Fletcher Trail, Sandia Mountains, 2/9/14

We lucked out on this hike!  The whole area is closed to hikers from March 1 to August 15 to protect wildlife.

Fletcher trail, 4 miles round trip, starts in a stream bed about 1/4 mile up Piedra Lisa trail.  It follows the stream north for about 1/2 mile, then heads into the woods paralleling the stream bed.  The turnoff is easy to miss.  See 4 pictures below - I decided on the way back to take a picture as a reminder :)

After another 1/3 of a mile or so, the trail crosses the stream bed and heads east straight up a ridge.  The elevation of this hike was ~1200 feet, and all of it was trekking up the ridge.

Disappointing views from the city from the top of ridge -  hazy day.

After topping the ridge, the trail heads south and ends at the foot of the UNM Spire, a favorite of climbers. 

Turn off from stream bed. Yes, it did have a cairn. 

Almost back at the car we turned around to a great view of both the UNM Spire and the Prow.