river bed itself – the road must be completely dry or one -will- get stuck.  For this trip, the crossings were uneventful.

The Drive In

The road in, NM 279, goes west from US 550 at milepost 41.  Paved initially, it turns to dirt and does some winding and intersections on which one might go astray (See Guadalupe Ruin & Tapia Canyon for more specific directions and great interactive map).  

The drive itself is quite interesting, scenic with the many volcano chimneys in view, you will pass through or near (nearly abandoned) settlements, and you will drive by Guadalupe Mesa on top of which are Pueblo ruins, identified as the easternmost outlier from Chaco Canyon. About a half mile past the Guadalupe Ruins, turn west on a two-track; park at the end of the two-track just short of a fence, about a half mile from the road.  

The Hike

Tapia Canyon Hike.Vince.2015-05-10

To begin the hike, look for a break in the embankment to descend into the stream bed; we backtracked maybe 100 yards and found an easy path down. The hike itself follows the bottom of Tapia Canyon, mostly a sandy surface but with sections of rockiness and of grass clumps and small trees. The canyon ranges from 75 to 120 yards in width, the walls over 100 ft high throughout.   On the lookout for petroglyphs, we discovered our first set on the left canyon wall, under a bit of an overhang. We were impressed with the span of images, although they did not stand out from the background.  

Continuing up the canyon, on the alert for more petroglyphs (courtesy ondafringe), .. we found them on a 30′ tall mound against the right hand wall of the canyon.  And this is an amazing collection of very prominent petroglyphs as you will see in the photos below. A bit further up the canyon we came to the arch, and a large one it is.  

The day was a bit warm, and the hiking surface challenging, so this became our turn-back point.  After our mid-hike coffee and snacks, we headed back down the canyon.  Although we had planned to ascend out of the canyon to visit the Tower Ruins, our stamina was running out so we returned to the car and home. I should note that the Canyon and Ruins are closed to visitors four times a year for Native American Traditional Activities each year.

Statistics

Total Distance:  5.65 miles
Elevation: start 5,957 ft, maximum 6,114 ft,  minimum 5,937 ft
Gross gain: 177 ft.  Aggregate ascending 907 ft, descending: 910 ft
Maximum slope: 56% ascending, 51% descending, 5% average
Duration: 5:28

GPS Track Files for Download
295 Downloads
330 Downloads
207 Downloads
446 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.

References and Resources:

ondafringe: Day Hike: Tapia Canyon and Tower Ruin
CargoVANConversions: Guadalupe Ruin & Tapia Canyon
Doug Scott Art: Canon Tapia
Dog of the Desert (great video): Petroglyphs of Tapia Canyon, New Mexico – YouTube

Tapia Canyon & Tower Ruins Hike – 11/19/2016

Returning, this time with Jay, to one of my favorite hiking sites.  It is far off the beaten path, some 30 miles from US highway 550, much of that distance on dirt roads.  Although the road is well graded, one should not head out this way soon after any precipitation.

The Drive In

tapia-canyon-tower-ruins-drive-in
Drive-in route from US 550, via CR 279, through San Luis, the -old- village of Guadalupe, past the Guadalupe Mesa ruins, to Tapia Canyon.

The drive in is straightforward: US 550 to CR 279/San Louis Road. Continue through San Louis, stay on 279 as it turns from pavement to a Class 3 road (‘New Mexico pavement’), about 8 miles. Resist turns at 11.5, 16.8, and 21 miles. The road descends into the Rio Puerco valley; along the way it crosses two deep arroyos – the road to the bottom and out is -very- steep .. interesting to drive thorough. At 29 miles from US 550, the road climbs over a sharp saddle, below the Guadalupe Ruins up on the adjacent mesa. From there its .4 mile to the turnoff into Tapia Canyon on a Class 5 road (two-track). Park at the end (there is ample room to turn around).

The vistas across the Rio Puerco are or so beautiful I can’t resist including them in this post.

The Hike

This hike is through the bottom of a wide canyon with walls from 50′ to 150′ high. The surface varies from rocky through sandy to grass covered ground.  “Trees” are mostly salt cedar (tamarisk) along the wash that wanders back and forth across the canyon.  This is not a good place for summer hiking.

tapia-canyon-tower-ruins-jay-2016-11-19
Track of the hike in Tapia Canyon, 11/19/2016.

Of great interest are 3 or 4 section of the canyon walls with large collections of petroglyphs, beginning about 2.2 miles or so up the canyon.  There are few  under an overhang on the left (south) wall (not easy to find), then a large collection 30′ to 40′ or so above the canyon wall on the right (north) wall at 2.3 miles into the hike.  One can get close to the petroglypns by climbing some 30′ up on a mound that sits next to the wall (see photos below).

Further up the canyon, there is an arch on the right, an entrance to a slot side-canyon, where we began our return route.  Following clues from others who hiked here previously, we found a route to ascend to the south mesa top.  Although the wall seemed to have no breaks in it, we found a series of steps cut (or worn) into a 15′ section of rock leading to ‘navigable’ terrain that permitted us to get up on the mesa top. From there we visited the Tower Ruins, then back down into the canyon and returned to the parking spot.

A view from atop the mesa east of Tapia Canyon, near the Tower Ruins.

Jay here: Once again, this was a hike where George encouraged me to exceed my comfort level by climbing atop the mesa via ancient “steps” worn into the rock face of the canyon. It was worth getting to the top although I avoided any backward looks as I made my way up. Ironically, the route down would have been easier but lacked the drama.

Statistics

Total Distance: 5.77 miles
Elevation: 5,957 start, 6,167 maximum, 5,929 minimum
Gross gain: 238 ft.  Aggregate ascending 928 ft, descending: 928 ft
Maximum slope: 31% ascending, 29% descending, 4% average
Duration: 3:31

GPS Track Files for Download
231 Downloads
307 Downloads
186 Downloads
373 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.

References

ondafringe: Day Hike: Tapia Canyon and Tower Ruin 
DougScottArt: Canon Tapia 
mjh’s blog: Tapia Canyon, Cabezon Area, New Mexico