Cliffside Real Estate In The Sandias

Overlook just past the "cabin"

The Sandia mountains stand so tall along the eastern edge of Albuquerque, peering down at all the human-ants zipping along the roads, going from home to the store, from home to work, yadda yadda yadda. The mountains are very iconic, with such prominent features as The Shield, The Needle, Muralla Grande, and more, all visible and distinguishable from the city of Albuquerque. This is where most people go to escape the city, for even though it sits on the edge of a metropolitan area, the wilderness here is still wilderness.

View of the ridge behind (and including) The Thumb from the Crest Spur Trail

Inside this wilderness there are so many unique places, from shallow caves, to waterfalls, to mines, and even some faint remainders of old structures. Because of geocaching, I have found a lot of these places by searching for caches that others have placed near the locations. Today I decided to take my chances and head out to find the very jumbled remnants of what looks like it was a cabin in the making, and find another cache near another cliff, which I had failed to find in the past. I am going to give a big warning right now to anyone who might be interested in this hike. This is NOT on an official trail, you will be doing some very steep offtrail scrambling on and between nothing but game trails at one point. It is very near and above some grandiose cliff faces that would result in death if one were to fall off them. If you have faith in your ability to maneuver and navigate off trail in steep terrain, then go for it. However, if you have any doubts, DO NOT TAKE THE RISK.

I never see the parking lot this empty!

This hike starts at the crest house at the crest of the Sandias. To get here, follow the directions given in the "Escaping The Heat At Sandia Peak" post.

Hiking down the Crest Spur Trail

There are a number of ways to get where I was wanting to get today, but I took what looked like (and what I believe is) the easiest route. I started down the Crest Spur Trail, the connector trail with La Luz. This trailhead is located on the immediate south side of the Crest House. This trail goes all the way to La Luz, but that distance isn't necessary today. You need to pay attention going down, as it is very easy to miss the turnoff. When going down, you start at a northwest direction, the trail then quickly reaches a switchback. Keep going down until you reach the 3rd switchback from the top. From there is a very faint trail that heads northwest, which is what you're going to follow. Stay low, and follow until it reaches an incredibly steep, loose, and rocky slope. To continue, I descended down this rocky slope very slowly, sometimes using all limbs to make sure I didn't slip. This is one of the more dangerous sections, so watch your footing and balance very carefully as you work toward the bottom of the slope.

Looking up the steep, rocky slope that must be descended and ascended

When you get closer to the bottom, it appears to fork. If you follow the right fork, you can find a very faint game trail that goes north/northwest. I followed this as best as I could, though it was inevitably lost very quickly. You pass through a steep meadow, approaching a beautiful stand of aspens. Try to find the easiest route heading west/northwest through the aspens toward cliffs. If you follow the general contour of the original game trail, you will end up at a beautiful overlook, though below the "cabin."

Aspens you hike through

From this overlook, hike up but stay near the cliffs going north. As you gain some elevation, the cliffs draw farther west and a small "peninsula" forms. Go west along this formation and the tumbled logs of this "cabin" come into view. It looks like someone started to do this and then had to stop before going too far. There are other pieces of old sheets of wood lying around in the area as well.

Corner of the ''cabin"

Why anyone would start building anything on this area is a question we may never have the answer to, but looking at the views from where it sits, I can think of one possible reason! Coming out super early in the morning, there is a stillness and silence that is difficult to match later in the day. After making it, I sought after the cache. The geocache that brought me here sits a little bit farther out on the rocky lookout, very near the edge. It's listed on geocaching.com as "Lost Cabin Cache" for any of those interested.

Same logs from a different angle

Looking south from the rocky overlook by the "cabin"

Southwest corner of structure

This is an excellent place to take a snack break, admire the views, contemplate the reason for the apparent structure, and just appreciate everything that surrounds you. This is a seldom-visited part of the mountain, even thought it sits above and below two of the most popular areas. Follow the way you took back as best as you can, though you are almost guaranteed to lose the game trails again, as it is very overgrown here. Try to keep higher up to make sure you intersect the rocky slope you came down. Going back up the slope was easier than coming down, in my personal experience and opinion.

Beautiful flowers along the Crest Spur on the way back

More flowers higher up on the CST

Once at the top of the steep, rocky slope, head back south along the limestone cliff band until you reach the Crest Spur Trail to follow it back up.

Looking south from an overlook on the Crest Spur Trail

This is a relatively short hike, but it is not by any means easy. Make sure to bring a topo map (and know how to read it) with you in case you lose track of where you are. The limestone bands are always to the east, and the huge granite cliffs are always to the west. I cannot stress the importance of accurately and fairly assessing your own abilities and letting that determine how far you go. If you don't feel comfortable with going down or up anything here, then turn around. It is not worth the risk, and there is plenty more on this mountain to go enjoy. For those of you who feel it is something you can likely do and are interested in doing, get out there and go for it! There are many other geocaches along and below the crest area for those out here with that purpose. Ode To Frank Zappa was another nearby cache I tackled after this, and that one also provided spectacular views.

View from near Ode To Frank Zappa cache below the towers

Looking down the cliffs near the cache

This is a great short outing, which takes you to a new, beautiful area, while providing a bit of adventure for those who like to hike off the beaten path. I may be exaggerating the danger a bit, but I like to lean to the safe side, and not try to convince anyone to do anything beyond their personal limits. So, with that being said...I hope you've enjoyed the post! As always, don't take my word on how beautiful this area is, get out and find out for yourself! Happy trails and stay safe!