Oak Flats-Pine Loop Trails Hike – 10/13/2022

Wishing to have a hike close to home, we returned to Oak Flats for its easy trails and autumn colors.

The Drive In

‘Tis an easy drive – east on I-40 through Tijeras Canyon, exit on NM 337 for Tijeras, then up to the top of the hill. Turn left on Oak Flat Rd, proceed for 1 mile, turn into the Oak Flats Open Spaces. Take the drive to the left, follow it around to the trailhead. (Depending on the time of day, consider stopping by Roots Farm Cafe on the way in for breakfast or coffee, or on the way out for lunch.)

The Hike

Oak Flats-Pine Loop Trails Hike.Pat.2022-10-13

Notes about the Google Earth screenshot: the graph at the bottom shows elevation of the track (pink area) and speed (the blue line).

Like other recent hikes, we started at the Oak Flat Trailhead, proceeding on Pine Loop, Gamble Oak, then hooking up with Pine Loop to return to the trailhead.

Statistics

Total Distance:   3.92 miles
Elevation: start  7,685 ft, maximum  7,692 ft,  minimum  7,343 ft
Gross gain:  350 ft.  Aggregate ascending  658 ft, descending  657 ft
Maximum slope: 21% ascending, 25% descending, 5.5% average
Duration: 2:03

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.

Related Posts

Other visits to Oak Flats