NM Rails-to-Trails Projects page

Maps

Salado Canyon	Grandview Trail	Trestle Area
		Trail Maintenance	Large Loop	Mapping the Grades

Salado Canyon Trail & Trestle Area (back to top)

We're Done!

The official dedication of the now completed Salado Canyon Trestle took place on national Trails Day

The reconstruction of the Salado Canyon Trestle is finally complete and was celebrated with an official dedication on National Trails Day 2005. The work was strenuous and challenging. Most of the old caps on top of the vertical piers were found to be badly decayed after 100 years, so we had to replace them with pressure-treated timbers of the same size. Each one was 14" by 14" by 14' long and weighed about 1,200 pounds. We had not originally expected to have to replace these structural members. To remove the old caps and get the new ones into position on top of five vertical, 1' diameter piers at each bent by manpower along was "exciting".

The US Forest Service, through the work of Doug Holcomb, provided us with great assistance and guidance on the restoration project. A very dedicated group of volunteers came out on special workdays as well as the regularly scheduled workdays.

If you want to visit the site and hike the area the road is about 3 miles below High Rolls and work to about noon or 1 pm. Bring a lunch and have a picnic near the stream that flows under the trestle. (map)

Trestle girders, 2003

Salado Canyon Trestle: spanning the distance

Trestle from a distance, 2003

Trestle from above showing the significant amount of timber rot, 2003

Salado Canyon Trestle prior to renovations (view looking north)

Trestle from above, 2003

Trestle just about completed, 2005

Grandview Trail (back to top)

On the Grandview Trail just north of High Rolls, NMRTA recently completed several projects, including constructing a shelter and designing, funding and installing interpretive signs along the trail. Click on the photos below for a closer look.

Access the Grandview Trail from Fresnal Canyon Road: turn north off Highway 82 on Cherry Lane (at the convenience store in High Rolls), turn left at Cottage Row, and right on Fresnal Canyon. Pass the first trail
marker (on your left just past the cattle guard) and park at the second trail marker (on your left at a gate and a stile). A short, easy walk will take you to a spectacular view and back to the first trail marker; turn left to return to your car down Fresnal Canyon Road.

Trestle Area Enhancements (back to top)

Part of the Mexican Canyon Trestle trail system, this newly constructed bridge finally creates an 8-mile safe loop allowing the crossing of US 82. This bridge connects the Fresnal Canyon trail with the Switchback Trail.
NMRTA continues to work at the Cloudcroft Trestle Recreation Area and the Cloud-Climbing Trestle Trail. Enhancements we have helped to provide include the Anne Blanchard flower garden, nine benches, three viewing decks, two interpretative signs and a handicapped-accessible trail.

Trail Maintenance (back to top)

Cutting a trail connection on the switchback trail

Large Loop (back to top)

One of our most ambitious plans yet for the Sacramento Mountains is the creation of an 80 mile loop trail which will connect existing trails and railroads grades from the base of the Tularosa Basin in Alamogordo, up to Cloudcroft, south the Rim Trail to finally descend the Dog Canyon Trail and back. Work is underway at locating existing routes which will connect many of the segments and in some cases where construction will need to be done. For a map of the proposed area, click here. This is a long term project and will take years to finalize but we're looking forward to working with our partners to complete this project.

Mapping the Railroad Grades (back to top)

The Lincoln National Forest under the guidance of GIS Analyst Linda Cole has been mapping the historic railroad grades on the Sacramento Mountains utilizing new and historic aerial photography. Some areas are easily identifiable and some areas are indecipherable on the photos. In these later areas, some NM Rails-to-Trails volunteers have assisted the Lincoln National Forest and mapped the areas using GPS technology. Beyond field data being gathered through the GPS'ing of a grade, field verification is also being done as time and priorities permit.
A 1942 aerial photo showing portions of railroad grades.		The same aerial on a black and white photo from 1997 highlighting the same areas.
The same 1997 photo showing the results of the Rails-to-Trails volunteers GPS work.
One of hundreds of historic railroad grades in the Sacramento Mountains.
Some of the group GPS'ing the location of this loading zone: note the large logs atop a collapsed based on the left.	Hans Steinhoff poses for a photo at the beginning of our trek. The grade can be seen on the left.	Preserved railroad ties.	One of our couples, the Himebrook's, invited us onto their land to look at their railroad grade. This was part of the main line and was constructed in a more permanent fashion.
Right: Jerry Johnson nearly finishing his GPS work. Here he happens to be GPS'ing a log chute.			Left: Misc. artifacts unearthed and preserved on the the Himebrook's property.
Artifact from a time gone by. We think this is a wheel used to secure cars together.	Lincoln National Forest employee Linda Cole poses with another artifact found along the way. Possibly a handle of a car?	Roberta Himebrook points out a cut mark (axe) in a cut tree. Cuts this high (shoulder high) help date the cut. This was cut by man power with cross cut saws.	A very large link to the past. This link was more than likely used to pull the logs down a log chute to a loading area.

Page created by lscole, last updated 8/2005