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The Sewer Crag is located on land under the jurisdiction of the Pueblo of San Ildefonso. It is unknown if the cliff is off-limits to climbing.
Bob D on the FA .
Description
A south, east and SE facing cliff of dirty, pocketed basalt. This crag is opposite of the North side of the Overlook. Currently has ~5 bolted routes and a few pointless cracks.
This crag is so-named due to its proximity to a sewage treatment plant. The climbing is not particularly stanky, nor is the surrounding environment. A good place to go if you want a bit of seclusion. The routes would be really good if they ever got cleaned up, but that seems like an aweful lot to hope for.
Getting There
The approach is much shorter, easier and cleaner than all of the area guidebooks imply. It took me ~15 minutes, and I never had to 'ford a foul smelling stream'.
Park at the Overlook. Walk N from the P-lot and locate the Sewer crag visually across the canyon. Note the creek you will need to cross, and identify the approach route, which basically traverses the canyon rim until you are almost above the Sewer Crag, then desends a grass covered talus field to the base of the wall.
Walk back up the road the way you came for about 100 yds to a large clearing on the N side of the road. Bushwhack NW for 100 yds into thickening brush, and pick up a faint trail that leads to a stream crossing near the large waterfall. It is trivial to cross this stream without getting your feet wet. Once across the stream, continue on a much better trail N, then NE, then E along the canyon rim. After ~ 200 yds a subtle cairn apears on the right, about 30 yds S of the trail. Walk to this cairn, and descend the bushy talus field below to the base of the cliff. First bolted route encountered is "Toxic Avenger".
Hi, I'm not trying to be a spoilsport here, but, I do believe that the Sewer Crag is located on land under the jurisdiction of the Pueblo of San Ildefonso, and is therefore most likely off limits to climbing or other types of trespass.
Before I even saw this MP page, I first noticed that Jackson's 2006 Falcon-published New Mexico guide does state that this land is not in the public domain (page 163). I was curious, so I personally double-checked this at the Santa Fe County Assessor's office in 2007, where I did see indeed that this crag is located on the Pueblo's land. Perhaps this area could stay posted on MP, but be marked as being for historical purposes only?
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