White Mesa Bike Trails

Colorful hogbacks as we descended into the valley

I love the desert — wide open skies, vistas and colorful landscapes. Only a year ago, we were hiking in the desert landscapes west of the Rio Grande, mostly within 60 miles north, south and west of Albuquerque, almost every weekend.  One memorable hike was at the White Mesa Bike Trails on a cold, windy day last December. The White Mesa Bike Trails are about 40 miles northwest of Albuquerque off of US 550 near San Ysidro, The area is used by mountain bikers and hikers and offers a variety of challenging trails, scenic views and interesting geology.

Valley with warm springs and soft red mud

There were still traces of snow from a storm a few days earlier when we started our hike in the early afternoon. It didn't take long for our hike to turn into a great adventure as we made our way up and down the rugged trails, sliding down steep snowy slopes, ice breaking under our feet, sinking us knee deep in warm red mud as we walked through a valley. Near the mouth of the valley, we headed back, trekking over a calcified sandstone dome with cracks and sinkholes laying it wait for unsuspecting hikers. We prayed that the dome wouldn't give way and plunge us into the abyss under it seeing that the rock shell we were walking on was only a few inches thick.

Sulfur spring on the dome

We were still on the dome, a few miles away from our car, as the sun sat low in the sky. With no visible trail on the dome's bare rock surface, and hazardous terrain in all directions, Laurie became a little concerned that we were not going to make it back to the car before darkness fell upon us. "Never fear!" said I, a geographer never gets lost, and passing up some great photos in the interest of time, we made our way over the dome, cut across the valley, shimmied up a rather steep and snow packed trail, and hoofed it up along the rocky ridge making it back to the car about 15 minutes after the sun had set. We were cold and muddy, but we had a great time enjoying the beautiful landscape our desert environment offers.