Nine people showed up--Tom and Cynthia, Joan and Gary, Robin and Rich, Ernie (Susan was working), and Joe. I wonder if people stayed away because they, like I, thought they’d encounter a deluge. I even brought along my fiberglass golf umbrella (it’s usable as a walking stick) but at the last minute, left it in the car trunk and I’m glad I did!
We took 3 cars. I drove Tom and Cynthia. We stopped at the Roland Pettit TH to disgorge the hikers and the drivers drove to the Las Conchas TH, across from House Ranch. On the way there, I spotted a sign that said “Wild Hogs”. I thought maybe the crazed critters were running all over the highway! In my mind, this was all but confirmed when I saw signs to slow to 35 mph and also a road crew person holding up a “SLOW” sign. When we got to the parking lot, other crew members told us to park across the street alongside SR4. They needed to keep the parking lot clear for their equipment. Apparently, some scenes from a Disney movie called Wild Hogs are being shot there. From what I could see, they have dug out a large squarish hole and made a dirt road into that from the highway.
After the hike, Ernie talked with two of the “heavies” guarding the set. The movie company is building a “waterfall” and “hot springs” near the climbing area across the river from the start of the East Fork Trail. It’s easier for them to build these “natural wonders” rather than drive/haul all their equipment and crew to a real waterfall and hot springs! Joe said that his daughter is working as an EMT on the set. He also said that no one thought to get an environmental assessment before they did all that digging and road construction. He seems to remember reading that some people were not happy over this.
Anyway, when we started hiking on the Roland Pettit Trail, we didn’t go very far before we turned left and up a hill toward a dead tree and there was a trail that I had never seen before! We followed it downhill for a while. It was steep in spots but not cliffy and, due to the recent rains, not skittery footing. Then when we had gotten downhill to an easy crossing of the East Fork, we started up a ridge on the other side to see a Trick Tank. I now know the symbol on the topo map for a Trick Tank--a very small circle. After that side trip, we went back down hill, but not all the way, to where we picked up a trail to our right and followed that up onto a ridge that was high above the Upper East Fork Valley. I could see views of Las Conchas mountain and saw a glimpse of the Las Conchas fee picnic area as we passed above it.
Norm B. wasn’t on the hike today but I bet he would have enjoyed this hike as he has mentioned to the group in the past that he has cross country skied along the East Fork from the Las Conchas fee picnic area. Joan said that she has walked along the East Fork from there also but it can get very brushy.
At times, we had to skirt around large fallen trees. Once, we were walking in a narrow, dry canyon that was congested with fallen trees for a short distance. Eventually, we reached a grazing fence, with the East Fork in sight, and the fence had a crude “gate” in it--one of the primitive stick and wire ones. Tom held the gate open for everyone. I realized that I have often seen this fenced area from the official East Fork Trail and always wondered about going over there to check it out. Maybe I would have discovered the trail that Joan led us on but, until today, wouldn’t have known where it went. I have always been puzzled by the Roland Pettit Trail as it didn’t seem to go anywhere, just ending frustratingly soon at the Baca fence.
We now had to cross the East Fork to go over to the “official” East Fork Trail. While everyone searched for the best way across, I spotted what looked like metal forest service signs on several nearby trees and strolled over to check them out. They said something like official boundary monument. Two of the trees were bearing trees but I couldn’t find the third one. The date was 1989. At the base of one of the trees, someone had wrapped some kind of natural cordage around a stick to attach a small pine cone to the stick and had plaited the end cordage like a tail for the stick and propped it upright against the tree. I wonder if I discovered a sacred spot.
A few of us crossed on a very large, sturdy log that Tom found for Cynthia to safely cross on but most went over on a smaller, more rickety looking log. I chose the large, sturdy log but said “Damn!” out loud when I started to trip over my walking stick (the log was far enough above the water that I had to place my walking stick on the log to steady myself) and thought I was going in the drink for sure!
Later, Joan told us, we could have bailed out at the grazing fence had the weather deteriorated but, since the weather was fine--overcast, cooler, but no immediate rain, we continued on upstream. Right after the stream crossing at the grazing fence, we saw another fence--the triangular one that comes down to the stream. Joan said that the Baca (now the Valles Caldera National Preserve) had wanted to ensure that the cows could get to the East Fork for water and hence the small fenced triangle of the East Fork River. We were outside of that fence but started seeing huge, fresh cow plops. On our way to lunch, everyone else noticed the 5 or so cows and calves sitting in the shade but I didn’t notice them until we were heading back after lunch. That explained all the fresh, nearly steaming cow pies!
I noticed two colors of wild roses along the trail--one was pink and the other red. I smelled the red one and it smelled like real roses, unlike some of the giant, showy roses at the Fuller Lodge Rose Garden which smell like absolutely nothing--should be illegal!! I thought I saw Jacob’s Ladder, maybe choke cherry, definitely saw some fat gooseberries, lots of beautiful white daisies with a yellow center, lots of tall, yellow cutleaf coneflower being visited by butterflies, a lone harebell, angelica growing in the streambed, tons of yellow cinquefoil, and always, always heard the haunting song of the hermit thrush.
After crossing the sagging bridge, at a bend in the river and near a campsite, the group took a much longer lunch than I have ever seen them take. Everyone was thoroughly enjoying the day and the setting.
Ernie has a Lowrance GPS that he bought for $60 on eBay and it had the trail we had been following up on the ridge. I was amazed at that and wish the National Geographic Topo! maps were that up to date! Gary’s GPS gave a final tally of 4.8 miles.
Completely, officially, topping off a fantastic day, on the way home, well past the Frijoles Canyon dip but before the Coker Trail, we saw 3 cars in the opposite direction, stopped in the road with their emergency blinkers on. I slowed and pulled off the road when I spotted a baby bear cub with its mama that everyone was looking at. The mama seemed in no distress although she was fairly close to the road. She was steadily making her way uphill, though, away from the road and the little one was scrambling along to follow her. Before today, I had only seen 2 bears in NM--one in the Peralta Canyon area and one crossing West Jemez Road--but I have never seen a baby bear with its mother. They both looked very beautiful and healthy and I am happy that I got to see them.
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