We don’t hike in the evenings often because mosquitos love me to death. It isn’t just mosquitos, it’s anything that bites. Cedar gnats are particularly fond of me as well. Anyway, they seem to be diminishing so we braved a sunset hike at Mesa Verde National Park. It isn’t a long hike since a slide closed the further reaches of the trail. Bonus, there was only one other person out there for sunset.
Named after the historic Knife Edge Road which was known for it’s scenic value, this trail follows the old roadway and leads to a viewpoint that affords excellent views across Montezuma Valley.
A traveler in 1892 once described a trail on this ridge as the Crinkly Edge Trail. In 1911, the trail became the Knife Edge Road, a new section of the main road into the park. Although scenic, the road was narrow and steep and precariously skirted the top of a steep bluff overlooking the Montezuma Valley. Unfortunately, the instability of the soil made it difficult to maintain. Two years later, the park built a bypass road through Morefield and Prater Canyons, and when the first automobile trip was made in 1914, vehicles used the bypass and the Knife Edge Road was soon closed.
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