Today, the WI group hiked the Canyon Rim Trail, crossed NM502 to hike the Pueblo Canyon Rim Trail north of the airport to the Mesa Trail. From the Mesa Trail, they went down into Graduation Canyon for lunch and then continued on the Rogue Trail, also along the north-facing shelf of Pueblo Canyon. Their destination was North Mesa to celebrate yet another hiker's birthday while mine was only the public library.
Along the way, we met the man who built what I call the Rogue Trail. He works by himself, doing 10-15' of trail a day, carrying his hand tools, which included a large bow saw, a McLeod and others I didn't recognize, on a strap across his shoulder. His trail work keeps pushing the double-track portion of the trail closer to Graduation Canyon. I'm happy that he's gradually doing away with the single-track portion because I feel safer walking a wide trail beside steep drop-offs like those into Pueblo Canyon! If rocks are in the way of the trail widening, he uses them to shore up the canyon-side of the trail, moving them himself!
He says that he also built the East Fork Trail, now part of the Los Alamos County Trail Network (not the East Fork Trail in the Jemez Mountains). He hopes that eventually the Rogue Trail will be incorporated into the county trail system and connect with the Mesa Trail via Graduation Canyon. He does the trail work to get exercise. Amazing man!!