Rabbit Ridge Snowshoe in
Valles Caldera National Preserve
and
Rabbit Ridge Road is accessed from the Coyote Call Trail, a free trail in the Valles Caldera National Preserve (VCNP), which is open during daylight hours year around.
Valles Caldera National Preserve
and
Rabbit Ridge Road is accessed from the Coyote Call Trail, a free trail in the Valles Caldera National Preserve (VCNP), which is open during daylight hours year around.
Looking Across NM-4 into the Valle Grande from Coyote Call Trail
Redondo is the resurgent dome of the Valles Caldera. Redondito is the small protuberance on the right side of Redondo's ridgeline. Left of Redondo is South Mountain, a rhyolite dome of the Valles Caldera. The tiny forested dome to the right of South Mountain is Cerro la Jara, another rhyolite dome. Both South Mountain and Cerro la Jara formed around the actual outer margin of the collapsed Valles Caldera. Cerro la Jara is where the Valles Caldera National Preserve Valle Grande Staging Area is located.
Rabbit Ridge
Rabbit Ridge, with a large, snowy rockfield or felsenmeer. The south side of the ridge is owned by Bandelier National Monument (BNM) as part of their Alamo Boundary Trail section. The north side, facing NM-4, is owned by the Valles Caldera National Preserve and affords beautiful views into the Valles Caldera.
Unnamed Knob That Anchors Far Eastern End of Rabbit Ridge
Felsenmeers of Rabbit Ridge
Coyote Call Trail-Rabbit Ridge Road Intersection
Take the right turn and follow the road up to the top of Rabbit Ridge. It's almost 2 miles up but gradual and easy walking.
Logjam on Rabbit Ridge Road
When I visited, the road was well cleared with this being the only blockage. It didn't really pose an obstacle, though, since at this point, you're very near the top of Rabbit Ridge. The logjam is basically right where you turn right to go up onto Rabbit Ridge on a cross country ski trail. Volunteers maintain the area.
1940's Dendroglyph at Intersection of Rabbit Ridge Road and Blue Diamond Cross Country Ski Trail
It's hard to read the date--perhaps 1944 or 1949. The Bond family then owned the Baca Location No. 1, now the Valles Caldera National Preserve. Craig Martin has written an informative book on the Baca Location No. 1 called Valle Grande: A History of Baca Location No. 1. The book is in short supply but the Valles Caldera National Preserve still has copies for sale at the Valle Grande Staging Area's Welcome Station in the Preserve. I couldn't read the name on the tree; perhaps it was carved by someone from El Rito, New Mexico .
Rabbit Ridge Road Deadends
This is the continuation of Rabbit Ridge Road beyond the logjam pictured above. Bandelier National Monument land lies beyond. You can continue on the road. It will deadend in the woods near a beautiful meadow informally dubbed Misty Meadow on the south side of Rabbit Ridge.
From Bandelier National Monument Boundary on Rabbit Ridge Road
This is looking back north toward the logjam pictured above.
Close Up of Orange Sign for VCNP Boundary on Rabbit Ridge
Bandelier National Monument Boundary Line Markers on Rabbit Ridge
Cross Country Ski Trail in the Woods on Rabbit Ridge
The north (left) side of the trail is on VCNP property while the south (right) side is in BNM.
Misty Meadow on South Side of Rabbit Ridge in Bandelier National Monument
It's easy to go down from this meadow and connect in with old logging roads in the Alamo Boundary Trail area.
View South of St. Peter's Dome in Bandelier National Monument's Back Country
Redondo from First Felsenmeer on Rabbit RidgeThe cross country ski trail takes you to the first felsenmeer and ends there. After that, keep close to the ridgeline--there's no real trail. You'll be walking in meadows and woods and have great views into the Valles Caldera to the north from Rabbit Ridge's felsenmeers and, on the south side, from the meadows of Rabbit Ridge, you'll see into Bandelier National Monument, all the way to Sandia Peak, east of Albuquerque.
Far Off View of Valles Caldera North Rim from First FelsenmeerIn the foreground, an arm of Cerro del Medio, east (right), reaches out to the lower reaches of Redondo, west (left), in the Valle Grande. On the right horizon is Cerro la Garita (splotchy bare areas) on the Valles Caldera north rim.
Cerro del Medio (Foreground) and the Valles Caldera North Rim and Northeast Rim (Background)
That's Cerros del Abrigo rising up just behind and to the left of Cerro del Medio. Both are ring fracture rhyolite domes that rose up all around the Valles Caldera after the volcano collapsed 1.2 million years ago.
The tallest peak, on the far right horizon, with the triangular bare meadow, is Tschicoma, at 11,561' elevation, the highest peak in the Jemez Mountains. Oddly enough, it's not on the topographic rim to the younger, approximately 1.2 million years old, Valles Caldera. Instead, Tschicoma is on the topographic rim of the older, approximately 1.6 million years old, Toledo Caldera. Some geologists deem the Valles and Toledo calderas, where two calderas collapses occurred 400,000 years apart, not as overlapping , separate calderas but as "multiple collapses" of the same caldera.
The tallest peak, on the far right horizon, with the triangular bare meadow, is Tschicoma, at 11,561' elevation, the highest peak in the Jemez Mountains. Oddly enough, it's not on the topographic rim to the younger, approximately 1.2 million years old, Valles Caldera. Instead, Tschicoma is on the topographic rim of the older, approximately 1.6 million years old, Toledo Caldera. Some geologists deem the Valles and Toledo calderas, where two calderas collapses occurred 400,000 years apart, not as overlapping , separate calderas but as "multiple collapses" of the same caldera.
Hoarfrost at Edge of Felsenmeer
Lots of images of lovely hoarfrost are found on Google.
Distant View of Cerro Grande Peak and Pajarito Mountain
Cerro Grande Peak (right) and Pajarito Mountain (left) are on the Valles Caldera east rim. Here is more information on Cerro Grande and Pajarito Mountain in relation to the proposed Valles Caldera Rim Trail.
South Mountain from Second Felsenmeer
That's Redondo to the right of South Mountain.
From Third Felsenmeer, Clockwise: South Mountain, Redondo, Redondito, and Cerro la Jara in Valle Grande
NM-4, the access route to the Jemez Mountains, runs along the edge of the Valle Grande far below.
Close-up of Sierra de Toledo on Valles Caldera Northeast RimI wonder if Cerro Toledo is the far right baldspot? The Valles Caldera Northeast Rim boundary is shared between the Valles Caldera National Preserve and Santa Clara Pueblo. Until public access and use issues are discussed between Santa Clara Pueblo and the VCNP, most of the northeast rim is off limits to the public.
Close-ups, (Clockwise, Foreground), Cerro Santa Rosa (Left) and Cerros del Abrigo (Right) and a Tiny Portion of Cerro del Medio (in Front of Abrigo) and, Background, Cerro de la Garita (Left) and Garita Ridge-Hunter's Point (Right)
Bandelier National Monument Boundary Line Marker at Third Felsenmeer
Continuation of Rabbit Ridge From Third Felsenmeer, My Turnaround!
It was late afternoon and time to turn around--it would have been all downhill and then all uphill from here to Rabbit Mountain's summit and I was plumb out of pluck so I saved it for another day.