Seasons and Sights Seen Along Valles Caldera South Rim
Special thanks to Gary Salzman for the incredible job he did documenting the October 2005 Los Griegos explore! Here is a link to his (the link takes you to the report on Google Drive but is also found on the Valles Caldera Rim Trail blog on this page). Gary took photos and collated them with two trip reports by rim trail volunteers, made numerous maps to graphically illustrate our route, and wrote an introduction. We appreciate your help immensely, Gary!
Autumn
Valle Grande View of Las Conchas Peak
The perfectly conical Las Conchas Peak is seen from VCNP Road VC01, the entrance road to Valle Grande Staging Area. There are blue diamond cross-country ski trails around Las Conchas that connect with the cross-country ski trails in the Peralta Pass-Corral Canyon-Paliza Pass-Los Griegos area. These trails are a way to get onto the Valles Caldera south rim.
Valles Caldera South Rim and East Fork of the Jemez from Valle Grande
Taken from VCNP Road VC01, this portion of the south Valles Caldera rim has pointy Las Conchas and lumpy Los Griegos, which is partially in the clouds, with the East Fork of the Jemez in the foreground.
Cliffs on Los Griegos
The Los Griegos route is to the left of the cliffs. If you follow the grazing allotment fence on Los Griegos when you are descending, it will lead you to the top of the cliffs.
For more information on Los Griegos, click on the several trip reports linked to on the Valles Caldera Rim Trail blog, under"Valles Caldera South Rim Trip Reports - East to West".
Southwestern White Pine Cones Dripping with Fragrant Sap on Los Griegos
The top of Los Griegos is loaded with huge southwestern white pine or good old pinus strobiformis, per Dorothy Hoard.
Paliza Pass
Pretty Paliza Pass, near Los Griegos Mountain, is a fantastically peaceful lunch spot on a weekday! That belies the fact that Paliza Pass is a crossroads with the Upper Los Griegos Road coming up from NM-4, cross-country ski trails coming from the Peralta Road-Corral Canyon-Las Conchas-Los Griegos area, and Paliza Canyon Road, Forest Road (FR) 271, that starts at the pass and continues south, past Cerro Pelado. And, of course, Paliza Pass is on the Valles Caldera south rim!
Peralta Road Area
Taken somewhere along the south rim, probably near Peralta Road. The red is in case a hunter was unable to interpret the obtuse New Mexico big game hunting schedule!
Dorothy Hoard carries a notebook and sits down at opportune times to write her “memoirs” which serve as a starting point to her very well-documented trip reports. Her reports are linked to on the Valles Caldera Rim Trail blog's index of trip reports from 2005 into 2009.
She’s not going to like this but I have to say that Dorothy is the mastermind behind documenting the Valles Caldera Rim Trail and does an incredible amount of work to portray the possibilities and opportunities for the routing of a rim trail. After doing this tiny project of trying to identify my photos and write captions and legends, I appreciate so much more the work that Dorothy does week after week on behalf of the entire Valles Caldera Rim Trail!
South Meadows of Massive Redondo from Upper Los Griegos Road
The Valles Caldera’s resurgent dome is seen from everywhere! 
Long Ridgeline of Las Conchas Peak
Remember the perfectly conical view of Las Conchas from Valle Grande? Well, in this view, you still see the cone but you also see how Las Conchas morphs into a long ridge to the south. A blue diamond cross-country ski trail contours high on the mountain on this west side. There is one place with an opening that has good views toward the west but mostly, trees block any views. Taken from Upper Los Griegos Road which used to be drivable to Paliza Pass from NM-4 but now has Grand Canyon size ruts.
Valles Caldera South Rim: Peralta Pass, Las Conchas, and Los Griegos Area
Autumn
The perfectly conical Las Conchas Peak is seen from VCNP Road VC01, the entrance road to Valle Grande Staging Area. There are blue diamond cross-country ski trails around Las Conchas that connect with the cross-country ski trails in the Peralta Pass-Corral Canyon-Paliza Pass-Los Griegos area. These trails are a way to get onto the Valles Caldera south rim.
Taken from VCNP Road VC01, this portion of the south Valles Caldera rim has pointy Las Conchas and lumpy Los Griegos, which is partially in the clouds, with the East Fork of the Jemez in the foreground.
The Los Griegos route is to the left of the cliffs. If you follow the grazing allotment fence on Los Griegos when you are descending, it will lead you to the top of the cliffs.
For more information on Los Griegos, click on the several trip reports linked to on the Valles Caldera Rim Trail blog, under
The top of Los Griegos is loaded with huge southwestern white pine or good old pinus strobiformis, per Dorothy Hoard.
Pretty Paliza Pass, near Los Griegos Mountain, is a fantastically peaceful lunch spot on a weekday! That belies the fact that Paliza Pass is a crossroads with the Upper Los Griegos Road coming up from NM-4, cross-country ski trails coming from the Peralta Road-Corral Canyon-Las Conchas-Los Griegos area, and Paliza Canyon Road, Forest Road (FR) 271, that starts at the pass and continues south, past Cerro Pelado. And, of course, Paliza Pass is on the Valles Caldera south rim!
Taken somewhere along the south rim, probably near Peralta Road. The red is in case a hunter was unable to interpret the obtuse New Mexico big game hunting schedule!
Dorothy Hoard carries a notebook and sits down at opportune times to write her “memoirs” which serve as a starting point to her very well-documented trip reports. Her reports are linked to on the Valles Caldera Rim Trail blog's index of trip reports from 2005 into 2009.
She’s not going to like this but I have to say that Dorothy is the mastermind behind documenting the Valles Caldera Rim Trail and does an incredible amount of work to portray the possibilities and opportunities for the routing of a rim trail. After doing this tiny project of trying to identify my photos and write captions and legends, I appreciate so much more the work that Dorothy does week after week on behalf of the entire Valles Caldera Rim Trail!
Remember the perfectly conical view of Las Conchas from Valle Grande? Well, in this view, you still see the cone but you also see how Las Conchas morphs into a long ridge to the south. A blue diamond cross-country ski trail contours high on the mountain on this west side. There is one place with an opening that has good views toward the west but mostly, trees block any views. Taken from Upper Los Griegos Road which used to be drivable to Paliza Pass from NM-4 but now has Grand Canyon size ruts.
Valles Caldera South Rim: Peralta Pass, Las Conchas, and Los Griegos Area
These maps I've posted are meant only as an introduction to the geography of the Valles Caldera Rim. Don't rely on them to find your way on the rim or to determine current land boundaries. Either buy a set of USGS 7.5 minute series topographical quad maps that cover the entire Valles Caldera National Preserve (Valle San Antonio, Cerro del Grant, Polvadera Peak, Valle Toledo, Redondo Peak, and Bland) or purchase this map, Valles Caldera: Map and Geologic History of the Southwest's Youngest Caldera by Kirt Kempter and Dick Huelster.
On this map, Peralta Pass is the divide between Corral Canyon, which drains into the Valles Caldera, and Peralta Canyon, which drains away from the caldera. Corral Canyon is the drainage to the northeast of Las Conchas Peak that has two springs in it. Click on the map to enlarge it and you'll see the word "Corral" in a meadow. Peralta Canyon is the big drainage east (right) of Peralta Ridge--the north-south ridge with Las Conchas on it. The big drainage to the west, between Peralta Ridge and Cerro Pelado, is Paliza Canyon--its drainage flows away from the Valles Caldera.
Special thanks to Donald and Dorothy Hoard for their encouragement and help on this project.
On this map, Peralta Pass is the divide between Corral Canyon, which drains into the Valles Caldera, and Peralta Canyon, which drains away from the caldera. Corral Canyon is the drainage to the northeast of Las Conchas Peak that has two springs in it. Click on the map to enlarge it and you'll see the word "Corral" in a meadow. Peralta Canyon is the big drainage east (right) of Peralta Ridge--the north-south ridge with Las Conchas on it. The big drainage to the west, between Peralta Ridge and Cerro Pelado, is Paliza Canyon--its drainage flows away from the Valles Caldera.
Special thanks to Donald and Dorothy Hoard for their encouragement and help on this project.