Moments in Dirt and Ink

Santa Fe National Forest Click for map. I thought I would take Timmy up Aspen Peak, which isn't much more than a mile, then I chickened out on taking him up a trail with so many dogs running on it and the trip just ballooned outward. Another visit to Lake Peak, this time via the trail along the fence and catching some bumps marked on Peakbagger, then drop down the ridge and such to Nambe Lake to take the trail back out from there, stopping by Aspen on the way. Aspen is still in the mix. One fellow said that I should come directly down Aspen to catch the lovely meadows, so that too. It's a plan, and so what if I'm sort of repeating there for a moment. The kiosk at the trailhead includes a wilderness map and a ban on goats. Across a bridge, Winsor trail heads left down the mountain and right into the wilderness. Both are hard to miss. My way is right and I start climbing. It is not quite so steep as I recall from coming down rather tired, but is still a solid cl...

Santa Fe National Forest Click for map. I've been given a short list of unsolicited you-must-go-tos, and one of them is the Pecos Wilderness. Besides, it's about time for another grand peak and New Mexico's 4th highest county high point should qualify. The shortest way there is a 7 mile hike on Winsor Trail, an old supply route, but I have decided to go along the far less practical route via the Skyline Trail for 10 miles. The thing is, I'm not entirely sure how I'm supposed to get to the start of it. It seems to start at the top of the ski runs and the sanctioned approaches seem to be from Aspen Vista or Big Tesuque Campground down the road a bit. It's not an attractive option, but I bet there's ways on the ski runs themselves, so I'm going that way. Right past a sign warning of man made and natural dangers ahead. It's not like there's any skiers coming down and they don't seem to be catering to mountain bikers and Frisbee golfers ...

El Malpais National Conservation Area Click for map. I find myself rushing north and passing areas that look like they really ought to be explored, but it's already a bit hot out here. Still, I can do some quick sightseeing for a particularly fun feature along the way. The stop has bathrooms, picnic tables, interpretive signs along a paved path, and very little shade. Oh, and the cholla are in bloom. It's been a while since I was trying to get through the dense stands of teddy bear cholla of the Gila Bend Mountains, for instance, so I can stand to see cholla again, especially in bloom. The ones here aren't plastered with flowers like some, but there's still a pretty bloom or two. Meanwhile, high up in the rocks, is the whole point of it all: a massive natural arch. La Ventana Arch as it appears from near the parking lot. It is visible from the road, so can get a lot of viewers. One cholla flower out on this plant, but there's two more getting rea...

Apache National Forest Click for map. I decided Timmy should get a little stroll out to the lake. I don't want it to be too late in the day because the poor boy seems to start feeling the heat around 70°F with all that fur. It's the same start on Largo Trail #14 as before, and this time I'll get those benchmarks along the way. When the road tops out on a little hill, it'll be time to turn down a use trail and wander toward the lake. Following the road, driveway really. The overlook is above, but we'll not go that far. The little bit of use trail at the top of the tiny hill. Timmy knows benchmarks are boring. He gave it a sniff at least.

Apache National Forest Click for map. What struck my fancy to hike while at Quemado Lake was Escondido Mountain, although I'm not sure how one can get away with calling a 1800 foot prominence peak "hidden" is beyond me. It has no trails up it, so I have to determine my own route. Escondido Trail caught my eye first, but it really doesn't go high up the mountain and it doesn't do it on one of the steeper slopes. The road it starts from looks like a better bet, follow it up as far as it goes then grab the ridge tot the right. The easiest way up, though, looks like a 4WD road that starts further south on the (should be) Scion friendly Baca Road #13D. This one climbs high up to a saddle west of the peak leaving less than a mile of ridge walking to the top. Although it means a couple miles road walking on something I can drive, I think I'll combine the two into a loop. I just have to find parking near the intersection of 13D and 4018J, which is pretty eas...

Apache National Forest Click for map. It's probably about time I made it out of Gila National Forest, but I didn't get all that far. I decided to hike up to yet another lookout from Quemado Lake and whatever else might catch my fancy. Hey, lookouts should have grand views. It's nice to be away from burn warnings, although I have spotted a few around looking exactly the same as the Gila ones, right down to the "Gila National Forest" at the bottom. I might be in Apache, but only the oldest signs say so. The area is administered by Gila. And it's smoky. It wasn't smoky yesterday when I sat and wrote, but now my view is grey. I sure hope it clears out by the time I get to the top. The trail starts at the west end of the first unit of El Caso Campground. (This campground is free. The two closer to the lake are pay, but come with much better views.) It is signed Largo Trail #14 and starts off along a pair of ruts that are the driveway for an inholding ...

Gila National Forest Click for map. That bit of southbound Continental Divide Trail still awaits some walking, so that is for today. This bit of trail is, again, in its purest form just about exactly following that great divide. I picked out Pinon Knob as a destination, which should be a little less than 10 miles on the trail and then a short ramble up to stand on the named peak. It's quite a bit lower than the start, but it sticks out a bit so might have some good views. I think I'll go up an unnamed peak 9403 on the way out, too, for the high point of the day. The Forest Service claims I'll be going there anyway but OpenStreetMap thinks I'll more sensibly go around the side of it, but still mostly up it. It'll be another long day. Warnings about the dangers of entering burned areas, but nothing saying the CDT is here except the crest nailed to a tree a little way in. So I start the same direction as northbound, but on the other side of the fence. ...