The Hike

The trail starts with a decent grade along a wide canyon and then works its way across a series of canyons interspersed with fairly long stretches of level ground. There are some hikers who heed the thoughts of poet Longfellow….”into each life some rain must fall;” and then there are some hikers that would be just as happy if the trail stayed level the entire way. The stretches of trail that were under a shaded forest canopy on soft ground with pine needle cover were exhilarating for the speed with which we crossed them. We were moving through the forest like Chingachgook and the Mohicans…minus the moccasins of course.

There were only a few hikers returning on the way in, but naturally we ran into one of George’s neighbors and his 2 dogs. Seems like we can’t hike anywhere anymore without running into someone George knows. He’s like the Mayor of the Sandias.

Speaking of dogs, many of the hikers we saw on our return trip were hiking with their dogs, rarely on leash. The more accessible the trailheads, the more dogs we see. Most are well behaved.

Highlight

This trail will be very pleasant come fall. We will definitely put it on the list for October and November, as long as there’s no snow on the trail.

Jay here: Not sure what the mystery to the Mystery Trail is. It may be the mystery of why it took us so long to see this one on the Sandia trail maps. The trailhead is only a few miles up the Crest highway in the East mountains. It’s a little below 8,000 ft elevation but the trail works its way slowly up. It had rained the night before and the temps were thankfully a little lower (around 84 degrees down on Juan Tabo).

Statistics

Total Distance: 5.32 miles
Elevation: 7,487 start, 7,933 maximum, 7,465 minimum
Gross gain: 446 ft.  Aggregate ascending 1,283 ft, descending: 1,283 ft
Maximum slope: 30% ascending, 53% descending, 25% average
Duration: 3:40

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.

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

Introduction

Another hot day in Albuquerque and all lower elevations, so Jay and I headed towards the top of the Sandia Mountains.  

The Hike

Following initially the section of the 10K trail that Pat & I hiked earlier in the week, we continued across all of the Sandia Peak Ski Area, and continued on 10K until it intersected the South Crest Trail.  The South Crest Trail took us north, with a hefty climb up to the top terminal of the Sandia Peak Tram (and Ski Area).  Then it was down the northern-most ski run to intercept 10K and back to parking.

Weather up on the mountain was wonderful (above 9000 fee, as high as 10,400 feet) – temperature started out in the 70s, maybe made it barely into the 80s by the end of the hike.  Meanwhile, temperatures at lower elevations, like Placitas and Albuqeurque, were well into the 90s.

The trail is shaded nearly it’s whole length.  It is well used, by hikers during the summer and by cross-country skiers in the winter.  Since it generally follows the 10,000 elevation line (by design), it was, overall, an easy hike.

Statistics

Total Distance: 5.43 miles
Elevation: 9,977 start, 10,290 maximum, 9,409 minimum
Gross gain: 881 ft.  Aggregate ascending 1,506 ft, descending: 1,502 ft
Maximum slope: 36% ascending, 24% descending, 25% average
Duration: 3:49

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.

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

Introduction

‘Twas to be a hot day at 5000 feet elevation in Albuquerque.  So we went “to the mountain”, high up on the east side of the Sandia Mountains.  The Survey Trail, used in the winter for cross country skiing, makes for a very nice hike in the summer.  It starts at 10,275 feet elevation where it is cool (58 degrees when we started) and stays close to that elevation throughout.

The Hike

The trail begins at the Ellis Trail parking area; just south of the upper parking area a trail heads west and joins with Survey.  Survey then proceeds northwest for a quarter of a mile where it crosses the Crest Highway (Route 536) .  It then heads north; the condition indicates moderate use-not trampled yet easy to follow.  The 10k Trail crosses Survey at about 2.5 miles. 

We continued on to the end of the Survey, then turned left onto the Osha Loop Trail, then left onto the Sandia Crest Trail, where we had the only scenic views on this hike – a vista from the north slopes of Sandia Peak clockwise, north to the Rio Grande valley and Jemez Mountains.  We continued southward to the  intersection with the 10K Trail, then the Survey to return to our car.

Highlight

The trail goes through forest for its whole length, so we were nearly always in shade.  It is well maintained – many trees have fallen across the trail over the years, but even those fallen recently had been cut and the trail cleared.  The trail surface is the softest and quietest we’ve seen – instead of gravel and rocks that we find on many other trails, Survey is covered with years of organic matter fallen from the trees.

Statistics

Total Distance: 6.14 miles
Elevation: 10,274 start, 10,439 maximum, 9,838 minimum
Gross gain: 436.  Aggregate ascending 1,420 ft, descending 1,420 ft
Maximum slope: 47% ascending, 36% descending, 7.8% average
Duration: 3:40

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.

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