Hike with the Leppas to Boletsakwa Ruins, 07/11/2015.This is such a great hike for visitors – this time the family from Virginia.
The Drive In
The drive from Bernalillo up US 50 to San Ysidro, then up NM 4 that follows the Jemez River, through Jemez Pueblo (honor the speed limits here) and a visit to the Visitors Center at Jemez Springs. Then we returned south, turned left on NM 290, continued past the name-place Ponderosa and further on the Paliza Campground. At the campground, we turned left onto FR 10, crossed the River and continued up the winding ascent to the top of Ponderosa Mesa. Parking at the top, we walked south, a short 1.2 miles on an easy trail to the Boletsakwa Ruins.
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 an easy hike up a Forest Road that follows Paliza Canyon from the Paliza Campground north into the Jemez Mountains. It passes 2 or 3 old mining sites on the way to a Y – take the one to the left towards Goblin Colony. The Goblins are a large collection of amazing rock formations on a steep hillside. One sees many of them coming up from the valley, but continue climbing to see many, many more. Check out the references to see more photos.
The Hike
Paliza Canyon & Goblin Colony Hike, 09/09/2016
Statistics
Total Distance: 3.10 miles Elevation: 6,838 start, 7,208 maximum, 6,838 minimum Gross gain: 370 ft. Aggregate ascending 580 ft, descending: 590 ft Maximum slope: 27% ascending, 30% descending, 7% average Duration: 2:29
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.
Seeking out trails that we haven’t yet visited, this weekend we returned to the Jemez Mountains, to Stable Canyon (thanks to ASCHG for description and track info). Although it is mid-October and the forest is showing it’s autumn colors, the daytime temperatures are still nearly hot, so the description of “Cool shady hike along the Guadalupe River and up a green canyon …” made this hike appealing to us.
The Hike
FR 376-Stable Canyon Hike.Jay.2016-10-16
We first tried to cross the Guadalupe River near the entrance to the canyon, to spend more time in Stable Canyon and thus eliminating the .4 mile approach along the River. We pushed our way through some mean brambles, scouting 600 yards of the River, but we could not find a suitable crossing. Oh well, we capitulated and drove on up the road, crossed the bridge at Porter, and headed back south on a good two-track to the mouth of the Canyon.
The trail follows the bottom of Stable Canyon, a steady tho’ not steep ascent among Ponderosa pine, gambel oak, some aspen, and in some places more of those nasty brambles. The sides of the canyon are quite steep, but the trail follows an ancient two-track mostly without rocks. The trail is well traveled for one so remote, (it appeared most frequently by cattle), so the walking is very easy although in many places one must push through or under spare undergrowth. About midway up the Canyon we found a small stream of water in the creek bed, adding to this most pleasant hike.
Jay here: The river may have defeated us this time, but next time it won’t be so lucky. I’m thinking that if we carry 2 super duty Hefty trash bags with us, we can gather up one on each leg and get across the Guadalupe without no stinkin’ boots. It was a relatively easy hike in terms of elevation gain but offered many moments for contemplation. Listening to the wind rustle the trees when we stopped for coffee only amplified how quiet and serene the trail can be and how restorative a walk in the woods can be.
Statistics
Total Distance: 4.15 miles Elevation: 7,219 start, 7,670 maximum, 7,179 minimum Gross gain: 451 ft. Aggregate ascending 1,130 ft, descending: 1,130 ft Maximum slope: 40% ascending, 40% descending, 9% 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.
Earlier this summer, I came across descriptions of hiking in the Dome Wilderness, a small designated wilderness area abutting the western boundary of Bandelier National Monument; it looked intriguing. With the cooler temperatures of autumn, and a willingness to go further into the wilderness on barely improved Forest Roads, we headed for the trail (see references below).
The Drive In
The drive was itself interesting: past the Cochiti Pueblo and Cochiti Dam and Lake, and the Town of Cochiti, onto Forest Road 89, then 289 (a high clearance vehicle, preferably with 4-wheel drive is recommended but not necessary). The trailhead was easy to find, with a nice parking area for a half dozen cars.
The Hike
Google Earth screenshot of hike on Trail 118 across Eagle Canyon to Sanchez Canyon and the Sanchez Waterfall. We could not see a way to get down into Sanchez Canyon below the waterfall, so we had coffee on the canyon above it.
About 100 yards from the trailhead, we are looking down into a steep sided, narrow, fairly deep canyon – this made us wonder if this is going to be a difficult transit. It wasn’t – the trail has switchbacks so it is never steep; the surface is rocky, but not loose rocks, which makes for good footing and easy walking. As you can see from the screenshot, there are no (live) trees. Two fires have burned through the Dome Wilderness, the Dome Fire in 1996 and the Las Conchas fire in 2011. As you can see in the photos, there are many blackened trunks, standing and fallen, and only a few scrub oaks growing. But … there were lots of colors in the many different flowering plants scattered throughout the area.
Up out of Eagle Canyon across the adjoining mesa, then along the west slope of Sanchez Canyon. The trail here is carved out on the very steep side of the canyon; the trail isn’t narrow, but the steep falloff into the canyon can be unnerving. The presence of a waterfall was first signaled by the noise of falling water. The trail crosses the canyon above the waterfall, and there was no way safe for us to see the waterfall from there. It was only on the way out that we sighted the stream of water down deep in the canyon.
We walked some 100 yards up the canyon and found some shade afforded by fallen tree trunks and debris washed down the canyon. It was here we had our traditional mid-hike refreshments, and a bit of rest and relaxation before heading back to the Tacoma.
On the way out, we explored FR 89, which goes further north from the intersection with FR 286. Tho’ a bit rough (high clearance recommended), we found ourselves among fruit trees, and at the end of the road. We drove past a quonset shelter filled with boxes used for transporting fruit, and found them labeled “Dixon Orchard”. Maybe this is the Dixon Orchard, popular over many years until the Conchas Fire wiped it out.
Statistics
Total Distance: 2.95 miles Elevation: 6,600 start, 6,692 maximum, 6,470 minimum Gross gain: 222 ft. Aggregate ascending 1,127 ft, descending: 1,128 ft Maximum slope: 59% ascending, 66% descending, 11% 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.
I’d found a hike at ASCHG that visited some Pueblo Ruins above Paliza Canyon and included a visit to Goblin Colony. Jay and I had visited the Colony in July a year ago, and Pat and I had recently hiked up Paliza Canyon to the Colony, so this was a revisit for both of us.
The Hike
Google Earth track of our hike to Paliza Canyon, with visits to Pueblo Ruins and the Goblin Colony, 9/11/2016.
The first 1.3 miles is mostly open, along a tw0-track that leads to a few strip mines in the area (we don’t know what mineral they were mining). Crossing one of the larger areas of disturbed earth, we ascended to the mesa on the east of Paliza Canyon, atop of which were the reported ruins (see the blue waypoints in the GoogleEarth snapshot above). At some point, we started to feel familiarity with the area, and soon realized we had visited the south end of the Mesa on our earlier visit to Goblin Colony.
Atop this mesa, we followed a two-track northward towards Ruins 1, and found it easily. On entering the area, we found two depressions that are typical of a Kiva in ruins like this. This is a large ruins: about 200′ in length, 60′ in width, and at the north end the rubble pile was maybe 15 feet tall. This must have been a large pueblo with multiple stories to have left such a large pile of rubble.
We continued on along the two-track, and looking left and right found other ruins (marked Ruins A and B, plus what would appear to be a one-room blockhouse marked with waypoint 003. Although we thought our Ruins B were the ASCHG Ruins 2, when I plotted our track and waypoints on GoogleEarth, it came to light that we did not visit Ruins 2.
Walking a bit further north we came upon a well-maintained Forest Road, so followed it back towards Goblin Colony. Using the track I had on the GPS, tho’ Jay was doubtful, I left the road and to our great surprise we were looking down upon Goblin Colony from a vantage point on earlier visits we didn’t think we could get to. The descent through the Goblins was truly amazing, a differend and interesting view as we passed through these hoodos – the many tens of Goblins.
Descending through the Colony, we sought out the same spot where we had our mid-hike coffee a year ago. then the hike back to the Tacoma was uneventful; the hike was another truly great one.
Statistics
Total Distance: 5.95 miles
Elevation: 6,838 start, 7,748 maximum, 6,838 minimum
Gross gain: 810 ft. Aggregate ascending 1,296 ft, descending: 1,296 ft
Maximum slope: 31% ascending, 38% descending, 7% average
Duration: 4:11
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.
I was quite pleased to introduce Jay to one of my favorite hiking spots, Boletsakwa Ruins. It is one of the most accessible “remote” Pueblo ruins that I’ve found. Parking off of Forest Road 10, the ruins are found about a mile along an easy-to-follow path. (For about 200 yards, the path skirts a large rock formation, with a steep slope down into San Juan Canyon.)
The Hike
Track of the Ponderosa Mesa-Boletsakwa Ruins hike, 08/07/2016, on Google Earth image.
I’ve visited here twice before and have looked forward to continuing southbound on Ponderosa Mesa to the end of the mesa. Jay was willing, so we extended the hike out to 2.5 miles – the view down the Jemez River valley was stunning. (Later, looking at a topographic map, we realized we were not at the bitter end of the mesa – that would be another 3/4 of a mile.)
Google Earth view of the ruins.
Jay here: The end may not have been bitter (or the actual edge for that matter), but the trek across the mesa was a lot like traversing a hot frying pan…with rocks for homefries. Imagining the Boletsakwa ruins as they might have existed around the year 1500, with 650 rooms and who knows how many people living there, makes the experience more impressive. Walls with mud chinking have survived for us to see today — amazing. Not only did they move thousands of rocks to build their homes, they also had to go back down to the mesa base every day to haul water back up top. Best part about the hike besides the ruins? That’s easy — there was hardly any elevation to climb.
Statistics
Total Distance: 4.9 miles
Elevation: 7,216 start, 7,267 maximum, 6,945 minimum
Gross gain: 446 ft. Aggregate ascending 811 ft, descending: 811 ft
Maximum slope: 30% ascending, 53% descending, 25% average
Duration: 3:40
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.
Looking for cooler spaces as summer begins, we drove a bit further to Valles Caldera National Preserve, a recent addition to the National Park Service inventory of places in New Mexico. We hiked in the southwestern corner of the Preserve.
The Hike
Redondo Meadow Hike.Jay.2016-05-29
It was a relatively easy hike, not much elevation gain, only some 314 feet. Midway through the hike, we found ourselves in the beautiful valley of Redonda Creek, To walk along the burbling water, probably the last of the snow melt, was most pleasant. Also in the valley, after crossing the creek. we found ourselves in the middle of a large prairie dog town with a dozen or so watch towers spread about. Most of the our hike was on two-track, some gravel, some dirt, and most comfortable about 2 miles on a two-track covered with 2-3 inches of wood chips.
Most of the hike was through an open forest in the shade of Ponderosa Pine; only along the Redondo Creek were we in open sunlight.
Statistics
Total Distance: 6.50 miles Elevation: start 8,200 ft, maximum 8,319 ft, minimum 8,120 ft Gross gain: 318 ft. Aggregate ascending 1,085 ft, descending 1,085ft Maximum slope: 32% ascending, 36% descending, 4.3% average Duration: 4:11
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.
