2019-03-23 Ladron Peak

Overview:

The rugged and ancient Sierra Ladones lie only 50 miles south of Albuquerque. You will not, however, be troubled by crowds. Unpaved roads take you to a ‘trailhead’ in a range devoid of trails. Towering above the surrounding desert, Ladron Peak is a trial for legs and a challenge for navigators. Experienced scramblers will enjoy the isolation and the demands. Novice hikers will not. The summit offers incomparable views across central New Mexico. Take strong friends and scramble Ladron.

There are two adjoining peaks that compete for “high-point” status. Older maps sometimes place the “Ladron Peak” label on the shorter, eastern summit. Current USGS maps place that label on the taller, western summit. This post follows the current convention.

Driving Directions:

• From Interstate-25 (I-25) take Exit 175 (about 50 miles south of Albuquerque or 25 miles north of Socorro).
  • If you were heading north on I-25 then: 
    • After 0.1 miles, at the end of the ramp, go left following the sign for North 116. (This turn could be easy to miss, the ramp is designed to merge you directly onto US-60 East).
    • After 0.3 miles on 116, immediately before it becomes the ramp onto I-25 South, turn right onto Old Highway 60 (signed).
  • If you were heading south on I-25 then:
    • after 0.1 miles, at the end of the ramp, immediately turn left onto Old Highway 60. (This turn might be easy to miss because the ramp merges directly onto 116).
• After 1.5 miles on Old Highway 60, in front of the signed gate fronting the Sivelleta National Wildlife Refuge, turn right onto County Road 12. No sign names ‘CR-12’.
• After 20.8 miles on CR-12, a good gravel road, veer left onto County Road E-65. No signs name this road, but look for small signs on both sides of the entrance saying “Limited Area”.
• After 0.8 rough miles on CR E-65, veer left onto a primitive road. From this point on a you will want high clearance vehicle.
• After 1.9 miles (estimated) on the first primitive road veer left onto a second primitive road.
• After 0.4 miles (estimated) on the second primitive road, in front of a gate in a barb wire fence, park at the trailhead.

Old Highway 60 is paved at its start. After crossing a battered bridge over the Rio Puerco the pavement breaks up and the ride is very bumpy, then the road turns to gravel. A new bridge, in mid-construction, lies upstream of the battered one – this particular road-quality concern should have a short lifespan.

I drove only 0.7 miles on the first primitive road, at which point my worries for the Aging Camry’s suspension overwhelmed my aversion to road-hiking. As a consequence the length estimates for the two primitive roads had to be taken from Google Maps.

Trailhead:

The second primitive road ends at a gravel pad with a fire ring. There are no vault toilets, trash receptacles or water services. The flat spot where I left the sedan (off the first primitive road) offers some seclusion but little else.

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Data:

In the map above the yellow line indicates the ascent route while the orange line indicates the descent.

• starting elevation: 6200 feet
• ending elevation: 9209 feet
• net elevation: 3010 feet
• distance: 4.7 miles (one way, includes the road walk)

Hike Description:

On this date the hike began with a road walk of 1.7 miles. (The hiking distances listed in this description include this extra length). At the road’s end you will find a gate through a barbed wire fence. Go through the gate and onto a faint trail. After another 100 yards the trail intersects a ranch road. Make note of this junction, it would be easy to miss on return. Turn east (left on ascent) onto the road. The road soon goes through a fence opening and then passes a stone ruin. These, too, make good landmarks for your return voyage.

The ranch road is cut into the south side of a hogback. A water pipe extends along the length of the ranch road. At 2.2 miles from the trailhead go past a cattle trough. It contained 6 inches of water and was frozen on this date. It also enjoyed a dense algae population. Don’t count on it as a water resource. The road soon ends, but the pipe continues along a service trail. Follow the trail until you see open grassland on the hogback above you. Ascend on loose soils past juniper and prickly pear to reach the hogback’s spine. At 3.0 miles arrive at the high point on the hogback.

Descend to a small saddle and then veer northeast into a canyon (left on ascent). Here you leave the juniper realm and travel into the domain of pinyon and ponderosa pines. The track shows that I kept edging up to the east to study the high ridge line. Don’t be edgy. Stick to the pleasant, duff-dominated forest floor beneath the pines and ascend to where the forest thins out. The canyon wall south of you (right on ascent) has been cleared by fire. It looks like an attractive alternative, might it be a good line for descent? Look straight up-canyon as well. Near the 8000-foot level (at 3.8 miles) deceptive sight lines make the ridge look to be five minutes away. In fact, you are looking at a “false ridge”, the true ridge line towers high above. Clamber on, pushing your way past the pinch points on the steepening canyon bottom, until you find a way to turn east – towards the high and cliff-protected ridge that leads to the summit. Climb steeply on loose soils, bands of recalcitrant rock, past shin stabbers, cholla and prickly pear to slight mellowing of the grade at 8500 feet (4.1 miles from the trailhead).

The cliff-dominated terrain directly below Ladron Peak, to the north, looms as a fortress-barrier to scramblers. Continue rising as steeply as you can but with a robust acceptance of south-trending compromises. Zig zag to avoid exposed rock faces and thickets of Gambel’s Oak – either one will blunt your pace. The rib you are climbing has several near-shelves and each shelf makes a false ridge-line to cheat your hopes.

Climb undaunted until, after many rest stops, you reach a saddle on the true ridge at 4.3 miles. This is just one of many saddles on the ridge, give it some study if you plan on retracing your steps on return. Footing remains critical. Not because the ridge is steep or exposed (it is neither), but because of the columnar cacti colonies that grow everywhere. Mind toes and fingers! Turn north and follow the ridge towards the summit.

The ridge runs into a lichen-bedecked boulder pile at 4.4 miles. Avoid this face by swinging to the east (right on ascent) and gingerly ascending on loose talus in a steep chute. A thicket atop the chute blocks your way. Push through to the ridge and stop to memorize how this thicket conceals the chute from descending scramblers.

The only other difficulty comes at 4.5 miles. A knob ends with a fall of about 20 feet down to the ridge. Back up a few paces and descend in a narrow, boulder-strewn and east-facing chute. Fortunately, this chute is better consolidated and devoid of thickets. From the saddle at the base you can continue ascending directly on the ridge top, although an intermittent climbers tread runs along the east side.

Arrive at the summit having traveled 4.7 miles into 360 degrees of awesome. In the north rises bold Mount Taylor (snow capped on this date). Sandia Peak in the Sandia Mountains and Bosque Peak in the Manzano Mountains dominate the northeast. Distant El Capitan Peak in the El Capitan Mountains and Nogal Peak in the White Mountains round out the southeast. Strawberry Peak lies near by to the south, while South Baldy (in the Magdelana Mountains) and the entire Black Range remained snow capped to the southwest. The gigantic plains to the northwest proffer the huge volcanic neck that is Cabezon Peak.

It should be possible to return the way you came. The map above shows that I tried a slight variation, descending back to the saddle where I first hit the ridge line and then staying on the ridge line as it descends gently to a point directly above the entrance canyon. Gentle descents don’t loose much altitude, so at this point there is a long, steep drop into the canyon bottom. Two big chutes lead down to the canyon. Pick the one to the north (right on descent) as lively drops bedevil the south chute. What follows is a long, sketchy scramble down talus slopes and scratchy bashes through oak thickets. Eventually you attain the southern rim of the canyon – open and mellow terrain. Lured by the thought of easy walking on pine duff I angled off the rim onto the canyon walls. This involved side-hilling long distances, a clear mistake. The wiser course, judging from the maps, would be to stay on the canyon rim as it drops towards the hogback. It isn’t clear to me if this descent route is any improvement over the line used for ascent.

Recommendations:

This trip includes miles of tough footing amidst vexatious vegetation. Wear boots.

Between road-end and summit you gain 2600 feet in less than 3 miles. It is strenuous. Beginning hikers and the acrophobic want to look elsewhere.

I expect that the lower terrain rattles in the warmer months. Watch where you place your hands and feet.

Two liters of water was fine for a cool day but you’ll want some more to cover emergencies. In warm weather you will want much more. Stay off these ridges when thunderstorms threaten.

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There are fossils on the flanks of the hogback. The one pictured above might be a piece of coral.

Links:

American Hiking offers a suggestion (PDF) for exploring the lower Ladrons without the navigation challenges and other hazards of climbing to the summit.

The Albuquerque Journal has a brief article on the range. The summit gets described as challenging and they, too, suggest other destinations within the range.

SummitPost describes the approach roads to this scramble, know that some of the signs they mention are no longer in place. In the “Climbers Log” link the commenters make frequent use of the word ‘rough’.

The PeakBagger page has basic data on the range, but check the trip report by Phil Robinson. He provides a GPS track and adds a description of the traverse from Ladron Peak to the lower eastern peak. It sounds daunting. If I understand his report correctly then he followed the canyon bottom all the way to the ridge line, but on descent he pulled off the ridge and descended on a line similar to the the ascent described here. In the dark!

Geocaching firmly notes the difficulties of this terrain. Additionally, they offer GPS coordinates for several of the turns on these unsigned county roads.