Thursday, April 7, 2016

Zuni-Acoma Trail

The Zuni-Acoma Trail follows an ancient route build by the Ancestral Puebloans between Zuni and Acoma Pueblos.  Today, this 8 mile cairn-marked route is part of the CDT.
Following this ancient path, wondering how old the rock cairns are and how long it took the original people to cross the lava in their yucca sandals.
Lave bridges were built by piling up lava rocks into cracks to allow passage across the lava.  Some are hundreds (maybe a thousand) years old.
The lava flows this trail traverses are amazingly distinct— by hiking from east to west, you can travel back in time from the youngest to oldest flows.  The McCarty flow (3-4000 years), Bandera Flow (11,200 years), to the Twin Craters flow (18,000 years), and finally the El Calderon flow (<60,000 years)— what a difference a few thousand years makes to the amount of soil buildup and thus to vegetation types.
This shrub (what is is?) seemed to be found only in older flows.
It is one thing to read about geology.  But hiking this trail, you get to feeling geology with your toes— stepping through it, living it.  Scrambling across lava makes you want to go back to school and become a geologist, or at least take a few more classes to understand its fascinating formations.
What makes the lava do this?
It is a rare thing to find a compatible hiking buddy, especially so soon after moving to a new place. We stopped to look at *everything* which is pretty much the best way to experience this unique and beautiful place.  I felt so fortunate to hike this trail with someone who loves to explore, has a deep curiosity about nature, and even pulled out her hand-lens so I could look at the trichome structure on a small plant in the mustard family.  YES!
The lizards here have evolved darker coloration on the lava flows.
Reaching up out of the lava.
Mt. Taylor in the distance.
Overall, this was a rugged trail, but it didn't seem as difficult as I'd heard.  Maybe it was just cause we took our time and stopped to smell ALL the flowers.

Cactus about to bloom.
More Information

Zuni-Acoma Trail Brochure- available from the El Malpais Visitor Center or downloadable here.


  1. Replies
    1. Totally- geology rocks!

      Unfortunately, the trifold wasn't half as descriptive as that awesome guide we had at Guadalupe for the Permian hike, but that one was one-of-a-kind. :)