Snowshoeing Aspen Vista

Sunday, Jan. 1, 2012 I usually spend new years day hiking somewhere in the desert but I decided that since I now live in northern New Mexico half way between Santa Fe and Taos, and the mountains all around me are well known for snow sports, I would try snowshoe hiking. I purchased a set of snowshoes and poles and drove up to the Sangre de Cristo mountains near the Santa Fe Ski Resort and parked my truck near the Aspen Vista Trailhead.  I have hiked this trail in the fall and that was hard enough in good weather so I knew it would be challenging in snow.  Here's a pic of my new winter hiking gear.

You can see that there's more than a couple of inches of snow on the ground.  My snow shoes are 28" long so there was at least 2 feet of snow in most places.  It's 25 degrees as I get started and I soon decide to leave the main trail. Too many other people snowshoeing and cross country skiing on it for my likes.  I had been told that there would be a small hidden trail off to the north that got hardly any traffic and was a more direct route up the mountain.  I pay attention and spot it behind the Aspens and up it I go.

It didn't take long for me to realize why this trail was little used.  It's practically straight up the mountain and hiking up it in snowshoes proved to be very difficult.  At 28" long and 9" wide they force me to change my stride.  The last thing I want is to get them tangled up and fall down.  So I plod along slowly but deliberately going up up up. 

As I continue I can't help but appreciate the beauty of winter around here.  The mountains and Aspens with the white snow and blue sky.

Finally, after 2 miles of hiking I reach about 10,700 feet.  At this elevation I'm above almost everything around.  I decide that this is a good place to rest and take a break.

As I head back to my truck I reflect on what a fun afternoon it's been.  I'm exhausted after a total of 4 miles snowshoeing up a mountain at 10,000 + ft. but I think I am going to enjoy this kind of winter hiking.

Ghost Ranch, NM

Sunday, Nov. 27, 2011.  Today's adventure would find me at Ghost Ranch in northern New Mexico about a 30 mile drive from where I live.  It is one of the places where Georgia O'Keeffe lived during her New Mexico years and a lot of her paintings are of this area.  I am going to hike up Box Canyon which she said was her favorite hike.  I like it because it is so scenic and once I get up on the mesa top I have never encountered anyone else.  On the way to the trailhead I pass a nice view of the Chama River.

After parking my truck I step onto the trail to begin my hike up Box Canyon.

Not far up the trail I pass a restored hogan.  Hogan's are the house like structures that the native people lived in.

Continuing on you can see one of the mesa's that begin to form the canyon.

As I get closer the size of this mesa becomes almost overwhelming.

A little farther up the trail I pass a pond formed by a mountain stream.

I liked the way the shadows were creeping up the cliffs in this next picture.  You can see how rugged this area is and why I have to be careful when I start hiking up on top.

The trail is hard to see but my destination is through that crevice and then on to the top.

Once I get through I turn around for a view of where I came from.  You can just make out the trail.

 The remaining climb that lies ahead of me.

This Ponderosa Pine makes for a striking contrast with the blue sky.

Finally up on top I enjoy the view of my hike up Box Canyon.

Hazel Doggie decides to rest.

A quick message for Maddie, Izzy, Ben & Nate as I get ready for the hike back to my truck.

High Mountain Lakes

This is a post to show the kind of lakes I hike to in the Southern Rocky Mountains where I live.  Each of these lakes was a different hike I did over the past 36 months.  The first hike starts just a few miles from my house and is about 6 miles one way to Lower Trampas Lake.  The elevation is 11,395 ft. and it is absolutely one of the most scenic lakes I have ever seen.  I sat for hours on the shore enjoying the view and solitude.

This next picture is of Williams Lake in the Weminuche Wilderness of Southern Colorado about a 2 hour drive from my home.  It was a 9 1/2 mile hike up a very steep trail and was part of a 3 day backpacking trip to the Continental Divide.  It's at 11,699 ft. elevation and offered spectacular views of the Colorado Rockies.

This picture is of Ruybalid Lake in the South San Juan Wilderness in Southern Colorado also about 2 hours from where I live.  It was 5.1 miles to the lake and was the toughest of these hikes due to the steepness of the trail.  It's at 11,180 ft. above sea level and the winters here are so extreme that the lake freezes solid like an ice cube every winter.

On a backpacking trip in the High Uinta Mountains in Utah near the Wyoming border we spent a couple of days at 10,400 ft. high Kamas Lake and caught a beautiful sunset.

Only about 30 miles from my house is one of my favorite high mountain lakes. After about a 4 1/2 mile hike up to 11,400 ft. elevation you will find Nambe Lake.

On a hike in the South San Juan Wilderness in Southern Colorado I found Red Lake at 11,550 ft.

Ojito Wilderness, NM

Tuesday, Oct. 25, 2011.  I had the day off work so I decided to hike in one of my favorite areas, the Ojito Wilderness of New Mexico.  It is pure desert with lots of sand, rocks and cactus.  Millions of years ago it was actually the bottom of a great sea and if you look closely you can find petrified sea shells and sharks teeth.  The drive to the trailhead took me through the Jemez Mountains and Valley which I think is one of the most scenic routes in the whole country.  On the way I pass beneath Battleship Rock.

A little further down the road the Cottonwoods along the banks of the Jemez River display their fall color.

Here's a picture of Guadalupe Mesa.  Suzanne and I once backpacked up there and camped for three days.   Up on top is the remains of an entire Native American village.

Suzanne and I also hiked to the top of the mesa on the right of the picture below.

I couldn't resit taking the next picture because of all the cool contrasts.

After leaving the Jemez Valley the terrain changes drastically as I enter the Ojito Wilderness.

I park my truck near one of the many mesas that rise up out of the desert.

Who takes a picture of a rock?  I do when it has lichen on it like this one.

This picture may not look like much but its the spot where Seismosaurus, the largest dinosaur ever discovered in North America was dug up.

About 30 feet away is this rock with lots of petroglyphs on it.  These were carved into the rock hundreds of years ago.  The elongated foot and crescent moon mean that a female shaman made a long journey to get to that spot.  The bow and arrow pointing at a snake means she was asking for good hunting for her people.

Hazel Doggie enjoys the view.

Another of the many mesas.

Way off in the distance rising 1,000 feet above the desert floor is Cabezon.  It's a volcanic plug which is the magma that filled up the inside of a volcano.  Over many millions of years the outside of the volcano eroded away leaving only the inside remaining.

As I continue hiking I encounter some strange sandstone formations.

Weather and erosion can produce some bizarre shapes.

This one looks like a ghostly figure.

What in the world is this?

As I turn around to hike back to my truck I can't resist the dead tree.  I know Suzanne will like it.

One final picture of a mesa as I leave the spectacular Ojito Wilderness.

Enchanted Circle

Sunday, Oct. 9, 2011.  Today I decided that instead of hiking I would tour the Enchanted Circle by truck.  It's a route that circles Wheeler Peak from the town of Taos to Red River to Eagle Nest to Angel Fire and back to Taos. It's about an 85 mile trip and since that area got over a foot of snow Sat.  I was expecting some spectacular scenery.  Wheeler Peak at 13,161 ft is the tallest mountain in New Mexico.  You can see from the Taos view that the top half is covered by clouds.

I make a quick stop at the Rio Grande Gorge near Taos.  The Rio Grande is a long way down and I feel a little vertigo just standing on the bridge.

As I continue on the colors start showing.

The snow helps bring out the contrasts.

As I approach Red River I spot a large Hawk sitting on top of a tree.

Half way between Red River and Eagle Nest I just have to stop and take a picture of the snow storm on the mountain.

After lunch in Eagle Nest I take this pic from the parking lot as I get ready to continue on to Angel Fire.

At Angel Fire the colors are peaking.

As I approach Taos again I have completed the Enchanted Circle and take one last pic of Wheeler Peak.