Category: Trail Projects

Confluence Park 2023

The Save Our Bosque Task Force in Socorro is organizing monthly cleanups along a string of parks that were built in the Socorro bosque in the 1990s, starting with Confluence. A few of us arrived early, and also worked on the adjoining trail. The day is pleasant, cold, with little wind.

Here Rob takes away a critter, deceased.

Luke and Rob replant a Carsonite trail sign.

The mistletoe is pretty thick in the nearby cottonwoods.

More trash pickup, and the first trail project of 2023 is done.

By the way, the bosque trail here is part of the Socorro Resupply Alternate of the Grand Enchantment Trail, and will be part of the Rio Grande Trail if that route overcomes many obstacles to completion.

Embudito Trail 2022

NMVFO‘s last project of the year was at Embudito Trail #192, which starts in Albuquerque Open Space, and soon enters the Sandia Mountain Wilderness in the Cibola National Forest. 16 volunteers lopped and sawed– not the standard 6-foot USFS width, but a narrower corridor suited to a high desert environment. This is a highly popular trail, and we encountered many hikers and doggies during the day.

We paused for lunch on a rock overlook. We were treated to views of Albuquerque all day, and the low roar of traffic rose up the 1.8 mile span of our work.

As we got higher, a light dusting of snow remained in shaded areas.

Thanks to all volunteers for a good year of trail projects.

Valle de Oro October 2022

NMVFO volunteers returned to Valle de Oro National Wildlife Refuge just south of Albuquerque for a non-trail project, disassembling old walkway decking for later use. Half our group removed screws and stacked and sorted lumber.

The other half used battery-powered tools to break down and stack chunks of decking.

Afterwards, we made so much progress that we did weed clearing along a bike path. Herbicide (“Roundup”) could not be used on an urban refuge.