Yesterday, Tuesday, I walked from the ski lodge up Zero East Road to the 4-way intersection at the antenna farm just west of Townsight Lift. I wanted to check out a trail I'd followed on Ullr Fest from the 4-way intersection over to Evershine Ridge. That trail skirts above Pajarito Canyon (or at least in view of it) and runs above Evershine Ridge, going past yet more antennas, the easternmost ones on the mountain.
I didn't have time the day of Ullr Fest to follow the trail completely. I had to turn around because I was the designated driver who had to drive everyone down Camp May Road.
On Tuesday, since the trail could have been muddy with last week's snow fall on the ski hill and since I'd already walked part of it from the 4-way intersection, I turned left and walked past Townsight Lift, whose quad chairs were all stacked in a row while the lift awaits repair after the Las Conchas fire, and over to where I'd stopped last time. I quickly discovered that the trail didn't go much further. It deadended at Evershine Ridge. I didn't bother checking to see if it somehow continues further down.
The aspens in Pajarito Canyon have turned yellow. Would be nice to check out the aspen activity there but that's in the Las Conchas burn area closure. The aspens that didn't burn on Pajarito Mountain aren't putting on much of a show this year.
Today, Wednesday, I walked up Cerra Bonita, the mountain just north of Pajarito Mountain, on a rocky dirt road through a meadow that had burnt aspens on one side and burnt conifers on the other. I've wanted to do this since summer when I looked at the road with binoculars from the top of Rim Run and, because the Las Conchas fire had burned a lot of trees, could see over the top of Cerra Bonita all the way north to Pipeline Road. I thought maybe if I walked up Cerra Bonita that I could look down into Cañada Bonita meadow and beyond but I discovered today that Cerra Bonita just isn't as high enough to see into Cañada Bonita meadow. The road ended at the edge of a burnt conifer forest that looked too dangerous for me to walk into further.
I started down Cerra Bonita to where I could see a fairly open way to walk through the burnt aspen forest to another meadow. I was hoping to contour above Camp May Park and not lose much altitude. This plan wasn't as scary as the prospect of walking through burnt conifers. When the conifers burn, their roots open up deep, ankle busting holes! The forest floor in the burnt aspen forest has already filled with aspen seedlings, some a yard high with leaves as big as the palm of my hand.
When I got to the open meadow, I was unhappy to discover the blasted barbed wire fence of the Valles Caldera National Preserve boundary. There was even a nasty barbed trip wire at a right angle to the fence. I could have trespassed and walked uphill in that inviting high mountain meadow - the fence is broken down in so many places - but instead I walked outside the fence, carefully watching that I didn't trip on the barbed wire laying on the ground. I saw elk track in the black dirt. I wondered how they deal with the barbed wire. I vehemently cursed the Preserve out loud as I walked along. Why in the world are we not allowed to walk on the rim of the Valles Caldera when we, the people, already own this piece of property? The Valles Caldera Trust is basically entrusted with keeping us out which is extremely irksome!
When I got to the road that goes uphill to the Camp May saddle, I followed it up to the damnable Valles Caldera National Preserve fence and cursed them some more, loudly, casting aspersions on the legitimacy of their parentage! Since Las Conchas fire, the views from Pajarito Mountain into the Valles Caldera have really opened up. I could see all the way to Redondo Peak. I could see the burnt volcanic domes of Cerro del Medio and Cerros del Abrigo in the Valle Grande.
I continued to the top of Rim Run. A sherpa would have been handy to carry my backpack up that steep slope! The ski area is building a log fence along the ski hill boundary. They have plenty of logs courtesy of the Las Conchas fire! At the top of Rim Run, it was already 3 pm. All I'd had for lunch was some grapes. I would have liked to sit and eat a snack, whilst enjoying the views but it was late so I put on my windbreaker and a fleece vest and continued toward the Mother lift. I estimated I'd arrive back at my car at 4:30 pm.
On Tuesday, I saw no other hikers on Pajarito Mountain and on Wednesday, I saw no hikers until I got near the Mother Lift. Then, I saw a lone male hiker heading for the back of the mountain and a couple with a tiny, yippy terrier heading to the top of Rim Run.
I could have walked down steep Rim Run to the Logging Road but I wanted to get my miles up to 4 for the day so I went past the Mother Lift and then walked downhill to the Terrain Park to pick up the Logging Road. But when I got below the Terrain Park, I instead took a minor road that went across the ski runs and backtracked to the east before going all the way back west to I Don't Care Run. I really don't know the western side of the mountain very well and thought this road was a short cut to the Logging Road - HA! At this point, I was practically to the bottom of Rim Run where I knew I could pick up the Logging Road but I, in my brilliance, didn't want to walk any further and thought that I Don't Care looked easy to go down - NOT! This particular run has fooled me before. It starts out easy but then then makes a sharp right where it becomes steep and rocky - ARRGH! I had no choice but to carefully pick my way down. It was either that or roll down! Once I got on the Logging Road, I stayed on it and arrived at my car at 4:33 pm.
Even though the aspens on Pajarito Mountain aren't glorious this year, I did see some enormous red and yellow aspen leaves that had fallen. I looked up but couldn't figure out where they'd come from. Last week's snowfall still hasn't melted yet on the shadowed side of the ski slopes.