Glad I Went

Last night I was so tired that I planned to sleep in this morning and not bother with the WI snowshoe today. Fortunately, I was so tired that I actually went to bed around 10pm and naturally, sans alarm, woke at 7:30am which gave me time to get ready to meet the group up at Pajarito Ski Area at 10am.

Nine people showed up. Right away, we broke into two groups. The Zinn's, Wilson's and a couple I didn't know were in the group that wasn't going to the top. Kathy, Barbara and I were in the group that went to the top of Pajarito Mountain via Rim Run and Columbine Corner.

We had lunch on the backside of Pajarito on a tall wooden bench that looked like a picnic table. I didn't eat lunch because I wasn't sure I had time but it turns out that I would have. (On the way home, I ate my two Clif Bars on the drive down Camp May Road.)

Barbara was wearing hiking shoes. Kathy put her snowshoes on after lunch and I used snowshoes both up and down. On the way down, I told them to not wait for me. I'm very slow slapping down the mountain in the MSR snowshoes. They went down Bonanza while I followed Zero Base Road down to Lone Spruce and back to the Lodge, getting back around 2pm.

Barbara did very well in hiking shoes, only sinking when Kathy took us back down to the groomed roads after lunch. Then she sank to her hips in one spot!

Kathy has asked me to report on snow conditions on any snowshoe trips I take. I volunteered to check out specific areas if she has any in mind. This is good because it will encourage me to snowshoe!

On the drive home, I was amused listening to Colin Fletcher's book on tape, River, where he mentions how elated he got after an hour and half walk interspersed in all his river running. I could identify with that because I dearly love mobility with my feet attached to the ground. Maybe if I could get a more comfortable pair of snow shoes that don't feel like I'm slapping like a duck out of water on the downhill....

Tidbits: Dave will be getting a knee replacement. Jake, Mahlon's dog, will be getting some surgery on his leg to realign the bones better. Barbara is the one who skiied last week all the way to Rosie's Point (Guaje Canyon Overlook). Barbara's husband may build a quinzee in a large drift near the Pipeline Road Overlook. I told Barbara and Kathy about a beautiful igloo that I saw off NM-4 at the Valle Grande. There is a nice drift on the back of Pajarito Mountain but the snow cover looks in places thinner than years past. Barbara mentioned a trail that has been worked on lately (believe inFall 2008) that goes from Valle Canyon Pass up to Cerro Grande. She seems to believe it's different from the Handline Trail. She said that when you're at the summit, you follow an obvious trail in a straight line from the summit. This sounds like the Handline Trail but would be worth checking out when the snow is gone. Ginny and Jeanne have handed over the hiking club to Annette, Kathy and Barbara. Called PEEC and they'll get back to me on what charge is just for Saturday workshop.

Doing two loads of laundry. Happy to be alive!