Our second hike during a 3-night stay at Jemez Falls Campground. We put this trail on our to-do list on recent hikes such as Cerro Grande and Upper Frijoles Cañon Overlook.
The Hike
The initial third of a mile or so, the trail goes through pleasant, healthy, open forest. ‘Tis not well used, so in some places it is difficult to find the trail’s path. But the trail -is- well marked with blazes on trees – there is nearly always one is in view. This was true for the whole trail, except where the ‘blazed’ tree had been blown down. (We presume this trail has been used for cross country skiing, thus the blazes.)
However, after that initial stretch of the trail, we found ourselves in a forest that has been ‘blown down’. That is, -many- trees have been toppled in recent months, literally uprooted. Many of them have fallen across the trail dictating we straddling over the trunk, crawl under it, or go around it.
Beyond half a mile, fallen and burned trees were everywhere, ‘tho scrub oak and aspen were making a great comeback. The trail at times approaches the edge and provides a view to the east, into and across Cañon de los Frijoles. Further along it appears to have been a two track, now overgrown with with plant life making a comeback.
The remnants of the fire years ago, the toppled trees in the major windstorm this past spring, and the overgrown trail, Sawyer Mesa Trail is not our favorite. With some major trail maintenance, in a few years when the area has recovered from the results of these events, it may become a nice trail, but not now.
Statistics
Total Distance: 4.62 miles
Elevation: start 8,977 ft, maximum 8,978 ft, minimum 8,728 ft
Gross gain: 250 ft. Aggregate ascending 591 ft, descending 591 ft
Maximum slope: 12% ascending, 14% descending, 3,9% average
Duration: 5:06
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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 and Resources
All Trails: Sawyer Mesa Trail
Natural Atlas: Sawyer Mesa Trail
Aztec NM.com: Bandelier national Monument Trails (PDF)