Trail Projects – Page 44 – Sagebrush Trails

Salas and Comanche Trail Survey 2020

TL;DNR — Salas Trail has about 50 downed trees within 1.3 miles of the top. Comanche has 0.5 miles of brush that needs lopping near the top, but few downfalls.

Having worked to improve Trigo Canyon Trail and Osha Trail this summer with the NMVFO, I decided to hike the two remaining trails that leave from the John F Kennedy campsite/trailhead and connect with Manzano Crest Trail: Comanche and Salas. I was inspired to hike both trails as a loop.

Don and his dogs joined me at Red Canyon campsite trailhead on the east side of the Manzanos at 8.1k feet, and we hiked up Red Canyon Trail 2.1 miles to reach the crest at 9.7k feet. After 0.5 miles south on Manzano Crest Trail, we reach Salas, and the intersection is signed.

Don joins me down Salas for 1.3 miles, and then turns back. We got off the correct route approaching a large rock outcropping, about the place that Don had trouble on a previous trip. We counted about 50 downed trees on the trail to this point, and few downed trees were found further down.

At 1.7 miles on Salas, oak brush becomes rather thick on the trail, and the oak clears somewhat at mile 2.1. I ran into another problem finding the trail at mile 2.4, where several game trails criss-crossed the area.

Rio Nambe Trail 160 and Lower Nambe Trail 403 Survey 2020

Returning from the Skyline project, I scouted the Rio Nambe Trail and Lower Nambe Trail for future NMVFO work. Hiking out on the Winsor Trail, the Rio Nambe Trail intersection is 3.3 miles from Winsor Trailhead at the Santa Fe Ski Area.

Descending down to water, the trail is rocky in places, and trekking poles were a help. They also assist with a few water crossings, but no wet-foot crossings are needed.

Near La Vega Meadow the trail becomes faint for a short period, but otherwise is well-defined. Over the 2.5 mile span from Winsor to Lower Nambe Trail, the altitude goes from 10.5k to 8.9k. Over 48 logs were across the trail, mostly the small diameter aspens, perhaps a victim of tent moths that have ravaged large groves of aspens in the Pecos for the past three years. In only one spot several aspen limbs had fallen suspended a few feet from the ground, requiring a climb. Oddly, no lopping was necessary, at the height of summer growth.

Skyline Trail 2020

Twelve NMVFO volunteers met at the Santa Fe ski area parking Thursday, June 25, at Winsor Trailhead and hiked into the Pecos Wilderness along Winsor Trail 4 miles to the junction of Skyline Trail. We set up a base camp in a meadow known as Puerto Nambe. For the next few days we used crosscut saws to clear 67 fallen logs along 2.5 miles of the Skyline Trail towards Penitente Peak. The Pecos chapter of the Backcountry Horsemen helped by transporting our tools and equipment to the base camp, and then departed, planning to return Sunday.