Trail conditions June 18th

A few highlights of recent developments:

• Water conditions
• Hikers wandering into private property along Camino Pequeno
• Blowdown
• Indian Creek Trail alternate
• Panchuela Campground renovations and access
• Four small active fires in the Santa Fe area (but not on or near the SF2T route)

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Water conditions

• La Cueva Lake is dry. (Section 4, Carson NF, bit north of Agua Piedra Campground)
• Little Tesuque Creek is dry (Section 1, Santa Fe county land, between Sierra del Norte Trailhead and Little Tesuque Trailhead in Santa Fe). Not Big Tesuque Creek along Winsor Trail – that’s fine. Little Tesuque Creek.
• Everything else is reported as okay.
  • Heard earlier today from a hiker: “Everything went well, no surprises along the way. FYI La Cueva Lake is dry. But everything else was wet when I got there. I got a lot of feedback from NOBOs about Little Tesuque Creek being dry. Given that it is the first water supply after leaving Santa Fe, it seemed that threw a lot of folks and made them concerned about the availability of water the rest of the way. I was able to assure them that, apart from La Cueva Lake, the water was where it was supposed to be the rest of the way. Actually, I was a little surprised how wet it was at elevation give the dry winter we had.” He (Scott Burt) is publishing an extended trip report here.
  • Heard the day before yesterday from a different hiker: “The water sources were all great. I never needed to carry more than 2 liters.”

Hikers wandering into private property

I received a complaint from a property owner along the Camino Pequeno section about hikers wandering onto private property. Please stay on the trail corridor through this area. If hikers continue leaving the trail here, we may lose access to this lovely river walk and have to use Cerro Gordo Road instead.

Going forward please do not use the bridge off Camino Pequeno. Instead, walk 0.3 miles in from Alameda. Around 0.25 miles there will be a field on your left. At the far edge of the field there’s a house, then the road bends slightly left. Right where the road bends left, the trail to use bends right. You can’t miss it: It has a bright blue dot sign, and the trail is 8-feet wide and very well worn. Follow that track/trail the whole way through this corridor. Keep the river on your right the whole way. You’ll pass the tire swing on your right, then about 350 feet after that you’ll come to a fence and the left turn up into Armijo Park. Easy peasy. No more wandering, okay? I don’t want to have to walk on Cerro Gordo Road.

Here’s the zoomed-out map of the area around Camino Pequeno:

Here’s a zoomed in map. Click on it to expand it.

Blowdown

I’m seeing more questions and comments about blowdown. Expect blowdown on the SF2T. Some sections are maintained, some are not, and conditions can change quickly after wind, snow, fire, drought stress, and ordinary tree fall. New Mexico trees died at three times the rate of earlier years due to higher temperatures and reduced snowpack. This is not a designated long-distance trail system, and the Forest Service does not endorse or maintain the SF2T as a route.

I think some people with expectations of this being an easy or well-established trail are being attracted to the SF2T. Please remember: This is not a designated trail. The Forest Service does not endorse the SF2T. I am working very hard to develop this into something lasting, but we do not have the infrastructure, the trail crews, the influence, or the funding of, say, the John Muir Trail or other established trails. So expect blowdown. If dealing with blowdown is a serious problem for you, that’s okay. This may not be the right trail for you.

I am consoled to hear that some people have no issues with the blowdown. It’s there – they see it. They go over it. It’s not a big deal. From a hiker who finished last week: “I don’t remember blowdown ever being bad. I was honestly expecting it to be worse. I guess my years hiking in the Gila have made me very accustomed to dealing with bad blowdown. Overall I found the route to be easy to navigate and never frustrating.”

Indian Creek Trail Alternate

I am sad to report that Indian Creek Trail (just north of Santa Barbara Campground) will not be getting cleaned up this year. However, I have an alt route for you:

That is from the second edition of the guidebook, which is at the printer.

Panchuela Campground

I have heard from three different parties that they were able to walk out from Cave Creek Trail through Panchuela and over to Cowles. They passed through the campground area, which is undergoing water system and other renovations at the moment. So still no camping there, no bathroom access, no trash, no campground host, and no parking… but it seems small groups have been able to come out from the woods and continue on to Cowles. I have not heard of anyone going into the woods through Panchuela.

More about this soon. There have also been very reliable reports that the work should be done by June 30, which is a blink away. I expect to get over there this week to see what’s up.

Four small active fires in the Santa Fe area (but not on or near the SF2T route)

Thanks to the Santa Fe New Mexican for their coverage:

• Firefighters battling blaze in Santa Fe National Forest north of Cañada de los Alamos
  • “Tuesday’s fire comes on the heels of two other small fires reported on Santa Fe National Forest lands Monday after a thunderstorm rolled through the region.
    
    The Oso Fire, which was reported on the Española Ranger District along the Rio Del Oso about 2 miles northeast of Chicoma Mountain, was at about one-tenth of an acre as of Tuesday, according to a Forest Service news release.”
    
    “The half-acre Cebolla 2 Fire, located about 1.5 miles west of the Valle San Antonio between Calaveras and Twin Cabins Canyons by the west bank of the Rio Cebolla, was “smoldering in heavy dead-and-down fuels, ponderosa pine and Douglas-fir.””
    
• Crews fighting fast-growing fire in Jemez Mountains amid red-flag warning

Install the app WatchDuty on your phone before you head into the backcountry.