by TWorth » Wed Feb 01, 2006 4:37 pm
Hey Mike,
Great having someone with your experience as a member of this website.
I visited Mesa De Maya while doing some county HPs in that area in December.
I approached from the south. Driving east on US160 from Trinidad, I passed CO 389 and made a right(south) on CR 147, then a left(east) on CR 10. As CR 10 curved north, and then east again, I continued north on CR 159.5(see Delorme). Passed a house on the left(looked unoccupied) and a cattle guard. CR 159.5 then forks, with each fork dead ending at a house. I drove back a bit and found a dirt road heading NW, just north of the cattle guard, in SW 1/4 of sec 4(see topo). Took this through a wire gate and got the truck up the jeep trail(sec 5) to about 6400ft. This appears to be private, but I saw no signs or any clue as to who might own the land. After leaving a note in the truck windshield indicating what I was up to, I hiked the rocky road onto the mesa at "The Narrows", turned left(west), passed through an iron gate, and walked up to the HP area. The NE contour is a pile of rocks and higher than the grassy SW contour.
After driving out, I continued east on US160. At CR 165.1 (see Delorme), there is a sign for the Mesa De Maya Ranch. It's a good guess they own the mesa and would be the people to talk to for official permission. No idea whether they would grant access or not, but the land was unposted from the south side, which makes me think whomever owns the HP area isn't overly concerned about folks going up there.
Hope this helps. -Tim W.