Hike Gallo Peak via Spruce Spring and Red Canyon Loop Cibola National Forest, NM

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Gallo Peak via Spruce Spring and Red Canyon Loop GPX Track

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A nice forested walk up the Spruce Spring Trail leads to the ridgeline that (I assumed) would take me to the Gallo Peak summit, but it didn't (or I totally missed a social trail), so I bushwhacked to reach Gallo Peak. There are some really nice views of the Manzano Mountains from the summit. The route might be easier if you ascend from the southwest or northeast ridge, but for some reason I decided to just trudge up the steep southern slope. To make this hike into a loop I took the Red Canyon Trail back down. I thought this was the better trail of the two, more interesting since it included a nice darker canyon with some rock formations.

PEAKS ON HIKE
Elevation (ft) / Prominence (ft)

Peaks on hike

Elevation

Prominence

Gallo Peak

10003 ft

323 rise

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Heading up the Spruce Spring Trail.

Spruce Spring.

Heading up the ridgeline to Gallo Peak.

Looking back along the ridge.

Continuing up the ridge. I couldn't find any trail that led to the summit, so I eventually bushwhacked.

Gallo Peak summit looking north.

Gallo Peak summit looking south.

Continuing down the Red Canyon Trail.

Red Canyon Trail gets darker.

Pretty rock formations within Red Canyon.

A small cascade within Red Canyon.

Some more rock formations, and then a forested walk back to the trailhead.

Hire me or show me some love!

Hire/refer me as a web developer or send me a few bucks if you find my site useful. I’m not sponsored, so all fees are out-of-pocket and my time preparing trip reports is unpaid. I really appreciate it!