Thieves+Mountain

Sierra Ladrones or "Thieves Mountain" is located in Socorro County, about 50 miles southwest of Albuquerque. The highest peak rises to 5,827 feet above sea level. Sierra Ladrones is a relatively unknown mountain range, but it is one of the most prominent in the region. This mountain range has a forbidding reputation in proportion to its modest size. The closest town to the mountain range is La Joya, which is about 25 miles away. Even today, tales persist of stolen treasure concealed in remote caves and of gold discovered by prospectors who never returned to claim them.

During Spanish colonial times, Indian raiding parties would retreat with the livestock they had stolen from villages along the Rio Grande. Later, Hispanic and Anglo rustlers and thieves used the steep canyons as a refuge from pursuit. Trails are absent from the Sierra Ladrones, which makes these mountains even more conspicuous. Evidence of human occupation goes back over 10,000 years, and more recent prehistoric use occurred by the Mogollon and Anasazi cultures. Hiking in the Sierra Ladrones is limited by the lack of trails and ruggedness of the terrain; a topographic map and good route-finding skills are essential for hiking here. Lack of water severely limits overnight trips. Ecologically, Ladron Peak is a sky island, supporting vegetation and wildlife not found in the surrounding grasslands. It is high enough to have coniferous forests on its upper slopes. Animal species include mountain lion, bear, pronghorn, raptors, and reintroduced desert bighorn sheep.

Thieves Mountain is one of the main symbols and images in //Fire On The Mountain// by Edward Abbey. The protagonist, and narrator, Billy first describes Thieves Mountain on page 2. He says, "Those mountains-they seemed at once both close by and impossibly remote, an easy walk away and yet beyond the limits of the imagination." From researching these mountains and reading other people's experiences with them, as well as the lack of information about them on the internet, this description from the book seems accurate.

This is a topographic map I found of the Sierra Ladrones and the surrounding region: http://www.infosports.com/parks/NM/1173048.html

Works Cited: Abbey, Edward. Fire On The Mountain. Avon Books, 1962. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ladron_Peak