El Malpais hike

November 29, 2013

Mt. Taylor in the background

This is how I spent my Black Friday.  No shopping, elbowing, running over other shoppers when the store doors open for me.  El Malpais National Conservation Area is about an hour west of Albuquerque and just east of Grants, NM within 20 miles of the exit from Interstate 40.El Malpais is “the badlands” in Spanish. The Conservation Area consists mainly of the lava flow to the east of Grants and the areas immediately surrounding the lava flow.  For more information link to http://www.blm.gov/nm/st/en/prog/recreation/rio_puerco/el_malpais.html

The lava flow runs parallel to I-40 a few miles just east of Grants then crosses to the south where it widens out up to 4 miles and continues south for over 20 miles.  There are several attractions related to the badlands area mainly consisting of picnic areas, hiking trails, a campground and scenic overlooks.  Today’s hike is in the area of the Sandstone Bluffs Overlook on the east side of the lava flow.

I almost had the place to myself the entire time I was there.  I saw less than a dozen other visitors some hiking others out for a picnic lunch.  I got there in the early afternoon, later than usual, so I was somewhat paranoid about getting out of there before the picnic area closed; there was a sign on the gate stating the gates close at dusk.  Because I like wandering and photographing wherever I go I sometimes lose track of time, I didn’t want to be an overnight resident of the picnic area.

The Sandstone Bluffs are a few miles long along the eastern edge of the lava flow, they are approximately 200’ high providing a view across the lava flow to the west side where the mountains start up again.  It had snowed the previous week so spots of snow were still seen in the shadows of the bluffs.  There were also pools of water in the little sandstone basins scattered on the tops of the bluffs.

Since this hike I have returned with my hiking buddy, Byron.  We stopped here for a little bit but also drove farther south to see some of the other sites to see.  Keep checking in to see other interesting parts of the El Malpais.

Thank you for stopping by.

Mark