Caldera Rim Trip Report Hilton Cabin

North Rim

Date: July 16, 2007 Purpose: Walk the rim of the Valle San Antonio (not the actual rim) to assess routes and acquire data on difficulty of building and maintaining trails. USGS Topographic Map: Cerro del Grant, Valle San Antonio Participants: Dorothy Hoard, Yvonne Delamater Equipment: Garmin Global Positioning System Model GPS 12; digital camera Olympus Camedia C-3000; notebooks. Methodology: I obtained a permit to enter Valles Caldera National Preserve (VCNP) land, agreeing to give two weeks notice for proposed field trips, to write a final report, and keep a time list for their volunteer log. We then walk the rim as closely as possible while looking for better parallel routes and points of interest. Conclusions: We were interested in the rim of the Valle San Antonio as opposed to the actual rim, hoping for views into the caldera. The area is so heavily wooded despite the logging that views were very poor. We found little reason to route a trail through this area. The best view was north of the fence line on the road out of the VCNP, but that view showed only the top of Redondo Peak and hills to the east. There was no sign of the Valle San Antonio on the whole route. We will return to check the actual rim. There is no reason to build any trails in this area; logging roads will do if anyone wants to come. Trip Report: Introduction: In summary, the northwest area around Hilton Cabin is a gently hilly area on the southwest slope of Cerro Garita above the Valle San Antonio. The true rim itself is a heavily wooded indefinite line on the undistinguished slope running slightly northeast/southwest. The sharp slope break—the rim of the Valle San Antonio—is an uneven line south of the true rim. Forest Road 144 runs parallel to the old VCNP boundary, which is not fenced. The 1966 boundary adjustment is the new fence line. The entire area was heavily logged in the past. Logging trunk roads and skid roads lace the area. Some are as wide as a two-lane road. The forest is primarily spruce, with some fir. The north rim of the Valles Caldera west of Indios Pass consists of massive Tschicoma Formation dacite-latite flows. Small lumpy hills cover the landscape. Many, such as Cerro Pelon and Cerro del Grant, were volcanic vents. The area around the Hilton Cabin is on the southwestern slope of the Cerro de la Garita. No section is particularly steep, but it all noticeably drains south and west. The slopes are heavily forested despite the logging. Part of this area is north of the Baca Location No. 1 boundary relocation with the Forest Service in 1966. The boundary fence appears to closely follow the actual rim and may have been conceived as a watershed divide. The fence crosses very wide logging roads, which cut throughout the area. Meadows in the area appear to be true meadows rather than logging clearings.

Description: We parked at the gravel pit at the intersection of Forest Road 144 and Forest Road 99. We had driven in on FR144 from Española, on which we were stopped by a tree fallen cross the road. We cleared away enough of the top with my pruning saw and Boy Scout hatchet to get around it. A road, bermed at the gravel pit, goes southward; the berm had been driven over and the roads beyond had been driven upon. Using compasses, we headed due south as much as practicable, using game trails and, preferentially, logging roads. We encountered wide logging roads the entire way to the rim. Where a road turned significantly away from south, we followed game trails only a short distance to find another road south.

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We followed wide logging roads on forest service land.

North Rim We encountered the VNCP boundary fence along one of these roads. The fence is in good condition; however, we were able to crawl though it. In this way we found our way to the supposed rim of the Valle San Antonio. (Subsequent computer mapping showed we were still too far north.) We were contouring a slope with the down-slope side on our right.

meadows here, one with sawmill debris at its lower end. Views were always blocked by the forested edges of the meadows. The drainages here ran south and we passed into a second drainage. These are low and subtle. When the road turned west, we found a southerly road that took us to a sharp slope break that we presumed from the map to be the rim of the Valle San Antonio. We had lunch here with very poor views at best and some deadfall. The walk was enjoyable, but perhaps more due to a sense of discovery rather than walking on logging roads. Our lunch spot was the end of a spur road, so we turned back to the large road and continued west.

VCNP fence line crosses large logging roads.

Views were restricted even in open meadows.

We soon came to a large meadow with piles of sawmill debris. Up the hill a bit above this meadow is the Hilton Cabin. It is a small one-room structure, well built with good intact windows and a lovely view to the southwest. It seemed not to have been used lately; mouse droppings were everywhere. There is a pond in the meadow below the cabin; it was quite murky.

Typical abandoned VCNP logging road through dense forest has game trails. The VCNP roads were not as elaborate as forest roads

We tried to follow the presumed rim west, trying to favor logging roads running more-or-less east/west. Several roads went down the slope; we tried to maintain our contour and did not follow them. The forest was thick; we intersected logging roads several times, but saw no opportunity for views. We came to a multiple intersection that met a large road with signs of a recent two-track vehicle, probably an ATV. Our map indicated that the valle rim was considerably south of us and we turned south on this road. We passed through several

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Several large piles of logging debris lie below Hilton Cabin.

North Rim

We retraced our steps on the now-verified Hilton Cabin Road. Yvonne had been on a VCNP van hike here. The map she was given indicated a view point on the hills at the north end of the road. She recalled that the view was OK but not spectacular and her companions were distinctly disappointed. We climbed to the fence line and the alleged viewpoint. We could see the upper parts of Redondo Peak, Cerro Seco, and San Antonio Mountain. The trees were too thick to see into the Valle San Antonio; there was no sign of its existence. We crawled under the fence at the gate and followed the road uphill.

Hilton Cabin appeared to be a line camp.

View from the porch.

Meadows and spruce forest along the Hilton Road toward Hilton Gate

Stock pond below Hilton Cabin.

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North Rim

Lots of spruce and limited views along the way

Shortly beyond the fence, we came to a ridge which appeared to be the true rim. Several roads met at this point. We followed a wide road downhill and back to the gravel pit. This road had recently been driven upon and was suitable for travel. The gravel pit is at the head of Canones Creek. The area is open with fine views to the north: Tschicoma, Polvadera, and Cerro Pedernal. We drove home on FR 99 and FR 100 to Youngsville. It is quite scenic and a better road than FR 144, but it is a long drive from Youngsville to Los Alamos. We decided we preferred 144.

Cerro de la Garita looks formidable with its thick forest, but probably is riddled with logging roads too.

Informant: Dorothy Hoard. Time - 8:00 to 6:30 total; 11:00 to 4:15 hiking.

The view from Hilton fence on the northern boundary.

Gravel pit at the Forest Road 144/99 junction

Hilton Gate

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Cerro del Grant, for which the topographical map is named.

North Rim

Polvadera peak from the gravel pit.

Cerro Pedernal from the gravel pit.

Hilton Cabin, July 16, 2007. Rim = red; Fr144 = purple; bright green = our route. Cerise line is 1966 boundary exchange.

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