Sunset Trail at Sunrise and Balloons! – Morning hike

Let's hike the Sunset trail at Sunrise. This hike offers beautiful views of the city from a high altitude while remaining within the normal overall distance of our weekday cardio hikes. The weather is looking great and the balloons should be up en masse!

We'll meet at the Embudito trailhead at 6:45 AM and climb up the Wilderness Trail to the connection with Whitewash. We will then follow Whitewash along a largely flat traverse to where it connects with the Sunset Trail. The Sunset Trail is one of the highest altitude trails that is this far west. It therefore offers stunning vistas of all of Albuquerque and of the Sandias. Coming down the Sunset trail will circle us back to the Embudito parking area where the hike starts.

Note that both the Wilderness Trail and the Sunset Trail have sections that are relatively steep and gravely and can have loose footing. Trekking poles are recommended.

3 hours
5.0 miles
2270 ft vertical climb

*Anyone wishing to leave the hike early – post a comment in the discussion or chat and we can coordinate dropping a vehicle at the end of Cedarbrook Ave. This should cut 20 minutes off of the total time needed to complete the hike for those interested in finishing early.