"Ranging in elevation from 5,500 feet to a little over 6,100 feet, the trail climbs La Bajada Hill, the original section of the road that served as the main passage from Albuquerque to Santa Fe prior to the building of I-25. Historians believe that this road has been in use for some 300 years. The switchbacks on the road were supposedly blazed by U.S. Army troops in the 1860's for cavalry passage. In the early 1900's, because of the gravity-fed gas tanks of the time, many vehicles were forced to use their most powerful gear - reverse - to climb backwards up the steeper switchbacks. In the 1920's, the top half of the climb was rerouted on a gentler alignment just to the east of the old route (descending this route makes for a nice "loop" trail). In 1934, the Highway Department "moved" the road three miles to the east to the same route currently used by I-25. An eastbound turn at Waypoint LB17 takes you to the Tsinat Ruins, a little over 3 miles away. The La Bajada Trail is about 15 miles long and takes approximately 4 hours or so to complete."