White Mesa Bike Trail and Dragons Back Loop
8.0 mi
Distance
4 hrs 36 min
Time
terrain
500 ft
Elev Gain
Overview
This is a moderate loop trail in New Mexico.
Rate this Hike
★★★★★
We hiked down into the canyon in May, then did the loop depicted (Dragon's Back out, east ridge back, in June and it was very hot. Little cover available for shade. Used all 3 liters of water in each of our hydropacks. The views are great over most of the hike, especially Dragon's back, from where you see Cabezon Peak not far away. Coming back south from the farthest out point you go through a very interesting area with minerally outflows onto the rock surfaces. In the canyon below is a shallow "creek" with lots of mineral deposits lining and in it, crusting over nearby plants--a completely different environment than the ridges above and worth exploring. We didn't bike this, but there seem to be plenty of areas that most can handle, but interspersed among them are some very difficult sections that require a high level of skill. Overall, I'd wait until cooler weather to do a hike here, but it's worth the views and varied geology (much of it white owing to copious amounts of gypsum covering the surfaces).
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