San Diego Canyon Overlook-Banco Bonito Road

LL gang had planned to do this hike but there is not a whole lot of shade on the Banco Bonito Road so they opted instead to wade the East Fork River a mile in from the El Blanco (?) parking, near the road to El Cajete.

Instead of walking the Banco Bonito Road out, which is dry, dusty and shadeless, I walked beneath the topographic eastern rim of San Diego Canyon. There were great views down into the canyon, south toward Jemez Springs and northwest toward La Cueva, and of stunning cliffs lining both sides of the canyon. I could clearly see the parking area for Spence Hot Springs but couldn't actually see the springs although I saw people walking in the woods to the springs way down below me. At one overlook, I found an old canvas chair placed to get the best views!

I followed a path, only as wide as a game trail in places, as close to the edge as I could stomach. There were some places that I'd rather not go back to as it would have been a steep way down if I slipped but I survived (probably not as scary as I make it sound!).

I somehow skipped a large portion of the rim when I followed alongside a deep drainage leading away from it and didn't go back to the edge right away. To get back to it, I followed a steep dirt road uphill and then had to go downhill to get back on the very edge.

I couldn't see Battleship Rock but I'm sure I was walking in places that are above the Battleship Rock area and that aren't too cliffy to get down.

When I had had my fill of the rim, I left it and headed downhill, running into a grown over logging road that had been hideously heaped with dirt berms and large tree stumps to close it. This road intersected the Banco Bonito Road which I followed back and it was every bit as hot as the LL gang feared. The reflective umbrella helped. However, where I was walking - in the forest and above the cliffs, I had shade and good breezes. No rain! I ended up wandering 6 miles. I ate lunch while walking. Didn't eat until 12:30pm - no hungry LL hikers whining for lunch at 11am!!

(Truth in advertising: Upon looking at a topo map, technically speaking, I was looking down into the canyon of San Antonio Creek because it's not until Battleship Rock that San Antonio Creek joins the East Fork of the Jemez and becomes San Diego Canyon. The Santa Fe National Forest does call where I parked and started my hike San Diego Canyon Overlook. It's in the Jemez National Recreation Area. Regardless of what you call it, it was dramatic to be up on those heights looking down!)