Faulty Loop
 | A nice loop from a piñon-juniper forest changing to a ponderosa-fir forest as you slowly climb the southern Sandias. In wetter years, you are likely to see many wildflowers. Of particular note is the good view of Cedro peak and its environs. One of the more interesting facets of this hike is the small shelter cave near the trailhead. A stream parallels the first few hundred feet of the trail. The trail is well-marked, easy to follow, and nicely clean. |
| Hike data | Waypoints | Maps | Getting to the trailhead | About the hike | Plants along the trail | Comments |
|
| Date: | 1997-08-31 | 2003-01-25 |
| Time it took us: | 4:30. | 3:30. |
| Usage (people/hour): | 0.00. People/hour not recorded. | 4.00. This trail is near Albuquerque and easy to get to, so expect to see people on the trail. |
| Cleanliness: | 0. Cleanliness not recorded. | 9. |
| Waypoint | Type | Description |
| 130195 | Trail junction | Cibola National Forest trails 130 and 195 |
| 130CV | Cave entrance | Small shelter cave on Cibola National Forest trail 130 |
| 130TF | Trail junction | Temporary split in Cibola National Forest trail 130 |
| 130TH | Trailhead | Cibola National Forest trail 130 |
| 195UFT | Trail junction | Junction of Faulty and Upper Faulty trails |
| ABVFLS | Trail junction | Above the falls on Cibola National Forest trail 130; rejoin other 130TF trail |
| Map name | Cartographer | Year | Scale | Topo map? | Online access | Notes |
| Albuquerque New Mexico | USGS | 1983 | 1:100000 | Y | from sar.lanl.gov (free) | |
| Cibola National Forest, Sandia Ranger District | US Forest Service | 2006 | 1:63360 | N | from Amazon (purchase) | Sandia Ranger District portion |
| Guide to Indian Country of Arizona Colorado New Mexico Utah | Automobile Club of Southern California | 1998 | 1:0 | N | from Amazon (purchase) | Good overview road map for northwest NM. No scale is given on the map. The corner coordinates are approximate. |
| Wildernesses of New Mexico | US Forest Service | 1981 | 1:1000000 | N | No online copies. | Base map with national forests, wilderness areas and highways. |
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Take I-40 Eastbound from Albuquerque, to
exit 175. The exit divides shortly after you leave the interstate; take
the right branch, NM 337 S and Tijeras. This road divides again; take
the left branch this time. Go under the interstate to the tee
intersection. Take the right branch of the tee and follow the paved
road into Canyon Estates and to the end. A sign indicates you have
reached the trailhead and a small loop with parking around it is
all there is.
From I-40 Westbound from Edgewood, take exit 175 (NM 337 and NM
14). At the stop sign at the end of the exit, turn left and go
under the interstate. Pass under another underpass and go to the
stop light. Turn right and go under the interstate again to
the end of the road. Turn right and follow the paved road into Canyon
Estates and to the end. A sign indicates you have reached the
trailhead and a small loop with parking around it is all there is.
Note that there is no parking except on the National Forest land at the
trailhead. Please drive slowly through the neighborhood.
Two trails lead from the parking lot. Make sure you take the one with
the National Forest map and sign for trail 130 (as shown here).
|  |
 | As a check that you are on the correct trail, you should be entering the
Sandia Mountain Wilderness almost immediately.
Shortly after you leave the parking area, you have the stream alongside
the trail. Be careful; when you are near the stream there is often poison ivy
nearby. Be cautious if you bring a dog, as it may wander through the
poison ivy and bring it back to you.
The trail climbs gently. To the left, you can see Diana walking down the trail. |
At 130TF, the trail forks, with one branch rising back and right from the direction you are heading. Both branches end up at the same location, but the left branch takes you to a small waterfall and a shelter cave at 130CV. In the photo, you can see Diana coming down the right branch of the trail; I was standing along the trail heading to the cave and falls, and you can also see the trail from the parking lot heading to the right. |  |
 | In the winter, the waterfall was beautiful, if a bit treacherous due to
the ice.
|
This cave has seen a lot of visitation, but the area has been
amazingly clean each time I have hiked by. Please help keep it
this way by carrying out trash if you see any.
|  |
 | You hike around and end up above the cave. Just above the cave, you
reach ABVFLS, which is where
the earlier branch (130TF)
rejoins the trail.
To the right is the stream, just above the waterfall. January 2003 was
the warmest in years, and the stream was flowing near the waterfall
and had lots of plants in it.
|
You continue to climb. At 130195
you arrive at another branch in the trail. There is a sign which
says: Faulty Trail 195 and Crest Trail 130. Take the right branch,
which is Faulty Trail 195.
|  |
 | Right after the junction, a sign states that the Faulty Loop Trail has been adopted by the Albuquerque Breakfast-Civitan. Along the trail is plenty of evidence of erosion control projects; I assume this is a result of the trail adoption. The trail climbs steeply here, but only for about 100 ft of elevation gain. Then it levels off and climbs slowly if at all for a nice stretch of hiking through the forest. There are nice views to the south of Cedro Peak. Stop and smell the bark of a ponderosa pine as you hike; it smells like vanilla (I have found the best areas are the more red-colored bark in the cracks). |
The trees along this trail are blazed with a diamond, like the one to
the right.
|  |
 | After about an hour of hiking (depending on how fast
you walk and how often you stop to look at things), you
will reach a small clearing containing a trail marker (195UFT). This is the junction
of the Faulty Trail and the Upper Faulty Trail. This is a nice place
for lunch.
|
Take the Upper Faulty trail, which climbs gently to the high point of
the hike, and then gently descends. You hike through the bottom of the
fir zone on this leg of the loop.
You know you are at the next branch when you come upon a large cairn.
Walk a little beyond it and the trails that go past it and you will find
a trail marker for the South Crest trail and the Upper Faulty trail.
Turn left at the trail marker and head down the trail. The trail
down from here is through ponderosa pine forest with a bit of
piñon and juniper thrown in for fun. Along this portion of
the trail, at N 35.09813888 W 106.40155555 is a nice view of Cedro
Peak and the area around it (this is where I took the photo at the
top of this page).
After several switchbacks, you end up back at the sign you left
earlier: Faulty Trail 195 and Crest Trail 130. This time, head
down and back to the trailhead. For fun, just above the falls (ABVFLS) cross the stream and look
back upon the falls and cave from a different viewpoint as you take the
alternate trail.
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Plants we saw along the trail:
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