Let's give this hike a try. It is a 12 mile loop, 1800 feet vertical, in the southwest corner of the Valles Caldera National Preserve. I have heard good things about it from other hikers. It is described on pages 116-121 of Coco Rae's VCNP hiking book. She calls it "a delightful trail passing through varied terrain, from otherwordly sulfur fields to pretty creek-line meadows to beautiful Valle Seco and Alamos Canyon, and offering great views of several valleys and peaks." We'll leave Los Alamos at 8:30 AM Saturday, meeting point TBD.
In this new version of our canyon country adventures, I would like to solicit interest for an 11-night, multi-point llama trek around the various canyons and high points of the Scorpion Flat, west of the Escalante River and east of the Hole in the Rock road south of Escalante, Utah. Destinations include Gates Tank, Fools Canyon, Les George Point, Scorpion Canyon, the Escalante River, and 25 Mile Canyon.
About half of hour from Los Alamos, there is a large BLM area of barren but interesting mud-rock formation and mesa well worth exploring. There are no formal trails but adequate tracks to hike with the GPS guiding us. There are some short steep climbs with dropoffs but not with loose rocks. There is no shade. Please dress accordingly to cope with possible wind and the heat. Bring hat, hiking poles, sunscreen, water, lunch and snacks. We should be done hopefully before early afternoon.
Cabezon Peak towers 2000 feet above the Rio Puerco Valley. This volcanic plug is the remnant of the core of a volcano - like Shiprock. Appearing impregnable, Cabezon can nonetheless be ascended by the intrepid mountaineer who follows the hidden route that wends its way through a crack in the plug's defenses. Said mountaineer must be able to execute a couple of fourth class maneuvers in pursuit of the summit.
Let's head out Saturday morning to hike around the Ojito Wilderness Study Area, in the vicinity of San Ysidro. Per the writeup at https://www.americansouthwest.net/new_mexico/ojito/wilderness-area.html, "features beautiful eroded rock formations including hoodoos, caprocks, cliffs and solidified dunes." This will be a free-form explore, leaving Los Alamos at 8 AM for the approximately 2 hour drive from Los Alamos. We will head through the Jemez.
This will be an explore on the slickrock above Ghost Ranch, or perhaps somewhere in the vicinity - haven't figured out an exact location. Mostly a hike, but may involve some traversing low-angle rock and a rope assist for anyone who feels more comfortable that way. Expect to be out for most of the day; bring lunch, water, and gear for both sun and cold. We'll leave Los Alamos at 9 AM; we'll plan out more details as the trip comes together. Contact bill at priedhorsky dot net if interested.
Jawbone Mountain is a 10,600 ft peak off highway 64 near Hopewell Lake. (this is the highway that runs between Tres Piedras and Tierra Amarilla). It is a 3 mile ski (one way) from Highway 64 with an 800 ft elevation gain. (6 mile round trip) X-C skiers and snowshoers are welcome on this trip.
Let's snowshoe to Cerro Grande peak! The trail is about 4 miles round trip with a 1,300 ft elevation gain. Sweeping views of the Valles Caldera from the top, at 10,200 ft .
Departure time will be 9:30 am from the trailhead parking lot, located on State Route 4.
Please dress in layers and prepare for cold and windy weather. Bring snowshoes, trekking poles, sunglasses, sunscreen, water, and snacks.
