Escaping the Heat at North Sandia Peak

The weeks and weekends have seemed rather bleak with recent temperatures reaching into the mid to upper 90s and even breaking 100 today. At first thought, it would appear that hiking or climbing would certainly be out of the question. However, I had forgotten that an island in the sky exists as an escape from the sweltering and draining heat. On the Sandia mountains just east of Albuquerque, that island is everything on the east side of the mountain around 10,000 feet and above. Today, I was lucky enough to have my father and the family dog Trek join me on a short hike to North Sandia Peak. At the end of our day, the exterior thermometer on the car at our parking area read around 78 degrees, and by the time we completed our short drive back to Albuquerque, it had reached 97.

What Albuquerque looks like from 10,000+ feet

To get to this trail, and a variety of other near and short trails, take I-40 east to Tijeras. Exit at Tijeras and head north on NM 14. In the community of San Antonito, you'll turn west onto NM 536 and you'll follow this road all the way up it's ~9 mile length to the parking lot at the top. There are signs in San Antonito pointing to the "Crest Highway" when you are close. The parking lot is right at the base of the towers and requires a $3 parking permit if you park here. The North Crest Trail starts on the northern part of the parking area, on the east side of the towers.

So lively and green!

The plan for today was to hike ~1.8 miles to North Sandia Peak, stopping along the way to find ten geocaches along its length. Most of the caches will be unnamed, as I don't want to accidentally spill out some information that would spoil the hunt for anyone else searching for them.

For those who don't know, geocaching is basically "treasure hunting" with a gps. Caches are containers, some small some large, hidden in various locations for others to find. Some seem random, but most wilderness caches have a purpose of getting cachers to certain locations to see certain views, formations, or features. The caches coordinates are noted, and placed online for other cachers to receive and consequently hunt. Some of these containers contain small goodies to be traded out with other goodies, and some are small enough to only contain a logbook for those who find it. Either way, the challenge of finding them is what makes it exciting.

Small blue cache container somewhere along the NCT

The first quarter mile or so of the hike follows a fence bordering the massive towers that are visible from Albuquerque. Even still, the tree cover is relatively thick, and it feels like you might be hiking in the Colorado or even Canadian Rockies! Much different from the west side and lower elevation hikes, the trail is mostly soft dirt, with a few rocky sections consisting of mostly limestone.

Trek always wants to be the leader

The hike itself is pretty consistent, staying primarily in the cover of the evergreen trees, passing dancing aspens and their fallen comrades. The amount of life up here at this time of year is attractive all on its own, whether referring to animals, plants, fungi, insects...it's all there! We got to see and/or hear Abert's Squirrels, woodpeckers, baby grasshoppers, Peregrine falcons, and some weird and terrifying orange wasp lookalike.

Orange wasp lookalike. Couldn't get it to focus too well before he flew away.

The weather up here was so mild and pleasant, the only discomfort found in the direct path of the sun's rays, which will burn you up here no matter what temperature it is. The trail itself made a very nice stroll, and would be sufficient for hiking all on its own, but the overlooks to be found along the way make it breathtaking. All along this backbone of the Sandias, there are overlooks which provide views of Albuquerque and the Rio Grande Valley, rock formations on the mountain like the Needle and the Shield, and distant peaks like Cabezon, Los Lunas Hill, Ladrones, various peaks in Jemez, and Mount Taylor.

Left to Right: Rincon ridge, the backside of the Needle, and the faintly visible Shield

Since we were caching, we took a side trail that follows the edge of a big limestone cliff directly behind the Needle. The views from this open cliff area are some of the best in the Sandias! You are directly east of the Needle, and the impressive face of the Shield sits directly north across from the Needle, both being separated by a vividly green valley. There are hikes to get to both formations, and into the valley below, but that is for another time ;).

Looking south back toward the towers and where we started

Along the trail to this wide overlook, we were searching for a cache when a couple of Peregrine falcons flew directly above us, creating a sound almost like a wind gust! I wasn't fortunate enough to witness them as I was focused searching, but my father was lucky enough to see it very well. These falcons flew and danced above and around the cliffs almost the entire hike. My dad was watching them intensely, noticing their vertical downward spirals as they shot down to the cliffs.

Dad and Trek posing in the shade

Backside of the Needle and the south side of the Shield

Falcons soaring overhead

After the little side-venture to this cliff band, we veered northeast back to the North Crest Trail. Between this intersection and the spur trail leading to North Sandia Peak lay my favorite cache of the day. Searching for it left me in a mildly sketchy situation, perched up on a small cliff looking for a cache container. However, it wasn't too dangerous and it allowed me to experience a small portion of the area I wouldn't have experienced or seen in this way otherwise.

Views of the Needle not far from my cliffside perch

We continued on, pushing through one of the more exposed sections of trail, with the sun staring right at us as we hiked. The push became steeper as we neared the summit, the grade increasing along with our heart rates and sweat between our backs and packs. That last stretch is always exciting, though, as you know you are so near to the destination. The trail almost seemed to vanish in the overgrowing plants on the side, but Trek seemed to know where he was going and led the way, navigating all the way to the summit of North Sandia Peak.

Northern Sandia crest, viewed from an overlook just west of NSP...SO GREEN!

We found a small spot to refuel and rehydrate just west of the peak proper, which widened up to even greater views of the back knife edge of the Shield, and the bright green slopes of the extreme northern Sandia crest. As you can tell, I LOVE bright green colors, and a lot of the slopes and meadows along the crest certainly bear that lovable hue.

Trek resting with us, enjoying that shade

The hike back was a lot quicker than the way up. Of course, I wasn't stopping every .2 miles to search for a cache on the way back. It was beautiful to see things in a new light, noticing hollowed out trees, a lot more new growth on the evergreens, certain wildflowers we missed on the way in, and some neat trees that appear to have been overtaken by the spanish-moss lookalike known as Old Man's Beard.

Hollowed out tree trunk

New growth...more bright green ;)

All in all, it was a perfect day out on the mountain. The air was crisp, the animals were being vocal, all the caches on my list were found, and it was such a nice temperature. After the heat of the last week or so, I cannot emphasize how greatly appreciated a hike in that temperature was. So for all of you who feel stuck because of the heat, like there isn't a whole lot to do outside in these mirage-inducing digits...head on up to the upper Sandias. Anything from Tree Spring Trail and higher is guaranteed to provide cooler temps and more shade than almost anything else in the immediate Albuquerque area. The trail we did today was a roughly 4 mile hike and wasn't that difficult, and is definitely doable for anyone in semi-decent physical condition. As always though...don't just take my word for it. Get out and go find out for youself!