Eye of the Sandias
The eye was first painted in the 1960's. No one knows who painted it, but urban legend suggests that it was a symbol of sadness, in reference to the encroachment of the city on the mountain wilderness. It was repainted in 2002, again anonymously. There is a Zia symbol in the middle of the iris.
I had considered this hike previously but had been discouraged by reports that it was poorly marked and difficult to follow. This morning, however, I downloaded the AllTrails app onto my phone, and decided to give it a go. As it turns out, you can't really get LOST, because you are on the rocky, unforested Western slope of the mountain and can see the city the entire time. But without the app I most likely would have wandered aimlessly on the many criss-crossing trails and missed the eye entirely. As it was, I stretched the hike to nearly 5 miles by losing the trail and backtracking several times.
The trail is relentlessly steep for 2.2 miles to the eye.
I was looking down at the city, as I mentioned, and also at times looking down on Four Hills and the pass to Tijeras. When I noticed I was looking WAY down at the peak behind my house, I resolved to check the elevation when I got back. It looks like I topped out at about 7,400 ft. Not bad! Did I mention that the trail head is only about a 10 minute drive from my house?
Finally I reached the eye! Fabulous! I was at the top! But no... I had another quarter mile to climb before the trail started to descend.
It was a gorgeous New Year's day. It was about 50 degrees at the base of the trail, cooler at the top, but not at all windy and the sun was glorious.
The trail is by no means easy. Going down was as steep as going up, there are boulders to climb over in places, and there is scree. I slipped and fell a little one time while scrambling down the scree, but was completely unharmed. I was a bit chagrined when, as I was carefully making my way down a particularly tricky part of the trail, I was met by a couple running UP the trail. Ah well.
As is frequently the case when I hike, there were lots (too many!) people on the lower part of the trail -- dog walkers, runners, hikers, and mountain bikers -- and no one at all at the top. I only met a few people past the 1.5 mile mark at either end of the hike. Upon my return, the parking lot was overflowing far down the street. It was a beautiful way to begin 2018, and I hope this year has many more hikes in store for me.
