Once you leave the Open Space, you will be in trees much of the way. You start in the pinon,juniper zone and will progress through ponderosa pines and finally spruce and fir. There are a few aspens in one area and you will see Wafer Ash. Gamble's Oak is prevelant the whole way and gets very thick near the top of the mountain. You'll also see manzanita, apache plume, fenndler bush, snowberry and other brush. The trail is wide at the bottom , but narrows down the further you get up the mountain. Most of the trail is fairly smooth, but you do want shoes with good traction. The decomposed granite surface can be slippery. |
The trail goes through many of these "tunnels". They are wonderful when it is dry, but can get you pretty wet after or during a rain. Always go prepared for bad weather in the Sandias. Conditions can change quickly. As a bare minimum, carry a plastic trash bag with you. If you get caught in the rain, cut or tear a whole just big enough to get your head through. Put it over you and hunker down under a dense tree. Make sure it isn't the tallest tree around. You can get your knees inside the bag and stay pretty dry and warm. Most rain storms don't last very long. I prefer to hunker down and stay dry, as opposed to keep hiking and getting soaked. If it's late in the day, you may not have any choice, but to keep going if you intend to get out before dark. |
Download tracklog. Choose .kml to be displayed in Google Earth or .gpx for uploading to your GPS receiver. The file will display as text. Just save it and then you can use it. |