{"id":23305,"date":"2024-02-19T15:18:23","date_gmt":"2024-02-19T22:18:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/maxcarmichael.com\/blog\/?p=23305"},"modified":"2024-02-20T11:19:17","modified_gmt":"2024-02-20T18:19:17","slug":"twelve-years-after","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/maxcarmichael.com\/blog\/?p=23305","title":{"rendered":"Twelve Years After"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/p>\n

The trail up the main canyon on the west side of our high mountains, the canyon that drains the highest peaks of the range, has been catastrophically washed out and inaccessible since the mega-wildfire turned the upper slopes into a moonscape twelve years ago.<\/p>\n

While looking for another snow-free low-elevation hike for this Sunday, I thought of one that leads to that abandoned trail. So I checked the trail maintenance log, and to my surprise, discovered that the canyon trail was cleared last fall, to 3-1\/2 miles beyond the junction. Even better, a trail up a major side canyon was cleared to about the same distance. Long-abandoned trails in the heart of the wilderness are opening up \u2013 at least until the next wildfire or erosion event.<\/p>\n

The frost on the windshield was fairly light when I started on Sunday morning. The sky was mostly clear and the high in town was forecast to reach 60. It takes an hour and fifteen minutes to reach the trailhead, perched on a spectacular mesa high above the mouth of the canyon.<\/p>\n

\"Trail <\/a>
Trail into canyon starts on mesa at left. Main canyon trail stays on north side of creek to point A. <\/div> <\/div>
\"Crossing <\/a>
Crossing mesa toward trailhead, with canyon walls towering above. <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"IMG_0363\" <\/a> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>\n

I’ve only hiked the trail into the canyon twice in seventeen years \u2013 it’s too short and involves too little elevation gain to make the drive worthwhile for a day hike. But it’s a popular trail so I was surprised to find the trailhead parking empty.<\/p>\n

\"Looking <\/a>
Looking back west as trail climbs ridge; I’m just beginning to figure out those mountains in the distance <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"At <\/a>
At ridgetop, first view up canyon <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>\n

When I surmounted the first outlying ridge and could see up-canyon, I realized this two-mile trail into the canyon is actually a spectacular hike in itself \u2013 because this is one of the most dramatic canyons in the range, lined with cliffs and studded with monumental, colorful rock outcrops.<\/p>\n

Halfway between the trailhead and the canyon bottom, the trail swerves back into a deep side canyon. I was to learn that with all the snow we’ve received, every side canyon now hosts a running stream.<\/p>\n

\"Beginning <\/a>
Beginning traverse into side canyon at left, with main canyon straight ahead <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Rock <\/a>
Rock bluffs above side canyon <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Stream <\/a>
Stream running in side canyon <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Trail <\/a>
Trail hugs cliff while climbing out of side canyon <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>\n

Climbing back out of the side canyon, you find yourself traversing the north slope of the main canyon below isolated outcrops, with the creek roaring far below. Across the canyon on your right loom nearly sheer cliffs. Eventually you encounter switchbacks that take you down toward the creek.<\/p>\n

\"Trail <\/a>
Trail will take me beyond that snow-draped ridge <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"South <\/a>
South wall of canyon here is nearly sheer rock <\/div> <\/div>
\"Interesting <\/a>
Interesting rocks along trail <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"View <\/a>
View west toward mesa <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Outcrop <\/a>
Outcrop above trail <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Descending <\/a>
Descending switchbacks toward creek <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>\n

I’d expected the creek to be in flood, and I wasn’t wrong. The newly cleared trail up the side canyon is a little over a mile beyond the junction, past a big washout that had stopped me in the past. Sure enough, last fall’s trail crew had cleared a path across the washout, but when I reached the mouth of the side canyon, about thirty feet of icy, foot-deep water separated me from the opposite trail. I would have to continue up the main canyon.<\/p>\n

Now I was in view of the rock towers on the high ridge between the two canyons. And in a third of a mile I expected to reach another trail that comes down the north slope at my left. The upper part of that trail is an abandoned mine road that had long been washed out and buried in debris \u2013 I’d descended it two or three times shortly after moving here, to reach a swimming hole in the creek. But now, when I reached the biggest washout, I discovered someone had recently brought a Caterpillar down the road, clearing it and filling the washout in the trail.<\/p>\n

\"Rugged <\/a>
Rugged trail <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"IMG_0433\" <\/a> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"For <\/a>
For scale, that’s almost twenty feet wide <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"More <\/a>
More rugged trail <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Tall, <\/a>
Tall, thin cascade <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Somebody <\/a>
Somebody once put a lot of work into this trail <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"IMG_0449\" <\/a> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Wide <\/a>
Wide spot in canyon <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"10,000' <\/a>
10,000′ Grouse Mountain <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Creek <\/a>
Creek splits into multiple channels at mouth of side canyon <\/div> <\/div>
\"Trail <\/a>
Trail up side canyon, blocked by flood <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Bulldozer <\/a>
Bulldozer cleared old road and filled big washout <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Mouth <\/a>
Mouth of gully that washed out after wildfire <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Road <\/a>
Road to nowhere <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>\n

Past that road, the trail climbs higher and higher above the creek, meeting the wilderness boundary after another third of a mile. Now the canyon was beyond spectacular \u2013 but clouds were darkening the sky overhead. I began noticing how much work had once been put into building this trail, across talus slopes, rock faces, and slopes of loose dirt. I’d never seen a trail anywhere in this region that had been built like this \u2013 with dry-stone retaining walls up to fifteen feet tall supporting terraces up to 80 feet long, and walkways across gullies reinforced with one-inch rebar and heavy wire mesh. By contrast, our recent trail crew had only been able to clear a temporary path that would wash out at dozens of gullies in the next heavy rain.<\/p>\n

Eventually, the trail began dropping toward the canyon bottom.<\/p>\n

\"Interesting <\/a>
Interesting rocks along trail <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"IMG_0488\" <\/a> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Past <\/a>
Past road junction, trail climbs high above canyon <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Wilderness <\/a>
Wilderness boundary – see sign on tree at left <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Panorama <\/a>
Panorama across canyon <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Trail <\/a>
Trail up canyon \u2013\u00a0note snow-covered crest in distance <\/div> <\/div>
\"Recent <\/a>
Recent trail crew hacked paths across gullies that will wash out again in next heavy rain <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Erosion <\/a>
Erosion cleared gully across canyon down to bedrock <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Damn, <\/a>
Damn, what a beautiful canyon! <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Note <\/a>
Note dry-stone retaining wall, built by trail crew in olden days when men were men <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Massive <\/a>
Massive washout – those boulders were brought down by water! <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Past <\/a>
Past the big washout, a terrace built by original trail builders across talus slope <\/div> <\/div>
\"Looking <\/a>
Looking back at terrace and retaining wall, all built by hand <\/div> <\/div>
\"Returning <\/a>
Returning to canyon bottom, where maples still hold their leaves <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Creek <\/a>
Creek thundering over cascades <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"IMG_0563\" <\/a> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>\n

In the canyon bottom, I found some recent deadfall blocking the trail \u2013 the first I’d encountered today. Here, at about 6,200 feet elevation, shade had kept snow from melting, and I found the very recent tracks of two hikers and a dog. They ended at the first creek crossing in the entire distance of this trail so far \u2013 where I would have to stop as well. The trail crew had stopped here, but the old, abandoned trail continues for another ten miles, climbing to the 10,000 foot crest just below the highest peak in the range. From the highest parts of the trail, I could just glimpse that crest, its deforested, snow-blanketed slopes glittering in occasional sunlight.<\/p>\n

\"First <\/a>
First deadfall of the day <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"First <\/a>
First snow of the day <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"That's <\/a>
That’s almost ten feet wide at its narrowest <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Another <\/a>
Another talus slope <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"IMG_0573\" <\/a> <\/div>
\"End <\/a>
End of cleared trail <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Others <\/a>
Others were here in the past few days <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Abandoned <\/a>
Abandoned trail continues across creek <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>\n

The clouds gradually broke up as I headed back, and sunlight brightened the colors of lichen on the outcrops above me.<\/p>\n

\"Lichen-covered <\/a>
Lichen-covered cliffs above talus slope <\/div> <\/div>
\"IMG_0597\" <\/a> <\/div>
\"That <\/a>
That miraculous hand-built terrace again <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Fifteen-foot-tall <\/a>
Fifteen-foot-tall retaining wall built by hand <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"IMG_0603\" <\/a> <\/div> <\/div>
\"IMG_0604\" <\/a> <\/div>
\"Path <\/a>
Path across big washout <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"More <\/a>
More terrace with retaining wall built by old-timers <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"IMG_0613Pano\" <\/a> <\/div> <\/div>
\"IMG_0616\" <\/a> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Yet <\/a>
Yet another monumental retaining wall <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"And <\/a>
And another <\/div> <\/div>
\"IMG_0619\" <\/a> <\/div>
\"Alluvial <\/a>
Alluvial terrace at wide spot in canyon <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"IMG_0623\" <\/a> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>\n

Past the flooded junction with the side canyon trail, the trail enters the shade of the canyon’s nearly sheer south wall. And I began noticing how big the sycamores grow here along one of the range’s few perennial streams.<\/p>\n

\"Past <\/a>
Past the side canyon junction, climbing high above the creek again <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Zooming <\/a>
Zooming in on those rock bluffs <\/div> <\/div>
\"In <\/a>
In the shade of the south wall <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Interesting <\/a>
Interesting rocks under the south wall <\/div> <\/div>
\"IMG_0638\" <\/a> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Mouth <\/a>
Mouth of big washout <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Rock <\/a>
Rock formation atop south wall <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Beautiful <\/a>
Beautiful big sycamore <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"IMG_0649\" <\/a> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Big <\/a>
Big sycamore trunk <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>\n

Reaching the junction with the trail out of the canyon, even after climbing the switchbacks I was still mostly in shade from the south wall. But when I reached the deep side canyon with its spectacular rock bluffs, I finally found myself on a west-facing slope, catching some warming rays from the setting sun.<\/p>\n

\"South <\/a>
South wall <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Shade <\/a>
Shade of south wall <\/div> <\/div>
\"IMG_0665\" <\/a> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Traversing <\/a>
Traversing rocky part of north wall <\/div> <\/div>
\"IMG_0671\" <\/a> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Looking <\/a>
Looking back up canyon <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Dramatic <\/a>
Dramatic south wall approaching mouth of main canyon <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Last <\/a>
Last light on mesa <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"IMG_0687\" <\/a> <\/div>
\"South <\/a>
South wall <\/div> <\/div>
\"Turning <\/a>
Turning into deep side canyon <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Stream <\/a>
Stream running down slickrock in side canyon <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>\n

Past the side canyon, I was in the home stretch, and once I’d climbed the opposite side I was back in the last of the sunlight. It’d taken me almost 8 hours to go less than twelve miles, but I’d gone slowly, stopping often to admire the view and take pictures, and that newly cleared trail had involved a lot of careful scrambling. I’m looking forward to returning when the creek’s low to explore that side canyon trail!<\/p>\n

\"Looking <\/a>
Looking down side canyon toward mouth of main canyon <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"IMG_0697\" <\/a> <\/div>
\"Looking <\/a>
Looking back up main canyon <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Mouth <\/a>
Mouth of main canyon, mesa on right <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Heading <\/a>
Heading north down ridge toward mesa <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Switching <\/a>
Switching back south toward mesa <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Last <\/a>
Last light on canyon walls <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Heading <\/a>
Heading home past mountains <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The trail up the main canyon on the west side of our high mountains, the canyon that drains the highest peaks of the range, has been catastrophically washed out and inaccessible since the mega-wildfire turned the upper slopes into a moonscape twelve years ago. While looking for another snow-free low-elevation hike for this Sunday, I […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":23374,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[49,60,58,66],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-23305","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-hikes","category-mogollon-mountains","category-southwest-new-mexico","category-whitewater"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/maxcarmichael.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/IMG_0619.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/maxcarmichael.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23305","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/maxcarmichael.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/maxcarmichael.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/maxcarmichael.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/maxcarmichael.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=23305"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/maxcarmichael.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23305\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":23422,"href":"https:\/\/maxcarmichael.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23305\/revisions\/23422"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/maxcarmichael.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/23374"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/maxcarmichael.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=23305"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/maxcarmichael.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=23305"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/maxcarmichael.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=23305"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}