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.
Our 2nd day camping in our R-Pod in Jemez Falls Campground. Having been curious about the trail to the top of South Mountain in Valles Caldera, we set out to hike from the Cabin District down to the starting point for the climb up South Mountain.
The Drive In
We start this hike at the south end of the Cabin District. From NM 4, go north to the Visitor’s Center where we pick up our pass that is required to go further into the Caldera. Drop the cable barring further entry, and drive west to where the road turns north; turn left and park about 100 yards where a barrier prevents vehicle traffic from going further.
The track going southwest from parking is a well used two-track – easy going – no elevation gain for the first mile, then slight for another .2 miles. The track is along the southwest slope of South Mountain; using GPS tracks for hikes up the mountain, we found the trailhead – ready for a hike in the future.
We also noticed a sign “inviting” us to head back to parking via VC0201 – why not? We had done this on a previous hike (VC02 South Mountain Hike – 05/27/2019), so – let’s do it. Due to recent monsoon rains, the grasses and flowers were in thick and “full green”, so pleasant compared to other times of year. VC0201 is an old two track, ascending up some 400 feet, then running parallel to the topo lines. It passes through sections of healthy forest, other sections of forest that were burned back in 1987. The elevation and the openness (except for the burned trunks still standing) afforded a great view across Valles Caldera.
The tracks published by other showed a descent back to the Cabin District some 2.0 miles from the start of VC0201, running downslope parallel to La Jara creek. Reaching the creek, we didn’t see a trail in evidence, but did see blue blazes on many tree trunks. So we figured – that must be the track. With no trail, we were bushwhacking, although it was easy going since the forest was quite open – the only impediments were the many downed tree trunks.
Post hike note: we set out on VC0201 with the idea we would retrace our earlier hike. Later, checking the GPS track for that hike, I found that we had turned off of VC0201 within .25 miles of it’s starting point. We had followed what appeared to be an old two-track that had made for a shorter hike, 3.06 miles. VC0201 proved to be a quite a bit longer, more than we anticipated, but we were pleased to have done the 4.29 miles.
Statistics
Total Distance: 4.29 miles Elevation: start 8,747 ft, maximum 9,127 ft, minimum 8,724 ft Gross gain: 403 ft. Aggregate ascending 710 ft, descending 701 ft Maximum slope: 23% ascending, 20% descending, 5.2% average Duration: 2:26
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.
With beautiful August weather, ‘tho hot in Albuquerque, we retreated to the Jemez Falls Campground for a couple of days to go hiking. We got the R-Pod set up in the early afternoon, leaving time to make a short hike on the Las Conchas Trail, more of a stroll in a beautiful setting (only .86 miles; see the Related Posts below for details of previous hikes on Las Conchas).
El Cajete has been on our ‘target list’ for some time, but the trails we’d found were longer than we wanted to tackle. Last week I came upon an article suggesting another, shorter path to get into El Cajete (‘bowl’ in Spanish).
The Drive In
For the Las Conchas “walkabout”, drive east on NM 4 from the entrance to the Jemez Falls Campground for 4.5 miles to the Las Conchas Trailhead. There is limited parking on the north side of the road – full when we arrived.
For the El Cajete hike, drive east on NM 4 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, some to collect obsidian just uphill, or to hike along the East Fork.)
The Hike
El Cajete Canyon Trail Hike.Pat.2021-08-30
Crossing the road from where we parked, we found a driveway descending very steeply from the north side of the road into a small parking area – interesting we thought, maybe for a trail that proceeded up the East Fork Jemez River. But information we for this hike directed us up onto the ridge to the left of this driveway. We saw a two-track heading up through a barbed wire gate. So, up we went, finding ourselves on a nice, -old- two track. For some distance, the track was a bit rocky and steep, but soon changed to a gently sloping smooth two-track, overgrown with grass (courtesy, we suspect, of the this year’s recent and regular monsoon rains).
The trail proceeded up El Cajete Canyon on the old two-track which remained grass covered, into and out of forested areas. With the USTopo, following a sketch track I had created from the map that I found in El Cajete Three Ways, and indications on topo charts, we were on the lookout for that two-track. It proved easy to identify at 1.9 miles into the hike.
From there it was a bit of a climb to get up on the ridge that overlooks El Cajete – 8,450 to 8,650 in half a mile. Up on the ridge the large flat meadow of El Cajete came into view. Rather than follow the two-track around, descending to the meadow itself, we “bushwhacked” down a moderately steep slope to the edge of the meadow. There we had a snack, then wandered out into El Cajete, enjoying the open space with green grasses with areas of yellow, flowering plants in their last days before dropping their seeds. And in the est end of El Cajete was a pond (‘tank’ in these parts) left over from years before the Preserve when huge herds of cattle grazed throughout Valles Caldera.
El Cajete measured up to what we anticipated – a beautiful, quiet, open space with mountains and forest all around. And the hike in, and out, was the pleasant. We’re looking forward to returning, maybe by way of one of the other approaches (there are 4 by my count: from the east via VC02, from the west across Banco Bonito, or from the west from Redondo Meadow, plus this one – El Cajete Canyon).
Statistics
Total Distance: 5.81 miles Elevation: start 7,981 ft, maximum 8,666 ft, minimum 7,938 ft Gross gain: 728 ft. Aggregate ascending 1,153 ft, descending 1,185 ft Maximum slope: 31% ascending, 37% descending, 6.3% average Duration: 5:02
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.
This is the 6th hike on a 3+ week trip to Idaho. After camping other places, we spent 3 days in the Edna Creek Campground.
The Drive In
For this, our 2nd hike out of Edna Creek, we drove 6 miles north on Idaho 21 (Ponderosa Pine Scenic Route) towards Lowman, to the Beaver Creek Summit., parked on the west side of the road, and proceeded up the two-track on FR 394 then onto FR 551C.
The Hike
Stargaze Point Trail Hike.Pat.2021-07-05l
It was summer, it was hot; we wanted a trail at a higher elevation, hopefully cooler. So we headed uphill to the Beaver Creek Summit, to hike the Stargaze Point Trail. The “trail” is a well used two-track (“Jeep Trail” on the topo) that proceeds along a ridge, climbing steadily until reaching Stargaze Point, some 500 feet in 1.5 miles. Signs and blazes along the way made it clear this trail is popular in winter, for snowshoeing or maybe cross country skiing. The area is scrub forest due to the Lowman Fire in 1983. But the openness provided great views of the surrounding mountain ranges and valleys, despite the smoke/haze that was prevalent throughout our stay at Edna Creek.
At about 1.2 miles into the hike, we noticed a yurt, on a promontory below the ridge with a great view across the valley of the West Fork Beaver Creek and the ridges of the Boise Mountains to the south. (Later research revealed that this is the Stargaze Yurt, available for rent from the Idaho State Parks & Recreation.)
We continued down the two-track, taking a diversion to the right to climb up on Stargaze Point, the highest point around. Having only hiked 1.5 miles at this point, and curious about what lay further on, we returned to the two-track and hiked to what seemed to be the end of this ridge, with a view down into Rock Creek. Now at about 2.5 miles, we headed back up the tw0-track and took the diversion back up on Stargaze Point for our lunch, then back to parking.
Highlight
As on so many hikes in Idaho, the array of flowers continued to amaze us. ‘Tho not as lush as on the trails around Stanley, nonetheless they made the hike more interestng.
Statistics
Total Distance: 5.02 miles Elevation: start 6,048 ft, maximum 6,679 ft, minimum 6,048 ft Gross gain: 631 ft. Aggregate ascending 1,165 ft, descending 1,164 ft Maximum slope: 26% ascending, 27% descending, 8.1% average Duration: 4:14
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 5th of 7 hikes during our 3+ week trip to Idaho. After camping in our R-Pod for 4 days near Stanley, we moved to the Edna Creek Campground south of Lowman for 3 days.
The Drive In
No drive in required here – the trailhead was at the boundary of the campground.
The Hike
Edna Creek Ski Trails Hike.Pat.2021-07-03
Being able to begin the hike without driving was very nice. The trail is well traveled, easy to follow with occasional blazes, we presume for cross country skiing. And there are signs with trail maps at strategic locations. From the campground, it proceeds through open forest with nice shrubs and flowers. With 1 switchback, it ascends some 250 feet to the top of a ridge, which is clean of most all plants – apparently the site of a fire sometime past. Along the way the trail picks up a 2-track, descending somewhat until a junction with other 2-tracks, adjacent to highway ID 21.
We continued around a small hill until finding ourselves again on a 2-track, well maybe more of a road considering its condition (FR 025M). Continuing thereon for 1.2 miles, the road took a downhill turn; we continued on somewhat of a ridge, finding another 2-track, until we reached an overlook, down upon the Crooked River. Here we stopped for our mid-hike break/lunch, then retraced our steps for 3/4 of a mile, then took a ‘Y’ on the road to the right and back to the junction. Here we chose to head downhill in the valley rather than retrace our track back to the campground. This was most pleasant (‘tho without a discernible trail), with green plants all around (tho’ among many dead trees).
This was a good hike, through territory new to us. ‘Tho marred by the many dead and down trees (fire and beetle kill it appeared), the views especially to the horizon were great. (Note: there are other trails starting at the Campground, most longer than this Valley Wagon Trail.
Highlight
On the way towards the overlook for our mid-hike break, we saw a yurt placed prominently on an overlook, also with a view down to the Crooked River. A bit of research: one of many available for rent from the Idaho Sate Parks, summer (fishing and hiking) and winter (skiing). It would be a great getaway.
Statistics
Total Distance: 4.3 miles Elevation: start 5,255 ft, maximum 5,512 ft, minimum 5,384 ft Gross gain: 128 ft. Aggregate ascending 771 ft, descending 771 ft Maximum slope: 26% ascending, 25% descending, 6.1% average Duration: 4:19
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 4th hike during a 3-week trip through middle Idaho and our 3rd hike with our R-Pod set up in the Casino Creek Campground, along the Salmon River five miles east of Stanley.
The Drive In
For this hike, we traveled north from Stanley to Stanley Lake. From downtown Stanley drive north on Idaho 21 for 4,6 miles, then turn left onto Stanley Lake Rd (Forest Road 641) for 3.5 miles, passing the Stanley Lake Campground, and to a parking area to your left along the lake.
The Hike
Lady Face Falls Tail Hike.2021-07-01
From the parking lot, we proceeded in a southerly direction on a road seemed to be the direction to go. We proceeded off of the road onto Lakeshore Trail and onto a bridge. But … the bridge ended, overlooking a very swampy area. Near the end was a sign explaining the situation. (Click on the photo for a magnified view.)
We retraced our route, back to the parking lot and northwest on a forest road until finding -the- trailhead for Trail 640 (the GPS route from AllTrails begins here). The trail is well used, even perhaps groomed, as it passes through an open meadow then through a swampy area (with a boardwalk across an area of sometime muck). There are signs along the way for this and other trails that spin off of Lady Face Falls Trail. Ahead and to the left is McGown Peak (9,860 ft) and to the right a ridge (goes up to 8,000 ft) between which lies Stanley Creek. (This trail does continue beyond Lady Face Falls to Bridal Veil Falls, 3.6 miles.)
About 2.2 miles into the hike the trail enters a more forested area and begins to climb (up to this point the elevation gain has been minimal). For the next half mile, the trail climbs some 200 feet. The trail becomes less distinct, but working our way east towards the canyon that we could make out, and the noise of falling water, we found the overlook to Lady Face Falls. The descent to the foot of the Falls was daunting, requiring one to climb down a steep incline over large rocks/boulders – we weren’t up to that this day.
From there we worked our way upstream along the rim of the canyon, finding a nice place to have our mid-hike break/lunch. It was then back down the trail until – we came to a junction, a well worn trail that branched off to the left.Curious, we followed it to a roadway from which it branched to the left, only to find we were looking at a swampy area. But ahead we could see the bridge mentioned above; with the help of some logs we were able to remain dry, crossing to the bridge and back to the truck.
Statistics
Total Distance: 5.58 miles Elevation: start 6,529 ft, maximum 6,805 ft, minimum 6,517 ft Gross gain: 288 ft. Aggregate ascending 805 ft, descending 806 ft Maximum slope: 27% ascending, 24% descending, 4.0% average Duration: 4:32
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 third hike during a 3-week trip through middle Idaho. The R-Pod was set up in the Casino Creek Campground, along the Salmon River five miles east of Stanley.
The Drive In
To get to the Fourth of July Trailhead, travel 15 miles south on ID 75. Turn left onto FR 209, a gravel road in good condition. The 1st couple of miles is across open scrub-brush range, then enters into Fourth of July Cañon. Continue for 10 miles from ID 75 through the cañon and along Fourth of July Creek, a quite pleasant drive. The trailhead is just off of FR 209, to the right, with ample parking and a quite informative sign board (see photos below).
The Hike
Fourth Of July Trail Hike.Pat.2021-06-29
We began our hike by signing in, then heading out on Trail 109 towards Fourth of July Lake. The trail passes through healthy forest and appears to be well used and maintained, making ambulation quite easy. And there are trail signs reaffirming we were on track.
Elevation gain was steady for about 1.6 miles until abreast of Fourth of July Lake (from 8,749 ft to 9,370 ft). After a mostly level section along the margin of the Lake, the trail ascends another 300 feet or so to a saddle (.4 miles), where there was a small pond below some snow up on a rock slope. Then a descent of some 300 feet (.4 miles) to Washington Lake.
This was a great hike on a beautiful trail, with mostly healthy forests (trees, “shrubs”, and flowers). A “clean” trail, steady slope, and great views of mountains left and right. Even some left-over snow. We met only a half dozen other hikers, tho’ this must be a very popular trail for hiking and backpacking further into the White Cloud Wilderness and surrounding general forest areas.
Statistics
Total Distance: 5.8 miles Elevation: start 8,749 ft, maximum 9,582 ft, minimum ft Gross gain: 833 ft. Aggregate ascending 1,184 ft, descending 1,189 ft Maximum slope: 20% ascending, 16% descending, 7.0% average Duration: 5:25
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 our trip to Idaho, and during our first day with the R-Pod set up in the Casino Creek Campground, along the Salmon River five miles east of Stanley.
The Drive In
I had done much research on hiking trails around Stanley – there were so many choices that it was hard to pick one, especially that we were new to the area. We started the day intending to hike the Fishhook Creek Trail, 4.5 miles with little elevation gain – an easy day. The trailhead is near a parking lot on the drive into the Redfish Lake Lodge (this is about 5 miles south of Stanley; 3 miles on US on Idaho 22 to the turnoff to Redfish Lake, then a couple of miles on the road towards Redfish Lodge).
The Hike
Fishhook Creek-Alpine Way Trails Hike.Pat.2021-06-28
From the parking lot, we followed the signs pointing us across the Lodge Road to where we found the trailhead. The start of the hike was on a well groomed trail, almost a two-track, skirting an pretty aspen grove. The trail continued through open forest but with much dead-fall. I guess we began to think this trail would be too easy because, coming upon a trail going off to the right (and uphill), we changed our course and continued on the Alpine Way trail towards Marshall Lake. (The extensive research paid off – I had imported into USTopo on my phone/GPS most of the trails that I thought we might find interesting. Alpine Way was included so the change in plan went smoothly.)
Up to that point we had gained some 150 ft elevation. But heading up Alpine Way we ascended 450 feet to the top of a ridge and continued climbing from there to our turn-around point. Along the way we had amazing views of the central portion of the Sawtooth Mountains, and could easily see how they came by that name. The trail remained well used, easy hiking.
We continued on Alpine Way, at one point entering the Sawtooth Wilderness Area (and signing in). We are most comfortable when our hikes are under 6 miles, so at 2.7 miles, we paused to enjoy our traditional mid-hike break (ramen, carrots, PB&J) and returned to the trailhead.
Highlights
Our surroundings were so very green. Clearly there is sufficient sources of water to support lush growth of trees, shrubs, and … flowers. This is such a contrast to New Mexico. Some of the flowers we see in New Mexico, but there were others that were new to us. And even the trees were so healthy, and some unfamiliar to us. Check our Flower Photos below for a sampling of what we have seen.
Statistics
Total Distance: 5.29 miles Elevation: start 6,563 ft, maximum 7,524 ft, minimum 6,563 ft Gross gain: 961 ft. Aggregate ascending 1,076 ft, descending 1,087 ft Maximum slope: 30% ascending, 37% descending, 7.2% 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.
Pat and I have hiked up Mount Taylor, last year and 2 years ago, and we were looking forward to doing it again. Jay and Nancy were intrigued and also wanted to ‘go the distance’. So we scheduled a 2-night camping trip, giving us a day to make the climb.
The Drive In
Because Jay & Nancy are tent-campers, we planned on camping in the Coal Mine Campground. Arriving there, we discovered that is not yet open for this year, But, Pat and I provided a fallback; from the 2020 Post:
“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 this year is much like Pat & I did last year, at least the ascent; I won’t repeat the description, but invite you to review that BLOG post. For the descent, we opted to follow the precedent of our first hike to the summit: descend on the trail to the tree line, then turn right to follow Gooseberry Creek down to it’s junction with the Gooseberry Spring trail.
As we continue to embrace New Mexico’s vistas and features, we very much enjoyed the views from the many vantage points on the trail up Mount Taylor. The open forest through which we pass for the first half of the hike is so very pleasant, with the healthy aspen, ponderosa, and fir trees. Then above the edge of the trees, the views of the slopes ahead and along one section to the right are breathtaking. Out on the slope of the last half of the ascent the views to the west and south are wondrous. Topping out on the summit opens more views to the south and east.
Please step through the gallery of photos below to get a sense of what I’m trying to describe, and some descriptions of the hike.
Highlight
Inspecting maps closely, I had noted that the Continental Divide Trail (CDT) passed near our campsite. Then, a half mile into the hike a young woman caught up with us. It appeared by her pack that she was backpacking. Chatting briefly we learned that she had come from Grants and was in fact a through-hiker on the CDT. A half mile later, we caught up with her as she was chatting with Cheshire Cat (his trail name). He was introduced as a Trail Angel, well known by CDT through-hikers, particularly for providing ice cream sandwiches out on the trail. After a convivial conversation, the hiker continued ahead (being new at this through-hiking universe, we didn’t think to ask her trail name), and she was soon out of sight. Cheshire Cat headed back to the trailhead and his crazy-painted car (unfortunately, we didn’t think to take a picture of the car as we began our hike). And we continued on our way.
(Cheshire Cat challenged us with a $1,000,000 bet: who has right-of-way, a hiker going uphill or one going downhill? We all posited – uphill has right-of-way. He asserted that downhill has precedence, his logic being that one going downhill has difficulty stopping, particularly on a steep, rocky slope. ‘Tho that seemed to make sense to all of us, we continued to think – uphill. So I guess we have and IOU to him.)
As we were climbing up the switchbacks on the upper half of the ascent, we noticed another hiker gaining on us. A couple of hundred yards from the top, she caught up and went ahead. Upon arriving at the peak, she was there taking photos. We exchanged cameras to get ‘selfies’ to document our arrival. We invited her to join us while we had lunch, which she graciously agreed. We enjoyed great conversation, learning that her trailname is “No-No”, that she has been on the CDT for close to a month (starting at the US-Mexico border) and plans to finish at the Canadian border come September.
As we prepared to head back down, No-No told us we might encounter another through-hiker, trailname “Beer Goddess”. And .. as we returned to -the summit, a young woman was there taking her documentary photos. We may have surprised her, asking if she was Beer Goddess. Yes, she said, as we told her No-No was just ahead, packing up to continue on the trail. After getting a picture of her on her camera, we continued on our way, back down Mount Taylor.
Postscript
During our descent, we were reminded of our first hike on Mount Taylor back in 2018. Pat & I hiked to the saddle not far above the tree line. It was a great introductory hike and gave us perspective (and confidence) that we could hike to the summit. We returned two weeks later to ‘go to the top’. Reflecting on those experiences, and in conversation with Nancy & Jay, it occurred to us that others may hike to this half-way point, a bit more than half way in distance and half way in elevation gain. Such a hike would not be so strenuous and would give one great views all around, especially the last 1/4 mile along the east side of the ridge, with a beautiful view across Rinconada Canyon. Then descend, as we did, down into Goosberry Canyon, back to the Trail and to the trailhead.
Statistics
Total Distance: 6.31 miles Elevation: start 9,275 ft, maximum 11,309 ft, minimum 9,275 ft Gross gain: 2,034 ft. Aggregate ascending 2,246 ft, descending 2,247 ft Maximum slope: 40% ascending, 41% descending, 12.8% average Duration: 6:44
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.
