Good evening, Albuquerque! It has been far too long since my last post, and for that I apologize. There is so much to cover in this area, and I've got a long way to go if I want to introduce you to even a fraction of it!
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| A type of penstemon near the Ellis Parking Lot |
Much like my previous post, it was forecasted for Albuquerque to be hot and sunny, with a high temperature around 95 degrees. Instead of sweating in the city or western foothills, I decided to head high up to the lush, green, cool escape that is the eastern Sandias. While burqueños and burqueñas were getting frustrated with stubborn air conditioners, everything and everyone on the upper east Sandias was soaking in the sun at a cool ~75 degrees. Todays adventure? A 6-7 mile hike connecting Ellis Trail, a short segment of the North Crest Trail, and the widely unknown Survey Trail.
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| Not far in on Ellis, the tone is set early on |
Follow the directions to the Sandia Crest area, using the directions on my North Sandia Peak post. Instead of going all the way up, pull in to the Ellis Trail parking area on the south side of the road just after you pass the 10K parking area. Don't forget to pay the 3 dollar day use fee, or display your recreation pass.
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| Passage through the gorgeous aspens! |
Ellis Trail starts on the other side of the road from the parking lot, behind a plastic barrier. It starts on an old rocky two track road, which you will follow for a while. The tone for the 3.2 mile length of this trail is set almost immediately, following what almost resembles a wide corridor between the forest, with rolling green hills and meadows to be found along the entire length.
The elevation of this trail maintains a steady profile, though it does so with lots of minor ups and downs, dipping into various small canyons and ravines. The consistent up and down is no problem though if you take your time, which is not hard to do with all of the plant and wildlife to be found in the area. There are wildflowers abound most of the length of Ellis Trail which attract so many insects, allowing one to stay busy watching the different bug life or checking out the various colors of the wildflower paintings.
Unlike most trails in this area, it is very open for the entire length of the trail, staying between the forest "walls". It is a truly unique trail, soothing in a way. Other meadows on the Sandias are to be found, but not in the quantity you will find on Ellis.
After about 1 3/4 miles, you'll pass a beautiful rolling hillside that precedes the junction with 10K trail. You can use this trail to form various loops in this area, which as I mentioned is very dense with hiking. Farther down, you will also intersect the Osha Loop Trail. Today, however, I followed Ellis to its northern terminus at the Crest Trail. I was geocaching while I was hiking, so I took a very short detour north to a marvelous overlook, providing views not found anywhere else on the mountain.
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| The rolling hillside/meadow right before 10K junction |
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| Overlook a very short walk north of the Ellis Trail/crest trail intersection. |
From this overlook, I headed south along the Crest Trail towards the Del Agua overlook and the western terminus of 10K, covering about a mile in the process. It's such a drastic change from the Ellis trail once you hit the crest trail, traveling through dense forest instead of open meadows.
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| North Sandia Peak seen from Del Agua Overlook |
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| Looking west from Del Agua Overlook |
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| A bear protecting the cache, with a storm building behind |
Less than a quarter mile south of the Del Agua Overlook, the crest trail intersects the 10K trail. To further connect the loop, you can take 10K east for a short distance. After another quarter mile (or less), 10K intersects with the Survey Trail. From here, the Survey trail heads north to the crest trail, and south to the Crest Highway.
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| Signs of a very moist environment |
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| Fungi growing near a fallen log |
The Survey Trail is mostly used by cross country skiers, with trees marked along its length with blue diamonds to lead the way when the trail is covered by snow. However, it makes for a beautiful stroll on foot! It is very reminiscent of the nearby 10K North trail, traveling through a moist, dense, green forest environment with lots of fallen trees. It is so reminiscent of 10K, it is a great alternative if that is what you want to hike but don't want to deal with the amount of people that flock to 10K.
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| Fallen tree turned picnic bench |
This trail is fairly consistent its entire length, with far fewer ups and downs than Ellis. The last several hundred feet parallel the crest highway before the trail ends/starts right on the eastern side side of the road. From here you can continue south on another trail across the road, intersecting a trail you can head east on to meet the dirt road south of the Ellis Trail parking lot (I have not done this so I do not know the relative distances on either trail, though they are not far), or you can hike roughly 0.4 miles down the crest highway to the Ellis Trail parking lot.
Ellis and Survey can both make for wonderful outings when done on their own, but they are perfect together, complimenting each other so well. It is best to get out early on Ellis Trail, as it gets rather warm in the direct light of the sun.
For anyone interested in geocaching, there are 16 caches to be found along this loop alone, and many more in the surrounding area.
So get your daypack together, fill up your gas tank, and drive up toward the top of the eastern side of the Sandias, where you will have no idea you are anywhere near Albuquerque. This loop combined two trails new to me, with the Ellis trail becoming a new favorite! As always, don't just take my word for it...get outside and find out for yourself! :)
