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Ascent of Mesa Leon on 2011-06-04

Climber: Richard Oestreicher

Date:

Saturday, June 4, 2011

Ascent Type:

Successful Summit Attained

Peak:

Mesa Leon

Location:

USA-New Mexico

Elevation:

6339 ft / 1932 m

Ascent Trip Report

I followed Jack Shiver's excellent directions from I-40 to the spot SW of Mesa Leon where the road turns right and a track heads north. I followed this north for 1.5 mi. and then turned right on a slightly rougher track. Apparently there used to be a gate here but there is no longer. One mile east I did ran into a gate that was chained but the lock was open. I considered driving on, but I was worried someone working inside might lock up in my absence, and my GPS told me I was only 0.71 mi. from the high point. So, I parked and headed along my GPS heading. That did go up one of the steeper parts of the mesa, a more challenging scramble than it had appeared to be from my parking spot--some places basically class 3. But the ascent only took half an hour, and I hadn't had any exercise yet today. On the way down, however, I circled slightly to the east for a less steep descent. I did not find the cairn on top others have mentioned.

Summary Total Data

Elevation Gain:

359 ft / 110 m

Distance:

2.2 mi / 3.5 km

Route Conditions:

Bushwhack, Scramble

Ascent Statistics

Elevation Gain:

359 ft / 110 m

Distance:

0.8 mi / 1.3 km

Trailhead:

5980 ft / 1822 m

Time Up:

30 Minutes

Descent Statistics

Distance:

1.4 mi / 2.2 km

Time Down:

40 Minutes

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