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!

Linking Ellis & Survey Trails

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!

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.

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.

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.

The rolling hillside/meadow right before 10K junction

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.

North Sandia Peak seen from Del Agua Overlook

Looking west from Del Agua Overlook

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.

Signs of a very moist environment

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.

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! :)

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!