100 Hikes in New Mexico
The Mountaineers Books
Petroglyph National Monument lies on the very edge of the sprawling western edge of Albuquerque. Along a snaking escarpment of black volcanic boulders, the monument protects an extraordinary collection of more than 15,000 petroglyphs. The artists range from nomadic hunters who visited the site more than two centuries ago to ranchers who chased cows in the area from less than 100 years in the past. Most of the drawings are, however, from the Ancestral Pueblo people around 500 years old.
…Boca Negra Canyon area where three trails await. The longest, the Mesa Point Trail, is a bout 0.5 miles long and has the greatest concentration of petroglyphs. The short Macaw and Cliff Base Trails also pass amazing collections of rock art.
Distance: 7miles for five trails day hike.
Difficulty: Easy
Elevation Range: 5,000 to 5,300 feet
My stats:
Distance: 0.99 miles
Time: 27:04 minutes
Elevation: 5,508 ft
Elevation Gain: 187 ft
This was the worst “hike” in the book. The Mesa Point trail was an uphill dance between rocks and the the rest was just a walk around the base of a hill.
Here’s the pics:
