technicolorNH - Jun 2, 2020 8:33 pm Date Climbed: May 23, 2020
nice trail, not a difficult bushwhack
The bushwhack from the Crest Trail has numerous herd paths to use as you make your way up to the cliff bands. Wear long pants and you'll be fine. Three hours and twenty minutes to the top, which was a nice open area with hordes of ladybugs. I used my panga quite a bit on the way down, particularly on the Crest Trail where it was needed.
Unforgettable hike. I started from the Albuquerque trail then continued on to Mosca Trail. That trail leads to the Crest Trail. I hiked north along the Crest Trail toward Mosca Peak. Since there’s no specific trail to the top of the peak eventually you have to leave the Crest Trail to go toward the peak (bushwack). The peak is covered in oak and thorn brush so I hung North as much as I could where the brush is slightly thinner since more large trees have grown in. Climbed a few rocks but nothing too difficult. The views from the peak are amazing. You can see so much of the Manzano Crest , the Manzanitas, Albuquerque and more. Ojito Canyon below to the west looks beautiful. I want to like that in the future.
davebobk47 - Mar 21, 2009 5:42 pm Date Climbed: Mar 21, 2009
BushWHACK
Nice trail but a miserable bushwhack. A beautiful mountain but I think I'll just enjoy it from a distance now that I know what kind of a bushwhack summitting requires. Climbed via Cerro Blanco trail and up east face where the cliffs were almost non-existent.
MoapaPk - May 14, 2008 8:28 pm Date Climbed: Aug 7, 1983
wore shorts
Date a guess. I wore shorts both times; 2nd time we were enroute to Guadalupe
hans.schenk - Oct 11, 2007 9:17 pm Date Climbed: Oct 11, 2007
Via 4th of July Canyon
Loved the summit, but the bushwhacking was nasty! We ascended the route described on this page (East Slopes), but descended via the South Ridge and over the neighboring sub-summit. The oaks were beautiful, changing color, and dense! There was also a fair amount of Mountain Mahogany (Cercocarpus montanus). We saw some Mule Deer, Abert's Squirrels, and plenty of ladybugs on the summit. We were up there the day that the Agua Fire southeast of Capilla Peak went from 30 acres to 80 acres. We could see the smoke from the summit.
noggin - Mar 7, 2006 1:32 am Date Climbed: Jan 2, 2006
Bushwhacking
Climbed with bc44caesar after we couldn't climb Manzano Peak. There is no trail above the saddle and the trees shredded my hiking pants. This mountain is pretty recognizable from Albuquerque, but other than that there wasn't much up there.
Route Climbed: Fourth of July Trail Date Climbed: 2 Jan 2006
Climbed with G. Patterson (noggin) from the Fourth of July CG after finding the road to Manzano Mountain closed. From the saddle to the south of Mosca Peak it is an unpleasant bushwhack at best with a couple 3rd class rock bands to overcome. The summit views are impressive reaching from the Santa Fe Range, to Mt. Taylor, to Ladron Peak, the Magdalena Mtns, the bulk of the Manzanos and the northern end of the Sacramento Mtns. You must be pretty determined to want to climb this...
technicolorNH - Jun 2, 2020 8:33 pm Date Climbed: May 23, 2020
nice trail, not a difficult bushwhackThe bushwhack from the Crest Trail has numerous herd paths to use as you make your way up to the cliff bands. Wear long pants and you'll be fine. Three hours and twenty minutes to the top, which was a nice open area with hordes of ladybugs. I used my panga quite a bit on the way down, particularly on the Crest Trail where it was needed.
mountainman-g - Jul 24, 2019 12:43 am
Mosca PeakUnforgettable hike. I started from the Albuquerque trail then continued on to Mosca Trail. That trail leads to the Crest Trail. I hiked north along the Crest Trail toward Mosca Peak. Since there’s no specific trail to the top of the peak eventually you have to leave the Crest Trail to go toward the peak (bushwack). The peak is covered in oak and thorn brush so I hung North as much as I could where the brush is slightly thinner since more large trees have grown in. Climbed a few rocks but nothing too difficult. The views from the peak are amazing. You can see so much of the Manzano Crest , the Manzanitas, Albuquerque and more. Ojito Canyon below to the west looks beautiful. I want to like that in the future.
davebobk47 - Mar 21, 2009 5:42 pm Date Climbed: Mar 21, 2009
BushWHACKNice trail but a miserable bushwhack. A beautiful mountain but I think I'll just enjoy it from a distance now that I know what kind of a bushwhack summitting requires. Climbed via Cerro Blanco trail and up east face where the cliffs were almost non-existent.
MoapaPk - May 14, 2008 8:28 pm Date Climbed: Aug 7, 1983
wore shortsDate a guess. I wore shorts both times; 2nd time we were enroute to Guadalupe
hans.schenk - Oct 11, 2007 9:17 pm Date Climbed: Oct 11, 2007
Via 4th of July CanyonLoved the summit, but the bushwhacking was nasty! We ascended the route described on this page (East Slopes), but descended via the South Ridge and over the neighboring sub-summit. The oaks were beautiful, changing color, and dense! There was also a fair amount of Mountain Mahogany (Cercocarpus montanus). We saw some Mule Deer, Abert's Squirrels, and plenty of ladybugs on the summit. We were up there the day that the Agua Fire southeast of Capilla Peak went from 30 acres to 80 acres. We could see the smoke from the summit.
noggin - Mar 7, 2006 1:32 am Date Climbed: Jan 2, 2006
BushwhackingClimbed with bc44caesar after we couldn't climb Manzano Peak. There is no trail above the saddle and the trees shredded my hiking pants. This mountain is pretty recognizable from Albuquerque, but other than that there wasn't much up there.
bc44caesar - Jan 2, 2006 7:08 pm
Route Climbed: Fourth of July Trail Date Climbed: 2 Jan 2006Climbed with G. Patterson (noggin) from the Fourth of July CG after finding the road to Manzano Mountain closed. From the saddle to the south of Mosca Peak it is an unpleasant bushwhack at best with a couple 3rd class rock bands to overcome. The summit views are impressive reaching from the Santa Fe Range, to Mt. Taylor, to Ladron Peak, the Magdalena Mtns, the bulk of the Manzanos and the northern end of the Sacramento Mtns. You must be pretty determined to want to climb this...
Garon Coriz - Aug 11, 2005 1:48 am
Route Climbed: Cerro Blanco Trail (No. 79) To East Face Date Climbed: August 10, 2005It was the most bushwhacking I've ever done and I have the cuts and scrapes to prove it. However, it was completely worth it.