Kitchen Mesa Hike

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Underway, the initial part of the trail is a gradual climb on decent trail

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The going gets a tad rougher as you gain elevation on the climb to Kitchen Mesa

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There is a nice slot, with a bouder blocking the way, to negotiate

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Brian is scrabmling over a boulder in the trail

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OK, we made it!

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As it turns out, there is seom down before our final ups.

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Jeff is pointing the way. Much of the mesa top is gypsum, from the Todilto formation.

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Janna is climbing up one of the last rises before. our lunch stop.

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And here is the group at our lunch stop. Gorgeous weather today.

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This is the view across the canyon from our lunch stop

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To the west, you can see Abiqui Reservoir, and Pedernales, the flat butte in the distance. This was a favorite of Georgia O'Keefe.

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Setting off, we are doing a little loop at the end of the mesa before heading back.

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Short descent into an arroyo

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Looking back at the tip of Kitchen Mesa, high above the Ghost Ranch complex

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Retracing our route through the crack

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Sometimes, a short controlled slide is the best way down.

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View of Kitchen Mesa from near the trail head.

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This is our route up to the top of Kitchen Mesa, which inclued a couple of extra loops on the return trip. Our trailhead was on the left, we hiked up and through a canyon to the scramble that took us to the Mesa top. The buildings on the far left are part of the Ghost Ranch facilities.