As the summer continues to heat up, we are trying to stay coastal but still trying to get some spicy climbs in, this one hits both spots.

Without the extra little loop it’s 12 miles total with +2,900 ft of climbing, otherwise it’s 2 miles longer with +3,100 ft of climbing.

Out & back route.
Starting at the bottom of Puerco Canyon we take the dirt road uphill to Mesa Peak, which is 2.9 miles away. (When you’re 2.9 miles into your run, you will see a “bench” sign and a narrow single track going up the hillside. This is a great little extra challenge with an amazing view about 0.3 miles out.) But it’s also a great spot to turn around if this is plenty for you.
From there we can continue on all the way to the parking lot at Corral high up on the Backbone trail with amazing views and beautiful sand rock formations. Here you have to option to add a 2 mile loop down the road with some single track mixed in.
Then we head back where we came from.