Was going to hike Sawyer Mesa with Monday group but only one local hiker could make it so we switched the hike to finding the Indian plaza ruin on Burnt Mesa. After she recently saw a depiction of an Indian plaza on Burnt Mesa at the newly reopened Bandelier National Monument Museum, she asked if I would take her there, quite possibly because she remembered my mentioning it. I didn't have the map because we didn't change the plans until we met at Ponderosa Campground this morning to leave a car for the Sawyer Mesa car shuttle.
I knew the general area of where to turn off the main Burnt Mesa Trail. We wandered a little, looking back all the while to see landmarks to find our way back. I have a GPS but why use it if you don't need it. Eventually, we saw what looked like a mound and then also spotted a large elk exclosure and I remembered that the plaza was near an elk exclosure so we moseyed over to the mound and, bingo, there was the plaza! It's small, doughnut-shaped and right next to it is a straight line of blocks outlining a foundation. We both sat at the edge of the plaza for a long time, enjoying the 360 degree views. From here, you can see across to Frijoles Mesa where another Indian plaza is located.
We decided to head due north from the elk exclosure, back to the main trail, to see where we came out. We saw a number of stakes along the way but it wasn't clear what they were marking. We both have a good idea of what landmarks to look for that tell us to turn off the main trail.
We continued walking out to the end of the main trail. I pointed out various small house mound ruins. We passed a male hiker walking back from the end and said hello.
As we approached the cars, we met a ranger. He was touching up some trail work that young volunteers did this summer. They filled some trenched and eroded portions of the trail with old pieces of wood. The ranger is hoping that they will come back next summer and as there is more trenching and erosion to address.
The ranger said that the Bandelier supervisor, Jason Lott, is very interested in improving the trails. I'm happy about that! He suggested that we email Jason Lott to give kudos for the Burnt Mesa trail work. I will but I'll also ask for an update on turning the official route up Cerro Grande into a real trail and if the national park will take over the Valles Caldera National Preserve anytime soon.
The ranger told us that red-haired ranger is retiring next month. When you reach a certain age in national park law enforcement, you're forced to retire. Everyone's hoping they will find another position for him at the park. He's young - only 57? - and has a son in high school.
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