Ridgewalking Along Loma de las Cañas

Although this hike was done a couple months ago (and I have some catching up to do), I still feel like it is deserving of acknowledgement in a post of its own.

Loma de las Cañas

I had been toying with the idea of posting this hike with the Mountain Club to take some folks out and go exploring. However, I'm always facing inner conflict on whether I want to explore solo or with a group. I ended up posting it on Friday as a last minute hike for Sunday. By the end of the day, no one had signed up, so I decided to nix it and do it Saturday solo. It was likely the best option, as the experience was utterly delightful!! ...and the weather for Sunday looked to be less than friendly.

First pour-off to get around

The day started out with negative potential. On a familiar stretch of road near my home in Los Lunas, I ended up getting pulled over for speeding. However, the officer who pulled me over was rather friendly and I was let off with a warning. So off to coffee, gas, and breakfast burritos I went! By the time I turned onto the Quebradas Backcountry Byway, just east of Soccoro, I was flying high. The sun was casting beautiful shadows among the hills, my burrito was excitingly delicious, and when my mouth wasn't full of that tortilla-wrapped breakfast medley, I was singing at the top of my lungs to Lady Gaga. Feel free to judge.

Beautiful sandstone bedrock

Rippled sandstone

I arrived at the parking area, got my stuff together, and headed east up Arroyo del Tajo. Right away I encountered a ten foot overhung drop that needed to be climbed around. Found a fun way up that avoided the brush on the side. Continued up the canyon and was enthralled by the grey limestone bedrock, red, yellow, and orange sandstone, and the beautiful skyline of the Loma de las Cañas ridge off to the southeast.

Peek at one of the peaks along the ridge

Farther up the arroyo, I took a right turn at a fork, continuing toward the ridge. Just beyond this fork, there was a short section of canyon where it narrowed into a red sandstone corridor. It was an odd sight, but a gorgeous one nonetheless! Farther still, I encountered spring water. A healthy spring, with its fair share of ice in the vicinity, was releasing water. I appreciated it for a moment and kept hiking. Soon enough, I came across an old homestead ruin with walls that stand surprisingly tall! Just beyond that, an old corral exists, and farther still is a short but dramatic little box canyon. The box ends in a 40 foot tiered pour-off. A steep trail heads up the north side of the canyon, but with care one can scale the pour-off.

Narrow section of canyon

Spring seeping out of the ground here

Beautiful homestead site

Collapsed ceiling beams

Just above this box is where I began my ascent of the ridgeline, which was directly south of me now. It was about two miles to this point. I came up the northeast side of the first peak along the ridgeline. This looked like an intimidating peak from the west, with a potentially craggy summit cap. However, a little routefinding was all that was needed to tag the peak. The wind had picked up a little, so I took a short break on the west side of the peak and finished off what little was left of my burrito.

Old corral

Looking into box canyon from the top

Looking towards first peak along ridge

From here the story is mostly the same for each peak along the ridge. I hiked down off the peak, found a way onto the next peak (staying true to the ridge when possible), sometimes getting into scrambling, and then repeating the steps toward the next peak. On the southern end of the ridge, there was a bit of steep rock between the last two peaks. Getting onto the last peak I managed to find a easy 3rd class route that likely could've been bypassed. Getting off the peak was a more interesting endeavor. The threat of getting cliffed out on already steep terrain is very real all along the western edge of the ridgeline. Routes I had originally thought to work, when viewed later were verified to have cliffed out. Luckily, I found an incredibly steep zig-zagging route down through the various bands. It was slow going since there was a lot of loose rock, but it went. It was quite fun!

Looking at second peak from first peak

Looking toward the Magdalenas with other peaks near Socorro visible

Below cliff band near first peak

Looking back at first peak from second

From this point, I took an arroyo that trended northwest until it connected to a larger arroyo that I knew would run into the road. Sure enough, it ended up at the road only a half mile from the car. I trotted back toward the car, very happy at the fun-filled traverse that I have always wanted to do since my first visits out to the Quebradas. All in all, the loop was between 5 and 6 miles.

I know the story started off with a lot of potential and excitement which then sort of became more vague as it went on. I started to write this just a few days after the hike, but neglected to finish it. I finished it a couple months later. So hopefully the pictures make up for the lack of power in words, though pictures never do these places justice either. Hope you all enjoyed this recount, but as always, don't take my word for it...get out and see it for yourself!

Ocotillo

Looking at southern end of ridgeline from the west

Beautiful colors in the sandstone

Looking back at the ridgeline from near the arroyo junction