Rozamiento Canyon

For my inaugural hiking post, I decided to choose one of my absolute favorite hikes in the Albuquerque area...Rozamiento Canyon. It should be noted that to fully and safely enjoy this hike, one should not venture out alone, and be comfortable with hiking on what can sometimes be steep granite slabs. It is one of the more adventurous areas of the mountain (without getting into technical rock climbing), and is definitely worth the time to do. Spring is definitely the time of year you want to get out for this, when it is not so hot to suck all of your energy away, and not so snowy that the slabs become dangerous.

 

View as you start hiking through the bottom arroyo

To get to the parking for the "trailhead", take Tramway Boulevard to the 3 way stop at Tramway Road. Turn east onto Tramway Rd as if you were going to the Tram. Take the second left you can take, turning onto Juniper Hills Rd. You will likely get lost driving through this neighborhood, ending up on either Juniper Hill Loop or Eagle Nest Rd, but just take the roads north/northwest until you are on Spring Creek Drive and dip into an arroyo. This arroyo is where you will park and begin your hike.
The bottom of the hike is nothing to rave about, traveling through a broad arroyo through thick stands of rubber rabbitbrush, which really stinks (I mean not so friendly to the nose kind of stinks) when it starts to bloom. You wind through the arroyo towards the mountain, passing backyards of a few houses along the way (please be respectful and stick to the trail). Right before you intersect with the Tramway Trail, you pass the ruins of an old Civilian Conservation Corp building, only its stone foundation remains. Go south on the Tramway Trail until you intersect the next canyon and immediately head east into the canyon.

CCC Building Foundation

You'll hike over and around lots of large boulders in the bottom part of this canyon, nothing unique for a west Sandia canyon. The fun stuff is about 20 minutes in, when you hear the sound of running water. You have to do a minor rock climb about 7 feet up or so that will deposit you at the beginning of some incredible, grandiose slabs. You can bushwhack along the bottom to reach the base of the slabs if climbing is not your thing.
 Once on the slab you can see the small stream running along the northern side of the canyon, down into a tiny shallow pool at the base. The last couple years have been hit and miss with the stream though. It used to flow year round, though it has been dry on a few of my visits in the summer. It usually exists and appears very healthy in the springtime though, fed by the melting ice and snow higher up.

View when you first hit the slabs

Words can't really describe the beauty of the hiking here once you have reached the slabs. As you continue up, the walls of the canyon start to tower over you, and it becomes the type of place to really make one feel so small, and in a way humbled. The next mile or so of hiking is all on these granite slabs, following the stream which has several small waterfalls along its length. At some times in winter, the stream will freeze completely, making for a gorgeous hike along the quiet ice.

Massive granite formations and slabs all through the canyon

The farther up you go, however, the more intense the hiking becomes, with the slabs tilting at a steep angle in some locations, requiring you to use as much friction to stay on as possible (rozamiento is actually spanish for friction). The usual turnaround point for myself and friends (though not the end of the canyon) is a large 50+ foot steep slab that can actually freeze completely in the wintertime. It is quite a site to come across when it is frozen in its entirety.

Large embankment, Brandon on the top

To move past this large embankment requires pretty basic rock climbing, though it is not for those who are easily affected by vertigo. There is more beyond this slab, however this is the last major obstacle/spectacle to really reach for a dayhike. I do recommend continuing though, as the entire canyon has fun scrambling and all-limbs type hiking the whole way up. You can actually follow it all the way until it ends over at Whiskey Ridge.

Views of Whiskey Ridge afforded by continuing past the embankment

Just above the large embankment

Embankment covered with ice, Brandon for scale.

I've left out a lot of the minor details and pictures of the many small waterfalls you will encounter along the way, as I hope you will go see for yourself. I cannot underestimate the beauty and fun of the whole adventure. I've yet to take anyone into this canyon that was not amazed. For anyone fit enough to do this canyon, I will always recommend it! Anybody with any questions about this, feel free to message me or ask in the comments. Hope you enjoy!