Summer visitors are welcome! Some old hands could be really helpful, too.
In brief, this is a hike along the trail paralleling the east fork of the
Jemez river, then diverging from the trail and splashing down the river that
is in some respects a shallow box canyon. At a pre-determined point we will
depart the river and return by the trail paralleling at some distance. This
year Zack will be leading from the front (no one can outrun Zack) and Kei will
be leading from the rear, that is to say, proceeding at an enjoyable pace and
taking in the views.
This will be a 'lite' version of this hike. This more moderate version avoids
the need for car-shuttling and assisted descents as chronicled on that site
(btw, you can interpret Momo's caption "The canyon goes on and on" as
"fast forward to the end"--the full hike is a rather long affair). Be
prepared for 3-4 hours at a moderate pace.
Be prepared to get wet. I learned the hard way the first time I did this that
middle of the summer or not, cotton clothing isn't the best choice, and I
drowned my camera. Rubber/plastic outdoor sandals are great, sport shoes will
work. Footwear that doesn't affix positively to one's feet, like flip flops,
are a thoroughly bad idea. The Los Alamos thrift shops typically have
Teva/Keen/Chaco-type sandals and sports-type shoes for cheap.
Hat and sunscreen strongly recommended, water essential, snacks as desired.
Many find walking poles helpful to probe for bottomless potholes.
While we won't be intentionally swimming you need to be able to handle
yourself in water, e.g., able to extricate yourself from the aforementioned
potholes.
We'll get an early start to avoid the possibility of getting caught in an
afternoon storm. Let's plan to depart Sullivan field parking lot, carpooling as
preferred, at 8:00a.m. sharp Saturday June 18, so plan to get there by
7:45a.m. to get organized and signed in. From there it's 30 minutes' drive
(nearly exactly) to the Las Conchas trailhead. Note that if the Las Conchas
trailhead parking area is full, at that time of the day there should still be
plenty of space just short of there at the Cattle Call Wall climbing area.
No need to sign up in advance, just show up on time and you're in.
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Trip Report
Thirty seven intrepid souls embarked upon and returned whole from this trip, including Mountaineers Zack Baker, Lisa Biehl, Dan Creveling, Kei Davis, and Evan Rose. At the first big waterfall, which I believe is here, the party split with Kei and Evan leading a group of 13 back up the river. The conclusion of this latter variation is that going upriver is easier than going down, and probably more pleasant than the steep hike up out of the river and the hot, dry trudge back.