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| Hiking | 2.00 Miles |
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| | Hiking | 2.00 Miles | 5 Hrs | | 0.40 mph |
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| no partners | | Sitting all alone in the Rio Grande Valley just north of Belen is Tome Hill. I ventured out for the afternoon to explore the hill and the history that surrounds it. I started at the parking area just across the street from the start of the south trail up to the summit of Tome Hill. There are several informational plaques located at this parking area that explain the multifaceted history of this lone sentinel near the river of the Rio Grande.
After exploring the interesting statues near the parking area I began the steep climb up to the summit on the south trail. The trail is only about a half mile long but it is steep. You will get a good workout by the time you reach the summit. At the summit there are three large crosses that have been there since the mid 1940's. There is an alter as well and the area is littered with other crosses, tributes & offerings of various sorts. It is very interesting to just walk around and look at all the different items that people have left here.
Walking from the summit to the west down the west trail you reach a flat step just before the hill drops off to the valley floor. On this step are the remains of a small Native American Pueblo. They remains are not very distinct & you will miss them if you don't look close. From these ruins I walked to the north and followed a series of basalt ridges that follow around the north side of Tome Hill. All along this series of rocks are hundreds of petroglyphs. Along the east side of the hill and wrapping around to the south trail is another rocky outcropping that that has hundreds more petroglyphs on all sides of the rocks. You can easily spend hours here searching from all angles for the amazing drawings on the rocks.
The sun set on me as I was just finishing up my search for petroglyphs so I made my way back to the parking area having had a really enjoyable day on a hill that most people drive past every day never knowing about the history and the stories of people long gone that Tome Hill holds. |
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