The summit of La Bajada Hill March 11, 2007
Posted by Ron Warnick in Attractions, Highways, History.trackback
Even though video can never quite do it justice, this 360-degree clip from the summit of La Bajada Hill gives you an inkling of what this primitive alignment of Route 66 is like.
For a more Route 66-oriented viewpoint, go here.
The road on La Bajada was Route 66 from 1926 to 1932. It contains more than a dozen hellish switchbacks, and was so steep in spots that automobiles going uphill had to take it in reverse because gravity-feed tanks couldn’t get fuel to the engine.
Here’s a photo of La Bajada Hill from 1928:
Unless you have a high-clearance, four-wheel drive vehicle, it’s not advisable to drive La Bajada Hill. But it’s walkable, and it makes for a great day trip in the New Mexico high desert.
[...] Bajada Hill Between Santa Fe and New Mexico lies a mesa called La Bajada Hill. La Bajada — “the descent” — is home to a steep and treacherous alignment [...]
What is the location that can be used to access the Bajada hill, as I would like to hike it myself.
Thank you
Ron
This link will help you get there, Ron.
http://www.webejeepin.com/Trails/New_Mexico/La_Bajada.htm
[...] the trip in 2003 have to say about this section of the Route… And here is a good explanation of La Bajada possiblities… and HERE IS A JEEP TRAIL (and they rate it as an EASY trail, so i think it should [...]
[...] Grant and I did none of the above. Instead, we went shopping at a grocery/bait/hardware store in Pecos, where we grabbed breakfast on the fly (granola bars and oranges) and picked up some tenpenny nails from a bulk bin with the intention of making a bottle tree — a la Elmer Long. In Santa Fe, we paid a short visit to El Rey Inn to wander around the grounds and swipe some landscaping and decorating idea, and then we headed southwest to our real destination: La Bajada Hill. [...]
I have a friend who met a “Jimmy Bajada” back in 1973. According to my friend, Jimmy was a legendary thunderbird, capable of transforming himself from human form into a large bird. While my friend was with Jimmy, strange things would happen. For example, when they would look out a window together, my friend said it would be like looking into a different world, or another dimension. Jimmy even appeared in a picture another friend of his took even though he wasn’t visible to either one of them. My friend still has this picture of Jimmy. Strange, but apparently, true, according to my friend who would never lie about anything like this and has stuck to his story for almost 40 years now. I find it interesting that La Bajada hill has this thunderbird connection even though Jimmy claimed to be from BC.
[...] [...]