DryHeatBlog Domingo Baca Trail at the Elena Gallegos Open Space in the foothills of the Sandia Mountains
The Elena Gallegos Open Space is located off of Tramway Blvd in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Centrally located in the foothills of the Sandia Mountains, several prominent hiking trails – including Domingo Baca Trail – originate at this location.
Domingo Baca Trail
The Domingo Baca Trail is well worth exploring, regardless if you find the plane wreck or not. I had hiked portions it several times before I even found out about the plane wreck. There are beautiful wooded areas and other cool stuff like a small rock house. I think the rock house is not all that old but it’s interesting and could function as an emergency storm shelter should bad weather roll in. The trail snakes around through a canyon before ascending into the mountains.
TWA Flight 260 on the Domingo Baca Trail
I found out about the wreckage of TWA Flight 260 by accident. I was looking for more information on the Domingo Baca trail and found that someone had left a Google Review mentioning the plane wreck. How had I never heard of this? I cleared my schedule for the day and went to the mountains!
I have to say upfront that the hike to the plane is not easy nor can I tell you exactly how to get there. Just keep going. If you find the sign pictured above, you’re probably ahead of the curve. But don’t get too excited, the plane is still a long, long ways away. Past this point, The Domingo Baca Trail is poorly marked and difficult to traverse. In fact, the TWA sign is the last sign and it’s several miles from the plane. After that, you get to guess. I got turned around and off the trail several times. To be honest, the only reason I found the plane is because I followed some other hikers who had a better map.
If you actually manage to find the wreck, congratulations! Rest your feet, eat something and take a moment to appreciate the levity of what you’re seeing.
At 7:03am on February 19, 1955 TWA Flight 260 left the Albuquerque Municipal Airport and ten minutes later flew right into the side of the Sandia Mountains. With dense fog and malfunctioning navigation equipment, the pilot was unable to see that they were way below the necessary altitude until it was too late. Bound for Santa Fe with 16 souls on board, there were no survivors.
I don’t know how old this framed piece of paper is but it’s deteriorating fast and pretty much says the same thing as the metal placard. There is a good deal of condensation under the glass and inside is just a regular piece of paper, probably not long for this world.
To give an idea of the surrounding terrain, the above picture is looking up from the wreckage. Steep canyon walls tower high above and the cables for the Tram can also be seen overhead. The wreckage is also spread out over a pretty large area. You can imagine the plane breaking apart and tumbling after the initial impact.
As previously mentioned, the only reason I actually found the wreck was because I followed some other hikers who had a better map. It was a husband and a wife and their teenage son, Mason, who sprinted up the mountain like a gazelle, barely breaking a sweat. He was waiting for us at the wreck when we eventually got there. To reach the last bit of the wreckage involved another steep climb and a couple hundred more yards of trail. I didn’t feel like doing it but Mason was incredibly generous and shared these last three photos with me. Apparently teamwork does indeed make the dream work.
A few words of caution.
This is a difficult hike. Looking at my stats from that day, I hiked 11 miles with an ascent of over 2500 feet. There are many parts of the trail that require “scrambling”, i.e. scooting on your butt, grabbing onto rocks and branches to pull yourself up or prevent yourself from tumbling down. Be sure to get an early start so as to not run out of daylight. Bring plenty of snacks and water, dress appropriately. This part is extra important, bring an external battery pack for your phone.
