Trip report
Apr 21, 2018 — The La Luz Trail #137 is a popular hike that winds up the western slope of the Sandias, the mountains looming over the city of Albuquerque, NM. Most people choose to drive a scenic road to Sandia Crest, the highest point of the range, but the La Luz Trail offers an excellent and well-maintained hike starting from nearly the base of the range. The Sandia Peak Tramway is another option, gliding people from the city up to a point south of the high point. I only rated this hike Class 3 due to an add-on of The Thumb (more on that later), but the La Luz Trail is a heavily trafficked trail without any scrambling.
The La Luz Trail begins amongst scrub and cacti within the foothills, the first mile or so mostly flat as the trail heads south. Using numerous switchbacks, the trail maintains a tame vertical grade for its entirety, but this means a lot more mileage in order to reduce the steepness. We could see Albuquerque below for much of the ascent.
After a few miles, the vegetation began to shift, introducing more trees and larger plants. The trail then led us through more forested switchbacks, eventually reaching a section with mostly horizontal traversing beneath some cliffs. The La Luz Trail enters a major gully, with boulder field obstacles rendered trivial due to the trail’s excellent construction, which incorporates a series of switchbacks. Above us we could see The Thumb, a striking, named pinnacle that rises dramatically above the gully. All around us were beautiful pinnacles, far more impressive up close than they appear from the city below.
The trail reaches the top of the gully and then heads east through the forest to a junction. A trail sign points south to follow the La Luz Trail, but we didn’t want to go that way since it leads to the tram, not the summit. Instead, we took the Crest House Spur Trail #84, which hugs the base of a cliff band, climbs a set of stairs, and ends at the popular summit parking lot. From here, a paved trail reaches the high point.
Most of the photos in this report were taken during our hike in October 2018, but we returned in October 2024 to redo Sandia Crest via La Luz. On the way back, I couldn’t resist revisiting The Thumb. This striking pinnacle, visible for much of the hike, is a daunting-looking spire that hugs the La Luz Trail. Fortunately, it's much more easily accessed by taking its southeastern ridge via a Class 3 route. To reach it, once back within the major talus gully, I left the trail and ascended Class 2 boulders, which steeply led up toward the ridgeline. Before reaching the crest, I veered right into the forest and made my way to the base of a significant headwall along the ridge. I located a short Class 3 move to overcome this obstacle, then continued along the ridge. I passed over several Class 2/2+ obstacles and then encountered the crux, a somewhat exposed ledge with plenty of good holds. A fixed line was in place, but it was unnecessary, and I never recommend using gear left by others. After a bit more light scrambling, I reached the summit of The Thumb. I really enjoyed this perspective of the cliffy face of Sandia Crest. I backtracked and took La Luz back.