“There’s probably a witch at the end of this,” my husband said. “And she’s going to eat us.”
A maze of cairns had caught our eye and led us further into the forest, away from North Faulty Trail. We’d gone at least a quarter mile, following cairns placed every 50 feet or so. Spotting the cairns in the rocky terrain became a game. Someone had put a whole lot of effort into setting them up.
The cairns took us to an overlook with a good view of the San Pedro Mountains, where we sat on a boulder and plotted our next move.
The cairns continued. Another overlook? (I really wanted one.) A boiling cauldron? (Not so much.) We followed them a little longer, but grew worried that if we went any further, we’d end up lost, so we retraced our cairned steps back to the trail.
The little rock piles weren’t the only surprise on North Faulty. Yep, I said North Faulty, not Faulty, or Upper Faulty, or even Lower Faulty. North Faulty is an unofficial route that sine-waves along the 8,000-foot contour line north from the Sandia Crest Highway. It’s one of those ridgeline routes that constantly teases you with glimpses of mountains and valleys, then whisks you back into the forest.
Along with the cairns, we found three huge brown-and-white hawk feathers along the path, one stuck in a tree stump.
I wonder how many more surprises await those who go all the way to Palomas Peak, a good 10 miles roundtrip from the North Faulty trailhead.
Hike length: 5.5 miles
Difficulty: moderate
Trail traffic: light
Wildlife spotted/heard: horny toads, lizards, jays, butterflies, swift, gray catbird
Woman Seeks Elevation 
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