Route Editor
Route Scout
It's Skull Canyon On the Map! by imike  Of the many access routes up to the Crest Trail, this one may be the more difficult to locate. The route starts off of Forest Road 108 (Tanbark Canyon) across private land. You are right next to a house. Of course, given it is the only house on the west side of the road, it makes it easy to find. The Topo Map shows the trail as Skull Canyon Trail, and it also shows the trial passing up into Tanbark Canyon. Tanbark Canyon is really the main drainage along Forest Road 108. A nice aspect of the trail: it is one of the steeper routes up... if you are looking for a harder effort, this might be the trail for you. On a practical basis, this trail will be combined with one or three of the other area trails to compose a fun day. You might decide to head up to Nogal Peak, looping from the top of Skull Canyon along the Crest Trail (#25), over to Nogal Peak Trail (#26), then perhaps back down Tanbark Canyon along Forest Road 108? If you do that loop, consider heading up from the Crest Trail to the ridge holding the peak trail... there is no reason to loop all the way down and around... enjoy the little cutoff off trail! Skull Springs Trail could also combine with any of the variety of lower trails rising out of the Bonito Creek drainage: Turkey Canyon Trail (#40), Argentina Canyon Trail (#39), Big Bonito Canyon Trail (#36)... or many others. The potentials are boundless. Pick your route, plan your day... go enjoy! Leave No Trace and +Add a Triplog after your hike to support this local community.
One-Way Notice This hike is listed as One-Way. When hiking several trails on a single "hike", log it with a generic name that describes the hike. Then link the trails traveled, check out the example. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
WARNING! Hiking and outdoor related sports can be dangerous. Be responsible and prepare for the trip. Study the area you are entering and plan accordingly. Dress for the current and unexpected weather changes. Take plenty of water. Never go alone. Make an itinerary with your plan(s), route(s), destination(s) and expected return time. Give your itinerary to trusted family and/or friends.
Most recent Triplog Review
Skull Springs Trail #41
Meetup Group hike out of Las Cruces... nice to finally get over and see a new area. Lots of burn damage, but the vista views were exceptional. Lung issues stopped me short of the peak; I guess it may not have been the flu in Hawaii... to linger this long... bacterial? Irritating to have to figure out what is going on... and to delay the fun training. Oh, well. Back up to the area Monday for another hit! I'll just go slow.
2013-05-05 imike
