I parked on the side of a dirt road next to a graveyard, and proceeded through an ominous looking gate. Apparently the private land owners have gated the road (and a about 3/4 closer to Hwy 14 than is indicated in the book) but you can still walk up the road, to the trailhead, and even further to the now desolate Cole Springs picnic area. After chugging up the dirt road (pace yourself, the elevation gain is here!) I came to the trail head for Canoncito. At this point there are options, you can go straight up Bart's trail, known for being "the hard way up" or take the rolling Canoncito. Not in the mood for a challenge, I took the Canoncito up to a series of waterfalls and a spring. This would be a great place to kick back and relax in the summertime, as the spring has formed shallow pools good for wading and splashing. Dixie enjoyed the mud. The trail is steeper and slippery with a good bit of deadfalls as you make your way past the springs, but no worries, less than half a mile from the waterfalls is the left turn on to the Faulty Trail to loop back to the car.
I had hiked the Faulty Trail the week before out of Sulphur Springs and found it to be similar, gradual ups and downs (heading back to the car it was mostly downhill). It's well maintained and offered some spectacular vistas of the Sandias and Tijeras melting into sunset in the distance.
Although I fairly certain this hike is too challenging for non-acclimated visitors, I can see myself hiking up there with a bottle of wine and some cheese to enjoy the sunset again in the not to distant future. Knowing what I know of the Faulty Trail, thus far, I would also like to hike it up from Cole Springs on a longer day hike. It's terrain is fairly groomed and someday, I see a better trained me practicing some trail runs up there.
Night was falling as I emerged from the woods at the Cole Springs picnic area. I guess because the gate is lower on the road than indicated in the book, I was going to be hiking the rest of the way to the car in the dark. I would estimate this was about 1.5 miles. It was truly a study in being observant when heading out in the daylight, so as to have my bearings in the woods as the sun fell below the horizon. Out of the forest and on the road, I did have enough ambient light to keep walking without my headlamp, enjoying the dusk and hoping that I would not get eaten by a bear. It was a ways on the road, but it was all downhill. Down, down, down until I reached the gate, the cemetery and the car. I stopped a moment to take in the stars (a night so clear, and just obscured from the city lights enough you could even begin to see the faint outline of the milky way) hopped in my car and was back in Albuquerque for a tasty dinner of green chile stew and pumpkin beer in 30 minutes. I'm not sure it's the best idea to be hiking through cougar country on a new trail in the dark, but me n Dixie lived to tell the tail and will be back next Tuesday with more hiking adventures.
