Four of the WI hikers walked up the Quemazon Trail to Pipeline Road today. We started at the ungodly (for me) hour of 8 am but I was so eager to go on a group hike after a long layoff that I got with the program! I think the forest is still closed but there were no signs or barriers so up we went. During the Las Conchas fire, a bulldozer went up the Quemazon Trail to Pipeline Road, I suppose to put out hot spots because we saw a few, minor burnt areas.
The bulldozer widened the trail, churned up the dust and tuff and tore out some aspens and ponderosas that had grown since the Cerro Grande fire. Volunteers already had a work party Monday to close off a side road the bulldozer made. The trail has new water bars to keep it from becoming a water course but the trail will definitely need more TLC.
The turn off to the trail to Cave of the Winds was obliterated by thick ponderosa logs tossed across the entrance. We didn't see the trail on the way up but on the way down, one hiker spotted it. We hastily rebuilt the cairns that mark where to turn off because the bulldozer tore them out.
We could see clear views of the damage on the eastern side of Pajarito Ski Area - there's an area of toasted trees in the area of Evershine ski run. We couldn't see a complete view of Rim Run and Camp May but could see a blackened area, probably above Camp May. The new snowshoe trail along Cañada Bonita Canyon is blackened. Los Alamos Canyon, Cañada Bonita Canyon and Quemazon Canyon each had some blackened trees in their upper reaches.
Saw some purple gayfeather along the Quemazon Trail.