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| | | Rim Trail Cathey Vista, NM | | | |
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Rim Trail Cathey Vista, NM
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| Hiking | 7.74 Miles |
980 AEG |
| | Hiking | 7.74 Miles | 3 Hrs 47 Mns | | 2.05 mph |
| 980 ft AEG | | | | |
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| partners | | On our return trip to Tucson from Lubbock we stopped off in cloud croft to finish another section of the Rim Trail #105. On this hike we did a short 2.5 mile section of the Rim trail from Cathey Vista to the Sunspot observatory. We returned along the Cathey Canyon Trail #105A. With the completion of this hike we have completed all but the very southern 2.5 miles of the 30 mile Rim Trail. Since we have hiked the sections in and back, it is a total of 55 miles of the 60 miles.
The Cathey Vista Trail to the Sunspot Observatory follows along an old road and is not really exciting, the views over the Tularosa Basin are mostly obscured by trees. Once at the Observatory road we hiked along the road past planet earth and continued on south along the Rim Trail to where we had hiked another section of the Rim Trail previously. Nothing really exciting about this section of the trail. Before heading back we headed over to the Apache Point Observatory where the views over the Tularosa Basin and White Sands were spectacular as usual. Apache Point Observatory and the Sun Spot Observatory were like a Ghost town due to Covid, nobody around.
For the return trip we took the posted Cathey Canyon Trail off of the Apache Point road back to our start point. This trail takes you past the Sunspot Observatory and it was kind of eerie with nobody around. The road to the observatory was closed but since we were on a "trail" I assumed we were ok. Once past the sun spot telescope we followed the road down past Mercury then Venus back to Earth and continued back on the rim trail to the Cathey Canyon Trail. The Cathey Canyon Trail past the observatory is kind of vague following mostly roads no other signs indicating that you were on a trail. A little confusing as to where the Cathey Canyon Trail starts.
The real prize of this hike was along the Cathey Canyon Trail that parallels just below the Rim Trail. This trail takes you through some old growth forest with enormous fir trees and a few aspen groves. Easy walking along a fairly level trail. The only elevation gain is at the end where it climbs back up to meet the Rim Trail. This is a short 2.3 mile trail that is worth the stop if you only have time for a short hike.
This is the way to drive back to Tucson, from Lubbock Drive the 4 hours to Cloudcroft, hike 8 miles then get back in the car and drive to Las Cruces to spend the night then continue on to Tucson the next day. The only downside to this plan was all the restaurants in New Mexico were closed to dining, take out only. |
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