Corral Canyon Trail #537, NM

Nice... this is a nice little trail... sort of a blend of the other two Forest Road 64 to Sunspot Hiway (6563) traversing trails... not so narrow, steep and cavelike as Thousand Mile Trail, and not so open and exposed as Sacramento North Trail. Lying between those two trails, and about the same length, this cut follows the drainage in an oddly sweeping number of "S" turns, swerving back and forth... as if some crazed ATV was running a fast slalom down the hill.

That is likely how it got to be that way.

Midday down canyon you will encounter the old posts of the namesake corral, with the concrete water trough still in position straddling the old fence line. The barb wire has been removed (coiled, rusting away a bit further down the trail) but the posts remain to mark the use area.

This trail would make an ideal bit of end of day exercise... or an early morning excursion for spotting the elk, deer and turkey that are prevalent in the area. I saw one deer and one elk with my midday hike... that and turkey feathers.

The parking along Sunspot Hiway is just an extra wide shoulder... nicer to drive in above and park under the shade of a tall pine. The gravel road (FR 64) is normally well graded, seeing lots of summer time activity when this area of the forest fills with motor homes and campers... all with their ATV's!

This is a short but steep grade... out of shape I walked down it in half an hour... up in 40 minutes. False monsoon clouds gave this midday hike a very pleasant 72 degree high... normal for mid June. When the real monsoons settle in over July and August it will be even cooler!!

The difficulty is the elevation and average steep grade... over 800 feet in just over a mile!

Check out the Official Route and Triplog.

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2012-06-12 imike