‘Tis summer, and the Jemez Mountains offer temperatures that are not so high as elsewhere near Albuquerque.  So we’ve returned again to the area of other recent hikes, Oat-Hay Canyon and Barley Canyon, to another of the numerous canyons above Fenton Lake and the Fish Hatchery.  

The Drive In

To get there, continue on NM 126 past the Hatchery about a mile, park on the right where Calaveras Canyon goes northeast; large rocks now block access to a 2-track that goes up the canyon.  

The Hike

A bit tight at the beginning, the canyon opens up to a wide bottom, mostly like a meadow. About a quarter of a mile up the canyon we found numerous sampling holes and other instrumentation which we presume is used to assess conditions arising from a spring; there was some water flowing which appears to be captured in a pipe near the road.  Check SmugMug in the references below for more great photos of features and findings in Calaveras Canyon.

Our hike continued up the canyon with a nice wide, grass covered bottom with steep rock wall on the left and a steep slope to the ridge on the right.  About 1.7 miles up the canyon we chose to take a side canyon to the left to see what was up there – it was much like the the main canyon ‘tho a bit narrower.  Now 2.3 miles into the hike we stopped for our mid-hike break.  

We returned to the main canyon, and thinking we might find circumstances that would permit a loop, we proceeded further up the main canyon looking for a place where we could make reasonable ascent up the left wall.  We didn’t find anything promising enough to -plan- a revisit, but on  GoogleEarth this area does hold promise for exploring further on our own, i.e. without reference to others who have posted their hikes (thanks ASCHG for getting us this far).

Jay here: I’m not sure if it says something about me or it’s just fate, but on many such hikes as this I run into detritus of the dead kind. In this instance it appeared to be the skull and jaw of perhaps a young calf. There was also a spine (not pictured) that would seem to fit with our supposition.

Statistics

Total Distance:  5.28 miles
Elevation: start 8,115 ft, maximum 8,405 ft,  minimum 8,115ft
Gross gain: 390 ft.  Aggregate ascending 895 ft, descending 900 ft
Maximum slope: 28% ascending, 32% descending, 5% average
Duration: 3:27

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.

References

ASCHG: Calaveras Canyon – Big Side Canyon Hike  
Dog of the Desert: Calaveras Canyon in the Jemez Mountains
SmugMug: Jemez Mtns: Calaveras Canyon Hike 
AroundGuides: Calaveras Canyon (great interactive map of area features)

Jay's Photos: Click on Photo to show Gallery.

George's Photos: Click on Photo to show Gallery.

Seeking trails new to us, we came upon ASCHG’s Barley Canyon hike.  The Jemez Mountains are better this time of year, a higher elevation than around Albuquerque and generally nicely wooded forest. ‘Tis a bit distant from Albuquerque (90+ miles to La Cueva), but we find it worth the drive.  On this day, instead of having breakfast in Bernalillo, we opted to eat at Highway 4 Coffee in Jemez Springs.  And the scenery going up NM 4, through Canon de San Diego, through which flows the Jemez River, is stunning.

The Drive In

To get to Barley Canyon, at La Cueva turn left off of NM 4 onto NM 126.  Continue past Fenton Lake; .4 mi beyond the lake turn right on a two track, FR 378.  Continue up the road as far as you’re comfortable with your vehicle; we went about a mile.  On weekends particularly, you can expect to pass 3, 4, or more occupied campsites. Once you decide you’ve gone far enough, park and continue up FR 378.  The adventurous could continue some 3 miles further to the intersection with  NM 144 which can take one back to NM 126.  

The Hike

We chose to hike up this two-track, which had some serious rock obstacles. Reaching the aforementioned intersection, and orienting ourselves with the aid of the GPS, rather than retrace our steps as did the ASCHG folks, we chose to head back via an adjacent canyon. We did not have tracks to follow from another hike, but we saw on the GPS Topo map that this canyon eventually descended back into Barley Canyon, not far from our parking spot. (Thanks to the US Topo app on the Android tablet to give us this picture.) 

This adjacent canyon, shall I name it Barley Canyoncito?, was similar to Oat and Hay Canyons from our hike two weeks prior: an open meadow-like bottom with mainly ponderosa pine with smaller plants (shrubs) on the sides of the canyon; it was easy walking and at times we were able to follow what we believe was an animal trail, deer, cattle, maybe elk.  The descent into Barley Canyon was quite easy, no rock falls to overcome.

Jay here: Another two track hike for the first half and once again the scenery made up for the lack of challenge. Not really sure how some of the campers we passed got their vehicles up the rough two track road but they got to enjoy some great weather in a secluded area of the Jemez. Returning via an adjacent canyon gave us the opportunity to do some of the overland hiking that is more typical of our hikes.

Statistics

Total Distance:  5.77 miles
Elevation: start 7,992 ft, maximum 8,805 ft,  minimum 7,992 ft
Gross gain: 813 ft.  Aggregate  ascending 1,320 ft, descending 1,317 ft
Maximum slope: 27% ascending, 35% descending, 7% average
Duration: 3:18

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.

References

ASCHG: Barley Canyon Hike
ASCHG: Barley Ridge to Fenton lake Overlook Hike
AroundGuides: Barley Canyon  (great interactive map of area features)

Jay's Photos: Click on a Photo for Gallery Show.

George's Photos w/ Captions: Click on a Photo for Gallery Show.

Off to the Jemez now that weather is getting warm.  Opted today for an ASCHG hike, Oat-Hay Canyons to Bottom Short Hike.

The Drive In

To get to the trailhead in Cebolla Canyon, go west out of on NM 126, past Fenton Lake, then turn right onto FR 314, continue past the Seven Springs Hatchery; this is a very rough road – high clearance vehicle recommended.  Park about 1.6 miles up FR 314 where a gate blocks further access.

The Hike

The first half mile is on the forest road; then turn right to cross the Rio Cebolla towards the entrance to Oat Canyon (the first canyon on your right).  This day the bottom was quite soggy, nice flow of water in Rio Cebolla and some coming out of Oat Canyon – melting snow from a storm a week before.  The “trail” is on a little-used two track for about a mile through open forest in the bottom of the canyon, then for another six tenths on a mile on a two-track with easier walking.

Following ASCHG’s track with the GPS, we turned left and up over the ridge between Oat and Hay Canyons following a clearly defined trail.  At the top we stopped for mid-hike break, then down the north side of the ridge – a bit steeper but an easy descent.  The bottom of Hay Canyon is a wide meadow for about half a mile, then becomes wooded.

Before descending through the lower part of the canyon, we took a side trip along the top of a near-cliff face with the idea we might be able to descend, or at least have a vista view.  But since we decided we would likely have to backtrack a half mile or more, we returned to the bottom of the canyon and descended the steepest part of the hike.  This section was not at all difficult – rocky at times but no big-rock obstacles.

Upon reaching the Rio Cebolla bottomland, it was a half mile back to where we entered Oat Canyon, then the last half mile back to the parking.

Jay here: Another satisfying hike in the Jemez thanks to cooler temperatures at 8,000+ ft of elevation. It was more two track than we would have wanted, but the scenery made up for it. Coming upon a significant grouping of hoodoos was an unexpected bonus to the hike.

Statistics

Total Distance:  4.50 miles
Elevation: start 8,067 ft, maximum 8,801 ft,  minimum 8,067 ft
Gross gain: 734 ft.  Aggregate ascending 1,047 ft, descending 1,088 ft
Maximum slope: 41% ascending, 46% descending, 7.6% average
Duration: 3:19

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.

References

ASCHG: Hay Canyons to Bottom Short Hike
ondafringe: Exploratory Hike: Cebolla Canyon
AroundGuides:
      Oat Canyon (great interactive map of area features)
      Hay Canyon  (great interactive map of area features)

Jay's Photos w/ Captions: Click on Photo to show Gallery.

George's Photos w/ Captions: Click on Photo to show Gallery.