Past Two Weeks
+ 26
Glorieta: Cairn Me Up -> Jagged Axe
Mountain Biking Trail
Hard
6.54 mi
1,183 ft
A rock-filled gnar fest, with some optional double black diamond features.
Glorieta Adventure Camps boasts the best purpose-built mountain bike trail system in New Mexico. The evolution of this network is a curious story of fortuitous connections and private land ownership. While the story is long and winding, today, riders from across the Southwest have flock to these fantastic trails to shred the gnar and enjoy the flow lines.
Glorieta offers a handful of great ride options, of which this is one of the favorites. The ride begins by climbing the Cairn Me Up trail to get to the top of Jagged Axe. As of the time of this writing, Cairn Me Up is a freshly-built climbing route that offers mild grades yet remains entertaining thanks to the slickrock slabs that it ascends and the beautiful rock formations that it wraps around. Several viewpoints along the way offer welcome spots to take a break and enjoy the view.
At the top, you'll reach Jagged Axe, a full-on black diamond tech descent sprinkled with optional double black diamond features throughout. After blasting off the top of the mountain through some delightful chunder, the crux move of the trail comes at a steep drop into a narrow, rocky canyon. The main line drops onto a rock slab and slides sideways into the narrow gulley, but an alternate line takes an easier entrance.
From there, the pulverizing rock gardens, ledge drops, and advanced moves continue for several miles as you ride down rocky spines and sections of fall line singletrack. Beware of one particularly devastating-looking kicker rock drop that promises to launch you into the stratosphere. Again, there is a ride around for this feature.
At the bottom, you'll find more optional drops that are better-constructed than the kicker rock, with well-built launches leading to beautiful transitions.
If you haven't had enough after finishing this loop, consider heading further into the camp to hit either Chili Dog or Holy Mole. Written by Greg Heil
Glorieta Adventure Camps boasts the best purpose-built mountain bike trail system in New Mexico. The evolution of this network is a curious story of fortuitous connections and private land ownership. While the story is long and winding, today, riders from across the Southwest have flock to these fantastic trails to shred the gnar and enjoy the flow lines.
Glorieta offers a handful of great ride options, of which this is one of the favorites. The ride begins by climbing the Cairn Me Up trail to get to the top of Jagged Axe. As of the time of this writing, Cairn Me Up is a freshly-built climbing route that offers mild grades yet remains entertaining thanks to the slickrock slabs that it ascends and the beautiful rock formations that it wraps around. Several viewpoints along the way offer welcome spots to take a break and enjoy the view.
At the top, you'll reach Jagged Axe, a full-on black diamond tech descent sprinkled with optional double black diamond features throughout. After blasting off the top of the mountain through some delightful chunder, the crux move of the trail comes at a steep drop into a narrow, rocky canyon. The main line drops onto a rock slab and slides sideways into the narrow gulley, but an alternate line takes an easier entrance.
From there, the pulverizing rock gardens, ledge drops, and advanced moves continue for several miles as you ride down rocky spines and sections of fall line singletrack. Beware of one particularly devastating-looking kicker rock drop that promises to launch you into the stratosphere. Again, there is a ride around for this feature.
At the bottom, you'll find more optional drops that are better-constructed than the kicker rock, with well-built launches leading to beautiful transitions.
If you haven't had enough after finishing this loop, consider heading further into the camp to hit either Chili Dog or Holy Mole. Written by Greg Heil
Created By
Strava Routes
Route and Elevation
Segments
| Name | Distance | Elev. Diff. | Avg. Grade |
|---|---|---|---|
| Leaving Church | 0.37 mi | 62 ft | 0.6% |
| The Glorieta climb to heaven | 3.00 mi | 640 ft | 4.0% |
| up to the rock Garden | 0.48 mi | 49 ft | 1.0% |
| Cairn Me Up | 3.92 mi | 722 ft | 3.4% |
| Cairn Me Up to the Lookout | 3.51 mi | 676 ft | 3.6% |
| ascend through rock garden | 0.27 mi | 56 ft | 3.4% |
| Berms, sweat and cairns | 0.56 mi | 180 ft | 5.9% |
| to the top of the Canyon | 0.27 mi | 23 ft | 1.3% |
| climb to BIG ROCK GARDEN | 0.37 mi | 92 ft | 4.3% |
| Ride through "cairn-village" | 0.25 mi | -33 ft | -0.0% |
| Climb to the Catacombs | 0.20 mi | 59 ft | 5.3% |
| up to La Cueva lookout | 0.33 mi | 92 ft | 2.5% |
| to the top of the crossroads | 0.46 mi | 108 ft | 4.1% |
| Dropping In! | 0.18 mi | -167 ft | -16.9% |
| Jagged Axe⛏ | 1.52 mi | -896 ft | -11.2% |
| "Chute" to Point | 0.49 mi | -318 ft | -12.1% |
| Middle Jagged Axe | 0.85 mi | -531 ft | -11.7% |
| Point to Rocks | 0.48 mi | -315 ft | -12.3% |
| Jagged Axe - Rockgarden to Finish | 0.39 mi | -203 ft | -9.7% |
| Baptist Bypass Out | 0.78 mi | -154 ft | -2.8% |
| Rocks | 0.10 mi | -52 ft | -9.7% |
| Headed to church | 0.35 mi | -62 ft | -1.1% |