Our first hike on a 2-night camping trip to Bandelier National Monument. By mid-afternoon we had the RPod in the Juniper campground after the drive from Albuquerque. Then, with enough time remaining until supper, we set out from the campground on the Tyuony Overlook Trail.
The Drive In
Just find your way to the entrance gate to Badelier, if asked tell them you are going to the campground, then take the first right turn .. into the campground.
The Hike
Bandelier-Tyuonyi Overlook Trail.Pat.2022-04-24
Notes about the Google Earth screenshot: the graph at the bottom shows elevation of the track (pink area) and speed (the blue line).
The trailhead is on the south side of the large parking lot from where the shuttle buses depart when taking visitors into Frijoles Canyon to Visitors Center and the Bandelier ruins. From there it is easy to follow this well used trail. At the fork shortly after getting on the trail, we took the branch to the right. Walking was pleasant over open ground for 2/3rd of a mile. From there the trail proceeds along the rim of Frijoles Canyon for about a 10th of a mile. The views to the left (down canyon) and to the right were impressive – this is quite a canyon, deep and narrow. (There was smoke in the air from a forest fire burning west of Bandelier).
The trail then turned to the left for 300 hundred yards to a junction. Taking our cue from a sign at a junction of trails, we turned right towards Tyuonyi Overlook. A few yards on we encountered a Small Ruin. As a sign told us, “Many small ruins dot the Bandelier Area.” We continued on towards the Overlook. Soon the mesa narrowed, coming to a point with a bird’s eye view of the Tuyonyi Ruins below. We also enjoyed a great view down Frijoles Canyon to the narrow gap through it flows into the Rio Grande.
From the Overlook, we turned back towards the campground, taking the more direct route (as indcated by the aforementioned sign). It made a great afternoon walk, leaving us looking forward to tomorrow’s hike.
Statistics
Total Distance: 3.05 miles Elevation: start 6,690 ft, maximum 6,699 ft, minimum 6,528 ft Gross gain: 171 ft. Aggregate ascending 417 ft, descending 414 ft Maximum slope: 55% ascending, 47% descending, 5.5% average Duration: 1:45
If you haven’t explored these hiking tracks with Google Earth, I urge you to try it. With the virtual 3-dimensional presentation, achieved by panning and tilting the view, you can get a much better idea of the hikes and terrain than you can get from the screenshot above. For some ideas, check out Using Google Earth Track Files.
This is the 2nd half of our first camping trip of the year, returning to Cave Creek Canyon in the Chiracahua Mountains. After a day of hiking and a day visiting Douglas, AZ and Agua Prieta, MX (see the post for the first half of our camping trip), we set out to hike the Silver Peak trail. The next day we drove across the middle of the Chiracahuas to the Chiracahua National Monument, then back to Agua Prieta to eat at the restaurant we discovered and attended a cross-border Binational Play.
The Drive In
For the hike, from Stewart Campground drive back towards Portal for half a mile; park at the trailhead on the left (north side of Cave Creek Road/Forest Rd 42).
The Hike
Silver Peak Trail Hike.Pat.2022-03-13
Notes about the Google Earth screenshot: the graph at the bottom shows elevation of the track (pink area) and speed (the blue line).
This hike proved to be one of the most challenging that we’ve done. The trail is well used; for the 1st mile/800 feet it is a constant slope on fairly flat terrain, but the surface is broken/flat rocks all the way – tough walking. As we climbed, the views out across San Simon Valley and beyond are what we came for.
After that 1st mile, trail changes to a traverse along a very steep slope as it continues gaining elevation. The trail becomes quite narrow, in places -very- narrow, generally with a gravel surface. This required constant attention and great care because any slip would likely lead to a tumble down the steep slope, encountering yucca and prickly pear along the way.
‘Tho the trail continues on another 2 miles and 1,400 elevation gain to the peak itself, our 2.6 miles and 1,600 feet was enough for us. We found a nice place to sit and have lunch, then headed back to the trailhead.
Epilogue
After the Silver Peak hike, we skipped more hiking in favor of investigating the drive through the heart of the Chiracahuas, over to the National Monument. FR 42 and Pinery Roads are examples of well maintained Forest Service roads – graded gravel surface and generally wide enough for cars to pass. Having said that, for us most of the route was daunting – like the Silver Peak trail carved out of -very- steep mountainsides. And for emphasis, for much of the distance in the heart of the mountains it was 1,000 feet (seemed like more) from the road to the bottom of the canyon. And the road has many turns; no fast driving.
Our visit to the Chiracahua National Monument was brief – we had visited it years ago, even hiked the Echo Canyon Trail. The rock formations are most interesting, quite different from Cathedral Rock and the other formations above Cave Creek Canyon.
To return to Cave Creek, one has a choice – go north to I-10 to circle around the north end of the Chiracahuas, or go south to Douglas – each is about 110 miles. We opted to return to Douglas and cross into Agua Prieta to eat at the cafe we discovered on our earlier trip, the Bizio Cafe – a very nice lunch.
Along the way we learned of an event being held that evening. There is ongoing effort to build connections between the communities across the border. One example is an event in which people on each side of the border present a multidisciplinary play about the history and conditions at the border (see the link below). The event began at dusk with participants on both sides presenting a story or dance about life along the border. In some cases participants on each side would make their presentation in turn. At other times the story was interrelated, as though the participants were on a single stage and not separated by the steel slat fence.
So, it appeared that the two communities were sharing the same space comfortably. We saw a constant flow of people across the border; families from Agua Prieta returning home with groceries from the nearby Walmart, cars with Arizona license plates returning from activities in Agua Prieta, and a few like us – visitors exploring.
Statistics
Total Distance: 5.18 miles Elevation: start 4,973 ft, maximum 6,587 ft, minimum 4,973 ft Gross gain: 1,614 ft. Aggregate ascending 1,960 ft, descending 1,957 ft Maximum slope: 34% ascending, 36% descending, 12.6% average Duration: 5:11
If you haven’t explored these hiking tracks with Google Earth, I urge you to try it. With the virtual 3-dimensional presentation, achieved by panning and tilting the view, you can get a much better idea of the hikes and terrain than you can get from the screenshot above. For some ideas, check out Using Google Earth Track Files.
This was our first camping trip of the year, returning to the Cave Creek Canyon in the Chiracahua Mountains. ‘Tis a long drive so we left Albuquerque on the 9th, so we spent a night Deming which left us with a short trip to Cave Creek Canyon. On the 10th we left reasonably early so we could arrive at the first-come-first-serve campgrounds by midday which would give us a better chance to get a campsite.
The Drive In
From Albuquerque, we drove south on I-25 to Caballo, then west on NM 152 to Hillsboro, south in NM 27 to Nutt, continuing southwest on NM 26 to Demming – 233 miles. After a good nights rest at the Wagon Wheel RV Park, we continued west on I-10 to the turnoff on NM 146 south to Hachita, then west on NM 9 to NM 80, south to Rodeo and west into Cave Creek Canyon (this route was much more scenic than continuing west on I-10 to NM 80/Road Fork, and with the R-Pod we can’t make interstate speeds anyhow).
Across from the Chiracahua Desert Museum, we turned right on NM 533, soon we crossed State Line Road and into Arizona, and in 7 miles through the village of Portal, AZ. Continuing on we entered Coronado National Forest, passed the Idlewilde CG (closed), the Stewart CG, and on to the Sunny Flat CG where we hoped to find a campsite – all were full. We returned to Stewart and quickly occupied the one campsite available, #6, the last one around the loop, next to Cave Creek (which had some water running in it). It was a tight fit for our R-Pod, but served us well.
Prologue
Cave Creek Overlook Trail Walkabout.Pat.2022-03-10The trail to Cave Creek Overlook as it leaves from near the entrance to Stewart Campground.
Having arrived around noon on the 10th, and not requiring much time to get the R-Pod set up, we had ample time to stretch our legs after a day and a half of driving. We had noticed a sign pointing to a Cave Creek Overlook up the road a half mile from Stewart. Not knowing otherwise, we walked up the road to the “trailhead” and up to the Overlook. It affords a great view ‘upstream’ on Cave Creek and its South Fork. (The GoogleEarth screen shot above gives one an idea of what Cave Creek Canyon is like, looking from above the entrance to the Canyon. ‘Tis a beautiful, amazing place.)
The climb up from the road is only about 200 feet and a couple of hundred yards. On the Overlook, we noticed what appeared to be a trail heading through the woods back towards the campground – we took it. It proved to be a much more pleasant walk than the road, an easy trail – to follow and to walk on. And we ended up at a trailhead at the entrance end of the Stewart Campground.
The Hike
Snowshed Trail Hike.Pat.2022-03-11
Notes about the Google Earth screenshot: the graph at the bottom shows elevation of the track (pink area) and speed (the blue line).
After another good night’s rest in the R-Pod and a nice breakfast, we set off for our first hike of this trip, to the Snowshed Trail. There are many choices in this vicinity, including a loop around to Herb Martyr Campground, or continuing up to Snowshed Peak (8+ miles), with other trails branching off from there (for the backpackers); check it out on GAIA. We chose to go up Snowshed a distance that was comfortable for us.
To get to the trailhead, drive further into Cave Creek Canyon on South Fork Road, turning right at Sunny Flat Campground (don’t continue straight ahead onto South Fork Road). Almost 2 miles up Cave Creek Road you will come to the Southwestern Research Station; turn left, proceed for half a mile and park on the left for the Trailhead.
Trailhead to Snowshed Trail #246, just off of Cave Creek Road.
The trail begins with a crossing of Cave Creek. There was some water (from snowmelt high up in the Chiricahuas), but well placed rocks that allowed us to cross with dry feet. Signs confirmed the trailhead as well as directing attention towards other trails leaving from there. Snowshed Trail was well used, easy to hike on, fairly level for the 1st 3/4 mile – an easy grade. The trail then began ascending up onto a ridge, continuing a nice path ‘tho now with more rocks than earlier. The views across the canyon to the walls of the canyons east and south were beautiful.
The trail along steep slopes – wide enough but requiring caution.
Reaching the apex of the ridge, the trail continued to ascend but then on the side of a steep slope, up and down. We continued another half mile, then decided it was far enough, and time for lunch. Seeking a vantage point with great views, we scrambled up onto the top of the ridge to find views of the amazing mountain cliffs all around, including a view down-canyon between canyon walls and out into the San Simon Valley.
From there it was back to the trailhead, including a crossing of Cave Creek.
Highlights
Cave Creek Canyon is simply a beautiful place to visit, to camp, and to hike. Stewart Campground is small and sites are located among trees with reasonable privacy. Sunny Flat is larger and in the open with few trees. Cellphone/Internet service is nil. We drove back to Portal where we would have a beer and use WiFi at the Portal Store Cafe & Lodge – quite satisfactory.
Epilogue
The next day we did some sightseeing – we drove down to Douglas, AZ. ‘Tis an hour drive across -empty- desert terrain. Douglas is a pleasant small town on the border with Mexico, across from Agua Prieta, Sonora. We explored the downtown district and visited the historic Gadsden Hotel. Built in 1907, it has been restored to the grandeur of that era.
We decided to explore further and cross into Mexico. Going through customs was easy in both directions; we needed to have only TSA approved identification to return to the U.S. (our New Mexico drivers license with the star in the upper left corner was sufficient). We wandered around Agua Prieta, purchased drinks at a small coffee shop (paid in dollars, received change in pesos), and came across an interesting patio and restaurant; might return for a meal some day.
Statistics
Cave Creek Overlook Trail (one way): Total Distance: .5 miles Elevation: start 5,029 ft, maximum 5,121 ft, minimum 5,029 ft Gross gain: 92 ft. Aggregate ascending 57 ft, descending 189 ft Maximum slope: 18% ascending, 36% descending, 8% average Duration: 0:16 Snowshed Trail: Total Distance: 3.96 miles Elevation: start 5,489 ft, maximum 6,485 ft, minimum 5,489 ft Gross gain: 996 ft. Aggregate ascending 1,252 ft, descending 1,252 ft Maximum slope: 43% ascending, 42% descending, 10.4% average Duration: 4:50
If you haven’t explored these hiking tracks with Google Earth, I urge you to try it. With the virtual 3-dimensional presentation, achieved by panning and tilting the view, you can get a much better idea of the hikes and terrain than you can get from the screenshot above. For some ideas, check out Using Google Earth Track Files.
This was the 2nd hike was during a 5 day camping trip to Northern New Mexico. We set up the R-Pod at Heron Lake for 4 nights. While Pat attended a 3 day workshop in Chama on dyeing wool, I drove up to Cumbres Pass for a hike on the Continental Divide Trail. The day before, I had hiked the CDT north from Cumbres Pass.
The trail begins from the parking area on the right side of CO 17 at the top of Cumbres Pass. As yesterday for the CDT North hike, my timing was good – the Cumbres and Toltec passenger train was parked at the station, preparing to continue on to Antonito.
As it was for the CDT North, the trail is well used, smooth ground bordered by very green grasses with an abundance of flowers. From just under 10,000 feet elevation, the trail climbs a couple of hundred feet in the first half mile, then descends a bit on the top of a ridge for 3/4 mile. The views are spectacular, to the west towards Chama down the Wolf Creek valley. For the next 1.25 miles the trail climbs close to 500 feet, up to 10,469 feet elevation. Most of the distance is in open grassland with parcels of forest along the way.
Nearing the trailhead on the return, I looked down upon the Cumbres & Toltec RR siding to see a service train heading back to Chama.
Highlight
Amazing views, across green grasslands with flowers in bloom everywhere, to distant hills and mountains.
Statistics
Total Distance: 7.98 miles Elevation: start 9,966 ft, maximum 10,469 ft, minimum 9,964 ft Gross gain: ft. 505 Aggregate ascending 1,662 ft, descending 1,664 ft Maximum slope: 26% ascending, 27% descending, 06.5% average Duration: 4:41
If you haven’t explored these hiking tracks with Google Earth, I urge you to try it. With the virtual 3-dimensional presentation, achieved by panning and tilting the view, you can get a much better idea of the hikes and terrain than you can get from the screenshot above. For some ideas, check out Using Google Earth Track Files.
Our 7th hike on a 3+ week trip to Idaho. After spending a few days in and around Boise (inlcuding a visit to the Kitfox Factory), we headed towards home. To break up the drive, we spend 2 nights camping in Fish Lake in south central Utah.
The Drive In
Camping in the Macinaw Campground on the north shore of Fish Lake, we drove northeast to the head of the Lake and the trailhead for the Crater Lake and Johnson Reservoir Loop trail.
The Hike
Crater Lake Trail Hike.Pat.2021-07-13
The hike begins with a pleasant walk and nice trail across the lowlands above the lake. A quarter of a mile on, the trail begins an easy ascent, still in the open with a view down-valley of Fish Lake. After a climb of 300 feet (500 feet) the trail entered the aspen/fir forest and the terrain remained fairly level.
At 1.3 miles into the hike, the trail headed uphill at a steeper incline, for 500 feet where it entered an open area. We continued for another quarter mile across this open area to an overlook of Crater Lake. We stopped here for our mid-hike break/lunch, then returned to the trailhead. This made a quite pleasant hike, a break from the distance driving we faced getting back to Albuquerque.
Statistics
Total Distance: 4.05 miles Elevation: start 8,869 ft, maximum 9,669 ft, minimum 8,844 ft Gross gain: 825 ft. Aggregate ascending 1,011 ft, descending 1,011 ft Maximum slope: 33% ascending, 40% descending, 8.9% average Duration: 3:41
If you haven’t explored these hiking tracks with Google Earth, I urge you to try it. With the virtual 3-dimensional presentation, achieved by panning and tilting the view, you can get a much better idea of the hikes and terrain than you can get from the screenshot above. For some ideas, check out Using Google Earth Track Files.
This was our 2nd hike on a 3-night camping trip to Jemez Falls Campground. This hike is a favorite of ours in Valles Caldera. It is an easy hike in a wonderful setting, ideal for introducing people to the Caldera without having to drive a half hour or more to get into the Preserve’s back country.
The Drive In
The trailhead for this hike is halfway down the road from the entrance to the Valles Grande National Preserve. From the Jemez Falls Campground, drive east on NM 4 for 7.5 miles. Turn into the Preserve, drive .6 miles, park near the two-track on the left which has a cable across it.
The Hike
Hidden Valley Trail Hike.PatJayNancy.2021-10-22
The trail begins as a two-track up the hill. Cresting the hill, the Missing Cabin comes into view. The cabin was built for Ron Howard’s movie “The Missing” in 2003 (re: FineArtAmerica); it adds a nice touch to the beautiful vista view across the Caldera. (While atop this hill, we scanned the Caldera for a herd of elk which frequent the area. We didn’t see any at the start of our hike, but did pick out a dark area indicating a herd way out in the middle, some two miles away.)
Abreast of the Cabin, the trail heads off to the left (westerly) through knee-high grass. Descending into the East Fork River valley, 300 yards ahead the trail rounds a rock outcrop. In another 300 yards the trail comes abreast of the river and follows it for the remainder of the trail. In another 600 yards the trail crosses to the north side and continues .8 mile to a point where, to go further, one would need to wade between rock walls that go right up to the edge of the river.
On the way back out, the view out of the canyon, across the Caldera, is breath taking (the featured image above).
Highlight
In a nutshell: The Views. Views of the Caldera, the forest, the cliff sides on both left and right, the burbling stream, the varied colors and textures of grasses and the autumn remains of summer flowers.
Statistics
Total Distance: 3.97 miles Elevation: start 8,545 ft, maximum 8,592 ft, minimum 8,464 ft Gross gain: 128 ft. Aggregate ascending 925 ft, descending 927 ft Maximum slope: 44% ascending, 40% descending, 6.1% average Duration: 3:02
If you haven’t explored these hiking tracks with Google Earth, I urge you to try it. With the virtual 3-dimensional presentation, achieved by panning and tilting the view, you can get a much better idea of the hikes and terrain than you can get from the screenshot above. For some ideas, check out Using Google Earth Track Files.
We returned to the Jemez Mountains for 3 nights of camping and 2 days of hiking in the Valles Caldera National Preserve. After setting up camp in the Jemez Falls Campground by early afternoon on the first day, we drove over the Fenton Lake to enjoy the autumn scenery – clear water, blue sky, and gold and brown grasses and trees.
For the big hike on this trip, set for the 2nd day, we planned a point-to-point hike from the Cabin District in Valles Caldera via VC02, into El Cajete, down El Cajete Canyon, and ending at the west end of Jemez East River Slot Canyon, where the East Fork Jemez River crosses NM 4.
The Drive In
For this point-to-point hike, we planned to go from within the Valles Caldera to where the East Fork Jemez River crosses NM 4:
First we parked a car on NM 4: drive east from the entrance to the Jemez Falls Campground for .3 miles. At the bottom of the hill, where the East Fork Jemez River crosses NM 4, park alongside the road. (In spite of the No Parking signs, there are almost always cars parked here, to collect obsidian just uphill, or to hike along the East Fork.)
To get to the trailhead in the Cabin District, we drove further east on NM 4 to the entrance to Valles Grande National Preserve (7.2 miles), then down the road to the Entrance Station (1.9 miles on nice New Mexico Pavement). We picked up our pass for entrance into the Preserve and received the standard warning that the gate closes at 1700 – we must be out of the Preserve by then. The road to the Cabin District (1.8 miles) is a bit rough but suitable for “highway” vehicles. Turning left at the ‘T’, we parked a bit south of the Visitors Center, just shy of a cable blocking further vehicle access to VC02.
The Hike
El Cajete Thru Hike Planning Track.2021-10-21
Advanced Planning: Pat & I had hiked a large part of this route earlier this year, ‘tho in two separate hikes. We made a loop hike from the cabin district covering 1.4 miles of the initial part of this day’s plan, the upper half of the blue line above (VC09-VC0201 Trail Hike – 09/31/2021). And we made an out-and-back hike from the west end into El Cajete itself, the lower half of the blue line (El Cajete Canyon Trail Hike – 08/30/2021). For this hike, using a combination of GPS tools, I was able to delete some of each track (keeping the portion of those hikes that were in the direction for this hike), and was able to connect the GPS fixes of each track segment closest to each other (the straight line in the middle of the blue line). The result was an end-to-end track that we could use for navigation for this El Cajete Through Hike.
El Cajete Through Hike.PatJayNancy.2021-10-21
The Hike: The hike began on a well used two-track across level ground on the edge of an open forest with a view across a valley and to South Mountain beyond. About 1.3 miles, we left the open valley behind and began a steady ‘tho gentle climb with open forest to the left, and to the right an extensive burn area with the typical downfall (more on downfall later). About 1.8 miles on, we crested the saddle between the valley of VC02 behind us and El Cajete Canyon ahead. We paused here for a mid-hike break, then began a steady descent towards a planned turn to the right that would take us over a ridge into the large open meadow – El Cajete.
After descending 1.8 miles and foreseeing more descent, and anticipating a climb up over the ridge to the right and into El Cajete, I was ready to stop going further downhill. Consulting the topo maps (USGS National Map Topo in the US Topo app), I proposed we turn to go more directly towards El Cajete. (I think) there was consensus – let’s go for it. So we climbed 150 feet onto a ridge, where we were faced with a steep descent into a small canyon and steep ascent to cross another ridge. Hoping to find an easier crossing of this small canyon, or to follow topo lines to the top of the next ridge, we headed up hill.
I mentioned downfall? Downed tree trunks from a fire some years ago covered this ridge. They covered the ground, having fallen at various angles so there was no place where we could walk for even a dozen steps before having to climb over one (or 2 or 3 lying side by side). When we saw what seemed to be an open path for a few yards, we encountered trees that we didn’t see initially. And often stepping over one trunk, there was another hiding behind the first ready to trap our foot or twist an ankle. Finally .5 miles up the ridge, we were able to cross over to the 2nd ridge where we had our first view of El Cajete. It was still .3 mile distant, downhill but … more downfall the whole distance. Adding to the stress of this strenuous track over downfall , uphill and downhill, we became concerned that we might be running short of time to get back to the Caldera before the gate was closed.
After the grueling hike up hill and down hill through all that downfall , we took a well earned break for lunch at the edge of El Cajete. Then, back on trail, what a relief it was to be on open, level ground, walking through only tufts of grass. Reaching the west end of El Cajete, we picked up the track of our earlier out-and-back hike. Back again on a decent two-track, it was a steady downhill 2.4 miles to NM 4. And we had time to spare, getting to the Entrance Station in time to fetch the vehicle at the Cabin District and leave the Caldera at 1630.
Jay here: Did someone say downfall? Or was that downhill? You could say it was an upper, but once we got going up hill, it felt like a downer. I lost count of how many trees we were stepping over/hurdling, but it was a lot. The hill was our enemy, but so was the clock. Anyhoo, we made it and can chalk this hike up to the unforgettable list. See Lessons Learned below!!
Highlight Lessons Learned
Stick to the Plan: In reviewing the GPS tracks, the planned track (blue) was only a couple hundred yards from our actual track (yellow), first from where we turned uphill, and again when were atop the 1st ridge. Aargh! Had we followed the plan, we would have shortened the hike by a half mile and … we would have avoided all the downfall.
Avoid Burn Areas: A downfall area dense with downed tree trunks requires -much more- energy than hiking, even uphill hiking. Stepping over trunks 1, 1.5, even 2 feet or more in diameter demands effort from almost every muscle in the body (including the brain – decision after decision). And larger trunks require sitting on them and swinging each leg over. I became so weary that I turned to a hiking pole to assist me in maintaining balance (the 1st time that I’ve came to depend on a pole. Because of the downed trees, this was the most strenuous hiking that any of us have done. Avoid!
Statistics
Total Distance: 7.08 miles Elevation: start 8,744 ft, maximum 9,144 ft, minimum 7,937 ft Gross gain: 1,207 ft. Aggregate ascending 1,273 ft, descending 2,068 ft Maximum slope: 36% ascending, 48% descending, 7.8% average Duration: 5:34
If you haven’t explored these hiking tracks with Google Earth, I urge you to try it. With the virtual 3-dimensional presentation, achieved by panning and tilting the view, you can get a much better idea of the hikes and terrain than you can get from the screenshot above. For some ideas, check out Using Google Earth Track Files.
First day’s hike during a camping trip to Jemez Falls Campground with Pat, Jay, and Nancy. At various times we had done out-and-back hikes from each end of this trail. This day, with two vehicles, we welcomed the opportunity to make it a point-to-point, or through hike.
The Drive In
The trailhead is .9 miles east on NM 4 from the entrance to the Jemez Falls Campground. From here, trailheads of the East Fork Trail go in both directions, to the west passes the Jemez Falls Trailhead (and Campground), terminating at Battleship Rock, And to the east the trail passes above The Box and terminates at the Las Conchas Trailhead. We were taking the latter trail.
The Hike
East Fork Jemez River Trail Hike.PatJayNancy.2021-09-18
‘Tis a good trail, from beginning to end, smooth surface, little elevation changes, and shaded. The first half mile is on a well used two-track, but then the trail veers off into a pleasant open forest. There are signs along the way for guidance (‘tho the trail is so well used one could hardly get disoriented).
At about 1.1 miles from the trailhead we took a spur trail down into the canyon (250′ descent) to take a look at the East Fork Box. The descent is steep, but in the steepest stairs make it easy. At the bottom a bridge conveniently provides a way to cross and walk a bit upstream to the point where the Box blocks further passage (without wading).
After climbing out of the canyon, we continued on the great trail. It does ascend some 300′ in a gentle slope over 1.5 miles or so, then descends back into the canyon and hooks up with the Las Conchas Trail for the last 1.5 miles. There are river crossings, but in each case a bridge provides for a dry passage. And along the river, the setting is lush with grasses, trees, mosses on the rocks, overall a most pleasant trail.
Highlight
A great day hiking with really great friends.
Statistics
Total Distance: 5.93 miles Elevation: start 8,113 ft, maximum 8,569 ft, minimum 7,947 ft Gross gain: 622 ft. Aggregate ascending 1,455 ft, descending 1,168 ft Maximum slope: 27% ascending, 33% descending, 6.7% average Duration: 4:52
If you haven’t explored these hiking tracks with Google Earth, I urge you to try it. With the virtual 3-dimensional presentation, achieved by panning and tilting the view, you can get a much better idea of the hikes and terrain than you can get from the screenshot above. For some ideas, check out Using Google Earth Track Files.
First day on a camping/hiking trip to Jemez Falls Campground. After getting the R-Pod set up, we had time to make a short exploratory hike into the East Fork Jemez River Slot Canyon.
The Drive In
The East Fork Jemez River crosses NM 4 just .4 miles east of the entrance to the Jemez Falls Campground. Parking is along side the road; it seems no one observes the No Parking signs, but beware of cars rounding the curve in the road at the bottom of a hill in each direction.
The Hike
Las Conchas West Hike.Pat.2021-09-17
This hike is just an exploratory hike to determine how far we could go before finding it necessary to “take to the river”.
‘Tis a steep descent from NM 4 into the canyon, but only 10 or 20 yards into a small parking area with picnic facilities. From there it is a pleasant trail along the River for about .45 miles when the Canyon narrows; continuing further would require wading in the River. We were not so prepared, so we turned back, satisfied with our reconnoitering.
Total Distance: 0.89 miles Elevation: start 7,944 ft, maximum 7,957 ft, minimum 7,927 ft Gross gain: 60 ft. Aggregate ascending 292 ft, descending 292 ft Maximum slope: 44% ascending, 36% descending, 9.2% average Duration: 0:38
If you haven’t explored these hiking tracks with Google Earth, I urge you to try it. With the virtual 3-dimensional presentation, achieved by panning and tilting the view, you can get a much better idea of the hikes and terrain than you can get from the screenshot above. For some ideas, check out Using Google Earth Track Files.
The start of a 3-night camping trip in the Jemez Mountains with friends Jay & Nancy. Pat & I arrived early, leaving time for a short hike along the East Fork Jemez River.
The Drive In
We reserved a campsite at the Jemez Falls Campground – US 550 west from Albuquerque to San Ysidro, then north on NM 4 through the Jemez Pueblo, the village of Jemez Springs and on through La Cueva. Then another 5.5 miles to the entrance road to the Campground. We had reserved site 28 in Loop 2, a double site and very comfortable.
The Hike
Las Conchas Trail Hike.Pat.2021-08-29
We’ve hiked here before – ’tis a lovely canyon along the East Fork Jemez River, a well used trail. Vertical walls rise above the canyon floor on both sides of the River, in some places used extensively for rock climbers (there were a half dozen climbing this day). As always (except in winter), there were flowers all along the trail making it a most pleasant, short hike.
Statistics
Total Distance: 0.86 miles Elevation: start 8,359 ft, maximum 8,418 ft, minimum 8,355 ft Gross gain: 63 ft. Aggregate ascending 249 ft, descending 190 ft Maximum slope: 59% ascending, 34% descending, 6.8% average Duration: 0:33
If you haven’t explored these hiking tracks with Google Earth, I urge you to try it. With the virtual 3-dimensional presentation, achieved by panning and tilting the view, you can get a much better idea of the hikes and terrain than you can get from the screenshot above. For some ideas, check out Using Google Earth Track Files.
The trailhead is on the south side of the large parking lot from where the shuttle buses depart when taking visitors into Frijoles Canyon to Visitors Center and the Bandelier ruins. From there it is easy to follow this well used trail. At the fork shortly after getting on the trail, we took the branch to the right. Walking was pleasant over open ground for 2/3rd of a mile. From there the trail proceeds along the rim of Frijoles Canyon for about a 10th of a mile. The views to the left (down canyon) and to the right were impressive – this is quite a canyon, deep and narrow. (There was smoke in the air from a forest fire burning west of Bandelier).
