Staying in El Paso for a little while I decided to go hiking in the Organ Mountains, which provide a stunning backdrop to the city of Las Cruces. Their jagged appearence led me to believe that some nice rock scrambling could be available and I was definitely not going to be disappointed. Having done some research on the internet I decided to hike to the Rabbit Ears Plateau as I thought that the route was pretty straightforward which it was and wasn’t at the same time.

I have to admit this was not the easiest hike I have ever attempted. The hike itself is not overly long but pretty steep. It all started easily enough.  A friend dropped me off at the trail head  which is on the Baylor Canyon Drive, 3.9 miles south of the US70 just past a cattle grid. From here I started hiking up a dirt road (on the left of the Baylor Canyon Drive) that leads to an old mining hut, the surroundings of which are littered with old mine shafts and rusty equipment. Generally I would recommend hiking this part rather than driving up to the minning hut since the dirt track can be pretty punishing for your car. A good SUV is required in order for you not to loose your exhaust. Once past the mining hut I continued along this track which then petered out and left me standing in the middle of nowhere or more precisely in the middle of cacti and bushes with lots of sharp needles. As I could see the entrance of the canyon, aptly called the “Big Windy Canyon”,  that leads up to the Rabbit Ear Plateau, I carefully wound my way through the catci and bushes and eventually emerged on the trail, or in this case  a pretty dry riverbed. I quickly checked my legs and apart from a few cuts I had escaped pretty unharmed. Thank god I had been wearing long hiking trousers.