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.
After traveling to Idaho, then around Taos, we were closer to home. The Pecos River has some great trails into the southern end of the Sangre de Cristo mountains. Having checked out a few of them (see Related Posts below), we chose to go up Cave Creek.
The Drive In
For those who are headed to this area for the first time, some description may be helpful. Take I-25 east from Santa Fe to the exit for Glorieta and Pecos-NM 50 (this is about 90 miles from Albuquerque). After crossing over I-25, turn right; in about 6 miles, turn left at the stop sign onto NM 63 through the very old village of Pecos. From here it about 20 miles to Cowles, a placename at the end of NM 63 and the entrance to Forest Service campgrounds and hiking trails. This road, paved the whole way, is relatively open at the beginning but gradually narrows and winds more as you ascend the cañon. This will take you 45 minutes or more during which you will climb from 6,900 feet at Pecos to 8,100 feet at Cowles. Along the way you will pass many pullouts and parking areas as well as 3 NM State Parks that provide access to the river for fishing. It’s a beautiful drive; take your time to enjoy it.
You will recognize that you are at Cowles when you see a bridge on your left that crosses the Pecos River – take it. A few yards on, turn right onto Panchuela Road; follow it to the end, where you will find a small ‘primitive’ camping area. The trailhead for the Cave Creek trail is just beyond a parking lot (Dockweiler trail explained below).
The Hike
Dockweiler Trail #259 Hike.Pat.2021-08-24
We came intending to hike up the Cave Creek trail. Off to a good start, the trail is well used, easy to follow up above the creek, not much elevation gain. For part of this section of trail there is an alternate route, indicated for horses, that follows closer to the creek. At .9 miles we came upon the junction with the Dockweiler Trail; we chose to take it anticipating that in going uphill, we might get to higher and open spaces to take in more vista views.
The trail continued to be easy going, climbing steadily ‘tho not steep, with a few switchbacks, in open forest. We went out another 1.6 miles, and still had more to go it seemed before we would find vista views. This having made or usual 4-5 mile hike, we paused for our mid-hike break/snack, then headed back to parking. Once down near the river, we opted to take that ‘horse alternate’. At first is was nice to be close to the burbling creek, but soon enough the trail got squeezed next to the stream and became a lot like bushwhacking – we wished we had stayed on the main trail.
Highlight
We’re repeatedly amazed at the vibrant colors of the flowers and other growing things in the New Mexico mountains. This year’s strong monsoon season brought out the flowers, their many colors, shapes, patterns, textures, etc. I’m simply unable to pass by them without capturing photos. I hope you enjoy them below.
Statistics
Total Distance: 4.5 miles Elevation: start 8,350 ft, maximum 9,555 ft, minimum 8,334 ft Gross gain: 1,221 ft. Aggregate ascending 1,546 ft, descending 1,546 ft Maximum slope: 36% ascending, 42% descending, 11.2% 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.
We’ve been quite curious about the territory north of San Pedro Parks and Valles Caldera. This trip was to explore the area north of the Parks, with an eye on campsites and hiking trails, and on the condition of the roads.
The Drive In
We drove from Bernalillo on US 550 to just beyond Cuba, then turned north on NM 96 towards Regina. A few miles beyond Regina, NM 56 turns east toward Gallina and ultimately Abiqui Dam. About 4 miles beyond Gallina, we turned right onto FR 103 and followed it for 10.4 miles to check out the Rio Puerco Campground. This is a very small campground, a few sites for tents, no sites really set up for a camper of any kind. It is situated nicely along Rio Puerco with water running in the creek the day we were there.
Note: On the way from NM 93, we made a point of identifying where the Continental Divide Trail (CDT) crosses FR 103. Mayhap, this will be a trailhead for a future hike, or even a backpacking trip.
We backtracked on FR 103 1.5 miles and turned left on FR 93 towards the Resumidero Campground, 2 miles on. This is a ‘primitive’ campground with facilities limited to one pit toilet. It is identified on the Forest Service web site as a “Camping Area”, an area with trees on the periphery and where one can set up any kind of campsite. (As you can see by the dearth of References below, there isn’t much being reported about this camping area.)
The Hike
Redonda Trail Hike.Pat.2021-08-20
After driving through the Camping Area, we returned to FR 93 and parked along the road at the eastern edge of the Area. From there walking a bit further along the road, we turned right onto a rough two track where a sign pointed towards the San Pedro Parks Wilderness Boundary and … the Vega Redonda Trailhead. (The tw0-track is identified on the USGS Topo map as FR 53G.) We followed this two-track for .85 miles where it ended and we entered into the Wilderness. Not far to the right was the Rito Resimudero, with a pleasant flow of water (the same Rito the we saw at the Rio Puerco Campground). At the boundary, another sign pointed us onward on the “Vega Redonda Trail No. 43”.
Within the Wilderness the trail was clean and easy to follow. We continued for .9 miles, encountering some elevation gain in the last half mile. Looking at the topo map, the tril continues to climb up to 10,000 feet, the elevation of much of San Pedro Parks. Since this trip was intended as a reconnoitering visit to the area, and it is quite a long drive from home, we paused here for lunch, then repaired back to the truck.
The area is quite appealing, remote with good hiking opportunities nearby. From this and other visits that we’ve made to San Pedro Parks, it receives ample rain (and/or winter snow?) so the forest is green and healthy. And I’m given to understand that there is a lot of backpacking in the Parks, so the trails are in great condition (which certainly applies to this trail).
Statistics
Total Distance: 3.56 miles Elevation: start 8,940 ft, maximum 9,481 ft, minimum 8,928 ft Gross gain: 553 ft. Aggregate ascending 784 ft, descending 787 ft Maximum slope: 23% ascending, 22% descending, 7.6% average Duration: 3:19
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.
References and Resources The trailheads below are within the boundary of San Pedro Parks, not far from the Resumidero Camping Area.
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.
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.
