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| Hiking | 0.80 Miles |
175 AEG |
| | Hiking | 0.80 Miles | 40 Mns | | 1.20 mph |
| 175 ft AEG | | | | |
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| no partners | | This was a disappointing first attempt to our family hike. The wife had randomly chosen this hike based on its length (.6 miles one way). We weren’t really sure where the trail was located, except that it was off of 532. To get there we had to take 48 north out of Ruidoso (maybe three miles. To be honest I wasn’t paying attention, but it wasn’t that far). and then it was left onto 532. The area (Ruidoso, Alto) does a poor job advertising their hikes/TH’s from the streets. There is very little “fanfare” about where trails are located as you are driving around. (The lone exception was the Grindstone trail system). We drove up 532 looking for Scenic Trail #15. We passed South Cedar Creek Trail #13 almost without realizing it. No indication, except for a carsonite marker hidden in the trees. The drive up to the top was pretty spectacular! My wife said her palms were sweating as we drove.  There were guard rails, but I’m not sure how much good they would if a car were to hit them. We discovered that the Scenic Trail was located at the very top (12 miles on 532), where the road ends at a ski lift. There was actually trail signage there with enough, immediate parking for about 8 vehicles.
The trail seemed to be a solid single track, though we found out very quickly that winter had still left its mark. We hadn’t gone very far before coming across our first icy patch. The further we went the larger these patches became. Velva, became less and less “thrilled” with each patch. We had just reached the one and only switchback in the trail and saw the “plot” of snow lying before us. “We” decided that was enough scenery for us. I’m pretty sure we were about .2 miles from the end, but I guess I’ll have to come back again to find out  . For what we did, the scenery was limited. We were hiking into a valley that was very exposed to the sun. There had been a fire sometime in the past, so most of the nearby trees were the dead remains. Views were limited to the slopes of the hills and the ski lift behind us. There was a very active stream just to the right of the trail that provided some of nature’s best music.
Without the snow, this would not have been a difficult trail. From what I could see the trail was composed of compact dirt and was rock free. The trail seemed to have a very mild incline, though the elevation was around 9500 ft so we were puffing a bit even with the mild incline. No wildlife on the hike, but we did see deer and wild horses on the drive up. No other hikers on the trail, though there was one other car parked at the TH. |
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