Hikes in High Rolls and Cloudcroft, New Mexico - Tuesday, April 26, 2022

Yesterday, we took it easy. Today, we have three hikes planned in the High Rolls/ Cloudcroft areas of New Mexico. 

Our first stop in Cloudcroft was at the Sacramento Ranger District Visitor Center in Lincoln National Forest. This stop was essential to us because we read about a waterfall in the area and needed specific directions on how to get to the trailhead.

If you know us, you know we love to hike to waterfalls. We saw a reference to Bridal Veil Falls, fed by a spring that runs all year. With the predicted heat, we would love a cool waterfall glen as our hiking destination. 

The ranger gave us a map and showed us how to get to the falls and where to park. There is a long trail to the waterfall (five miles roundtrip), and a shorter trail to the waterfall (1-1/2 miles roundtrip). She told us exactly where to park for the shorter hike. We chose the shorter hike because later we plan to hike two more 5k trails in Cloudcroft.

The carved wall hanging and cupboard below were carved by an employee of the Visitor Center.

Bridal Veil Falls is in High Rolls, New Mexico, about 15 minutes from Cloudcroft. Because we would be descending rapidly out of the mountains, the temperature would be 10-15 degrees warmer for our hike to the falls. This is when we decided we would do the waterfall hike first while it was a bit cooler in the day.

We didn't have too much trouble finding the parking area for the falls; however, the parking area is very rough with some protruding rocks, a sharp drop off from the main road (on one side of the driveway), and bushes close to the edge of the driveway in. Just beware if you plan to do this hike to be careful getting into and out of this parking lot.

Hike #1: The T129 trail to Bridal Veil Falls was easy to find, in good repair, and downhill. It didn't take us long to get to Bridal Veil Falls. It is such an oasis in this desert-like environment.

Bob at the start of trail
T129 to Bridal Veil Falls.

We are definitely in the high desert. You
can see a glimpse of White Sands on 
the left in the notch of the mountains.

T129

T129.

Here, we connected
with the Rails-to-Trails
portion of the hike.

Claret cup hedgehog cacti.

It's much greener by the stream.

Rails-to-Trails (flat).

Tourist trains used to stop at this desert oasis. You can see why in the next few photos. We loved this pretty spot. While the waterfall isn't the largest or fullest, it is a delight in the desert...cool, moist, and a haven for birds.

Bridal Veil Falls. See video 
below for a full picture.

A shelter overlooking the falls
to stop, sit and contemplate.

The top of the falls.

Bridal Veil Falls.

All we had to do now was hike back up to the truck. It was a relatively easy hike. The trail was not too steep. We're glad we went early because it was getting quite hot.

Bob coming down the trail
from the shelter.

I could not find this 
wildflower. Does anyone know
what it is?

Heading up T129 to the truck.

On our drive back up the mountain to Cloudcroft, we stopped at the overlook for the Mexican Canyon Trestle. The overlook has a history display that we took the time to read. This will be our second hike today.

Bob at the Mexican Canyon Trestle
overlook.

We made a point to stop at the Trestle Recreation Area with the replica of the Cloudcroft Railroad Depot so I could use the restroom. The following signs were at the main trailhead.

Hike #2 (5k): From the Mexican Canyon Trestle Recreation Area, we drove back to the main highway, turned right, and then immediately turned right again into a gravel parking lot. This is where our Volksmarch started. It's called the Village Spur Trailhead.

We started on Village Spur Trail 
No. 5001A.

The short first part of the trail was in the shade. Yay! However, it wasn't long before we were on a rails-to-trails wide gravel grade with no shade, but great views.

In the forest to start.

The sunny rails-to-trails path.

On the chart below, we went on Trails T5001A, T5001, T5001C, and T5002.

A map of where we were.

We re-entered the forest at the bottom of a long hill. It was nice to be in the shade the rest of the way to the Mexican Canyon Trestle.

Pretty lavender flowers.

Mexican Canyon Trestle. This is what 
we viewed from the overlook.

From the Mexican Canyon Trestle, we continued on our Volksmarch route but made a short detour to see Bonnie's Trestle. The last time I did this hike with Susan Medlin in 2018 we didn't see Bonnie's Trestle (you can read that blog here). In 2018, Bonnie's Trestle was undergoing renovation and didn't get re-dedicated until August 2019.

Bonnie's Trestle.

Bonnie's Trestle.

We had one more trestle to see, the "S" trestle, but it fell down around 1960.

The delicate white flowers of the 
Osha plant.

The dilapidated "S" Trestle.

What happened?

More remains of the 
"S" Trestle.

All we have to do is climb out of this canyon and we can go to lunch. That's good because my stomach is growling at me!

Stairway back to the start.

A rock-cut for the cloud-
climbing railroad

Another great view from the top.

For lunch, Bob and I went to Big Daddy's Diner in Cloudcroft. I remembered how good their burgers were back in 2018. I was not disappointed. My burger was yummy as were the sweet potato fries. In fact, the sweet potato fries are the best Bob and I have ever tasted. We complimented the chef on how much we liked them. 

As we were leaving, the cook told us that their homemade brownies (three types: walnut, fudge, and pecan) were on sale: four bags for $11. Each bag had two huge brownies in it. We are coming back here for dessert after our next walk and I think we will be taking them up on this generous offer.

Walk #3 (10k 7k): Osha Trail T10 is named for the Osha plant that grows along its path. The trail is located at 8,600'. According to the United States Department of Agriculture handout on this walk, "The trail is an easy to moderate hike due to its elevation of 8,500'...The Osha Trail offers stunning views of the Tularosa Basin which includes White Sands National Park. The vegetation...is made up of an almost endless variety of green trees, shrubs, grasses, and wildflowers."

There are no water sources or restrooms at the trailhead. Carry at least one quart of water, a snack, and a jacket.

The start of the T10 trail.

More wildflowers.

We walked T10 clockwise. The first part of the trail went up and up to a broad path with great views. Then we went down, down, down, down until we came to a green meadow. 

Rails to trails.

Looking down at the
Mexican Canyon Trestle.

A rocky trail.

This beautiful meadow area made
Bob want to build a cabin here.

Wild strawberry plants.

From the meadow area, it was up, up, up, and up. We had planned to do a 10k walk and go through the Village of Cloudcroft, but we took a wrong turn and realized we had gone about a mile out of our way. It was getting late, so we changed to doing a 7k.

The trail was easy and flat
by the meadow!

A very crooked pine tree!

After we finished the hike, we drove around Cloudcroft's old downtown and then we walked up and down the main street so I could get photos. All the shops had closed at 6 pm. The only business we saw open was Dave's Cafe and it was crowded. They had live music.

Dave's Cafe - a hoppin' place this
evening.

The clock doesn't work. It
was 6:15 pm.

Luckily, Big Daddy's Diner was open until 9 pm, so we made good on our plan to have dessert. I had banana pudding and Bob had peach cobbler. I was disappointed in my banana pudding. (It will never compare to the banana pudding we had at Makeda's Cookies in Memphis near the Lorraine Motel or at The Big Bib BBQ in San Antonio!)

On our way out of the restaurant, we bought four packages of brownies for $11. That was an awesome deal. We intend to share them with our friends Rick and Jan who we're meeting in Willcox, Arizona, tomorrow.

Of course we got into the brownies that night and shared one. OMG! They were awesome!!! It will be hard to resist eating them for a couple of days.

We had a great day in Cloudcroft and drove the 45 minutes back to our RV. Tomorrow morning, we are off to Willcox, Arizona.

Travel Bug out.