![[info]](http://p-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif){kind=small}
So, I have been hiking a good bit lately, I just haven't been posting to LJ about it. I guess I'll take it back to a couple of weeks ago and work forward from there.
Apr 19th -
After spending a couple of days in Arizona earlier in the week, I was ready to get out hiking again on Saturday. We had another of our training hikes with the scouts, and this time we headed up Sandia Peak on the La Luz trail. Although I've done this trail a few times before, it's enough of a local classic that I'm always game to do it again. It was nice weather if just slightly cloudy, but that's just fine for hiking. We made good progress up until we hit the rock slide area high in La Cueva canyon--right around the five mile mark. We started to see a lot of snow at this point, but pressed on ahead anyway. After slipping and sliding for almost two miles, we reached the upper trail junction with the Crest Spur trail. Although we were only 0.6 miles from the top, I knew that that trail was a little more exposed with steep drops and we'd probably see more of the snow and ice. I was also starting to feel a little tired and I knew it would be a good bit of work to get back down the ice and snow we'd already come up, so I made the call to turn us around at that point. Thankfully, everyone made it back down safely, and everyone had a pretty good time on the hike. The total trip distance ended up being around 13 miles, but it's a tough enough trail that that much left us all pretty tired.
Apr 25th -
I took the wife and boy out into the wilds around the Rio Puerco again. Most of what we did that Friday afternoon was exploring the dirt roads in the car, but we did stop at one point to explore a Chacoan ruin perched precariously on the top of a crumbling mesa just off the road. It was remarkably well preserved for how close to the road it was, although part of that was surely due to the signs of ongoing archaeological exploration. We even saw pot shards and other evidence around the mesa top, though, which was heartening since so many of the ruins in the southwest are totally despoiled. It should go without saying, but we left everything as we found it.
May 1st -
The wife was busy for a few hours in the morning, so I took little guy and hit the trail for some father/son time. We just wandered around some of the trails in the foothills of Sandia--starting at the La Cueva Picnic Area and heading up the Tramway Trail toward the tram terminal. I wandered past the ruins of the Jaral Ranger cabin, and we stopped about a half mile from the tram so that I could let him out to wander around some. That's about where the trouble started, because before too long he'd tripped and landed on a prickly pear. All the tiny new growth spines stuck in his shirt and arm, and I spent the next 15 minutes sitting on the trail with a wailing son picking cactus spines out of him. I felt like such a failure as a dad. Since it was such a short trip (the round trip just over two and a half miles), I hadn't packed my first aid kit, sunblock, or a change of clothes for him. Since his shirt has so many spines in it, I wasn't going to put it back on him, so I put him in the pack without a shirt (or sunblock) and hightailed it back to the car, managing to lose his hat somewhere along the way, too. Yeesh.
May 2nd -
Despite the misadventures of the day before, the wife still went hiking with me the next day. We headed out by Cabezon again, back to one of the side roads we'd explored a short distance the week before. We parked the car just past a closed gate after crossing over the Arroyo Empedrado, and struck out to explore the arroyos and mesas of the area. We scrambled down the 30 foot mud walls of the arroyo and crossed Torreon Wash to the mesa on the other side. We found a narrow defile that snaked its way deep into the mesa, climbing over some of the crumbling sandstone and mud along the way. We found cool rock formations, petrified wood, and a few areas that looked suspiciously like more ruins along the way. We hiked out to a point overlooking the confluence of Torreon Wash and the Arroyo Chico, then meandered/scrambled back to the car again. Overall, we ended up hiking a little over three miles, and had a fun time even if the weather was a little chilly and windy (for May).
May 3rd -
I was back to hiking with the scouts again this past Saturday. We had our fourth practice hike scheduled, and this time we headed up to Glorieta Baldy, just east of Santa Fe. We got on the trail around 9a, and were progressing well despite missing a trail that turned down into Apache Canyon on our way in. We ended up bushwhacking a little ways, but I was able to get us to the right spot thanks to the handy-dandy GPS. It sure has come in handy anymore, and I was darn glad I had it with me on this trip. We began the long climb up to the top of the mountain, and finally got up to the fire tower at the top at almost 1:30 in the afternoon. We stopped for lunch up there, but it didn't do me much good. What little I did eat came right back up as I strapped my pack on and got ready to go back down again. Silly altitude sickness. It was only 10,200 feet, so it wasn't anywhere near very high. It just hits me at the funniest times. Anyway, I had a couple more...episodes...on the trip down, generally right after anytime I tried to rest. SO, I tried to just keep going at a steady pace and stayed focused on keeping moving. I wasn't much looking forward to the hike back up out of Apache Canyon to get back to the trailhead, though. Our group took a break again in the canyon bottom, an idyllic area with green grass and a flowing stream (definitely notable in New Mexico). Some of the more energetic boys wanted to push for a few more miles so they could meet the hiking merit badge requirement of a 20 mile hike. The plan was for the scoutmaster to strike out ahead with them, get back to the car and then let them hike 5 extra miles back along the road we came in on (with him driving behind in the truck since he *wasn't* in the mood for a 20-miler). They took off ahead and I stayed with the sag group, which was about my speed at this point. I was less nauseous, at least, but still not up to full capacity. We took our time climbing out of the canyon, then worked our way back to the other trail out to the trailhead. We almost missed the turn, though, as our entire group passed it and I only noticed because I saw we'd gone too far on the GPS. I wasn't super worried about it until we got back to the trailhead and found that the scoutmaster's car was still there. Doh. Two of us set out looking for them on an unimproved road that the route goes along, but we didn't end up finding them. Then we got his truck stuck trying to get back out the main road again. Double Doh. As we were walking back the mile and a half to the trailhead to get help from the *other* truck to get us out, we got cell phone reception and got a call from the lost scoutmaster and his group of boys. I gave them detailed directions on the trail turn they'd missed and what to look for, then we kept walking. After a mile or so, the other truck picked us up and we went back to the stuck truck. The group of us managed to push the truck out of the spot it was in, and then we all headed back to the original trailhead to find the lost party stumbling off the trail right as we drove up. All's well that ends well, and we were glad to see that nobody got hurt. It was something of an unplanned for adventure, but the only real ill effect was that we got home a few hours late.
Apr 19th -
After spending a couple of days in Arizona earlier in the week, I was ready to get out hiking again on Saturday. We had another of our training hikes with the scouts, and this time we headed up Sandia Peak on the La Luz trail. Although I've done this trail a few times before, it's enough of a local classic that I'm always game to do it again. It was nice weather if just slightly cloudy, but that's just fine for hiking. We made good progress up until we hit the rock slide area high in La Cueva canyon--right around the five mile mark. We started to see a lot of snow at this point, but pressed on ahead anyway. After slipping and sliding for almost two miles, we reached the upper trail junction with the Crest Spur trail. Although we were only 0.6 miles from the top, I knew that that trail was a little more exposed with steep drops and we'd probably see more of the snow and ice. I was also starting to feel a little tired and I knew it would be a good bit of work to get back down the ice and snow we'd already come up, so I made the call to turn us around at that point. Thankfully, everyone made it back down safely, and everyone had a pretty good time on the hike. The total trip distance ended up being around 13 miles, but it's a tough enough trail that that much left us all pretty tired.
Apr 25th -
I took the wife and boy out into the wilds around the Rio Puerco again. Most of what we did that Friday afternoon was exploring the dirt roads in the car, but we did stop at one point to explore a Chacoan ruin perched precariously on the top of a crumbling mesa just off the road. It was remarkably well preserved for how close to the road it was, although part of that was surely due to the signs of ongoing archaeological exploration. We even saw pot shards and other evidence around the mesa top, though, which was heartening since so many of the ruins in the southwest are totally despoiled. It should go without saying, but we left everything as we found it.
May 1st -
The wife was busy for a few hours in the morning, so I took little guy and hit the trail for some father/son time. We just wandered around some of the trails in the foothills of Sandia--starting at the La Cueva Picnic Area and heading up the Tramway Trail toward the tram terminal. I wandered past the ruins of the Jaral Ranger cabin, and we stopped about a half mile from the tram so that I could let him out to wander around some. That's about where the trouble started, because before too long he'd tripped and landed on a prickly pear. All the tiny new growth spines stuck in his shirt and arm, and I spent the next 15 minutes sitting on the trail with a wailing son picking cactus spines out of him. I felt like such a failure as a dad. Since it was such a short trip (the round trip just over two and a half miles), I hadn't packed my first aid kit, sunblock, or a change of clothes for him. Since his shirt has so many spines in it, I wasn't going to put it back on him, so I put him in the pack without a shirt (or sunblock) and hightailed it back to the car, managing to lose his hat somewhere along the way, too. Yeesh.
May 2nd -
Despite the misadventures of the day before, the wife still went hiking with me the next day. We headed out by Cabezon again, back to one of the side roads we'd explored a short distance the week before. We parked the car just past a closed gate after crossing over the Arroyo Empedrado, and struck out to explore the arroyos and mesas of the area. We scrambled down the 30 foot mud walls of the arroyo and crossed Torreon Wash to the mesa on the other side. We found a narrow defile that snaked its way deep into the mesa, climbing over some of the crumbling sandstone and mud along the way. We found cool rock formations, petrified wood, and a few areas that looked suspiciously like more ruins along the way. We hiked out to a point overlooking the confluence of Torreon Wash and the Arroyo Chico, then meandered/scrambled back to the car again. Overall, we ended up hiking a little over three miles, and had a fun time even if the weather was a little chilly and windy (for May).
May 3rd -
I was back to hiking with the scouts again this past Saturday. We had our fourth practice hike scheduled, and this time we headed up to Glorieta Baldy, just east of Santa Fe. We got on the trail around 9a, and were progressing well despite missing a trail that turned down into Apache Canyon on our way in. We ended up bushwhacking a little ways, but I was able to get us to the right spot thanks to the handy-dandy GPS. It sure has come in handy anymore, and I was darn glad I had it with me on this trip. We began the long climb up to the top of the mountain, and finally got up to the fire tower at the top at almost 1:30 in the afternoon. We stopped for lunch up there, but it didn't do me much good. What little I did eat came right back up as I strapped my pack on and got ready to go back down again. Silly altitude sickness. It was only 10,200 feet, so it wasn't anywhere near very high. It just hits me at the funniest times. Anyway, I had a couple more...episodes...on the trip down, generally right after anytime I tried to rest. SO, I tried to just keep going at a steady pace and stayed focused on keeping moving. I wasn't much looking forward to the hike back up out of Apache Canyon to get back to the trailhead, though. Our group took a break again in the canyon bottom, an idyllic area with green grass and a flowing stream (definitely notable in New Mexico). Some of the more energetic boys wanted to push for a few more miles so they could meet the hiking merit badge requirement of a 20 mile hike. The plan was for the scoutmaster to strike out ahead with them, get back to the car and then let them hike 5 extra miles back along the road we came in on (with him driving behind in the truck since he *wasn't* in the mood for a 20-miler). They took off ahead and I stayed with the sag group, which was about my speed at this point. I was less nauseous, at least, but still not up to full capacity. We took our time climbing out of the canyon, then worked our way back to the other trail out to the trailhead. We almost missed the turn, though, as our entire group passed it and I only noticed because I saw we'd gone too far on the GPS. I wasn't super worried about it until we got back to the trailhead and found that the scoutmaster's car was still there. Doh. Two of us set out looking for them on an unimproved road that the route goes along, but we didn't end up finding them. Then we got his truck stuck trying to get back out the main road again. Double Doh. As we were walking back the mile and a half to the trailhead to get help from the *other* truck to get us out, we got cell phone reception and got a call from the lost scoutmaster and his group of boys. I gave them detailed directions on the trail turn they'd missed and what to look for, then we kept walking. After a mile or so, the other truck picked us up and we went back to the stuck truck. The group of us managed to push the truck out of the spot it was in, and then we all headed back to the original trailhead to find the lost party stumbling off the trail right as we drove up. All's well that ends well, and we were glad to see that nobody got hurt. It was something of an unplanned for adventure, but the only real ill effect was that we got home a few hours late.
cheerful
thanks much