Santa Fe
National Forest
1474 Rodeo Road
Santa Fe, NM 87505

Phone:(505) 438-7840
Fax:(505) 438-7834

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Description:

Trail 162 starts the climb out of the Rio Nambe drainage by following a side canyon and tributary up to the north for about a half-mile. The trail then turns slightly west and climbs steeply up the hillside. The riparian vegetation along the stream is quickly exchanged for Ponderosa Pine and other mixed conifers. Good views of Santa Fe Baldy can often be seen through the trees. After a couple of miles the trail reaches the top of the ridge, and there is a brief downhill interlude before resuming the uphill trend.

After three or four stream crossings, the trail enters a grove of aspens. Here the hiker must be alert for tree blazes to the north in order to continue along Trail 162. The more obvious trail tread at this point continues west along a blazed hunting trail which fades out after a mile, but will eventually connect with the Borrego Trail. The trail tread through the aspen grove on Trail 162 is intermittent, and the visitor should be prepared to spend some time looking for blazes on the trees. The trail switchbacks uphill in a northeastern direction and crosses a meadow above a small canyon tributary. From here, the trail is easier to follow and continues up hill to the top of the ridge.

After crossing the ridge, the trail drops down along the north side and swings eastward toward the headwaters of the Rio Capulin. A large marsh with standing water is encountered after about a mile. The trail can be picked up again by circling around the marsh on the north side and proceeding to the most eastern side. After another quarter mile the trail crosses a branch of the Rio Capulin and enters a small level meadow from which an excellent view of the cirque behind Santa Fe Baldy can be seen. This meadow is at the peak elevation of the trail at 10,400 feet. Another old hunting and animal trail follows the stream up to the cirque. Trail 162 continues at the far north east corner of the meadow. From here the trail follows the stream downhill to its intersection with Trail 158. There are numerous river crossings along the way.

Notes:

This challenging trail offers a wide variety of vegetation zones and scenery. There are very few level areas along the way.

The trail climbs rapidly out of the canyon and over a ridge to a climax elevation of 10,400 feet before dropping rapidly back to the Rio Capulin canyon on the other side. The main attraction of this trail is the beautiful meadow at the headwaters of the Rio Capulin.

An excellent view of the Santa Fe Baldy and the cirque below it can be seen from there. This is an infrequently maintained trail and is difficult to find and follow in places.

The climb out of the Rio Nambe canyon is very steep and difficult. There are numerous water sources and many good camping areas can be found along the trail.