Jemez

  • NNML 2026 Day 4, June 21, Sunday
  • Start mile 52.2 Alamo Spring Trail
  • End mile 77.6 approaching La Cueva
  • Miles walked: 24.4

My route becomes 2-track leaving Bandelier, through a burn scar. At one point my trail is on a narrow rim, with upper Frijoles Canyon on my right and upper Alamo Canyon on my right.

Alamo Boundary Trail takes me out of the park one last time, and over a little ridge with view of Valles Cadera National Preserve, on Coyote Call Trail.

Looking down into this wide grassy valley, one can see the darker patches of grass and sedges in boggy areas, and glints of blue from surface water, headwaters of the East Fork of the Jemez River.

On the main road into the Preserve, I turn off onto Jemez River Traill before reaching the HQ. A building nearby is apparently from an old movie set.

My hike is along a bog, that gradually transforms into the East Fork of the Jemez River. I have hiked the East Fork before, but never from its headwaters.

Now I am along a real river. Boulders block the way, or the river switches banks in its channel, requiring some calculations to determine the best route.

At Las Conchas Day Use Area tons of cars are parked, and people are rock-climbing or walking their dogs and toddlers along the river on this Fathers Day Weekend. Bridges make the hike easier.

I leave the water on East Fork Trail, though pine forest up on a ridge, hiking for several miles.

At Jemez Falls Campground and a few day use areas are loads of families enjoying the weekend. I skip the route to MacCauly Hot Spring- too many people likely.

Redondo Campground is now open, after being closed for several years. It was a favorite spot to camp with my young children, with a good supply of boulders that become forts.

A nearby overlook shows the Jemez Valley and a loop of road, far below.

I camp near La Cueva, planning for resupply tomorrow.

Finished audiobook Empire, by Clifford Simak. What happens when new technology threatens an energy monopoly?

Bandelier and Canyons

  • NNML 2026 Day 3, June 20, Saturday
  • Start S1 mile 32
  • End S1 mile 52.2 Alamo Spring Trail
  • Miles walked: 20.2

5 miles of roadwalk along NM4 start the day, past several Los Alamos Tech Centers, aka mad scientist labs. finally I get to Bandelier National Park, grab water at Juniper Campground, and take Frey Trail towards the archaeological sites.

I am able to see some of the ruins from far above, coming down theetrail.

Coming to Pueblo Loop Trail, I take it to see all the cliff dwelling ruinsd

I check in at the visitor’s center, and grab some snacks and electrons at the cafe.

The Middle Alamo Trail takes me down and up Alamo Canyon on carved stone steps the NPS trail builders are fond of using here.

A single hoodoo decorates the canyon.

At the Stone Lions Site, eroded carvings of two lions are surrounded by a circle of rock.

The trail goes down Upper Alamo Canyon, where I am grateful to find running water, just enough.

I head to a spot just out of the park boundary, to camp on USFS land.

Finished audiobook The Reverse Centaur’s Guide to Life After AI, by Cory Doctorow.

Crossing

  • NNML 2026 Day 2, June 19, Friday
  • Start S1 mile 12, near USFS trailhead
  • End S1 mile 32
  • Miles walked: 20

The route resumes on El Camino Real for a while, alongside Buckman Road and power lines. The road and power lines go straight to the Rio Grande, and the electricity powers a series of pump stations to lift water from the river up to Santa Fe county. The elevation differeence is too much for a single pump station to handle.

Then we turn sharp west, and climb up a ridge, and will avoid Diablo Canyon.

I hike several miles west on a series of 2-track roads.

Finally the route descends down the Rio Grande Gorge, with canyon walls hundreds of feet high.

My place to cross the Rio is wide and shallow. On my first NNML trip, the water was too deep, so I had to hike back, and get a ride on the other side at White Rock. Will I make it this time?

Yes! The water level is quite low this year, and I know from checking online water gauges. Here is the view from the middle of the crossing.

The water only comes to my knees, and then to mid-thigh in one spot, with low flow attempting to push me sideways:

Other hikers in other years needed a pack raft or kayak to cross. Just because one dude was able to wet-foot cross in 2026, do not assume you can.

The route up from the river used to be a trail up Frijoles Canyon, but that route was wiped out by the Las Conchas Fire. There is an alternate way up, very steep with loose rock, but I choose the safer route up Ancho Canyon, adding 10 miles to my trip. I need to go several miles upstream along a River Trail, often disappearing or blocked by lush riparian growth.

Here is the view of the river where I start climbing up. Definitely too low for river rafting.

Ancho Canyon has a trickle of water, so I do not need to drink directly from the Rio Grande. I climb up a bit, then collapse, exhausted, and can go no more today.

Finished audiobook Death Comes For the Archbishop, by Willa Cather. Appropriate setting for where I am hiking.

NOTE: I only learned the next day from the trailhead sign that camping is prohibited in Ancho Canyon. I have asked that my guidebook be updated.