New Year's Eve Grumpiness

Bah, humbug on all these holidays and all this snow!  Just give me my life back where things in town are open, the mail is delivered and I'm able to walk outside without fear of landing on my keister!  Bah, humbug!

Having great dissatisfaction with our living situation (so what else is new?)  I told spouse what I would do if left to my own devices:  Buy a small condo in Los Alamos, downsize and get rid of lots of junk, fix up this house for sale and then travel around the southwest to pick a wintering place.  We're not ready to leave LA yet because our daughter and grandson are here.  We know that we're blessed to be part of their life right now. 

Yet and still, I'm struck with a wanderlust of wanting to see new places and maybe get to know people there and one day relocate entirely.  I told spouse that if daughter wanted to move to Florida, I'd agree to live there (in an oceanside condo).  But otherwise, Florida is off my list of places to live.  Spouse is pushing Tuscon but I'm not sure if that's my dream place either although its winter weather would be ideal!  There is always Rio Rancho in Albuquerque. Spouse suggested Las Cruces but that's a bit far flung from the northern New Mexico land and people that we have come to love.

I also wondered aloud if we wouldn't mind winters here so much IF we had a 2 car garage, the whole house was heated (family room and laundry room are unheated), if the drain pipe in the laundry room didn't freeze and if we didn't have to shovel a driveway and sidewalks (condo, condo, condo!)

Now that I can't snowshoe, I don't need to live in snow country in the winter. The MRI of my right foot showed my posterior tibial tendon has a partial tear and a ganglion cyst.  I'm kind of assuming that the ganglion cyst is causing the partial tear.  There is not much change from the MRI of 2 years ago - the impacted area around the tendon is slightly larger.  I see the Albuquerque podiatrist in January.  I'll be interested in hearing what he proposes for my situation.

Yes, yes, I know I'm such an ingrate to kvetch about my house when some don't have a home.

Snowy So-Called La Niña in New Mexico

Having another so-called La Niña snow event here in Los Alamos.  It started snowing late morning and still is.  The promised wind hasn't shown up yet.  I'm already missing the dry, sunny weather we were having!

I hiked a short hike in the Water Canyon area with the LL group - probably less than 1-2 miles.  Afterward, since it was only 10:35 am, I drove to Ponderosa Campground where the WI group planned to hike Escobas Mesa.  I walked out about 1 1/2 miles but realized there were absolutely no fresh shoe prints so I turned around and headed home via the library.

Turns out the WI group did go out to the end of Escobas Mesa for a hefty 6.8 miles and had lunch with an overlook into Frijoles Canyon and across at Burnt Mesa.  I guess the gently falling snow filled in any shoe prints.  Maybe that's why I didn't see any animal prints either.  Regardless, my hike, albeit solitary, in a white world of gently falling snow, was enjoyable and peaceful.

Great Way to Ring Out the Old Year: Take a Hike

Today the group hiked the Anniversary Trail out to the end of Queen Mary Mesa and then down the Breakneck Trail into Los Alamos Canyon.  I parked at the easternmost parking lot for the Canyon Rim Trail and walked over to where they started across from the Eastgate Industrial Park.  There were 11 of us.  They had left cars at the White Rock Y but I opted to go back up the Breakneck Trail and walk back to my car.

The views along the mesa top were fantastic and got even better as we descended the Breakneck Trail, built by the Los Alamos Ranch School boys, into Los Alamos Canyon. I'm glad I went on the hike.

I'm not sure what's the cause of the instep pain on my right foot because there are so many possibilities - the orthotic adjustment the podiatrist made, the new Brooks Adrenaline ASR 7 shoes, the foot exercises I've been doing?  I need to do some experiments to puzzle this out.  The first one will be that I'll use my un-adjusted pair of orthotics in the new shoes.

Supposed to be snow tomorrow.  Spouse and I may show up at the LL meeting place to see if they'll fit in a hike before the snowstorm.

Spouse needs to call roofer about the furnace chimney leak that occurs when there are high winds.  The new chimney cap didn't solve the problem.

We need a new stove.  Our 20 year old one gives off some carbon monoxide when we're simmering a stew for hours.  The alarm went off yesterday so we turned off the stove top and opened the windows to air out the place.  CO2 detectors really work!  We're hoping to have the filthy carpet in the kitchen replaced with vinyl or laminate before we get the new stove.  Nothing that we're looking forward to!

Joy, Believe, Peace Christmas Tree

Walking up Camp May Road today, I noticed by the side of the road that someone had decorated a small ponderosa with tinsel and 3 Christmas balls which are each embossed with a word. From top to bottom, the first Christmas ball has Joy, the second, Believe and the third, Peace.  The optimism of the words brought a smile to my face.  How sweet of someone to decorate that tree for passersby to see! One end of the tinsel garland had fallen to the ground so I re-wrapped it around the tree.

The sky conditions were stunningly beautiful on my walk.  I could see dark clouds to the north-northwest and some of the overcast blew overhead which created gusty winds but when I ended the walk around 3 pm, golden sunshine and blue skies prevailed.   

Semi-Strange Encounters

In Smith's on Sunday, a man recognized me based on my hat.  I didn't know him but he had seen me on FR181 and remembered the color and make of the car I used to own. 

It was only today that I remembered having met him once, maybe one Christmas Day after I finished my walk on FR181.  I had asked him then if he knew why the two police vehicles had driven in on the road.  He said they were going to pick up a hypothermic hiker.

Then, on Monday, outside the library, I saw a man walking toward me who seemed to be looking at me so I said hello.  He said he remembered running into me on Cerro Toledo 10-15 years ago.  That couldn't be correct because I was never on Cerro Toledo in that time-frame.  I asked if he meant Cerro Grande and he said yes, he meant that.  The puzzle is, though, that Cerro Grande has only been open to the public since 2005.  This seems to be a case of mistaken identity. I had no recognition of him.

Foot Woes Update

I haven't made any more attempts at barefoot walking even though the barefoot experiment on FR181 didn't harm me. 

I saw a podiatrist in Albuquerque.  He ordered weight-bearing plain x-rays of my feet and an MRI.  He made an adjustment on my right orthotic to better support my posterior tibial tendon.  So far, the adjustment is comfortable enough.  I'll see him again in January.

I'm going to return my Atlas snowshoes.  My foot is not strong enough to break trail in snowshoes so I may as well just use my faithful, old MSR's and confine myself to already-broken snowshoe trails.

I'm trying to strengthen my feet with toe squinches (from running book by Jeff Galloway), calf raises from 3 different angles and circular rotations on the wobbleboard.

Camp May Road Yesterday and FR181 Today

As I walked up the first two miles of Camp May Road yesterday, I was surprised at how little snow had fallen or remained (because maybe some of it melted - its already melted off our roof).  I haven't been walking much uphill in an attempt to baby my right foot so it was good to do the uphill on Camp May Road.

Today, not daring to walk uphill two days in a row, I walked on FR181.  There was more snow up there but vehicles have driven in so the walking was easy - not too muddy or too snowy.  I saw no one and enjoyed the beautiful scenery.  Blue skies and sunshine were overhead when I started although I could see gray clouds hanging above Pajarito Mountain.  By the end of my walk, the overcast had come my way.

Saw Part of Lunar Eclipse Last Night

I wasn't planning on seeing the lunar eclipse last night but when I went out to check its progress and saw it was already half devoured by the earth's shadow, I was hooked enough that I went out again at 12:30 am, past my bedtime.  By that time, only a crescent moon remained, surrounded by stars brightly shining.  The constellation Orion was visible near the moon.  Husband had gone to bed around 11 pm but I was tempted to wake him up so he could see the eerie wonder of the lunar eclipse - I should have.  Daughter woke her 9 year old son up to see it - good for her! 

Human Footprints Seen on FR181

The human footprints were mine.  My footprints looked surprisingly narrow compared to when I look down at my bare feet and they look so spread out.  The inspiration for the footprints was because I bought a used book called Barefoot Running by Michael Sandler.

Altogether, I tried barefoot walking for short distances 3 different times on FR181/American Springs Road.  I carried my shoes while doing that.  FR181 has a lot of small pebbles that painfully drill into my feet unless I'm careful.  On the smoother stretches, walking barefoot felt good.  Admittedly, I was taking only careful, tiny mincing steps - hardly a normal gait.

In 2008, I tried the Nike Free shoes and they probably led to the stress reaction in my right heel.  This is most likely because I pounded my heel hard on rocky trails on my walks and the Nike Free shoes gave it little protection in comparison to the shoes I was used to wearing.  Now, in reading Sandler's book, I realize that it's better to land on the forefoot first to take  pressure off the heel when barefoot walking or even when wearing minimalist shoes.

One obstacle I see in colder weather is that even though my feet didn't feel cold while I was barefoot on the dirt road, the cold must have seeped up into my body because it took a long while to warm up after walking.

All in all, I'd probably feel safer (and warmer) with some kind of minimal shoes (and socks in the winter!)  I'm afraid of stepping on sharp things, man made or natural.  From my brief experience today, though, I can see that barefoot walking is best done in a truly unshod state (as opposed to barefoot mimetics utilizing minimalist footwear) because anything on the bottom of the foot means you can't feel the ground as well and this interferes with the natural movement.

Anyway, unfortunately, I have too much feet pathology to seriously make a regular diet of barefoot walking - chronic posterior tibial tendon dysfunction, flat feet and a heel spur (that flared into a stress reaction and painful plantar fasciitis in 2008) - but perhaps I could try stints here and there to strengthen my feet.

Quiet Sunday

I was looking through our Facebook friends and can't figure out how I became friends with one person.  She seems to be a friend to my brother, sister, cousin and niece.  Who is she?

It's really beautiful here.  Cool but no snow.  I can basically hike everywhere but I may as well give up any idea of snowshoeing for the meantime at least.

Today, spouse and I hiked to the Los Alamos Reservoir.  Very nice except for the one stretch of ice that we got around by walking at the road edge.  Reservoir doesn't have any water in it.  I can't wait until the county rehabilitates that area.  It's looked so sad since the 2000 fire. 

Our across-the-street neighbor has her Christmas lights on.  I leave the kitchen blinds open late to enjoy the beauty.

Grandson still believes in Santa but daughter says he's wise enough not to publicize that to his school mates!

Spouse and I spruced up our yard today.  We piled leaves and brush in the garden area. Spouse re-nailed some fence slats.

Crescent moon overhead with Jupiter hovering in attendance nearby.

MIssing Woman Not Missing

I called the unaccounted for hiker this morning.  Unknown to everyone, she had joined up with the husband and wife who hike with their big German Shepherd and they all had gone down from Broken Mesa an entirely different way than the rest of us. 

When the last, slower half of the group got down from Broken Mesa, none of us knew that the unaccounted for hiker was actually safe and sound with the faster, first half of the hiking group. 

Really, with a group that big, there should be better accounting of where everyone is.  They try -  they carry cell phones and walkie talkies to stay in contact.  The unaccounted for hiker said when her cell phone rang yesterday and she picked it up, the connection dropped.  Oh, well.  How do I keep track of everyone but not make myself obnoxious about it?  Maybe I should just let them worry about it.

Feeling Like Rip Van Winkle

La Niña is making me feel like I'm Rip Van Winkle and I've slept through the winter and now it's spring.  The weather in Los Alamos is that dry and sunny that I feel like spring has sprung!

Pshaw

I want to comment on the WI group's birthday celebrations. First of all, a fellow hiker told me today that the birthdays are only celebrated if they fall on Wednesday which is the day the group hikes. She said that her birthday would next fall on Wednesday 11 years from now. I have to wonder if the Wednesday business is true because they seem to be always celebrating someone's birthday. 

At the birthday celebrations, they have cake and drink champagne, neither of which I do.  No presents are exchanged.  My informant told me that at first she didn't go to the birthday celebrations either but then she "grew fond" of the hikers in the group.  (Either that or drinking champagne in the afternoon after a hike gives an irresistibly addictive, bubbly high!)

Anyway, for the meantime, I'll continue boycotting the birthday parties.  I did, though, wish the birthday man and woman a Happy Birthday!

The hike was almost 5 miles today.  I felt great on it but am tired now.

My right foot is no better and no worse.  I see a podiatrist in Albuquerque on Tuesday.

I left a message for the hiker we left behind but I haven't heard back from her yet.

Too Big a Hiking Group

Today was a double-birthday hike for the WI group.  We started out with 25 but the grandparents, their daughter and their twin toddler grand kids (adorable!) dropped out.  One of the kids wanted to be carried instead of riding in a child carrier and that wasn't going to work for the adults.

We started in Pajarito Acres from Rio Bravo and took the "Unexploded Ordinances" Trail down into Potrillo Canyon.  That's not really the trail's name but when one of the hikers saw the warning sign with pictures of unexploded ordinances, she dubbed it accordingly!  We crossed Potrillo Canyon and ascended to the saddle between Potrillo and Water canyons.  Then, down into Water Canyon and crossing that to pick up the Broken Mesa Trail.

The person leading us suggested that we go up the north side of the mesa rather than going the longer way around and up the rockier, steeper south side.  I scouted ahead and found a route that looked doable by everyone.  We all got up except for one woman who preferred going up from the south side.

On top, everyone looked at the small house ruin and kiva on Broken Mesa.  I heard one woman wonder aloud "I came up to see that!"  Obviously, it didn't impress her!

The plan was that everyone would eat their lunch back in Pajarito Acres so, therefore, most hikers didn't carry their lunch.  People were now getting very hungry and wanted to start heading back.   I started leading folks down the easy way we came up but didn't notice that the nominal leader took others down a different, steeper way.  One hiker fell on the steeper route but was unhurt.

When we all got back to the Broken Mesa Trail, I asked about the woman who had separated from the group but no one knew where she was.  As we crossed Water Canyon, several of us wanted to stop and make a head count but by that time, the group by had split into two.

At Water Canyon, I waited a while to see if the woman would show up but that created its own problems because then the group ended up waiting for me at Potrillo Canyon.

I hope the woman got back safely.  I didn't attend the party so I don't know if she eventually showed up.   I will make a greater effort in the future to keep closer track of everyone.  I myself should have told someone that I was waiting behind.  Things can get confusing in a large group.

People said that the missing woman lives in White Rock and would be able to find her way back but what if she had fallen and couldn't walk?  The group called her cell phone but could only leave a message.

Burnt Mesa Wonders

Who knew you could get to the eagle traps from the Indian plaza ruin?  Haven't done it yet but the connection is obvious when you're at the plaza ruin because you're looking across the side canyon to Frijoles Canyon that's just below the point of the mesa with the two south-facing eagle traps.

This connection was discovered when I went to Burnt Mesa today with Tuesday hikers.  Last Wednesday, also went to Burnt Mesa but with the Wednesday hikers.  Great minds think alike!  The Wednesday group, though, went to the eagle traps while the Tuesday group fell for my line about leading them to the Indian plaza ruin.  Besides which, they really wanted to walk out to the end of the "classic" Burnt Mesa Trail.

I had trouble finding the elk exclosure (only my second time taking hikers to the plaza) which is just north of the plaza ruin.  Fortunately I had told the others to look out for it and someone who's sharp-eyed spotted it for me!

Here's the deal:  Turn south off the "classic" Burnt Mesa Trail when you get to the Saguaro Snag (just north of the trail) a little over 1 1/2 mile in (wild estimate) from the trailhead just off NM4.  Head toward the Burnt Totem Pole Snag and then toward the V for Victory Snag.  You're generally heading south going out to the ruin and north going back to the "classic" trail.

I also showed them the CCC dam which is inexplicably built in a completely dry draw.  I hope to one day lead them to the two eagle traps and the deer trap along the way.  Once you know how to find them, it's really a cinch!

Powerline Mesa Trail-Broken Mesa Trail

Pleasant hike with 3 women of the Monday hiking group on Broken Mesa Trail, starting from the Powerline Mesa Trail.  We didn't go up on top of  Broken Mesa to see the small house ruin and kiva-like ruin  nor did we go out on the unnamed mesa at the saddle for an overlook of the Rio Grande.  They had gone on this hike before and had a hot lunch date back in La Senda.  I was invited too but had to go home to see a talk at the senior center on kidney health.  

The weather was good - no snow or ice on the trail.  Snow had been predicted last night but didn't materialize.  They had their car parked at where the Broken Mesa Trail starts on NM4.  My car was parked at the Powerline Mesa Trail so I walked the connector trail back.  They would have taken me back but, "when in doubt, take a hike".  It was very quiet after they departed - lonely.

Daughter ran the Powerpoint slide show at the doctor's talk.  Was fun to see her there and she did a good job!  Talk was interesting.  Take care of your kidneys because dialysis is an imperfect, stop gap measure that at best only buys time until a kidney becomes available. 

FR289 aka Dome Road

Had the urge to take a walk in the Jemez today.  Thought that the Dome Road, starting from its intersection with NM4 and going out to Graduation Flats, might be just the ticket for a flat, easy walk to soothe my recalcitrant right foot - WRONG!  It was a nice enough walk - not much wind, warm, sunny and dry BUT...  I picked Thanksgiving Day weekend when everyone and his brother get the urge to drive in on that road to gather their Christmas trees.  (What a lovely tradition - go murder a tree and then decorate the corpse for your living room.  Oh, well, curmudgeon, there's plenty of trees up there and if it brings joy to someone, then so be it...  I hope, at least, that people will try to somehow recycle the trees after Christmas.  Here in Los Alamos County they can be taken to the Eco Station to be chipped and composted.) 

I counted close to 50 vehicles passing me on that road.  Some slowed down as they passed and that helped to keep the dust down.  Others sped by in a cloud of dust but waved a friendly greeting as they bore down on me. 

In addition to breathing in lots of dust, I'm sure that I caught a welcome whiff of freshly cut pine as the trees trundled by!  Most of the trees were  normal size but two were quite large and had to be hauled out on long, flat bed trailers. 

The road is in fairly good shape although the wash-board-y parts are no more fun to walk than they are to drive.  The road is not as kind to my sore foot as FR181 aka American Springs Road.

On one of my pit stops in the woods, I saw a coyote trotting along the  Bandelier XC ski trail.  It stopped and looked at me and wouldn't move away  until I spoke.  It wasn't dangerously close but I didn't think it would be prudent to pee while it was hanging around!

I have to email Bandelier about the "Area Closed" signs I saw.  They say that the public can't use or travel the area of Bandelier National Monument that's behind the signs.  It happens to be the area of land between two parcels of private property in the national park.  Makes me mad because it's giving the private property owners defacto exclusive possession of land that belongs to all of us!!

Hat-Flipping Winds

Windy today on FR181.  Tiny snowflakes were flying around. Time to pull out the winter hiking togs.  The wind cut right through my summer weight pants.  Four shirts and a windbreaker kept my torso warm but the selection of gloves/mittens in the windbreaker's pockets was unimpressive.  I think it's safe to retire the fingerless glove liners for now!

Tripped again (but didn't fall) on cut down NM locusts at edge of road. Threw more of them well clear of the road.

My damnable posterior tibial tendon dysfunction has slowly come back.  My days of walking off-trail may be over.  May as well forget about ever getting to Loco Triangle/Bonita Point.  I can't find supportive hiking boots and without support, my right foot turns inward on uneven ground due to the weakened tendon.  Walking on the Route is probably out of the question too since it's rough and uneven.  I'll be grateful to be able to continue walking on trails and dirt roads

I checked out some cardio DVDs from the library today.  I'm half wondering if they would be less stressful for my right foot.

I have new snowshoes in the closet but I suspect that snowshoeing would just be asking for more foot problems.  Anyway, it's supposed to be doubtful that we'll even get much snow this year due to the La Niña, which brings warmer, drier weather to the Southwest. 

I'm doing strengthening and stretching exercises for my right foot every day but the truth is that it won't get better until I entirely rest the foot for a while and I hate that!  We have a wonderful swimming pool but I dread the thought of being forced to use it again to rest my foot.  I'm just not a water person!!  If it comes to that, I'd rather join the gym and use their stationary recumbent bicycle.  Phooey, phooey, phooey!!!

South Perimeter Trail with WRSC Group

There were 9 of us and it was an enjoyable hike but they all had stuff they wanted to get back to, which included Thanksgiving dinner at the townsite senior center.  Three of the regulars skipped the hike entirely because of the Thanksgiving dinner.  I'm a pesco-vegan so I didn't partake of the dinner.  Anyway, all that I would have eaten was the green beans.

After they all turned around, I continued alone on the South Perimeter Trail to its intersection with FR2997 and took  the right fork to a dead end that overlooks Valle Canyon. I could see the Perimeter Trail below. 

Just for something different, I was tempted to take the cleared fire line back to the Perimeter Trail but instead I explored the left fork of FR2997.  I saw two big party sites where people couldn't be bothered to haul out what they brought in.  I've picked up trash in the national forest before and it's discouraging because almost as soon as you clean it, it's trashed again.  I didn't have any trash bags so all I did was tsk, tsk, tsk.

Near the despoiled area, I found a stout stick.  It still has most of the bark and I need to saw off the split bottom and trim the top but it is quite sturdy.  I know because I whacked it hard several times on a rock and a tree but I couldn't break it.  Carrying this stout stick, I will be a menace to any bear or mountain lion that tries to accost me! 

Makes me wonder, though, when I didn't even hear the bicyclist behind me today until he called out that he would pass on my left, if I'd even be aware of a predatory animal trying to sneak up on me.  The bicyclist was very considerate but even so, I involuntarily startled and gasped.  I was surely relieved he wasn't a mountain lion! 

I look around and behind often when I'm hiking by myself.  Just yesterday, on the sewer treatment plant road, I spied two deer watching me from the woods.  It looked like they were planning to stand there unnoticed but when I stopped to peer at them, they skedaddled!

OMG Muffins

OMG muffins as in oh-my-god, what was I thinking.  They are kind of custard-y because I didn't put enough flour in them even though the batter appeared too moist.  Oh, well...I'll eat them anyway and enjoy them because they taste good by my standards but not likely by anyone else's!  My husband says that I make the house smell good but he won't eat the muffins because he says I don't make them sweet enough.  This is true - they are not sweet enough for his taste buds! I tell him to put some jam on them for sweetness.  I put either applesauce, all-fruit spread or honey.  A little bit of nut butter makes for a rich taste and increases the nutrient value.

Here's everything that went into the muffins (but this doesn't constitute a recipe):

1 3/4 quart old fashioned oatmeal (processed into a coarse meal), 1-25 ounce jar Eden unsweetened applesauce, fresh zest of 3 oranges, 1 T vanilla extract, powdered cardamom, nutmeg and cinnamon (didn't measure these three), 1 T powdered ginger, almond milk made from 1 3/4 cups medjool dates and 2 cups raw almonds and water, 1 1/2 bags frozen, partially thawed cranberries, 1 quart frozen, mostly thawed pumpkin.

Since the cranberries were partially frozen, they probably contributed extra liquid to the batter (when it already had an excess!)  Also, the juice from the cranberries caused the edges of some of the muffins to stick and char.  That's OK because even the charred ones taste good to me!

FR181 from Water Tanks on West Jemez Road

Today I walked up FR181 from West Jemez Road (NM501).  Oddly, even though we got a dusting of snow in town, there was none on FR181.  There was, though, plenty of wind which swirled dust all around and flipped up the brim of my hat. 

At about the two mile turnaround point, a Subaru passed me, having driven in from NM4.  As she passed by, I overheard her comment to her passenger, through her open window, "Dig this!" Perhaps she was referring to my somewhat unconventional sun protection.  I'm sorry to admit that I kept hoping she would try to go all the way down FR181 to West Jemez Road which would have been totally inappropriate for her vehicle but would have made my walk considerably entertaining.  FR181 starts out easy enough from its intersection with NM4 but as it continues past Water Canyon and winds down to West Jemez Road, it gets a lot rougher.  She must have turned off onto FR2997, a short, dead-end spur road because I never saw her again.  She was a good driver to get a Subaru in as far as she did on that road.

FR181 Beautiful in Any Season

Yesterday wasn't a hunting day so I walked my 4 miles on FR181/American Springs Road.  Such a beautiful, lonely road!  I didn't see a soul other than the two vehicles that drove in just as I neared the end of my walk but then almost immediately turned around and drove back out.

The wind consorted with the tree tops, creating a song of lonely longing.  The day was sunny and cool but by layering 3 long-sleeved shirts, I was comfortable.  I only needed my windbreaker when I was almost back at the car. Where the road dips down into Water Canyon, I saw thin traces of snow in the shade.

Deer and elk tracks speckled the dirt.  The tracks look like Valentine hearts, albeit broken by a cloven line that rifts through the center.  Tiny birds hopped two by two in dry grass stalks alongside the road.  Wild rose bushes, with russet leaves, were festooned with red rose hips that looked like tiny Christmas ornaments.

Someone had, here and there, cut down young, skinny aspens from alongside the road.  They had let them fall so the upper branches stuck out like  trip-wires along the edge of the road.  I didn't notice this hazard until one caught onto my wool sock and wouldn't let me go until I went pitching forward, landing on my left hip and knee.  My sock was torn and my knee was scraped but I picked myself up and kept walking.  After that happened, though, I tossed the trees back from the road wherever I could.

Falls Trail With WRSC Group

Haven't been on the Falls Trail for a long time - very pretty.  The group only went as far as the lower waterfall.  I would have liked going further but it was a beautiful day to hike anyway. 

The grapevine tells me that sandhill cranes are on the move south now but we didn't see/hear any on the hike today.

One of the hikers had more info on the newly flagged snowshoe trail between the Quemazon Road and Cañada Bonita Canyon.  Turns out the route had been cleared previously by a surveyor.  The trail crew only had to clear out the fallen brush and debris.  That explains why I didn't see any freshly cut trees along the snowshoe trail.

Wednesday, hiked with husband on Canyon Rim Trail.  Thursday was a dentist appointment in Albuquerque.

Glad daughter is back safely from business trip in Las Vegas!

Tuesday Group Goes to Rim of Alamo Canyon

Although the weather was supposed to be cold and windy today, it was beautiful and perfect hiking weather.  At the Alamo Canyon Rim, we went a short distance to the east and were awed by a passel of spiral petroglyphs on the perfect canvas of orange volcanic tuff.  We walked over to the top of the "staircase" down into Alamo Canyon and were glad we didn't have to go down it.  We saw a solitary tarantula on the way back.

Some things I forgot to write about yesterday: 

I could smell smoke - a sweet smell like someone nearby smoking a pipe filled with vanilla flavored tobacco.  There was haze hanging on the upper reaches of Pajarito Mountain so it's possible the ski club was doing some burning. 

Someone has newly marked with orange flagging an extension of the snowshoe trail, off the lower road, alongside the rim of Cañada Bonita Canyon.

The biggest problem with my understanding the Nordic ski trails is that they don't seem to entirely jive with the posted forest service map of the trail system. 

Trying to Understand the Nordic Ski Trails

Today, having nothing better to do, I tried to understand the setup of the Southwest Nordic Ski Club trails off the Cañada Bonita Trail.  I'm pretty sure that I walked every one of them.  My GPS said the final tally was 5.5 miles.

The ski trails are confusing because from the most direct route to Cañada Bonita meadow, the upper trail, the letter assigned to the trail segment changes, even though it's the same trail, when it's accessed from the old Quemazon Road, e.g., E from the upper route becomes P when accessed from the lower road.  The letters are on blue diamonds tacked onto trees.

Basically, all the ski trails going downhill from the most direct route to the meadow intersect the Quemazon Road (aka Guaje Canyon Trail 282, aka Cañada Bonita Trail).  The ski trails going uphill from the most direct route to the meadow are loops that seem designed to give the skier as much downhill as possible in limited space.  For example, ski trail L, which starts from Cañada Bonita meadow has 6 switchbacks.  Each switchback has its own number on a blue diamond tacked to a tree.

Some of the ski trails have names in addition to letters of the alphabet - TJ's Dogleg, Dave's Dogleg, and one named after a Tom but I can't remember the name - maybe something like Tom's Mad Downhill or Mad Tom's Downhill...

Well, now that I've done this, I don't have to ever do it again.  The trails are exasperating for hikers in their meanderings but things of wonder for Nordic skiers as they whip through the forest! 

Saw outside the senior center the woman who volunteered on rebuilding the Knapp Trail.  She says they went 1 1/3 mile and other volunteers went ahead with chainsaws.  The original Knapp Trail from Quemazon Canyon up to the Quemazon Trail was only .8 mile (no wonder it was so steep) so I'm not sure what to make of the 1 1/3 miles.  Maybe they will make it longer but gentler? Maybe I didn't understand exactly where the 1 1/3 miles began.  The forest service drove them to the Los Alamos Reservoir - the 1 1/3 miles could have started from there? There was probably plenty of deadfall in Los Alamos Canyon to deal with before they even approached the bottom of the Knapp Trail.  She seemed in a hurry so I didn't press her for details.

Almost forgot - most peculiar - near the start of the Cañada Bonita trailhead, right after the locked gate, on the left side, there is an portable automatic traffic counter attached to a tree.  I never saw that before.  At first I thought it was a camera but it says portable automatic traffic counter on the back (or something like that).

WRSC Hikers Went to Plaza Blanca Friday

Husband seems to think the group was overextending themselves by climbing on all the slippery rocks. Maybe now they should be called the WRSC Friskies?  The hike wasn't very long - probably less than 2 miles.  It was a long drive for a short hike but since I did 7 miles on Thursday, I didn't complain.  Plaza Blanca still  had some trees in full yellow color since it's lower in altitude.  Yellow leaves against white rock turrets makes for pretty photos!  We all ate lunch at the Abiquiu Inn.  I had blue corn tortilla trout tacos - delish!

Walked Zero Road East to the back of Pajarito Mountain this afternoon.  I looked across Los Alamos Canyon for any trace of the Knapp Trail.  One of the WRSC Hikers knows someone who volunteered for the trail workshop and says the forest service drove the volunteers in on the Reservoir Road so they must have roughed in the trail starting from the bottom of LA Canyon.

Next time, it would be nice to go to the top of the Aspen Lift for 1,240' elevation gain and 2.6 miles one way.  As Nike says, just do it!!

Three Trails for the Price of One

Today, the "big tree project" crew was supposed to go to the VCNP to hug trees, including "peel" trees which I'm told are trees that American Indians peeled and ate the bark of in times of hardship.

Four of us showed up and rode up into the Jemez Mountains to the Preserve entrance but the gate was locked.  We headed back toward Los Alamos until we could get a cell phone signal and then called the telephone number listed on the gate.  The Preserve receptionist told us that they have now started their autumn schedule and will only be open Friday through Sunday.  We were disappointed.

Back in town, I went with the crew leader to document some trees in the Western Area, off Ridgeway, and to get the UTM on another in Quemazon Community.

It was 1 pm when we got done.  Since it was so close to, I decided to walk up Pipeline Road.  At first, I planned to only walk my daily 4 but, instead, I walked up to the intersection of Pipeline with the Quemazon Trail and then toddled over on the Quemazon Trail to the viewpoint of Pajarito Mountain and Los Alamos Canyon.  I had my lunch there and studied Loco Triangle with binoculars and took its portrait.  I concluded it would be a poor idea to try to approach it from Paul's Portal Overlook.  The ridge going down from there is too steep.

Exciting hiking news!!  Close to where I ate lunch, I saw plastic flagging that marked a rough-in of the Knapp Trail which was destroyed in the 2000 fire.  Several weeks ago, I had seen advertised a trail workshop, sponsored by the forest service, to build a bench cut trail on the Knapp Trail.  I couldn't tell how far down into Los Alamos Canyon it went because I walked less than .1 mile on  it from the intersection with the Quemazon Trail, marked by an impressive rock cairn, as it was very rough.  I'm so glad that the Knapp Trail may be rebuilt one day!  Maybe it will be better than the original which was scarily steep with a scrabbly, ball-bearing tread.  I also would love it if the Pajarito Canyon Trail, burnt up in the 2000 fire, to the top of Pajarito Mountain was rebuilt some day.

Anyway, I continued downhill on the Quemazon Trail and over to the North Perimeter Trail. Unfortunately, there is no real trail connection between the two.  I had to very inelegantly (read "sliding on butt") cross the South Fork of Pueblo Canyon to get on the Perimeter Trail.

I made very good time on the Perimeter Trail because the sun was setting and I didn't want to meet any wild animals that wanted to make me their supper.  Got back to my car at 5:15 pm.  Probably did just over 7 miles in a little over 4 hours.  I was thrilled to have done this hike on such a beautiful autumn day - the young aspens in the burned area still have golden leaves and the weather was wonderful.

Met Rogue Trail Builder Today

Today, the WI group hiked the Canyon Rim Trail, crossed NM502 to hike the Pueblo Canyon Rim Trail north of the airport to the Mesa Trail.  From the Mesa Trail, they went down into Graduation Canyon for lunch and then continued on the Rogue Trail, also along the north-facing shelf of Pueblo Canyon.  Their destination was North Mesa to celebrate yet another hiker's birthday while mine was only the public library.

Along the way, we met the man who built what I call the Rogue Trail.  He works by himself, doing 10-15' of trail a day, carrying his hand tools, which included a large bow saw, a McLeod and others I didn't recognize, on a strap across his shoulder.  His trail work keeps pushing the double-track portion of the trail closer to Graduation Canyon.  I'm happy that he's gradually doing away with the single-track portion because I feel safer walking a wide trail beside steep drop-offs like those into Pueblo Canyon!  If rocks are in the way of the trail widening, he uses them to shore up the canyon-side of the trail, moving them himself!

He says that he also built the East Fork Trail, now part of the Los Alamos County Trail Network (not the East Fork Trail in the Jemez Mountains).  He hopes that eventually the Rogue Trail will be incorporated into the county trail system and connect with the Mesa Trail via Graduation Canyon.  He does the trail work to get exercise.  Amazing man!!

No Downed Trees on Route from Windstorm

I'm amazed - yesterday when I checked the Route, absolutely no trees had toppled over from last week's ferocious winds, clocking in the 40's at the Los Alamos Airport!  Also, the young aspen trees that I've been watching over the years were finally in full color.  The magnificence of their color far surpasses their size!  I got close to one tree, pointed my camera upwards and now have on my Desktop a cheerful photo brimming with golden aspen leaves against the blue sky!

The closer-in view from Camp May Road of Loco Triangle gave me no more information than the view I can see from Pajarito Mountain.  I'll just have to one day find someone crazy enough to go there with me.

Pajarito Mountain Enchanting in Late Afternoon Light

By the skin of my teeth, I got a hike in today up Pajarito Mountain.  I didn't start until sometime past 3:30 pm and got back to my car at 5 pm.  There's real enchantment walking that time of day - not a whole lot of people and the side-lighting of the setting sun gives pretty effects.  I took Zero Road East to the back of the mountain.  Saw several trees had been felled by last week's windstorm, including a giant that toppled near (but missed!) the two towers at the 4 way intersection.  Here and there are the teeniest patches of snow.

On my way up, ran into a WI hiker on his way down.  Said he had 3 strokes in the past year and lost eyesight in his right eye.  He looked good but said because of the strokes, he was hesitant about going to the top of Pajarito but the trip up, his first since his health problems, felt easy to him so he was pleased.

The golden aspen leaves have all flown away up high.  It was sunny at the back (south) of the mountain but mostly shady on the way down the front (north).  I didn't bring my backpack or a jacket so I tucked in my shirtsleeves, pants legs and shirt to preserve body warmth.

On the drive down Camp May Road, I saw a place where I can get close-up views from the side of the road of Bonita Point, aka Loco Triangle.  Maybe this will quench my desire to learn more about that place or further inflame it?

Lower down, there are still some golden aspens along the Route.

Now Let's See - What Was I Saying...

Went to Salida, Colorado last week but only for 3 days.  Spouse suggested cutting trip short by a day because of cold weather.  On Wednesday, our only full day there, we parked at the Frantz Lake State Wildlife Area and walked to Sand Lake and back, passing the Mount Shavano State Fish Hatchery along the way. 

When we started, I insisted on first walking to the left, away from the direction we wanted to go, to see where the path led.  Took a lot of "convincing" to get spouse to go along as he was sure we were only going to walk far out into a meadow (but what a meadow with glorious views of snow-capped 14ers in the Sawatch Range, one probably being Mt. Shavano!)  Shortly, the trail turned back around on itself and traveled along the other side of the lake in the "right" direction; only then did he finally feel reassured that we were on track.  My philosophy is to explore but that makes him nervous!

We had lunch on a (cold) bench at Sand Lake with beautiful views of the southern Sawatch Mountains. Geese were wheeling overhead - an umbrella would have come in handy but fortunately they ejected no slime-bombs.  The lake was full of geese and ducks - quite picturesque.  Spouse regrets that I didn't take a photo and he's right about that one.  Sand Lake serves as a settling pond for waste from the fish hatchery but the state maintains it as high quality habitat for wildlife.  It's a pretty lake.  It pours into the Arkansas River after all the waste has settled out.

Afterward, I talked spouse into trying again to find Spiral Drive.  He was reluctant because he remembers last time we tried to find it, we came to a closed, private property road.  After some more "convincing" on my part, we finally found it and started driving up it.  It's a well-graded road, no worse than the Dome Road, the portion from NM4 to Graduation Flats, in the Jemez Mountains.  It was the teeniest bit washboard-y but not excessively so.  Spouse wasn't comfortable continuing up so he parked while I walked up some more.  His last words were "Don't take too long!"

As I walked up, the views opened up of the Sawatch Mountains and the Arkansas Hills.  I could see Tenderfoot, or "S" Mountain, in the distance and figured there was no way I'd be able to walk to the top of it.  As I continued up Spiral Drive, though, Tenderfoot looked more within my reach so I didn't stop walking until I got to the gazebo on top of the mountain. 

There are fantastic views from the top of the city of Salida, the northern Sangres and the southern Sawatch mountains.  Tenderfoot is a dormant cindercone.  The townsfolk of Salida decided in 1922 to build Spiral Drive which truly does spiral up to just below Tenderfoot.  The last few yards to the top are navigated via stairs. 

I estimate that the distance I walked to the top was less than two miles and only a few hundred feet in elevation gain.  Tenderfoot is 550 feet above Salida which is right around 7,000' in elevation.  I didn't walk all that elevation difference because I started from higher up.  The whole round trip took me about an hour.  I've wanted to walk up Tenderfoot ever since I first saw it!

I have to comment about the views of the snow-capped northern Sangre de Cristos on the way to Salida, starting from the Great Sand Dunes.  When covered with snow, those mountains look like the Himalayas to me!  They are impressive!  The Rainbow Trail, I read in the travel literature, travels in the Sangres from Poncha Springs to the Great Sand Dunes.  Now, that would be a hike!!

Had we stayed another day, like we had planned, I would have hiked portions of the Arkansas Hills Trail System.  The Arkansas Hills, it seems, are southern foothills to the Mosquito Range.  Volunteers are busily building a whole system of trails into the foothills.

I Know Where It Fell - On the Route

The arrow, that is.  I found an arrow on the ground right along where I walk.  Camp May Road is on one side and a steep canyon on the other.  Maybe it was shot from the other side of the canyon or the other side of the road.  Glad it wasn't shot at me!  I stuck it in a cairn but forgot to look for it on the way back down.

I'm thinking maybe next year I can use my manual weed whacker to murder the NM locusts!  At least it would get some use since neither spouse nor I care to tackle the weeds in our gopher-haven backyard!  I could pretend I'm golfing (never, ever have or will), whack the NM locusts and yell "Fore!" 

Weather was invigorating during my walk.  It spit some but not much.  The wind was moving a front through but a pleasant wind - not too cold.  Clouds were awesomely breathtaking - what an assortment, all layered in crisscrosses across the sky.  Patches of blue were framed like windows.  Sun came and went but mostly came and when it did, the yellow aspens lit up.  Still waiting for some special aspens to turn yellow along the Route.

Someone hung a grocery bag of trash on a tree.  I should have carried it down but didn't feel like it today.  I will one day.

Yesterday was Oktoberfest at the home of a White Rock hiker.  Fun get-together!  I made dessert from a recipe I found on the Internet - Easy Apple Kuchen - but ruined it with too much brown sugar which the recipe didn't even call for!  Today, we saw 5 of the hikers enjoying the Health Fair/Arts and Crafts Fair so I know that at least 5 survived eating my sickeningly sweet dessert!!

At the Health Fair, I took a spirometry test.  The nurse practitioner who gave me my (normal) results said we need to train for old age.  I agree.  The trend is downward - we can't get around that - but we need to do all we can to assure that our quality of life remains high as we journey through life.

Sun Had Disappeared Behind Clouds by Early Afternoon

This afternoon, it had looked dark to the west; but so far, it's evening now, the rains haven't visited us like last night.

One of the librarians told me she was on top of Pajarito Mountain yesterday with her Corgi dog when the storm broke.  Getting down, amidst hail, thunder and lightning was an adventure.

I went to our dentist in Albuquerque Tuesday.  Dentist took x-rays and said there wasn't any cavity or abscess.  Digital dental x-rays are neat - very fast, less radiation and can see x-rays immediately!  Dentist adjusted night splint so maybe that will help.  I really can only chew on my left side and started having some pain on my right side which the dentist theorizes is from clamping down on that side at night. 

On way back home, we ate at Buffalo Thunder's Painted Parrot Buffet. Almost from the first bite, my stomach felt bloated and rumbly.  Maybe it's a bad idea to steal broccoli from the Asian stir fries, maybe the guacamole, green chile and salsa sundae is a bad idea? Next time we eat there, it's salad and fruit for me. 

On Wednesday, I drove spouse up to Pajarito Mountain Ski Area to enjoy the aspen colors.  He walked as far as Cañada Bonita meadow and then went back to eat at the café.  I continued on to Pipeline Road.  Met a puppy on the trail.  So adorable!  Looked like a black Labrador.  I stopped and puppy - name's Molasses - nuzzled between my ankles so I bowed out my legs to let puppy step through!!  Owner said everyone loves Molasses!

Walked downtown today.  Forgot my umbrella at Metzger's and didn't realize I'd forgotten it until I got to Ashley Pond to feed the ducks and looked at the clouds over the mountains.  Ducks didn't seem very hungry.  Ravens were feeding on cracked corn at edge of pond.

I'm tired.  Woke at 7 am for big tree trip in Valles Caldera National Preserve but it was canceled due to all the rain.

My lower right back was aching on downtown walk today.  Still is. Discouraging.

Still Plotting How to Get to Bonita Point

Wished so much that spouse would have shared seeing on Saturday the aspen extravaganza along Camp May Road and on Pajarito Mountain.  The golden leaves of the young aspens start about 2 miles up Camp May Road in the burnt area near FR2998 and continue all the way up to the top of the ski hill. 

Ski Area is so much pleasanter when lifts aren't running and when the mountain isn't invaded by testosterone-crazed bicyclists! The bicyclists that actually bike to the top are much saner!

Studied Bonita Point (Loco Triangle) from the jeep road on Pajarito Mountain.  I can see now that it would have worked to go down along the end of the conifers to edge of Cañada Bonita Canyon and over along canyon edge to get around the tangle of aspens and out to Bonita Point.

The view from on high also made me think that perhaps I had the right idea about going further east on the projection from Paul's Portal overlook. It almost looks like the projection gradually steps down to a shallower portion of the Cañada Bonita Canyon. Instead, we walked away from the overlook and went through a bunch of aspens and then we were where the bottom of Cañada Bonita Canyon looked dauntingly far below.  Perhaps I need to revisit Paul's Portal one day.

I could also see from on high that on the way back to Cañada Bonita meadow that day, we should have avoided the aspens that cascade down from the very top of the steep ridge that was above us. If we had instead stayed close to the  edge of Cañada Bonita Canyon, even though it would have been more difficult walking due to the cant of the hillside, we would have avoided having to wrest ourselves out of the jigsaw-puzzle aspen grove!

In fact, hugging the canyon edge to go out to Bonita Point may be the best ticket of all.  After all, it's not like this canyon edge is along a cliff.  I'm guessing this would actually be easier (and safer!) than going from Paul's Portal and trying to descend into and out of the canyon!

I wasn't the only one alone on the mountain today.  Saw two other lone hikers and a lone bicyclist.  Even so, I morosely thought to myself "What does being alone matter?  In the end, when I die, I die alone."

Sunday, spouse and I went to REI for the last day of their Fall sale.  I bought a pair of Brooks Adrenaline shoes and he bought REI Sahara Cargo pants.  Then we ate at Flying Star.  This time, instead of the tofu Buddha bowl, I had the Acapulco Salad with avocados, orange sections, jicama, salad mix, red onions, grilled shrimp, salsa - good!  We finished off the day by returning moldy tasting Flame raisins to Vitamin Cottage and buying a few items.  For my exercise, I walked downtown in the evening.

Today, the Monday group did the postponed Sawyer's Mesa hike, finishing at Ponderosa Campground for a 9 mile jaunt!  It was good to do it in October and  enjoy the Fall colors and cool weather.  The Gambel oaks with leaves of red, yellow and orange reminded me of making Autumn leaves in grade school out of construction paper!  The leaves of the barberry shrub were such a brilliant red.  We could see lots of golden aspen across Frijoles and Alamo Canyons. 

After the hike, I took one of the hikers back up on the Dome Road to the Sawyer Mesa Road so she could pick up her car.  The Dome Road is in great shape right now!  Saw some wood gatherers by the side of NM4 right before the Cerro Grande parking area.  Bandelier National Monument recently gave free permits so people could collect the wood stacked in teepees near the road - good deal!

Rogue Trail With White Rock Seniors

What's going on?  Not much!  Spouse and I met the WRSC hikers - only 3 showed up - at the Walkup Pool, ostensibly to walk down into Pueblo Canyon. We were joined by a hiker from the uptown senior center hiking group.

When we got to where the Ranch School Trail goes steeply down into Pueblo Canyon, it turns out they really didn't want to go down that trail but had already passed the turnoff for the trail they had anticipated taking; instead, we walked along the south rim of Pueblo Canyon, the one I call the Rogue Trail.  We turned around where the trail narrows to a singletrack.  The grand total was a little over 3 miles.  It was a beautiful day full of sunshine and we all enjoyed the walk and company.

This afternoon, spouse and I are sloth-ing it at home.  He tells me that this is how it will be when he fully retires.  I'd better not say what I "laughingly" told him!

We hardly ever see grandson anymore.  I thought our daughter had him this week so we invited them for supper tonight to visit.  Her ex-husband has him two weeks and then she has him two but I miscalculated which weeks were hers.  Tonight, it turns out, is daughter's date night with girlfriends.  We could reliably see grandson 2 nights a week when she attended jujitsu classes at the Y but now she is very busy with schoolwork so she's stopped going.

Ruminating About Yesterday's Hike

One day, I have to try again to get to Bonita Point, aka Loco Triangle.  There must be a better way to get there.  I know people who have hiked up Quemazon Canyon which is below the point.  Maybe if I walked up Los Alamos Canyon from the Reservoir, I'd see a way up.

I feel sure that the Bonita Point was beyond and below the aspen forest that turned us around.  I need to go to Pajarito Mountain and study the area again with my binoculars.  It would be good to go before the aspens drop their leaves so I can pinpoint where we turned around in relation to the point.

Yesterday, I wanted to follow the treeline further down toward Cañada Bonita Canyon to see if I could see the point to the east but my friend wanted to start back.  She was so nice to agree to go with me that I didn't press the issue.  There are not many women in their late 70's that could have gone on that explore like she did.  For that matter, not many people of any age would want to blunder about where we did!!  Fortunately, neither of us fell whilst cavorting amongst all the downed wood.


We both thought the scattering of old tree stumps we saw were odd in such an isolated area where few people venture.  The felled trees were left laying beside the stumps. In some cases, the tree trunks were cut into sections.

Two of the bear scats we saw were light colored with lots of seeds.  One was dark with little visible roughage.

I walked 2 roundtrips on the Canyon Rim Trail this afternoon.  Saw 2 bicyclists, 11 walkers and 2 dogs.  People walking the trail in the afternoon are less interested in greeting one another.  I listened to a tape of  Prairie Home Companion.  Purple vetch is still blooming.

Dropped off at PEEC a paper grocery sack stuffed full of plastic produce bags.  The high school kids plan to make something with the plastic bags.

I Should Be

I should be doing the laundry, I should be vacuuming the carpet, I should be replacing the carpet in the kitchen with linoleum, I should be ripping out the 20 year old wall to wall carpet and refinishing the wood floors underneath, I should be weeding the yard, I should be buying groceries, I should be scrubbing the toilet, I should be dusting the cobwebs in the kitchen, I should be raking the fallen leaves, I should be buying a more energy efficient refrigerator, I should be shopping for a new gas oven before our 20 year old one explodes, I should be calling the furnace man to give our gas furnace a clean bill of health, I should be going through all my possessions and getting rid of stuff I no longer need or use, I should be buying a new shed to replace the present one which functions as a Comfort Inn for mice, I should be replacing our wooden fence which is dying one slat at a time, I should be watering the water-devouring spruce in our front yard, I should be using cloth bags for my groceries instead of plastic, I should be using CFL light bulbs instead of incandescent, I should be shopping locally instead of at Walmart, I should be joining clubs and volunteering more around town, I should be spending less time on the computer ...

This list could go on and on but you get the idea.  You probably have a list twice as long of your own.  All the things I should be doing hang over my head on a daily basis.  Some of them I do because I have no choice - have to eat, have to occasionally clean, have to do laundry, but the others, I do gradually or when forced to by circumstances.  The majority of this list is related to the upkeep of the house and grounds (aka, gopher playground!)  Our 50 year old home needs a good remodeling but I'd rather sell the house at a bargain and let someone else remodel it.  Living in a house in the midst of a major remodel doesn't sound fun. My answer is to go on a hike unless necessity arises which mandates paying attention to this hovel, er...house.

Bonita Point or Loco Triangle

A friend willingly went with me today on the Bonita Point or Loco Triangle explore.  We didn't actually make it to the point but had fun trying.  We had to walk through forest impacted by dead log upon dead log, in pickup stick fashion.

It took a long time to even get near Bonita Point but we decided to turn around short of our destination  when we encountered a young aspen forest full of downed logs laying in wait like hungry crocodiles eager to snap our limbs off.  We tried hard to plow through the aspens - there was no easy way around - but we were greatly slowed by all the obstacles  hiding within.

By now, it was late afternoon so we turned around and picked our way again through all the downed wood and yet another interminable aspen thicket.  Trying to break free of that thicket made me sympathize with insects that get caught in a spider's web - we felt entangled every way that we turned!

We were so happy to get back to the bunch grass of Cañada Bonita meadow!  Whoever said that bunch grass is difficult to walk in has never tried to walk in an area clotted with  downed wood!

I'll probably never again be able to talk someone into accompanying me on that crazy hike.  My friend says she'll cross it off her list for now unless I discover a super-highway that leads to Bonita Point!

We saw 3 piles of fairly fresh bear scat.  We were glad we didn't see the bear(s)!!

Nail Trail and Pajarito Canyon

The Tuesday hiking group WAS going to hike the Nail Trail today but they changed the hike to the Cañada Bonita Trail.  Since I just did that Saturday, I hiked the Nail Trail myself today.

The Nail Trail intersects the Pajarito Canyon Trail and the question in my mind was would I be brave enough to walk back through Pajarito Canyon by myself (I was) or would I feel safer backtracking on the Nail Trail.  My imagination assumes mountain lions are crouching behind every shrub, preparing to pounce.

On the the scrabbly trail down into Pajarito Canyon, as I passed through shrubs and in and out of drainages, I thought:  Why do all the instructions on what to do if you meet a mountain lion advise throwing rocks but caution not to bend over?  How can I pick up a rock if I don't bend over?  Am I supposed to carry rocks just in case?

Maybe iPhone or Android could invent a Human Companion and/or Cyber Guard Dog app.  Then while I'm walking by myself, I could fire up my (non-existent) iPhone or Android and scare off malingering mountain lions.

The aspens in the Pajarito Canyon drainage are beautiful!

Husband's Attention to Stock Market Is Depressing

On husband's weekdays off, he can either be found, when I awaken, plugged into the computer, undoubtedly assessing current stock market conditions, or plugged into the cable TV business networks, watching talking heads hysterically take the economy's pulse.  The idea of paying moment to moment, detailed attention to the stock market depresses me. The stock market will go up and down, sometimes with dizzying rapidity, so why distress myself over its daily gyrations?  

Tried to Walk Apache Springs Trail Yesterday

Yesterday, spouse and I drove up the escarpment into the Jemez to the Apache Springs Trail to hike and enjoy Fall colors.  When we got to the trailhead, a fire truck was blocking the parking lot entrance and more two police cars were blocking the entrance across the street to the FR181/American Springs Road and more emergency vehicles were over there.  As we drove by, spouse asked the fireman directing traffic what was going on but the only answer was there was a situation they were handling.  We turned around at the parking lot for the old Girl Scout camp and drove down to Ponderosa Campground and walked the Upper Crossing Trail.  Spouse went as far as Frijoles Canyon while I walked down into the canyon.  I saw two hikers coming up as I was going down.  I turned around after crossing the Rito de los Frijoles' bridge but one day, I'd like to continue on the Upper Crossing Trail to the mesa top above.  That would be a lot of good elevated heart rate!

Quiet Columbus Day

Grandson is here on this Columbus Day.  His Mom and step-Dad have to work and the Activity Center is closed so we're watching him.  He walked with us on the Canyon Rim Trail, giving everyone the Vulcan salute, from Dr. Spock on Star Trek, that means "live long and prosper".  I hope that everyone he gave it to knew it was a peaceful gesture and not some other kind of hand salute!

Looking west from the Canyon Rim Trail at Pajarito Canyon and Pajarito Mountain, the aspen colors are really popping!  

Spouse took Grandson to McD's for lunch and then they enjoyed watching the DVD of Diary of a Wimpy Kid.

I'm Really in Aspen Heaven Today

The aspens in the Pajarito Mountain Ski Area are finally turning golden!  I walked from the ski area to Pipeline Road on The Cañada Bonita Trail today.  Husband was not feeling tip top so he stayed home.  I took lots of photos of golden aspens!

From the far edge of the Cañada Bonita meadow, I saw that the backside of the unnamed mountain north of Pajarito Mountain is gilded with golden aspens but the potential is there for lots more color before the aspens finally drop their leaves.

On way back, right where the Nordic XC ski trails intersect the old forest road (which is the official Cañada Bonita Trail), I noticed that someone has roughly cleared a trail that contours above and parallel to the main trail and comes out at the Mother Lift.

When I got back to my car, a lot of Asian families were walking in the parking lot, taking pictures of each other and enjoying the beauty of the Fall colors.

In Aspen Heaven Today

When I woke up, husband opined that maybe WRSC hike on Aspen Vista Trail (aka Tesuque Peak Road 150) would be canceled.  He said it had rained and thundered early that morning.  With my fan on (used for its noise-canceling effect - I'm way too light a sleeper!),  I heard nothing.  As the morning wore on, sunlight and blue skies prevailed so we drove over to the Santa Fe Ski Area to meet the group at the trailhead. 

The aspen leaves were still beautiful but I could see patches up high where the leaves had dropped already.

The group walked up to a major viewpoint that overlooks southern Santa Fe.  They turned around here while I walked further up to the last crossing of the road by Tesuque Creek, for about 4 1/2 miles roundtrip.  After that, it's spruce and fir and the aspens disappear.

Spouse waited for me and then I drove us to Red Lobster for lunch.  Mine was grilled trout (lunch portion), broccoli, baked potato and their garden salad.  I have a system for ordering - please bring out lots of lemon wedges and raw onions and cruets of oil and vinegar.  I ask that the salad, broccoli and baked potato be served plain and a minimum of salt and oil be used on the fish.  I use the lemon wedges for the fish and broccoli, the vinegar and oil and onions for the salad and potato. I tend to save a few bites of fish for the very end (all the while with spouse hungrily eying it!) and that's dessert!!  It's a delicious lunch fit for a pesco-vegan like me!!

Afterward, bought lots of dried fruit and nuts at Vitamin Cottage to use for hiking lunches and as sweet treats!!

Yesterday:  In morning, walked Mesa Trail and downtown to library for 4 miles.  In afternoon, spouse drove us to Santa Fe for his dermatologist appointment - everything was fine.  Then, on to Walmart and Trader Joe's.  Had ahi tuna from TJ's for supper last night and we'll have trout from TJ's tomorrow night.  I love fish!!

Route Last Two Days and White Rock Today

Monday, I chopped down some NM locusts sprouts.  Really, I have to stop - this is getting anal.  NM locusts are going to grow no matter what - I'll never defeat that thorny nemesis.

I went back Tuesday to chop down what I thought was one invasive thistle plant (bull thistle, perhaps) in the middle of the Route.  When I looked closer, there is a whole patch of them growing near the Route.  This is beyond my scope of work.  I chopped off the ones actually growing on the Route but left the others to the tender mercies of the forest service which hopefully has a forest-wide invasive plant eradication plan.

I keep hoping the aspens along the Route change color before they reach their expiration date and the leaves drop.

Tuesday, I started at the Ocean, near the thistle patch, instead of further down.  To rack up my daily 4 miles, I tacked on FR2998 to where it intersects the Nail Trail.  Aspen colors are beginning to develop along that forest road but slowly.

Today, I skipped the LL hike (actually, I skipped all group hikes so far this week) because I had a late afternoon doctor appointment.  The doctor came up with a diagnosis for my calf swelling of last week - Baker's cyst - but I'm not buying it.  I had no cyst on the back of my knee that preceded the calf swelling, no sensation of water running down my leg and absolutely no knee pain!  In reading the symptoms on MayoClinic.org, I can somewhat understand his diagnosis but I don't think it accurately describes what happened to me.

I dropped off a donation at the Jemez House Thrift Shop and then for my 4 miles, walked from the White Rock library to the Potrillo Canyon trailhead and back, along NM4.

I made a vat of tabooley.  It tastes good but I'll be eating it through Sunday.  I can't freeze it so it's eat it from lunch and supper until it's gone.

Rogue Trail and Rice Pudding

Finally took spouse on the Rogue Trail today. We were going to hike up Pajarito Canyon to see some aspen colors and then down the Nail Trail to close the loop but at the trailhead, it appeared that the state highway workers were getting ready to re=stripe the newly resurfaced NM501.  We were afraid they'd overspray our car so we left to walk behind the Walkup Center swimming pool.

I told spouse that I thought the Rogue Trail, out and back from the Walkup Center, would only be 3 miles roundtrip.  The idea of a shorter hike appealed to him.  The Rogue Trail, built by a retired scientist, is an unsanctioned but well- built trail the width of a sidewalk that runs above the south side of Pueblo Canyon.  In places, if you fell, you'd have a long slide down into the canyon.  One hiker described it as vertigo-inducing.

Spouse doesn't like heights and, to boot, a thunderstorm was building and he doesn't like lightning so he  was very game to go along with me.  We turned around where the trail narrows to a single-track - that part scares even me!  It was lightly raining by then and unclear how bad the storm would be.

It may have been almost 4 miles round-trip by going back to the Walkup Center but instead, because of the rain, we short-cutted the hike by going up the old, dirt road (from the site of the former Peggy Sue Bridge) to the Jewish Center and walked Canyon Road back to our car.  I told spouse we would make that hike number one million in our rotation and thanked him for doing it with me.  For a long time, I've wanted him to see it.

This morning, I made another How it all Vegan inspired recipe - rice pudding but I didn't use soy milk and in addition to the vanilla extract and cinnamon, added cardamom and nutmeg.  The "milk" I used was the vanilla almond-date "milk" that I made yesterday. 

The rice pudding is so delicious that I have to restrain myself from gobbling it all up!  I'm amazed how sweet it tastes even though it's only sweetened with 4 medjool dates, the sweet spices and vanilla extract. 

I let spouse taste the pudding but he said it was too chewy.  He doesn't like brown rice but, really, it was the raisins that were chewy.  They softened more as the pudding cooled. Brown rice is not as fibrous as he thinks it is!

Route Today and Rio en Medio Friday

Raining now with the gods bowling in the heavens (remember being told by your parents that God was bowling in heaven when it thundered?) If this so-called La Niña keeps up, I may have to build an ark!  It's predicted to be cool and rainy the next few days.

Family went to Salman Ranch - bought back raspberries, raspberry jam and raspberry vinegar - yum!!

I walked on Route.  Saw one aspen along the path that had turned golden.  Others look in good condition but it's been so warm that they haven't turned yet.  Felt so good to walk on the Route but I must admit that I was sluggish.  Could never have done Aspen Vista Ridge Trail on Wednesday feeling like I did today.  On the way down, heard paintballers shooting each other in the woods.

This morning made edamame hummous - 2 cups edamame, 4 T sesame paste (tahini), juice of two limes, 4 cloves garlic, dried parsley, cumin powder - whip it up in food processor.  Such a lovely green color but I think chickpea hummous is better.  If I made it again, I would halve the lime juice and garlic.  I had half of the recipe this morning on jasmine brown rice.

Also made vanilla almond-date "milk" - 2 cups water, 1/2 cup whole, natural almonds, 4 pitted medjool dates, 1 t pure vanilla extract - grind almonds in blender, add rest of ingredients and whip it up - thick and luscious!  I added an apple and frozen raspberries to a cup of the "milk" and it made the prettiest smoothie!  This recipe was inspired by a recipe in the cookbook How it all Vegan except I used twice as much dates and added the vanilla extract.

WRSC hiking group walked part of Rio en Medio Trail yesterday, starting from En Medio village and going to the first waterfall for a little over 4 miles roundtrip and 700' elevation gain.  Only 3 of us went to the waterfall - now I know who the tough ones are in the group!  Many stream crossings but no one fell in - shucks!

Roof Reassurance

Spouse today called one of the premier contractors in town to ask questions about our roof worries.  I'm writing this as a summary of the conversation so that if either of us ever worries about this issue again, we can look back at this post for reassurance!

Contractor said:   It possible that the sheet of wood decking stopped short of the ridge and another piece was used up to the ridge, thus creating a seam.  It's also possible the gap in the roof deck was there all along. It wouldn't be unusual for the roof decking on a half century old house to separate along the seams due to expansion and contraction.  If we checked other old houses in the neighborhood, we may find similar situations.  It's not necessary to caulk the gap.  If it gets worse, he would nail a plank to the underside of the roof deck from inside the attic to cover it. The ridge vent shouldn't affect the structural integrity of the roof. The ridge vent won't make the house cooler but is only intended to prevent build up of moisture in the attic space.

The contractor once taught a building trades class in the local high school and our roofer was one of his students.  Our roofer has done 3 roofs for houses the contractor has built.

Despite this recommendation, I have to say that our roofer doesn't have the best customer service interface.  It wasn't  necessary to say things to us like "the roofer destroyed our house", "blame it on the painter".  It wasn't funny and put a pall on what was otherwise a considerate act, coming out to inspect the decking.  To his credit, the head of his roofing crew has good customer service skills at least.  I'd truly rather not ever again see the owner himself.

The roofer also told us at his recent visit that if the gap gets wider, we should call a contractor as it would not be his area of expertise.  This is probably true but perhaps the roofer should have first ascertained, before he cut the ridge vent the full length of our roof, that the roof over the remodeled carport is probably not built to the same strength and specifications as that over the rest of the house.  We didn't do the remodeling but I can see that the roof in the main part of the house has impressive cross supports but the peaked roof over the carport's original flat roof only has a center support. 

In the meantime, I won't hold my breath waiting for the roof to fall!

Marvelous 84 Year Old

On yesterday's WI hike up the Aspen Vista Ridge Trail, I fell in beside the marvelously fit 84 year old hiker.  She's the one who told me I wasn't at the top of Tesuque Peak. 

On our steep slog up Tesuque Peak, she mentioned that she no longer drives due to macular degeneration.  She was driven to the trailhead in her car by another hiker. 

I told her about my 3 Santa Fe area winter hikes that I'd like to complete one day.  They are winter hikes because they are mostly flat and shadeless - the Spur Trail from Santa Fe Community College to the Rail Trail, Arroyo de los Chamisos Trail from Yucca Street to the Rail Trail and the rest of the Rail Trail from El Dorado to Lamy.  I asked if she wanted to do any of those hikes one day and then I could take her to Vitamin Cottage afterward to shop.  She has her own philosophy of hiking, though, and kindly suggested that I find someone else for those flat hikes.  She doesn't hike everyday but swims also.  When she does hike, she wants it to count.  I have my peculiarity of insisting on 4 miles a day.  Hers is to do at least 1,200' elevation gain. 

Eventually, I wanted to go up faster to get to the top and then back down to my waiting husband so I said goodbye and asked her in parting to let me know this winter when she again does the hike to the Rio Grande down the Falls Trail in Bandelier.  This is the one where she saw the Rio Grande magically transformed by rafts of snow.

Aspen Vista Ridge Trail

Wednesday Irregulars met at Aspen Vista parking lot on ski hill road in Santa Fe.  Some walked up Aspen Vista Trail (aka Tesuque Peak Road), some took the lift up and some took a trail up that I've never taken before which I'll call Aspen Vista Ridge Trail.

Husband took off work today and he went up the ridge trail to the lift, took the lift down and then walked downhill to the car.

I was ahead of him.  When I got to the lift, even though I've been up Tesuque Peak several times, I thought I was on top and was ready to go back down until another hiker explained to me that "on top" was way up there!  So, I walked to the top from the lift.  It was steep but not impossible.  Had great views from the back of Tesuque Peak into the Santa Fe Lake basin and of Penitente and Deception Peaks and Santa Fe Baldy.  Saw two grouse.  Beautiful Fall colors.  Great elevated heart rate!

A hiker who had been up Cerro Rubio recently told me that the aspens leaves are just turning brown.  The Jemez Mountains may have a disappointing aspencade this season but in the Sangres, colors are busting out in Technicolor!

Celery Chomping Mountain Lions

More thoughts on Ms SUV:  Maybe her and I were separated at birth. At times on the recent hike I took with her, we seemed to get along like feuding sisters.  I'd rather take my chances walking alone and getting eaten by celery chomping mountain lions than make Ms SUV my regular hiking partner.  Too bad for me because she likes to explore and has lots of spunk!

I was inspired to coin the phrase "celery chomping mountain lions" after listening to an NPR segment on a book about how animal sounds are often faked in nature movies.  To make the sound of a lion crunching down on its prey, for instance, the sound person breaks a stalk of celery

Way Too Tired

I woke up in the middle of the night last night, around 4 am, thinking of that stupid roof.  Wish we had never had a ridge vent cut in it.  The house is over 50 years old and we should have waited for the best old time roofer in town to put an old fashioned roof on it.  Wish we owed a mortgage on it but we don't so we can't even walk away from it!  Had to get up at 6:30 am so I'm very tired.

Beautiful gray cat came meowing to our back door this evening.  No collar and hungry.  Gave her some of spouse's freshly cooked chicken thighs.  She inhaled them.  Called Animal Control to pick her up, after first checking with some neighbors.  Now, Kitty won't become coyote bait tonight.  OK - I thought I had troubles!  Poor kitty is homeless tonight!

Peralta Road Cattle Guard to Paliza Pass

Went with Tuesday group renegades who didn't want to walk, shop and eat out in Santa Fe today so we decided to go to Paliza Pass.

The woman who said she would drive us in her big SUV came to the meeting place but said her husband hadn't left enough gas in the tank.  I didn't even know she had that enormous vehicle since she never drives it to the group hikes!  Instead, she talked the other hiker (only 3 of us) into driving her tiny passenger car on Peralta Road.  I said I was a wuss but probably could have driven although not as skillfully and smoothly as the woman who graciously drove us up there.
 
We parked just below the locked gate and walked up to the rough, steep motor bike trail that goes down just past the cattle guard and grazing fence.  Two rough paths come up and now I know that both go to the same place, the intersection of the Peralta-Paliza Trail that goes around the west side of Las Conchas Peak, the blue diamond cross country ski trail that comes up from NM4 and the logging road that goes downhill to NM4 from Paliza Canyon.

I enjoyed seeing Paliza Pass.  The hiker who drove us to the start of the hike is laid back but Ms SUV can be aggressively bristly at times.  Even so, I see lots to admire in her and I like her.   

Husband called roofer who came out this afternoon.  Roofer's telling us that the cracked decking near the ridge vent is the end seam of the wood panel used to sheathe the roof and not a crack at all but a separation along the seam.  If true (I have my doubts) that means that whoever made the peaked roof over the flat carport roof used a piece of wood that stopped short 8-10 inches from the ridge and then used another strip of wood to finish the ridge which is ridiculous.

My theory is the ridge vent cut somehow caused the deck panel to crack but at this point, I really don't care.  The house can fall down on top of our heads for all I care!

It's 82 degrees in the house and I'm uncomfortably hot.

Aster Mania Along Bypass

I didn't mention that along the West Road Bypass these past couple of weeks, the hillside was encrusted with yellow sunflowers (quite possibly there was more variety but I'll say "sunflowers" for simplicity's sake!) with a border of purple asters nearer the road edge (that too is simplified - DNA analysis reveals that our "asters" are not related to "true" European asters but who cares!)  This weekend, I've noticed that the sunflowers are fading and dying back but the asters seem to have grown more profuse and the purple swath along the road is a delight!

Hiked Escobas Mesa to Witch's Broom tree with Monday hiking friend.  Two people from Santa Fe were to have joined us on Burnt Mesa to go to the Indian plaza but they didn't coordinate their meeting times so that fizzled.

Attended sleep-inducing AARP Defensive Driving course with husband this afternoon - all this to save a few dollars off insurance.  AARP need to make the course less a dreary reading of the manual.  Don't suppose they can afford driving simulators to show us how truly terrible our driving skills are?

Husband is sure he saw a bug walk into the undereave crack above the attic.  Next on my list is to caulk the crack and paint over it this weekend.  Don't really want to do that but maybe he's right that I should.

Up on the Rooftop

OK - so I wasn't actually up on the rooftop - not my forté nowadays - but I did go up the extension ladder to take photos of the crack in the roof deck, both under the eave and inside the attic area above the remodeled carport.  It doesn't look like the roof will collapse any time soon.  I told husband he could keep an eye on it and tell me if the crack widens.  It's not the roofer's fault that whoever put the peaked roof above the carport's flat roof to create attic storage space didn't use sturdy decking.  For now, the slender crack is well-covered by the roof membrane and shingles.

Hiked Apache Springs Trail to overlook just above Apache Springs.  Aspens are slowly changing.  On the way back, we got more distance in by walking on old NM4 that goes out Apache Springs Mesa and then eventually dips down to new NM4.  I'd love to show that area to the hiking groups. 

Paul's Portal - An Ungroomed Snowshoe Trail

Ullr Fest today on Pajarito Mountain - Aspen Lift operating, band, brew, cafe open.  Spouse attended the fest while I hiked to Cañada Bonita Meadow on the lower road.

I finally explored the turnoff for Paul's Portal, an ungroomed snowshoe trail that goes out, per the sign, .5km (just under one third mile) to an overlook of Los Alamos Canyon.  The snowshoe trail is marked with orange flagging tape.

As I descended through the woods, I saw a retreating, brown furry butt going sideways to my path.  I chose to believe it was a deer although it looked a tad broad and low.  No matter - it was uninterested in me.  Just in case, I picked up two long branches which also were handy to keep my balance.

After enjoying the overlook, which is above where Cañada Bonita Canyon feeds into Los Alamos Canyon, I followed flagging that led me along Cañada Bonita Canyon but when the flagging ran out, I headed uphill to the road.  When I was at the intersection of the lower road and the even lower road to the right (both go out to the meadow), I saw the orange flagging coming uphill again from alongside Cañada Bonita Canyon.  Hikers I met in the meadow say plans are to have a snowshoe trail along Cañada Bonita Canyon, starting from Paul's Portal.  That would be really neat!

My leg is mostly all well today - yay!

Back at the ski lodge, I sat inside and ate my homemade tabooley which was delicious.  Even inside, it was torture listening to the band's loud thumping!

Sore, Swollen Left Leg

Don't know how I ended up with a sore, swollen left leg.  Tuesday night, when I did my calf stretch, I felt a twinge in my left leg but it was fine on the LL hike Wednesday and didn't start hurting and swelling until Wednesday afternoon.  The left calf was 1 1/4" more in circumference than the right one yesterday.  I saw a doctor yesterday evening.  He doubted it was a deep vein thrombosis but said get a doppler ultrasound to rule it out.  He thought it's more likely a calf muscle tear.

My leg felt a little better today and is less swollen and sore so I didn't bother with the doppler ultrasound which isn't terribly reliable anyway for diagnosing calf thromboses.  Usually, calf thromboses don't cause pulmonary emboli.  If it's a thrombosis, I doubt it will kill me.  If it's instead truly a calf tear, it will take a while to heal.  The odd thing is that it doesn't feel horrible to walk on it but stiffens up when I'm sitting down for a while.

I had written a blog draft bemoaning my husband's neglect of his health but maybe it's more my health I should worry about. 

I hiked with the WRSC group to Guaje Pines Cemetery and back.  Spouse invited two of his coworkers, one who is moving back to Nebraska.  They are in their 40's.  They were polite but it was hard to tell if they honestly enjoyed hiking with us old folks!

I am working on matchmaking for our widower in the WRSC group.  I met a widow in her 80's this summer who lives in Arizona and who would like to meet a man, I was told.  I've put in a phone call to her daughter to find out her contact info.  All this is with the consent of the widower.  Matchmaker, matchmaker:  make me a match!

Spouse has started worrying that our roof is going to collapse.  This is because he once heard a loud noise originating from the roof - perhaps bats in the belfry...  He has been pointing out to me deck separation at an undereave seam.  He says the longer life the shingles are, the heavier the roof will be on the rafters.  He's right about that and perhaps the roofer should have taken this into consideration but I don't think the roof is in danger of collapsing.  To humor him, I'll go up on the ladder this weekend and peer into the attic space above the big living room to see if I see any evidence of damage and to make sure everything below the ridge vent appears dry.

We had a small leak in the furnace room on Wednesday night during the big rains.  The roofer came out Thursday and replaced the furnace chimney cap.  Hope that will stop the leak!

Thought of this on the hike today:  The purpose of a relationship is to laugh and enjoy someone's company so much that you forget you're going to die one day.  Let's call this the Noir Theory of Relationships!

Having My Doubts About La Niña

Today's LL hike was only 3 miles and attended by 13 people.  Weather was cool and wonderful.  We walked on the Perimeter Trail, starting from the Mitchell Trail trailhead,  over to the Dot Grant Trail and back to the North Mesa-Barranca Mesa Roundabout where we had left parked cars that morning.

Across from Ponderosa Estates housing development, we found a lot of yellow golf balls that someone had putted across Rendija Canyon.  Picking them up was was as fun as an Easter egg hunt!  I now have more golf balls for the putt putt golf course at East Park than I need!

At Guaje Pines Cemetery, the group visited a memorial cross on a hillside above the graveyard.  The cross had a plaque that said "Brad".  The hikers told me there used to be a guitar at the memorial but it wasn't there today.  Don't know who Brad is.  Maybe someone's guitar playing dog??

The predicted rain didn't begin until we got to the pedestrian underpass near the North Mesa-Barranca Mesa Roundabout which is right where the parked cars were waiting and by the time we walked through the underpass, the rain stopped.  We saw a warning sign posted at the Bayo Canyon trailhead with photos of a dog that was attacked by coyotes in broad daylight.  The dog lived but the photos show obvious wounds.

We drove up to the sheltered North Mesa picnic area for lunch; afterward, I drove three hikers back to the Mitchell Trail trailhead.

Then I drove to the Ocean and walked the flat part of the Route to the bottom of Guardrail Hill.  There was some rain on the way back but no thunder or lightning.

Now, it's been raining off and on all afternoon, with some hard rainfall.  How could a La Niña event, which brings dry weather to the southwest, possibly be occurring this winter when we're getting all this moisture?

I'm afraid that all this rain (yes, yes, I know - the mantra in the southwest is "We need the rain!") will cause the aspen leaves to drop before they turn yellow.  The aspen leaves at Ice Lake near Silverton, CO are already completely golden but they are several hundred feet higher than us.  One of the LL hikers camped there overnight recently with her husband.  She wanted to camp several nights but the husband got altitude sickness so that nixed that.

There has been a full moon the last few nights.  I'm enjoying all my day time hikes but realized last night that I'm lately divorced from the wonder and splendor of the night sky.  I did step outside the other night and gaped at the moon riding high overhead.  The clouds nearest the moon were edged in silver from the bright moonlight.

Pajarito Mountain Every Which Way

Oh, I love the onset of Fall's cooler temperatures after summer's heat and before winter's deep freeze.  I love the way the forest floor is dappled with spots of yellow and red.  Gathering boletus and admiring wildflowers is just a fond memory that I hope to repeat next year.

Today I hiked up Pajarito Mountain, going up Zero Road East from the Lodge, over and up Evershine Ridge, connecting back with the Zero Road East, then taking bike trails on the back of the mountain over to the Mother Lift and down Rim Run to the Logging Road back to the Lodge.

The aspens are very slow to change this year.  I see some color on the hillside above Pajarito Canyon, below the Knife-edge, but can't tell if it's really aspens or just shrubs that are turning.  Pajarito Mountain is not showing much color except for isolated patches here and there.  Looking across at Cerro Grande today, the aspen patches were still green.

Some of the small aspens on Pajarito Mountain have brown spots on their leaves.  A woman who works at the library told me that maybe the aspen colors will fizzle this year due to all the rain we got this summer.  I admired a patch of thimbleberry that's turned yellow.  I'll take what I can get even if it's only a patch of autumn colors here and there.

I saw a WI hiker on top, eating his lunch in the shelter of the Mother Lift.  His wife had gone to the top of the Lone Spruce lift but then went back down to gather some wood.  She seems to be the wood handler of the family, having badly injured her finger while splitting wood last winter.  The couple won't be going to Los Griegos tomorrow with the WI group.  Neither will I - the LL group switched hikes because of the predicted heavy rains and will hike locally tomorrow to get done before the rains come.  Anyway, I wouldn't be able to keep up with the awesome Amazon who will lead the group up Los Griegos tomorrow!

The weather was cooler today and even some rain.  I need to bring a windbreaker next time.  There are still many ways left to tackle Pajarito Mountain.  La Niña this winter may give me lots of opportunities to do so.  The weather forecasters say that this winter's La Niña has established itself with stunning rapidity.  If I understand correctly, we're supposed to have warmer and drier conditions this winter because of La Niña.  I know that last winter was an El Niño event and, boy, did we get snow - lots of it!

I had this thought:  If I had to troll the woods everyday to gather and hunt my food and shelter, would I love being outdoors as much or would I curse the hard work and harsh lifestyle?  I thought this after reading about the hunter-gatherer lifestyle in The Peopling of Bandelier.  It's one thing to go out and blithely admire and appreciate Nature, garnering mental sustenance from the land, knowing that the creature comforts of home await, but entirely different to derive all physical sustenance from the land.

Cañada Bonita with Husband Yesterday

Husband made it to meadow - I continued on to my official 4 mile RT turnaround point. 

On the hike, I asked husband about CNBC Obama-thon and he enjoyed telling me about the questions directed at Obama.  He said that Obama has to be careful of what he says so as not to scare the stock market, that den of thieves! 

Husband seems happy with his half-time schedule.  He had to ice his ankle in the evening.  I'm trying to convince him to use two hiking sticks, old ski poles, to help his balance but he's not interested.  Probably if the physical therapist recommended using two hiking sticks, he'd believe it but he won't believe me.  I hope he remembers to ask the physical therapist about it next week.

Husband's First Day of Semi-Retirement

Lab still hasn't confirmed that husband is officially on half-time so this "day off" may come out of our vacation budget.

Husband decided to have an Obama-thon this morning. He's watching a townhall meeting on CNBC starring OBAMA!  It's on from 10-noon and afterward, he'll hike with me.  I told him that likely no new news will transpire and that this is just a campaign event (even though not billed as such!) 

He can't tape the show on our VCR because it would interfere with my taping of Dr. Oz.  I'm passing time, waiting to go out on the hike, by doing a load of laundry and playing on the computer while half-listening to This American Life which I taped yesterday.  The show's theme was Life After Death - oh, oh...  (Isn't it quaint that we still use video and audio cassette tapes?)

Tomorrow is Sunday Too

Spouse begins half-time work schedule tomorrow.  Usually I'm hiking with a group on Monday but tomorrow the group is going to Las Trampas and I'm not - too far to drive - so I'll hike with hubby.

Today:  Went to MPL, then we drove to White Rock, parked at WRMPL and husband walked a little bit with me but then went back to library. I went all the way to Potrillo Canyon trailhead and back.  Stopped at Smith's afterwards - bought frozen veggies on sale for 88 cents a bag!

Landfill Cleanup Resumes with Radiation Detector Now on Excavator Arm

Los Alamos Monitor had brief story today by Garrison Wells: Pipe with excess plutonium halts lab clean-up.  Now, the excavator arm will have a radiation detector on it to prevent any more breaches of the allowable above ground plutonium radiation permitted at the landfill cleanup.  Idea is that the radiation detector will measure the amount of radiation before the excavator drags the contaminant above ground.  Before, the radiation detector was placed on the ground next to the hole being excavated.  That meant that they didn't know the amount of radiation until the cat was already out of the bag, i.e., after they had already drug the contaminant above ground!  This is not rocket science.  Not sure if I feel any more comforted by the change in procedure.  I HOPE that some agency other than the lab is overseeing the safety of this cleanup. 

New Mexican Story on Plutonium Contaminated Pipe at DP Road Cleanup Site

Roger Snodgrass wrote an excellent article, on 9/16/2010 in the Santa Fe New Mexican, titled Contaminated pipe halts LANL cleanup project: Cylinder exceeds allowed radiation.  Work has been shut down on the cleanup of the old landfill on DP Road dating from 1945 after a worker discovered a plutonium contaminated pipe  and surrounding soil that had radiation levels that exceeded by six times those permitted above ground during the cleanup.  The pipe and the soil it was buried in were measured to contain the equivalent of 40 grams of plutonium-239.  Before cleanup began, the whole 5-acre site was estimated from soil sampling to contain only 200 grams of plutonium.

I live near this cleanup site and I'm not happy that the LANL spokesman, Fred deSousa, said the public was not notified about this discovery because, to quote Roger Snodgrass's article, "there had been no radioactive release to the public and no exposure".  Regardless, the public SHOULD have been informed.  LANL is not being very transparent about what's going on at the landfill cleanup.

The talk is that the landfill will be cleaned up  to residential housing standards.  I don't plan to ever live there.  It's bad enough that we live so close to the cleanup site.