This month we returned to Red River for a week of camping in our R-Pod (see the post of our previous hike). We had reserved a campsite at the Elephant Rock Campground and planned to make returns to the Middle Fork Trail near the town of Red River and the Williams Lake Trail out of the Santa Fe Ski Basin. And we had tickets to attend Michael Martin Murphey’s “Rockin’ 3M Chuckwagon Supper and Show“.
The Drive In
The drive in to the trailhead is via NM 578, south of Red River, to the end of pavement. Then a Class 4 tw0-track to the right (FR 58) for a bit more than a mile to a large parking area. The road is a bit rough, but a vehicle with normal clearance should be able to get through (I don’t think a Prius could make it).
The Hike
Middle Fork Lake Trail Hike.Pat.2020-08-19
The hike begins with .2 mile walk, continuing on the two-track, to the trailhead – a bridge across the Middle Fork of the Red River. From there the ascent is gradual (10% average slope) with some switchbacks, particularly at the 0.6 miles. At about 1.2 miles the slope increases a bit (13.2% average) with more switchbacks until reaching the ridge and the first view of the lake. About 1.25 miles into the hike we crossed the Middle Fork on logs conveniently placed there for “us”. Upon reaching the lake, we walked around the north side for our mid-hike break/lunch and enjoyed the view across the lake to Frazier Mountain.
Highlight
The view from our table – social distancing being practiced.
As mentioned above, again this year we bought tickets to Michael Martin Murphey’s “Rockin’ 3M Chuckwagon Supper and Show“. The drive to the Ranch is on a dirt road which is a times a bit rough but passable for anything that isn’t a low-rider. The setting at the ranch is beautiful .. seating for the amphitheater is across s picturesque lake and the mountain beyond. We enjoyed a great chuckwagon meal of brisket, beans, and coleslaw (what else?) served (in these times of Covid 19) as a box supper .. it was excellent. And as always, Murphey’s music and storytelling were most entertaining.
Statistics
Total Distance: 4.86 miles Elevation: start 9,637 ft, maximum 10,877 ft, minimum 9,633 ft Gross gain: 1,240 ft. Aggregate ascending 1,757 ft, descending 1,758 ft Maximum slope: 45% ascending, 38% descending, 11% average Duration: 5:06
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 our 2nd hike on this camping trip into the Jemez Mountains, camping in the Redondo Campground (see notes from the hike the day before). We ventured again into the southwestern corner of Valles Caldera, with a plan to explore the canyon that goes east out of Redondo Meadow. Without published trails to guide us, we went a-orienteering.
The Hike
Valles Caldera-Banco Bonito Hike.Pat.2020-07-22
The 2-track descent from Banco Bonito into Redondo Meadow.
Using our lesson from yesterday about orienteering, we set placemarks on USTopo, ready to read (and follow) bearings. We planned to descend into Redondo Meadow on the same 2-track we used the day before – a bearing of 130° from the campsite. Again with yesterday’s experience regarding the topography, we worked our way around the steeper mounds/ridges (see the featured image above). Soon enough found ourselves on a 2-track that took us to the descent. Along the way we came across the last remains of two log structures, presumably from the days of the Baca Ranch (see the references below for more on the Baca Ranch and the history of Valles Grande).
Thick grass on the edge between forest and meadow.
On reaching the Meadow, we skirted its southern boundary where we had some shade, then continued on into the canyon. We looked for the coyote of yesterday, but didn’t see him. However … not far from yesterday’s encounter, we startled a coyote pup; he scampered in front of us up and over a mound. I dashed up to the top of the mound to find a large tunnel and no sign of the pup; it must have gone into its den.
Entering the canyon we found ourselves near a Class 4 2-track, identified as VC-02. We remained in the open forest for half a mile or so. As the ground started rising and the canyon was narrowing, we hiked on the 2-track itself. We didn’t have a specific destination, only the length of the hike ..and.. a plan to return to the campground before the rain showers that were forecast for the afternoon. Thus, a mile up, where we found the first sign of any running water in this canyon, we stopped for our first mid-hike break.
2-track back up onto Banco Bonito.
We had kept an eye out as we came from our descent 2-track for any other 2-tracks that would take us back up on Banco Bonito. We had seen one across the canyon, so headed for it. But … just a few yards from our break spot, we spotted a 2-track that traversed the edge back up onto Banco. We took it – a 130′ easy climb. Back on top, we returned to orienteering – bearing and compass. In a quarter of a mile, we found ourselves on a nice Class 4 2-track. As we suspected, it generally followed the edge of Banco, with intersections to other descending 2-tracks. At one point we did take a couple of right turns to keep our course along that edge. After the 2nd turn, we intercepted the 2-track we had taken outbound; from there we generally retracedthat track. And, BTW, no more than a few seconds after we got back in the R-Pod, the rain started and it rained hard for 15-20 minutes.
Our Experience
We learned a lot the day before on our Redondo Meadow Hike. Our navigating (reconnoitering) was much better getting to our chosen destinations, and the increased confidence in finding our down into Redondo Meadow and back up onto Banco Bonito made the day more relaxed. A new focus was figuring out the identifications of the various 2-tracks that we came across. At most of the intersections there were somewhat newer signs identifying roads, and in 2 instances older signs announcing trail names (and for 1 there were turn and straight ahead arrows). It will be for a future update to his post to report on these sighs.
Statistics
Total Distance: 6.39 miles
Elevation: start 8,153 ft, maximum 8,650 ft, minimum 8,054 ft
Gross gain: 596 ft. Aggregate ascending 1,253 ft, descending 1,255 ft
Maximum slope: 34% ascending, 28% descending, 5.8% average
Duration: 5:32
I urge you to explore our hiking tracks with Google Earth. 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 2-dimensional screenshot above. For assistance: Using Google Earth Track Files.
This is our first hike during four days of camping in the Redondo Campground near the Valles Caldera. There aren’t any published trails in this area (that I can find), so this hike is based on planning using topo maps (primarily the US Topo Maps app on my Android smartphone).
Camping
First, some comments about the Redondo Campground. In the previous years Redondo was closed, so we were pleasantly surprised to find that it has been reopened. That was especially welcome information since there were no campsites available in the nearby Jemez Falls Campground. All campsites in Redondo are FF (First come-First serve), 62 of them. We are fortunate to be able to go camping during the week, and as hoped when we arrived there were many campsites available. In fact, during our three nights, only 3 other campsites occupied in the south loop were occupied.
The Hike
Valles Caldera-Redondo Meadow Hike.Pat.2020-07-21
This hike was an experience in orienteering since there are no published trails and few reports of hiking in the Valles Caldera, especially in this southwest corner of the Preserve. We set out to visit Redondo Meadow, starting from the Redondo Campground. The topography of Banco Bonito is interesting – 20′-50′ mounds and ridges with small valleys (vales?) between, with no discernible drainage pattern. That left us with hiking over the ridges and mounds or around them. The ground is even, often covered with pine needles or with wood chips from recent forest thinning – nice.
Stump and roots burned out.
All across Banco there was evidence of fire, some areas from long ago, other instances more recent. Indications of recent burns coupled with large areas of wood chips led us to suspect this was from a recent thinning project. Some trees were cut down, chipped, and chips were spread about particularly on 2-tracks. In other examples, the trees and their stumps must have been selectively burned; there was no evidence of fire beyond a few feet from the stump or trunk. For many of the burned cases, there were tunnels where roots must have completely burned out. This all seemed strange.
The greatest challenge, from looking at the topo maps, appeared to be getting down from Banco Bonito to the floor of Redondo Meadow. We identified a place where the topo lines were further apart and set that for our first waypoint. Approaching it, we came across a 2-track going down the slope giving us an easy descent.
We avoided going directly across the Meadow – it appeared to be a marshy area. Taking a bit of a detour, we crossed in deep but dry grass and headed up Redondo Creek on level and flat ground through open forest. ‘Tho we crossed a 2-track going in our direction, we kept our course, crossing Redondo Creek 2 or 3 times, then hiked along the stream until scrub oak and other bush-type plants made further progress difficult. We stopped for our mid-hike break, then “whacked” our way to the 2-track and started back towards the campground.
Lightning struck tree?
We proceeded on the 2-track, including a portion that was elevated above the Meadow – shaded and offered a great view down into the Meadow. From that vantage point we spotted an interesting feature, a circular area of burned grass, in the center a burned tree trunk. Looked to us like a lightning strike.
We remained on the 2-track into Redondo Creek canyon below the Meadow. As earlier, from the topo map we had identified a place where ascent back onto Banco Bonito would be easier; it proved to be a good choice. Back on the Banco, it was the same sort of hiking, mounds and ridges interspersed among small valleys, to return to the campsite.
Our Experience
What We Planned
A Plan for descending into Redondo Meadow.
For our first hike during this camping trip, we were attracted to the open space of Redondo Meadow and the upper reach of Redondo Creek. Looking at the topography, it appeared we would need to find a way to descend from Banco Bonito (where the campground is located) to the meadow floor; that became an “anchor point” for our track. From our campground site, we plotted a track that would take us ESE to a hook in the steep edge of Banco where it appeared the slope would be less than other places. Then our track would proceed across the meadow and up the creek as far as a Geothermal Well identified on the map. For the return, we planned to hike downstream anticipating we would find a way back up onto Banco.
What We Did
The plan vs actual.
This was truthfully our first attempt at “orienteering” and we learned a lot – particularly how important it is to use compass headings. We began by setting a course based on the topography, believing that between the topographic lines on USTopo and what we could see around us. We anticipated that we could follow the ridges and valleys of Banco Bonito and be going the right direction. Ooops .. as you see from our GoogleEarth track, we went northeast for nearly half a mile before realizing we weren’t going in the right direction. We then got out our compasses, set a waypoint for our destination, got it’s bearing from USTopo, and proceeded with compass in hand. Things went smoothly after that.
Following the bearing towards our intended descent, working our way around steep climbs onto mounds or ridges in the topography of Banco Bonito, we soon came across a 2-track (Class 5), likely an old logging road. We followed it for some distance, but when it turned away from the bearing to our waypoint, we were again bushwhacking. (Note: Bushwhacking is not an accurate description for transiting this forest; the forest is open, likely thinned in recent years with virtually no undergrowth – very easy hiking.)
Nearing our waypoint, we came upon another 2-track leading towards the edge of Banco Bonito. Upon investigation, we found that descended to the floor of Redondo Meadow; very nice. At the base of the descent we found trail signs, a couple of yellow-topped posts with arrows and on a tree, “Duke Trail”, and information that this is an equestrian and bike trail going up the 2-track.
Redondo Meadow, from ground level, Redondo Peak in the background.
Looking to cross the Meadow, we saw tall, very green grass, an indication that it might be marshy. To avoid a wet crossing, we worked our way to the right where the apparent marshy area was narrower. That proved to be dry and easy to cross. (As we started across the Meadow, we spotted a coyote near a pair of ponderosa pines. As we approached, it moved off 100 yards or so and began barking. Concerned that it was protecting something nearby, we skirted away from it and went about our business. More on this in the post for the next day’s hike.)
On the far side of the Meadow we hiked through more open forest, level ground, easy walking, generally following Redondo Creek. We crossed the Creek 2 or 3 times, working our way upstream until we found ourselves in -real- bushwhacking – thick growth of scrub oak and other plants, including one with thorns that seemed to reach out to grab us. With this, plus having been out for 3 miles, we chose to stop for our first mid-hike break, then start back to make this it our usual 6 mile hike.
After our break, we out ourselves onto the 2-track (Class 4) headed back towards the Meadow. Encountering a Y, we chose the ‘high road’ to the right which was parallel to the ‘low road’ and which gave us a great view of the Meadow below. Returning to the ‘low road’ at the western end of the Meadow, we continued on the Class 4 2-track towards a section of the edge of the Banco that appeared to be less steep slope and not so high. It proved to be a good choice – 100 feet of elevation gain, 17% average slope, easy.
Once back on Banco Bonito, using our newly learned orienteering approach we had successful return to the campground. But .. not before that day’s afternoon shower showed up. We were pelted by pea-sized hail with very few raindrops, which meant we didn’t get so wet; the hail shower subsided by the time we arrived at the camper.
Flowers
Many descriptions of hiking in New Mexico advertise the many flowers that can be encountered on the trails, particularly in the mountains. As you may have already discerned from other posts in the BLOG, I am entranced by them. And so, again during this trip, I captured photos of some beauties. You will find a collection in the gallery below.
Statistics
Total Distance: 6.18 miles Elevation: start 8,145 ft, maximum 8,338 ft, minimum 7,933 ft Gross gain: 405 ft. Aggregate ascending 1,098 ft, descending 1,099 ft Maximum slope: 38% ascending, 30% descending, 5.3% average Duration: 5:15
I urge you to explore our hiking tracks with Google Earth. 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 2-dimensional screenshot above. For assistance: Using Google Earth Track Files.
We returned to Mount Taylor where Pat & I made two hikes two years ago (a reconnoiter hike followed two weeks later by a hike to the summit). As then, we took our R-Pod camper for two nights giving us a whole day to make the hike without traveling. As for camping, since the Coal Mine Campground was closed, we made a one-day trip a week ago to locate a suitable campsite where the Forest Service permits “dispersed camping”. We found more than a dozen such sites; checked 3 or 4 of them to determine suitability for bringing in the R-Pod (care taken to avoid branches that might snag the camper); we marked 2 that we judged to be suitable.
Drive In and Camp Setup
We had an easy drive to Grants, then through Lobo Canyon on NM 547 to FR 193 and on to our target campsite. The road has fresh, deep gravel (a Class 3 road) but the Tacoma/R-Pod handled it easily. We chose the campsite closer to the trailhead; an added benefit – it is located on the edge of Lobo Canyon and thus affords better views than the other campsites. This, our first setup outside of an established campground, challenged us in maneuvering the R-Pod among trees and rocks to an area relatively level – great experience for future forays.
The Hike
Gooseberry Springs Trail Hike.Pat.2020-06-10
After a pleasant night (‘tho chilly – a cold front brought night time temperatures into the low 40s – the extra blanket was welcome as was the heater in the early morning – but .. cooler temperatures were promised for the hike), we drove the two miles or so to the trailhead and set off. The first half of the trail is quite pleasant, wending through open forest of mostly ponderosa pine. The trail itself “gets with it quickly”, enough slope to get blood moving and breathing heavy. In places the surface is a bit rocky, in other places it’s dirt with pine needles that soften the footfall.
As we left the forested portion of the trail, we stopped to recharge with Instant Ramen Soup. The 2nd half to the summit is in the open; we again enjoyed the magnificent views to the east, south, and west. (See more descriptions from our previous hike to the summit.) At the summit, we relaxed a while with coffee & hot chocolate and peanut butter & jelly sandwiches.
Because of the rocky surface on the last 1/4 of the trail, we opted to take a different route back down the mountain. AllTrails showed a track that went north from the summit, then west and south to make a loop back to the trailhead (Gooseberry Springs and Mount Taylor Loop). The AllTrails map also showed a dotted line down the west slope – we chose to take that ‘shortcut’. It proved to be a seldom-used two track that was not too steep – ’twas a good choice. Where this two track intercepted the AllTrails track, we chose to make a more direct route towards the trailhead by descending down the wide open grassland. The slope of the terrain was fine (for descending) and covered with thick grass. We used this opportunity to gain some experience in interpreting the topo maps versus ‘ground truth’. We sought a track with lesser slopes and one that didn’t require any climbs up from the intervening valley.
Overall we were successful, descending a uniform slope, then tracking a topo line where it was necessary to ascend up to a ridge. For the last 100 or so feet of elevation, we found cattle trails that made the descent easier (cattle figure out how to ‘bushwhack’). Easier .. until the final 50 feet or so of really steep slope and thick bushes that made for real ‘bushwacking’.
Before leaving this descent, we reviewed the topo map to identify a route down that might be easier on a future hike to the summit. The remainder of the hike, down Lobo Canyon past Gooseberry Springs and to the trailhead was most pleasant. Back at the campsite we had a very nice evening, slept well in the camper, and enjoyed a relaxing morning at the campsite. Heading home, on our way out of Grants we recalled on our last visit having a pleasant break at the Route 66 Junk Yard Brewery. Stopping there would have been a very nice, but since breweries have been closed due to Covid-19 we pressed on to Albuquerque. Note: We had cellphone service at the campsite and for most of the hike. This permitted us to check out AllTrails and other sources for alternative ideas.
Statistics
Total Distance: 6.0 miles Elevation: start 9,274 ft, maximum 11,314 ft, minimum 9,274 ft Gross gain: 2,040 ft. Aggregate ascending 2,274 ft, descending 2,274 ft Maximum slope: 39% ascending, 43% descending, 13.6% average Duration: 8:33
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.
Our second hike during a 3-night stay at Jemez Falls Campground. We put this trail on our to-do list on recent hikes such as Cerro Grande and Upper Frijoles Cañon Overlook.
The Hike
The initial third of a mile or so, the trail goes through pleasant, healthy, open forest. ‘Tis not well used, so in some places it is difficult to find the trail’s path. But the trail -is- well marked with blazes on trees – there is nearly always one is in view. This was true for the whole trail, except where the ‘blazed’ tree had been blown down. (We presume this trail has been used for cross country skiing, thus the blazes.)
However, after that initial stretch of the trail, we found ourselves in a forest that has been ‘blown down’. That is, -many- trees have been toppled in recent months, literally uprooted. Many of them have fallen across the trail dictating we straddling over the trunk, crawl under it, or go around it.
Beyond half a mile, fallen and burned trees were everywhere, ‘tho scrub oak and aspen were making a great comeback. The trail at times approaches the edge and provides a view to the east, into and across Cañon de los Frijoles. Further along it appears to have been a two track, now overgrown with with plant life making a comeback.
The remnants of the fire years ago, the toppled trees in the major windstorm this past spring, and the overgrown trail, Sawyer Mesa Trail is not our favorite. With some major trail maintenance, in a few years when the area has recovered from the results of these events, it may become a nice trail, but not now.
Statistics
Total Distance: 4.62 miles Elevation: start 8,977 ft, maximum 8,978 ft, minimum 8,728 ft Gross gain: 250 ft. Aggregate ascending 591 ft, descending 591 ft Maximum slope: 12% ascending, 14% descending, 3,9% average Duration: 5:06
I urge you to explore our hiking tracks with Google Earth. 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 2-dimensional screenshot above. For assistance: Using Google Earth Track Files.
Another 3 night camping trip to the Jemez, setting up the R-Pod in the Jemez Falls Campground. This is truly a great time of year to go camping and hiking in the Jemez Mountains. We’re fortunate that we can go during the week (weekends can be crowded); there are many good campsites to choose from whether with camper or tent camping. Days are warm, nights cool; we enjoyed 80s daytime, around 50 at night. This year the monsoon season seems to be lasting longer so we did have some rain in the afternoon and evening.
The Drive In
For our first day’s hiking we returned to Valles Caldera National Preserve – destination: the end of the road in northwest corner and a hike into the upper section of San Antonio Cañon. After getting our pass/permit at the Visitors Center, we drove the 17 miles through this beautiful scenery – the 4 mile view across Valle Grande, the mountains all around, the drive through Valle Jaramillo and into the wide open Valle de San Antonio. This itself is worth our visit every time we go. A gate blocks further travel onto a two-track, where we parked to begin the hike.
The Hike
Valle de San Antonio Hike.Pat.2019-09-11
The beginning of the hike is on an old two-track. Topping a couple ridges, we enjoyed views of San Antonio Creek to our right, and looking ahead we could see the cliffs that form the western edge of San Antonio Cañon.
A mile on we crossed the Creek on the berm over a large culvert and continued on the two track with a great view of the Creek and the Cañon ahead of us. The two-track continued on the western slope of this upper end of the Cañon, and from maps we could see that it is identified as FR 376 which continues all the way to NM 4 (‘tho it may be not passable, and I recall there is a closed gate at NM 4).
Two miles on we encountered folks with a tracked machine down along the river, and a most pleasant young woman driving a fork lift loaded with 10-12 foot long poles. She took time from her work to answer questions, and explained that she was a “wetlands restoration engineer”.
Our first question: what is the purpose of the 10′ tall fences around sections of the river? She explained that they are “exclosures”, to keep elk and other grazing animals from the marsh and grass land along the stream, thus giving the native plants protection so they may recover. She went on to say that they are planting willow and cottonwood trees (protected further with ‘chicken fence’ around the young plants), with the goal of restoring the wetlands to their natural state.
A BDA – beaver dam analogue.
Next, we asked – what is the “construction” work they are performing? She explained that they are building “beaver dam analogues” (BDAs) with the goal of attracting beaver back to the creek. These BDAs are constructed by driving the poles in the creek bottom, across the creek, then weaving willow boughs through the poles to create a dam. This will give the beaver a head start on -their- dam, and over time they will make it their home. We saw more than half a dozen such BDAs along this 1 mile stretch of San Antonio Creek.
From here we descended down to creekside and entered a couple of the exclosures where we enjoyed the ambience of the running water, lush marsh grass, and recently planted willow saplings. And .. having been alerted to the fact, we saw a -real- beaver dam further upstream. This valley will look quite different in coming years.
Returning to the two-track from a nice walk along the creek, to return to the truck.
Finding it a bit challenging to walk ‘off trail’, we returned to the two-track and headed back to the truck; it was getting late and one must return to the Visitor’s Center by 5:30 (17 miles, at least a half hour). We drove part way where we stopped at the turnoff to Obsidian Valley for lunch, then checked in at the Visitor’s Center and to returned to Jemez Falls Campground for the night.
Footnote: When we encountered the restoration crew, we noticed that access to the creek was afforded by a two-track descending from the western side of the cañon. Reviewing maps and previous hikes, I realized that it descends from FR 144 and was used by Jay and me on a hike back in 2017. (Further note: from here, it is only a 2 mile hike downstream to the San Antonio Hot Springs.)
Statistics
Total Distance: 4.49 miles Elevation: start 8,390 ft, maximum 8,474 ft, minimum 8,316 ft Gross gain: 158 ft. Aggregate ascending 602 ft, descending 602 ft Maximum slope: 16% ascending, 17% descending, 04.3% average Duration: 2:47
I urge you to explore our hiking tracks with Google Earth. 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 2-dimensional screenshot above. For assistance: Using Google Earth Track Files.
This is our second hike during grandson Thomas’ visit and while camping at the Columbine Campground on the Red River (near the town of Red River NM).
The Drive In
To get to the trailhead, drive through Red River on NM 578 and continue to the end of the pavement. Then continue on the first road to the right, Forest Road 58; because of recent rains this somewhat rough gravel road had water running down the road in some sections. (A high clearance vehicle is preferable, but there were “street” autos in the parking lot.) Continue for a bit more than a mile to the parking lot. The trail proceeds from there.
The Hike
Middle Fork Lake Hike.PatThomas.2019-08-23
There are signs and a gate announcing the trail, “Access to Middle Fork Lake”. The trail is a two track (now closed to vehicle traffic) that makes for easy walking. Since I’ve been collecting photos of flowers, and always on the lookout for flowers I’ve not seen before, we challenged Thomas to find one that is new to me. We hadn’t gone 100 yards when he pointed to a plant going to seed – and a -new- one to me. (And further on in the hike he pointed out another new one, and paused to inspect 3 or 4 interesting mushrooms.)
The trail follows closely the Middle Fork of the Red River and crosses the stream some a couple of times. The first crossing is on a bridge just a few hundred yards from the trailhead. Because of the steep ascent of the canyon, there are many cascades and waterfalls which add to the scenery, both visible and audible. About 1.25 miles along, another river crossing presents itself, this one without a bridge. Logs have been put in place and with hiking poles we successfully crossed to the ‘other side’. (With only 1 set of poles, we did have to throw them back to the next person to cross, ‘tho Thomas with his good balance could well have made it without the poles.)
After making the bridgeless crossing, the trail departs the river canyon and heads uphill, not too steep but the trail has to make another 700 ft gain in that last 1 mile (10,186 ft elevation to 10,849 ft). Along the trail is very nice forest: grasses, shrubs, ferns, flowers, mosses, mushrooms, and healthy ponderosa and douglas fir, many with spanish moss hanging from their branches. And the goal, the Lake, adds a very nice reward for the 1,229 ft climb and makes a most pleasant setting for our mid-hike break (which with Pat’s preparations has become more of a light lunch – a large cup of raman, PB&J sandwiches, and coffee).
The return to parking was uneventful .. well not quite – the customary mountain showers showed up, raining enough that we donned rain gear for a few minutes. Then safely across the log crossing again, we headed down the the truck and into Red River for a beer (and root beer float for Thomas).
Statistics
Total Distance: 4.69 Elevation: start 9,636 ft, maximum 10,863 ft, minimum 9,634 ft Gross gain: 1,229 ft. Aggregate ascending 1,761 ft, descending 1,761 ft Maximum slope: 41% ascending, 39% descending, 10.9% average Duration: 5:42
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.
Grandson Thomas came for a weeks-long visit. Our original plan was to take the R-Pod to the Coal Mine Campground on Mount Taylor, visit El Malpais Lava Tubes and climb to the peak of Mount Taylor. After the advance visit to the Lava Tubes, and with weather forecast to be -hot-, we went instead to Red River, NM. We found our way to the Columbine Campground (Forest Service) and found a walk-in campsite that was ideal.
The Drive In
After a good night’s rest and a cool start to the day (42 degrees at daybreak), we set out to take a “short”, easy hike up the Columbine Trail. The trailhead is at the south end of the campground and proceeds up Columbine Canyon, following Columbine Creek.
The Hike
Columbine Trail Hike.PatThomas.2019-08-22
The trail is well used – we saw only a few hikers on the way up. (During our return, we did meet a large group of teenagers who were staying in the group campground.) The trail does make for an “easy” hike: it is wide with a surface for easy walking and a gentle slope/elevation gain. The combination of easy going and such pleasant surroundings – we ended up going further than planned. Having not planned on a full hike, we didn’t have the usual mid-hike vitctules, but none-the-less, we paused for a while in a nice meadow before heading back to the campground.
Two features of the Trail and Canyon contributed to our enjoyment: being constantly near the stream, hearing the rush of water and seeing the many cascades and small waterfalls, and the abundance of interesting flowers, mosses, lichen, even butterflies. As a result, we frequently paused to admire things around us, and to take photos in hopes of being able to convey to others what we were experiencing (and for our own memories).
We had planned this for a short hike to leave time to visit Red River and to attend a Chuckwagon Supper and a concert by Michael Martin Murphey at his Rocking 3M Ranch. This made for a really enjoyable evening – good food, wonderful music, in a beautiful place.
Statistics
Total Distance: 3.07 miles Elevation: start 7,917 ft, maximum 8,324 ft, minimum 7,910 ft Gross gain: 414 ft. Aggregate ascending 910 ft, descending 916 ft Maximum slope: 39% ascending, 37% descending, 9.0% average Duration: 2:44
I urge you to explore our hiking tracks with Google Earth. 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 2-dimensional screenshot above. For assistance: Using Google Earth Track Files.
This is a collection of photos of plant life that makes these hikes in the New Mexico mountains so fascinating. The colors of the things growing catch our attention and we stop often to admire them, and attempt to capture them in photos. This collection has flowers we encountered (it was late in the summer, we imagine there are many more a month ago), brightly colorful leaves and berries, interesting lichen and mosses, and the most interesting patterns of bark on the aspen and fir trees.
This hike isn’t technically in the Valles Caldera National Preserve, but it is so close – we’re associating them. And this Las Conchas Trail on the East Fork of the Jemez River has intrigued us for some time, but we were always on our way to somewhere else when going past it. We’re -very- happy that we stopped – it’s an amazing place.
The Drive In
The Las Conchas Trailhead is just off of NM 4, 10 miles east from La Cueva. There is parking on the left (north) side of the road for 10 or so vehicles. (This parking is a quarter of a mile west of a popular rock climbing wall; folks also climb sections of the wall downstream from the Trailhead).
The Hike
East Fork Jemez River Hike.Pat.2019-07-26
As soon as we left the parking area, we found ourselves in what was almost a tropical forest. The grasses, flowering plants, shrubs, trees, mosses, everything is very lush. Both of us tried valiantly to capture this beautiful, amazing place on “film”, but .. you must be there to fully appreciate what Mother Nature has created here.
The cañon is narrow and deep with steep walls. Through the middle flows the East Fork of the Jemez River, having come out of Valle Grande of the Valles Caldera just a mile or so upstream. This is a popular place, evidenced by the wide and well-worn trail; it crosses the River a few times — on bridges (no wading required). This summer the trail is closed somewhere beyond 1.5 miles (despite what the sign says about 1.25 miles); someday we’ll continue on down the River to the Box (we’ve hiked to the Jemez Box a couple of times from the other direction).
As mentioned above, the cañon is lush with many kinds of flowers. I’ve been collecting photos of flowers on all our hikes these past 5 or 6 years, and here along the Jemez River there are the usual suspects, plus a couple that I had not seen before.
Total Distance: 2.88 miles Elevation: start 8,413 ft, maximum 8,437 ft, minimum 8,327 ft Gross gain: 110 ft. Aggregate ascending 936 ft, descending 935 ft Maximum slope: 49% ascending, 55% descending, 9.1% average Duration: 2:59
I urge you to explore our hiking tracks with Google Earth. 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 2-dimensional screenshot above. For assistance: Using Google Earth Track Files.
We’ve been looking forward to visiting the northern part of Valles Caldera; we visited it a few days before – Valles Caldera Driveabout – which piqued our interest. Because I was dealing with a sore foot, we chose an easy hike in the northwest corner of the Caldera, following VC-09 in Valle San Antonio.
The Drive In
The drive in to Valle San Antonio is described in my earlier post, Valles Caldera Driveabout. For this hike, we turned left (west) on VC08, parked where VC09/the pipeline intersects 08.
The Hike
VC09 Valle San Antonio Hike.Pat.2019-07-25
Then we headed west on a very easy two-track, up and over a couple of small hills. As we proceeded, we watched cumulus clouds congeal into rain showers, with just a bit of lightning, some 3-5 miles to the west. When another cell began to form to the south, we decided to turn back, avoiding getting caught in a rain shower (and away from the lightning). We did take the opportunity as we turned back to climb a small hill which afforded a great view of the valley.
Statistics
Total Distance: 2.7 miles Elevation: start 8,506ft, maximum 8,518 ft, minimum 8,402 ft Gross gain: 116 ft. Aggregate ascending 357 ft, descending 357 ft “Maximum slope: 24% ascending, 25% descending, 4.8% average Duration: 1:47
I urge you to explore our hiking tracks with Google Earth. 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 2-dimensional screenshot above. For assistance: Using Google Earth Track Files.
The hike begins with .2 mile walk, continuing on the two-track, to the trailhead – a bridge across the Middle Fork of the Red River. From there the ascent is gradual (10% average slope) with some switchbacks, particularly at the 0.6 miles. At about 1.2 miles the slope increases a bit (13.2% average) with more switchbacks until reaching the ridge and the first 
view of the lake. About 1.25 miles into the hike we crossed the Middle Fork on logs conveniently placed there for “us”. Upon reaching the lake, we walked around the north side for our mid-hike break/lunch and enjoyed the view across the lake to Frazier Mountain.
