Sierra Blanca
Posted by: 
krazykatzen
N 33° 22.459 W 105° 48.522
13S E 424774 N 3693077
A non-technical climb of a 12,003 ft. peak in the White Mountain Wilderness. Sierra Blanca is the southern-most alpine habitat in the USA.
Waymark Code: WM1M10
Location: New Mexico, United States
Date Posted: 05/29/2007
Views: 95
There are several approaches to the Peak from the Rio Bonito trailhead.
1. Trail #19 - Rio Bonito Trail
2. Trail #25 - Crest Trail
3. Trail #33 - Blue Front trail
Each of these routes begin on the Rio Bonito Trail, which from the parking lot is very wide and well traveled until the first stream crossing. We did this as a two-day backpack trip as a loop. We took the Blue Front trail, which leaves the stream to ascend the western ridge. It passed an old mine along the way and has many scenic vistas. We camped near the spring at the junction of these trails on the ridge, around 10,500 feet. This is roughly 5.7 miles and 3000 ft elevation gain from the trailhead.
From there, it was another 2 miles to where the Crest Trail reaches the Wilderness Boundary. We dropped packs and did a 3.9 mile roundtrip dayhike to Sierra Blanca Peak from this point. After about 1 mile, the trail encounters the warming house, so follow the jeep trail to the saddle just below the peak. From the saddle, there is a faint trail that begins across the snowfence. Simply follow the ridgeline south, which becomes rocky towards the summit, but a safe and easy climb.
Returning from the Wilderness boundary, hiking down just a short distance is a small stream for water (may be seasonal). We hiked down another 3 miles on the Crest Trail to a nice campsite along a small ridge. The hike out is a short 4 miles, but the Crest Trail seemed to be very steep in places and with not as many great vistas as the Blue Front Trail.
Altitude in Feet: 12003
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