This trail is in the southwest corner of the mountains. There are two approaches to the trailhead, from Embudo Canyon and our choice, from the east end of Copper Avenue. This is a loop trail; we proceeded in a counterclockwise direction. And like Eye of the Sandias, it is largely open, with cholla, prickly pear, and other cactus plus mainly juniper trees. The surface is rock, gravel, and sand.
The Hike
From the end of Copper, we proceeded north-northeast on a well-traveled trail in the complex of many Foothills trails used by many hikers living nearby and by trail bikers. At 4/10ths of a mile,we turned east going up a wide wash area still on well used trails. At about 3/4ths into the hike we began the serious ascent, going from the wide wash up onto a ridge and continuing on that ridge for 1 1/4 miles to waypoint MNOWP8 (now 2 miles into the hike).
We proceeded another 1/4 mile on a spur to a saddle (MNOSDL) that afforded us a great view east into Tijeras Canyon. Here we enjoyed our customary coffee break, celebrating our accomplishment? From here we returned to the junction of the spur with the main trail, then headed north to make the loop. Initially the trail descends about 300 feet in elevation, then climbs back up 250 feet or so to another saddle. From there the trail proceeds down’hill’ and back to the car.
We had great views of Albuquerque along the way. Weather was quite comfortable, tho’ we doffed and donned the outer layer as the sun, breeze, and elevation changed the air temperature.
Statistics
Total Distance: 4.43 miles
Elevation: start 5,929 ft, maximum 7,149 ft, minimum 5,929 ft
Gross gain: 1,220 ft. Aggregate ascending 1,581 ft, descending 1,578 ft
Maximum slope: 37% ascending, 35% descending, 12.7% average
Duration: 3:43
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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.
Last Updated on February 19, 2022 by George Young