Sandia Wilderness is an urban refuge
The week before the previously reported winter storm came to town, we enjoyed what I could only describe as perfect winter weather. Brisk nights dropping into the high 20’s and dry, sunny days approaching 6o degrees. I took advantage putting in about 12 miles in the Sandia Wilderness and 3 miles (with Claudia) in the Dome wilderness areas. Three hikes, each separated by a day off, contributed to the total and a bit of lower body soreness.
George breaks trail; Sangre de Cristo in background
First was the Ojo del orno/Crest Trail loop. This one takes off from the trail head in Placitas, NM and up the steep Ojo Orno gulch (miners trail) and gains the Crest trail after a mile and 1100′ of elevation. It’s mostly flat to down hill with some ups and downs from there. I made a new friend at the trailhead – George – who kept me very entertained on the trail with stories from his adventures in Alaska. Here in this shot, the Sangre de Cristo range runs south to north (right to left) into Colorado with the Pajarito Plateau (SE flank of the Valles Caldera) rising up on the left part of the photo. The Rio Grande river cuts through it at 12 o’clock.
Limestone Cliffs of Ojo Orno Gulch
The second hike featured the Agua Sarca Canyon Trail and is another “no nonsense” route into the Sandia. This one takes the next gulch to the west up to a higher intersection on the Crest Trail and gains about 3,000′ in about 2 1/2 miles. It’s a killer. Low branches surprised me on several occasions as I pulled my self up the steep trail looking with head down. Fresh scars on my noggin provide proof. Pinion pines dominate the slope while Gamble Oak thickets close in on the trail from time to time. Just as I was about to give up at about 2 miles, the trail began to ease as if the trail builder knew just how much a human could take before giving quarter. I assure you that no quarter was offered by that builder in the first 2 miles.
On the Crest looking West
The trail intersection with the Crest Trail is marked with a low stone wall where I dropped the pack and had a little lunch. A very short walk up the slope revealed the westward facing limestone cliffs that we enjoy so much from our urban vantage point. The peak below is Rincon Peak and our house is in the valley beyond in the center of the photo just above and to the right of the peak. Mt. Taylor in the distance is a massive, inactive volcano. The views were incredible this day. The worst part of this challenging walk was taking the Ojo del Orno shortcut on the way down. Descending this steep, rocky trail was, by far, tougher that going up the gulch a few days before.
Penasco Blanco Limestone Cliffs along Crest Trail
This view on the way down the Crest Trail features the limestone outcropping known as Penasco Blanco and the distant peaks of Placer Mountain (left), San Pedro Mountain (center), and South Mountain (right). There’s a lot of interesting mining history in this small range of mountains, beyond which lies Santa Fe and the majestic Sangre de Cristo range. Here, the geology is primarily granite overlain by a limestone cap deposited in some ancient ocean – all of which was lifted helping to create the rift valley that is home to the Rio Grande river system. Hard to imagine that where I’m walking here was once part of a large sea.
Entrance to Dome Wilderness
A couple of days later Claudia & I set off for the Tent Rocks National Monument near Cochiti Lake which, by the way, we couldn’t visit that day due to the U.S. Government shutdown. Not to be outdone, we headed further up the road to FS road 289, through the rez and up to the Dome Wilderness trailhead.
The Dome wilderness and surrounding areas on the Pajarito Plateau have been the target of some of the earths most violent treatment for millennia. The distant past was one defined by volcanic eruption and the more recent by some of the most destructive wildfires in modern history. The Dome Fire in 1996 burned the Dome wilderness and the much larger Las Conchas Fire of 2011 reburned it. These two fires have, for all intents and purposes, erased the coniferous tree life from the area. We did see evidence of small junipers, sumac and other small trees starting to come back. However, we didn’t see a single conifer of the varieties whose burnt carcasses litter the areas served by the trail we were on. We counted the rings on one tree cut to allow trail passage and quit counting at 130. Not a single one of these giants was left standing anywhere along this trail. This great NM Public TV video explains why the pines are not coming back.
Looking south through a lot of volcanic basalt
On the bright side of the fires, the beauty and complexity of the geology was left bare for all to admire. In contrast to the Sandias granite base and limestone cap, the visible rock of the Dome is all volcano. Massive horizontal, stratified layers of basalt record successive flows of liquid lava while conglomerates and volcanic tuff evidence violent mud and ash flows that rolled down the mountain. The tuff is eroded to form “tent rock” formations that attract visitors to the Tent Rocks National Monument . These formations exist all around the area but are most exposed in the monument.
The Dome, the Pajarito Plateau and surrounding areas are all a small part of a fascinating geological feature called the Valles Caldera which according to this source on the worlds largest volcanoes, is tied for 18th largest on the list of what are classified as super volcanoes. It’s a big one and it’s still very hot. Another National Park well worth reading about and visiting.
Claudia makes her first back country hike in months
Within minutes of starting the hike, Claudia alerted me to a young 2 x 2 mule deer buck coming down the trail towards us. We stood shocked and motionless as he slowly and deliberately walked withing 15 feet of us, stopping only a couple of times to much on the sparse grass. What a sight!! Most noteworthy about this trip was that Claudia hiked 3 miles for the first time since breaking her leg last March. We’re all pulling for her continued recovery and many more miles in 2019! I think the deer encounter was a good omen. Animal omens