Distance

2.3 mi to summit

4.6 mi total

Elevation

8,970 ft start

Vertical

no info yet

Time

1 hr 20 min to summit

1 hr 0 min total

This peak is located within the Valles Caldera National Preserve. Cerro del Medio is one of the lava domes of the Valles super volcano. I used a mountain bike to get near the peak, then hiked. My bike ride was 8.6 miles one way from NM-4 using Valles.Caldera roads, 0401, 04, 09 and 05. The bike ride could have been significantly shorter had the preserve been open or had I elected to hike up the Southside of the mountain. I went up the Northside since I planned to hike another peak a few miles away but a deteriorating weather situation changed my mind. This area was the site of forest fire some years ago and is now filled with blowdowns thus making travel hazardous and slow. Using game trails really helped. The summit area is fairly flat so determining the exact high spot is difficult. Topo map shows several possibilities. I walked over a mile around the area to insure I hit the highpoint. My GPS registered over 9900 feet in places but I have little faith in those reading as they are based on barometric pressure. There's a summit log located at: N35.90569, W106.44785. The log is in a glass jar, inside a small rock cairn. A new log and container are needed as the lid of the jar is leaking ruining the log.

Route name

Northside of Peak from VC-05.

out-and-back
Obstacles

blowdowns

Key gear

trekking poles, GPS device