Cerro Cuate

A fun little scramble

Climbed this from the northeast flank (after parking near the deep arroyo to the northeast from a lightly used 2-track, make sure to close the gate after about a mile!).  This is probably the shortest route to the primary summit and took me just under 2 hours in total (counting about 15-20 min at the top).  Went up an obvious gully on the northeast of the main summit and then up the ridge leading to the final summit pitch which was over broken basalt.  The last 100' of elevation is at a slope of about 60-70 deg but is easy - the fractured basalt is almost like climbing stairs.  Great views of the surrounding landscape.  This is a nice scramble particularly after hiking Cabezon.  One minor correction to other posted information.  The access and Cerro Cuate itself largely sits on a section of land that is State of NM, not BLM.  This is mostly irrelvant as it's still public access - just a curiosity.  Overall, a very enjoyable hike.