West Rim Caldera Rim Trip Report Rabbit Ridge to Rabbit Mountain Date: November 14, 2005 Purpose: Investigate the rim between Rabbit Ridge and Rabbit Mountain. USGS Topographic Map: Bland Participants: Dorothy Hoard, Yvonne Delamater Equipment: Garmin Global Positioning System Model GPS 12; digital camera Olympus Camedia C-3000; notebooks. Methodology: Bandelier opened its Cerro Unit this year for unrestricted hiking, day use only. The south half of Rabbit Ridge is on Bandelier land to the knoll just southeast of Rabbit Mountain. We will do the ridge on the Bandelier side as much as possible. Conclusions: There are game trails all along the ridge; there are spectacular views to the north into the caldera and good views southward to the southern part of the Jemez Mountains. We see no reason why a trail can’t be put in here. Trip Report: Introduction: In 2004, John Mack, Resource Manager at Bandelier National Monument, gave me a permit to investigate the rim forming the boundary between Bandelier and the Valles Caldera National Preserve (VCNP). We finished that report and submitted it before the park open this, the Cerro Unit, to public use in 2005. As part of that report, I had been along the Bandelier Boundary on Rabbit Ridge. Now I wanted to check the area between Bandelier and Rabbit Mountain and look for potential logging roads that might serve as access to the ridge or the mountain. Description: We parked at the new parking lot on the Dome Road, Forest Road 289 and walked through the welter of old logging roads west of the Alamo Boundary Trail. We found our way to the base of the little draw that goes up to the low point on Rabbit Ridge. From there, we followed a game trail uphill to the ridge line. We turned west and went up the next hillock that I called Knoll 9945, actually higher than Rabbit Mountain. The Bandelier boundary turns south here and follows the ridge down to enclose the Alamo Canyon drainage for Bandelier. We continued on a well-worn game trail along the narrow ridge over to Rabbit Mountain. It is narrow, with steep slopes on each side. There was some deadfall, but we had no trouble wending are way along the ridge. At the low point in the ridge, a meadow extended up the mountainside to the ridge. The view south was just lovely—sweeping down to the San Miguel Mountains and on to the Sandias above Albuquerque. We continued up the short distance up the ridge to Rabbit Mountain. It is just a pile of rocks, but the views are spectacular.
The game trail wends its way along the ridge.
The meadow on the southeastern slope of Rabbit Mountain allows a truly stunning view south to the Sandia Mountains above Albuquerque. 1
West Rim The View from Rabbit Mountain
Looking northeastward across the Valle Grande, from Hunters Point (left) on the north rim to Cerro Grande on the east rim. The triangular peak Tschicoma, center, which is not on the rim of the Valles Caldera, is the highest point in the Jemez Mountains.
Looking westward across the western remnant of the Valle Grande: Redondo Peak on the right, South Mountain, center right, the south rim beyond melding toward the cliffs of San Diego Canyon. The Nacimiento Mountains on the far horizon, State Road 4 below.
Looking north across the Valle Grande to Cerro de la Garita and Hunters Point on the north rim on the far horizon. Redondito on left.
2
West Rim
Looking southwesterly to Aspen Peak on Bearhead Ridge, Peralta Ridge beyond.
Looking westward down the rim to Los Griegos. Nacimiento Mountains above Cuba on the far horizon.
For our return to the parking lot on the Dome Road, we went straight down the grassy south face of Rabbit Mountain. It was steep and the big fountain grasses are hard to walk through. We do not recommend that route. We came to the forest at the base of the mountain and contoured eastward around to the fence line between the old Baca Location and Forest Service land. This was the original line first surveyed in 1876, with resurvey in 1912 and 1920, when “they” finally agreed it was correct. We found one of the mile post benchmarks, MP3, shown on maps. Actually it would be hard to miss, having been re-marked in the 2000 survey of the new preserve. The fence line is south of the parking lot, so we veered northeastward and followed innumerable logging roads back. It is such a welter of roads that I set my GPS to get us back by the shortest route. On the way we spotted a big Douglasfir so I marked its location. Informant: Dorothy Hoard
“U.S. General Land Office Survey, Penalty $250 for Removal. T18N” corner between R4E and R5E, 1920. 3
West Rim
Looking southeast: Boundary Peak from Rabbit Ridge. The gash in the trees is the Dome Road, FR289.
The marker for MP3.
November 14, 2005, Rabbit Ridge to Rabbit Mountain: Rim = red, forest roads = purple, trails = dark green, our route = bright green. 4