Distance

1.3 mi to summit

2.8 mi total

Elevation

5,860 ft start

Vertical

1,270 ft gain

Time

1 hr 0 min to summit

1 hr 55 min total

Tierra Blanca is a P1K that lies in the Gila National Forest. Getting to the mountain is not as straightforward as maps show. The 2016 US Forest map shows county road B013 taking you from NM-27 to nearby Tierra Blanca ranch where an unimproved forest picks up taking you the rest of the way. Other maps show B013 going through the ranch to Tierra Blanca then turning north. The fact is Tierra Blanca road is a county maintained road that goes to the Tierra Blanca ranch where it meets a locked gate. To get to Tierra Blanca Mtn you head north on forest road 522 which is signed as you near the ranch. The road makes a wide arc around the ranch property then reemerges with what would be B013 if the road did go straight through the ranch. The 2016 forest map does show FR-522. Once you get around the ranch head to an unsigned FR-4145W, follow the road for a few hundred yards and park. You can follow the old mining road (shown on map as FR-4145Z) up the mountain but as shown on maps it does end before you get to the top. The final stretch to the top is steep, crosses a scree/talus field and does involve some scrambling. Most of the old mine shafts have been closed.

Obstacles

rockfall/loose rock

Key gear

trekking poles, GPS device