Burnt Mesa Eagle Traps

Went to the Eagle Traps with two friends today. One led the hike and did an excellent job finding all 3 eagle traps. It was a beautiful day. Not quite warm enough for Indian Summer but definitely dominated by high pressure that kept it clear and cloudless.

The trick to finding the eagle traps is to start walking south from the large Indian ruin on the right toward Boundary peak and a tall, majestic ponderosa. The Indian ruin is shortly after you come up out of a gambel oak-filled swale. Ignore the first Indian ruin after the swale that you'll see on your left.

When you get to the edge of Burnt Mesa, you can either stick close to the edge or walk the crown of the mesa. You'll see Escobas Mesa on your right and a canyon on your left that starts out shallow but deepens. There is a deeper canyon between Burnt and Escobas Mesas.

On the way over to the edge of Burnt Mesa, we saw 2 skinny looking coyotes - not close up but from a distance. They walked away and at a right angle to our line of travel.

I had put waypoints in for the eagle traps and tried a go-to for the first one but that wasn't helpful because the arrow pointed away from the mesa edge. Maybe I input a number wrong. It didn't matter, though, because the leader spotted the first eagle trap. It was where the cliffs end and then you can easily walk down onto the shelf below the mesa's ridgeline. It's right before there is a small uphill and at a point where a trodden trail appears. The other two eagle traps weren't far after that. We went up the hill and followed the mesa a little further where it got rocky and was close to but not at the end.

The first eagle trap is shallow compared to the two near the end. Those two would require a ladder or rope to get out of.

That morning, the two friends had told me that the 4T's hiking group would also be going to the eagle traps but starting a half hour after us. When we three got there first, we sat in the sun and enjoyed the view. Then, one of us with very sharp hearing could hear hikers's voices far off. As they got closer, I gave a pathetic yodel to hail the leader but they didn't hear me. There were nine of them. Six of their number had gone all the way out on the main Burnt Mesa Trail. They passed around baked treats and chatted for a while but didn't have lunch.

We all started back together but we three hung behind. We saw the leader took off from the 4T's group to go down the main Burnt Mesa Trail. I walked all the way back with my two friends, said goodbye and then took off on the main trail again to meet the leader as she came back. On the way there, I saw a group of 4 deer browsing. At first they looked right at me and I stood still to watch them. But then, I saw their eyes were riveted by something coming behind me so I looked back and sure enough, there was a female jogger flying down the trail!

I met the leader at about the 2 mile point and we walked back together. I showed her the old CCC dam off the trail. I wanted to show that to the other two friends but one of them has a hip problem and it would have been hard for her. Her limit is about 6 miles before her hip starts talking to her. She's a very good hiker otherwise.

Afterwards, I sat in my car and ate a light lunch, enjoying the autumn orange grasslands made even deeper orange by the low hanging afternoon sun.

Sawyer Mesa to Ponderosa Campground

Did this 9 mile hike today with 7 other hikers. We got to the Bandelier boundary amazingly fast but I was one of the slower ones because when I got to the lunch stop, I only had time to eat a muffin that a friend gave to me. I got a lot of miles out of that muffin though!

Craig Martin's Los Alamos Trails says the trail that continues from Santa Fe National Forest (SFNF) into Bandelier National Monument, jumping off from Sawyer Mesa FR 187, is faint but it isn't anymore. It's well cairned and has had some work done on it to make it easy to follow. The trail is called the Alamo Springs Trail 114.

I was unable to find it just now in the list of SFNF trails and the sitewide search function for their website wasn't working right. Searching Bandelier's website turned up no information either.

I felt like storming up out of Frijoles Canyon today because I wanted to go my own speed. I did but then I came back and walked with the last hiker.

Going down Upper Crossing, we met a lone woman hiker who had gone all the way to Stone Lions that morning from Ponderosa Campground. She looked like a very fit hiker.

I had to hurry back to town after the hike to drop off and pick up materials at the library, return a borrowed Ortho book about flooring options to Finishing Touch, pack up my supper at home and take it over to daughter's so she could go into work around 3pm to finish up some tasks.

Grandson had a relapse. At 3am this morning, his 101 degree fever came back. Daughter took him to doctor's office today and they prescribed antibiotics because of his croupy cough. His oxygenation was good so no chest x-ray was needed. Swine flu is going around and he can't seem to shake the fever but otherwise seems in great spirits! We'll reschedule the Rancho de Chimayo lunch for next weekend.

I left daughter's after 6pm and on the way home, I dropped off some items at Casa Mesita for daughter and am now finishing up two loads of laundry and running the dishwasher - busy day!

Mini Explore Off North Bayo Bench Trail

I went to the North Bayo Bench Trail because I wanted to check afterwards if grandson had bounced back home from school with a fever. He's getting over the flu.

The mini explore was a trail off the main trail that led me up to Barranca Road near the intersection with El Rayo. I've always wondered where that side path off the North Bayo Bench Trail led to!

I continued on past that side trail explore to Barranca Crossing, took that up to Barranca Road and down into Rendija Canyon. I took the Rendija Canyon Trail back to the Guaje Pines Cemetery where I picked up the Dot Grant Trail back to my vehicle. Craig Martin's Los Alamos Trails says that loop is 4.5 miles.

On my walk, I thought about the wonderful, varied trails that we enjoy here. I'm hoping that the national lab (we really do glow in the dark!) and the fire destroyed mountains keep away any large influx of people from moving here and crowding the trails! At one time I truly entertained the idea of moving to CO but their trails are much more crowded than ours so I'll stay here and appreciate what I have here.

When I drove by daughter's, no one was there so apparently grandson made it through his first day back to school this week.