This really was our first foray on our own into the Jemez Mountains (though we did hike Cebolla Canyon earlier in 2014, but Jay had hiked there some years before).
The Drive In
Having done virtually no advance planning, we drove up FR 10 as far as we were comfortable, then parked alongside the road and hiked onward.
The Hike
Paliza Canyon Hike.Jay.2014-08-24
Following our ?instincts?, we remained on FR 10 for a ways, then turned onto a two-track up a valley. Nearing the end of this small valley, we climbed onto the ridge, then began looking for a reasonable route down into the adjoining canyon. The slope didn’t change much, so we descended on a fairly steep route and found ourselves back on a road, later to learn it was FR 10 which we followed to return to the car.
Statistics
Total Distance: 3.92 miles Elevation: start 7,596 ft, maximum 8,099 ft, minimum 7,597 ft Gross gain: 502 ft. Aggregate ascending 773 ft, descending 767 ft Maximum slope: 27% ascending, 40% descending, 6.4% average Duration: 2:52
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.
I’m publishing this in 2018, so I don’t have fresh memory of the hike itself. But here is the usual technical data, some references, and photo galleries.
The Hike
La Luz Hike & Trail.Jay.2014-08-31
Statistics
Total Distance: 5.35 miles Elevation: start 7,010 ft, maximum 8,219 ft, minimum 7,010 ft Gross gain: 1,209 ft. Aggregate ascending 1,779 ft, descending 1,781 ft Maximum slope: 27% ascending, 27% descending, 10.0% average Duration: 3:29
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.
Having recently hiked Little Tesuque Creek (the Little Tesuque Trail) and going left onto the La Piedra Trail towards the Dale Ball Trails, for this hike our plan was to continue on the Juan Trail to the junction with the Saddleback Trail, and take Saddleback as far as we wished. The weather was a bit wintery, cloudy and almost cold with the chance for snow.
The Hike
Juan-Saddleback Hike.Jay.2018-11-11
Little Tesuque Creek had a nice flow of water, no doubt melt from recent snow storms; the sound of running water always adds a nice touch. Leaving Little Tesqueu, (about .2 miles) we started uphill on a well used trail. At about .8 miles we attained the top of the ridge where Juan Trail descended into a canyon going northwest to join the Winsor Trail and Saddleback turned to the east.
Saddleback Trail continues on top of this ridge. We encountered some snow in shaded areas left over from recent snowstorms. We continued for a mile as snow flurries came and went, providing occasionally nice views across Santa Fe and to the north towards Tesuque and Espanola. We found a nice spot for our mid-hike break, warmed up with coffee and a nip of tequila, then headed back. ‘Twas a nice hike, and nice day for hiking.
Jay here: There has to be at least one hike each winter where the snow flies and this was the one for 2018. The flakes started out small but then got fat as we were along the saddle ridge. The tequila proved to be helpful when we stopped for coffee break. When you’re not moving, you’re not generating any body heat, so the tequila is the ideal cure for a/the cold.
Statistics
Total Distance: 3.99 miles Elevation: start 7,537 ft, maximum 8,432 ft, minimum 7,498 ft Gross gain: 934 ft. Aggregate ascending 1,153 ft, descending 1,148 ft Maximum slope: 32% ascending, 34% descending, 10.0% average Duration: 3:14
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.
‘Twas a beautiful autumn day in New Mexico, ideal temperature, no wind, amazingly colorful cottonwoods down in the canyon, and snow on Mount Baldy. We set out on this hike to explore one of the many trails off of Hyde Park Road, starting in the Little Tesuque Open Space. We had passed by this trailhead on the way to an earlier hike (Chamisa-Saddleback) but had missed seeing the trailhead (parking is alongside the road, no parking lot).
The Hike
Little Tesuque Creek Hike.Jay.2018-10-28
The beginning of the trail isn’t obvious, it angles down into the canyon off of the edge of the road. But once down into Little Tesuque Creek canyon it becomes a trail easy to follow, and easy hiking sloping gently down-stream. A mile into the hike we took the left onto La Piedra Trail, where the sign pointed to the “Dale Ball Trails” (to the right would be towards the Winsor Trail). From here it was uphill to the top of the ridge for great views out across Santa Fe to the southwest, and towards the core of the Sangre de Christos and snow-covered Mount Baldy to the northeast.
We continued on (down), then back up again to a junction, the starting point of a loop and going into La Piedra Open Space. We went around the right side, and at the far end of the loop stopped for our mid-hike break. Here we found a most informative sign with a panorama view and labels identifying major features in across the Rio Grande valley and the Jemez Mountains. Then we headed back (taking the right side again to complete the loop) and retracing our route back to parking.
Jay here: Beautiful New Mexico fall weather makes great hiking opportunities like this one even better. That uphill slog to the top of the ridge must have had close to 40 switchbacks of the type that we do not encounter all that often. If my pointing finger is going to continue getting such a prominent role in the photos I will have to consider getting a pre-hike manicure.
We must like NoName, this is the 7th time we’ve hiked this canyon. (Note: I’ve written before, that “NoName” is -our- name for this canyon, since we haven’t found any other moniker to use.)
The Hike
NoName-Quartz Outcrop Hike.Jay.2018-09-23
This time we had a goal, visit the Quartz Outcrop above the upper end of NoName. Jay had hiked to it with another group, a tough route going up and down over the ridge above NoName, and together twice we had hiked up NoName to a point where we could see the outcrop. This day we were determined to -visit- Quartz Outcrop.
We’ve published descriptions of the trail from our other hikes, particularly 02/12/2017 and 9/17/2017; there is not much to add except for the scramble up a steep hillside to reach -the- Outcrop. Of course, we used the Outcrop as the spot for our mid-hike break, enjoying the wide range of colors and shapes in this geologic formation.
Statistics
Total Distance: 3.49 miles Elevation: start 6,086 ft, maximum 7,267 ft, minimum 6,086 ft Gross gain: 1,181 ft. Aggregate ascending 1,355 ft, descending 1,352 ft Maximum slope: 45% ascending, 40% descending, 13% average Duration: 3:49
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.
Meeting in Santa Fe these days, we’re exploring trails in the southwestern Sangre de Cristos. For this our first hike, we headed up Hyde Park Road, passing a couple of areas with cars parked alongside the road (but no trailhead evident), then stopping at the first turnout that appeared to be a trailhead. This proved to be the Chamisa Trail, #183.
The Hike
Chamisa-Saddleback Hike.Jay.2018-09-16
Just a short distance from the road we encountered a junction, where there was a sign: “Alternate Route More Difficult”. Not ready for that, we headed up to the right. Immediately we were going uphill, not steep but steady with a few switchbacks; certainly not “difficult”. Into the hike 1.5 miles, atop a ridge (the “Saddleback”?), we encountered another junction, a trail coming up the canyon from the left – we suspected that this was the other end of the “.. More Difficult” trail (confirmed later on our way down). We continued on the ridge for another 3/4 mile where, with good views from northwest to south, we took our mid-hike break. We returned to the “Saddleback” junction and decided to take the “.. More Difficult” route down through the bottom of the canyon; it was not so difficult (at least going down).
Statistics
Total Distance: 4.01 miles Elevation: start 7,826 ft, maximum 8,545 ft, minimum 7,826 ft Gross gain: 719 ft. Aggregate ascending 1,364 ft, descending 1,345 ft Maximum slope: 40% ascending, 35% descending, 12% average Duration: 3:07
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.
This late summer we’re exploring trails close to Santa Fe. For starters, we chose this start of the Winsor Trail as it runs up the canyon of the Tesuque River. Parking is very limited, alongside a narrow residential road off of Bishops Lodge Road.
The Hike
Winsor Hike.Jay.2018-08-19
The trail continues on up the road for about 2/3 of a mile, between fences for private property on both sides. One then leaves the road behind for a -real- trail that proceeds up Tesuque Canyon, alongside Big Tesuque Creek. At about 1.2 miles into the hike, we encountered a bridge on which we crossed over to the north (left) side of the creek; we did note a trail that continued up the south side of the creek (later we used it to make a bit of a loop). This would appear to be a trail that is heavily used, so the trail surface made hiking easy throughout. Down deep in the canyon, there are no vista views, but the trail is shaded most of the time which made the hike comfortably cool.
Jay here: Santa Fe environs sure have a multitude of hiking options and just about all of them beat the summer heat. Hiking along a shaded stream most of the way out is what we call refreshing. And hiking at 7,000 plus feet in elevation is also a change of pace for us given that a lot of our hikes start around 5,800 feet and rarely get to more than 7,000 feet.
Statistics
Total Distance: 5.33 miles Elevation: start 6,987 ft, maximum 7,665 ft, minimum 6,987 ft Gross gain: 678 ft. Aggregate ascending ft, descending ft Maximum slope: 26% ascending, 23% descending, 5.3% average Duration: 3:53
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.
Another venture to higher elevation for cooler temperatures, this time driving up Hyde Park Road from Santa Fe to the Borrego trailhead. We started early enough to enjoy the cool air, tho’ it warmed up by the time we finished, the heat amplified by the uphill climb back to parking.
The Hike
Borrego-Winsor-Bear Wallow Hike.Jay.2018-07-29
This is a very popular trail with lots of hikers and bike riders; it didn’t feel crowded however. We chose to do the loop counterclockwise, so proceeded down the Borrego trail to its intersection with the Winsor trail. Looking for more that the 4 miles of the loop, we turned right onto Winsor and climbed a mile up to our maximum altitude where we enjoyed our mid-hike break. Then it was back down Winsor, past the Borrega intersection to the intersection with the Wallow trail. Turning left there, we headed up the mile plus back to parking. This was a steady uphill climb; to have the elevation gain of this trail at the end of the hike – I’ll call it “building” .. endurance that is.
As mentioned above, the trail is well used, which makes it’s surface wide and smooth (a few rocky areas). It is also well marked with signs at the intersections identifying the trails. The folks in the featured image above were marking out a new path through a nice meadow; the original tracks had become deep and narrow, washed out after years of use and rain. The new track is a great improvement. Thanks to the trail steward from the Santa Fe Fat Tire Society.
Jay here: Not sure exactly why this hike took so much out of us, although uphill for the last few miles was surely a factor. Letting faster hikers lope on by us we were reminded that we had 40 years on them and a whole lot more lifetime miles.
Statistics
Total Distance: 6.30 miles Elevation: start 8,878 ft, maximum 9,127 ft, minimum 8,207 ft Gross gain: 920 ft. Aggregate ascending 1,932 ft, descending 1,945 ft Maximum slope: 32% ascending, 31% descending, 10% average Duration: 4:10
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.
Total Distance: 4.13 miles Elevation: start 6,021 ft, maximum 7,161 ft, minimum 6,021 ft Gross gain: 1,140 ft. Aggregate ascending 1,559 ft, descending 1,566 ft Maximum slope: 48% ascending, 50% descending, 12% average Duration: 3:59
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.
Seeking cooler temperatures, we headed for higher elevation – the Sangre de Christo mountains and the Aspen Vista trail. We began at nearly 10,000 feet; ’tis a steady climb up 3.4 miles to 11,300 feet. Air temperature was much cooler than in Albuquerque or even Santa Fe (well above 90 there); more like upper 70s on top (‘tho we descended into warmer temperatures, finishing the hike mid-afternoon).
The Hike
Aspen Vista Hike.Jay.2018-07-22
This trail is a well used two track; ‘tho not crowded on this Sunday, we encountered maybe 40 day hikers and a few mountain bikers. We could see why this trail is dubbed “Aspen Vista”; there are very large groves of very tall aspen for about two miles from the trailhead. Then nearing 11,000 feet elevation, the forest becomes primarily douglas fir and spruce. Because of the forest, there are few opportunities for vista views, although on this day smoke and humidity hindered getting a clear picture across Santa Fe, the Rio Grande valley, and to the Jemez mountains. At the top of our hike (half way to the advertised end at the peak above Santa Fe Ski Basin), we did enjoy a more open view from north, west, and south.
Jay here: Long uphill slog to get to a magnificent view and of course the elevation is always a reminder that most of our hiking is done well below 8,000 feet. You would think that downhill all the way back would be easier…but you would be wrong. It still requires you to put one foot behind the other.
Statistics
Total Distance: 7.74 miles Elevation: start 9,979 ft, maximum 11,361 ft, minimum 9,979 ft Gross gain: 1,381 ft. Aggregate ascending 1,940 ft, descending 1,945 ft Maximum slope: 26% ascending, 20% descending, 8% average Duration: 4:06
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.
