Leaving Baca County's highpoint, I headed west on US-160 amid grassland and pasture toward CO-109, and north about 25 miles into the Purgatoire River Valley, which was hemmed in by mesas. Where CO-109 briefly cuts through the extreme southwest corner of Bent County, the mesas herein hold the Bent highpoint. I used information in Mitchler and Covill's Hiking Colorado's Summits and parked near an entrance to the San Jose Ranch. I called the ranch for permission but there was no response, so I parked off the highway and started in anyway, hoping for the best.

The hike goes across flattish country for about 1,000 feet, then gains steeply up the mesa to the mesa top. It was quick but strenuous. Once on top, I had to cut across one long stretch and hike across a rocky neck to get to the higher area across the way. Tree cover makes identifying a single point as difficult, so I hiked and quartered the area, hiking up a series of rocky ledges here and there, always trying to go up wherever possible. There were also some eroded stone formations that seemed viable. I spent about 30 minutes walking to and fro, hither and yon on this mesa top to ensure I hadn't missed any rocky outcrops. Some were in very interesting shapes, formed by wind.

The weather was getting warm. I headed down, taking care on the steep mesa side and was back to my truck after about 75 minutes total and about 2.5 miles total walking. Next on the agenda: Otero County.

Update: September 2002: The ranch owner has apparently issued a blanket denial to all future requests to hike this mesa. He had allowed some visitation but grew weary of the requests, I imagine. The situation may change in the future, but for now it seems to be closed to the general public.