Exploring the Pajarito Plateau, Garcia Canyon, 7-29-06

Exploring the Pajarito Plateau, Garcia Canyon, 7-29-06

At last, the long awaited Garcia Canyon Trip.  Seventeen of us gringos gathered in the Fuller Lodge parking lot, excruciatingly on-time.  Ann Baldwin and Mike Bremer of the USFS were there in one of the tank-like, green, Suburbans but no Jason Garcia of Santa Clara pueblo.  While waiting for Jason (Mike got on a cell phone and made a call to Rory trying to find out about Jason’s whereabouts), everyone signed in, the two archeologists talked to us a bit about the trip, decisions were made as to what vehicles were deemed road worthy for the very rough road.  Dorothy Hoard’s Honda CRV was judged as one that wouldn’t make it!  I had offers to ride with Eve and Gordon Spencer  but Tom and Brooke Davis, a nice couple who live on North Mesa, offered me a ride, saying I’d have the whole back seat to myself, an irresistible offer!  On the trip out, Brooke drove, saying she had never driven the Ford Explorer off road before but she did a bang up--oops--poor choice of words--an excellent job over some very rough spots.   We were a caravan of 6 cars, one of which was going to take their time going back--Nina Stelzer was in that one.  BTW, Jason eventually surfaced and rode with Ann and Mike.

We drove down Rendija Canyon and then to the left up the steep road that goes past the pumice mines.  Ann had flagged the route out  in the past for the Passport in Time program.  (Incidentally, I Googled that and it’s a really interesting program where volunteers work alongside archeologists.  One upcoming project is restoration of the Aqua Piedra Cabin in October.  It sounds like hard work though and involves replacing the floor--shades of Hantavirus!!)

We drove out through Chupaderos Canyon and parked near the western end of Chupaderos Mesa.  We followed an easy trail to the top of the mesa and Mike and Ann stopped and gave us a general overview of the area, of which I remember very little except for Ann’s defense of controlled burns.  That subject came up because when the Cerro Grande fire roared through the area in 2000, the portions of the Ponderosa forest that had been treated by thinning were left standing and didn’t sustain a crown fire. 

From Chupaderos Mesa, we could see north across Garcia Canyon to the meadow where the site of the oldest homestead in the area, 1887, had been.  Then, on south side, we could see across Chupaderos Canyon to a meadow that had been the site of the last homestead, in the early 1900’s, maybe 1907.  Jason Garcia, with prompting from Mike Bremer, gave us his view of homesteading.  He said that basically, the pueblos were given their reservations and then the homesteaders settled on their ancestral, aboriginal lands.  He is part of the land claims office at Santa Clara and has purchased back about 300 acres of land from private landholders.  He seemed rueful of having to purchase back land that Santa Clara had once freely roamed in.  Dorothy was going to say something about what Jason ahd said (perhaps correct what he said about homesteads being given out by the Mexican government--he probably meant land grants) but Mike asked her to talk while they walked further along the mesa to the pueblo plaza as it was already 11:30am and people had to get back early (mainly Georgia Strickfaden!).  (BTW, Jason likes the term “ancestral village” because he feels that pueblo is a Spanish term which reflects after the “occupation”.   (On the way back to the cars, I happened to be behind him and I mentioned my ancestral village in Arne, Syria and my grandfather’s name being carved in the doorway.  Although he was friendly, I wasn’t able to gauge any reaction or interest from him although he could have been interested--it was hard to tell.  I guess I purposely did it to perhaps imply how lucky he is to have his “ancestral villages” so close, even if Santa Clara doesn’t own all of them.)

Anyway, after Mike told Dorothy to walk and talk, at that point, Ann sped off over the mesas with the fastest following behind her (this after she had pointedly said, as we went up the trail to the top of the mesa, that this wasn’t a race, jibing at Mike Bremer.)  When we got to the small, unnamed “ancestral village” site, everything speeded up.  Georgia Strickfaden had mentioned in the morning that she had to be back by 1pm and it somehow morphed into all the rest of us had to be back early too but I’m sure that this wasn’t Georgia’s intention.  (In fairness, it was billed as a half day trip and if it had rained, we would have been in a world of trouble as the road crossed arroyos many, many times.)  Ann and Mike talked a little about the pueblo that we were standing on but things got interesting when we went over to the “ancestral village’s” archives, formerly known as a trash midden.  Dorothy had called it that and Mike carefully explained to us that they had learned from their pueblo friends that it actually contained the history of the pueblo and burials were even made there and the area was not looked upon as a “dump”.  That was very interesting to me.

I was a little jealous of the car that got to stay and enjoy the area at a more leisurely pace but we all headed back, now in a 5 car convoy, with Georgia in the front.

I forgot to mention that we had seen cows in Chupaderos Canyon, although there is no grazing allotment at all in the area.  Mike explained that the pueblo cows break through the fences.  They looked like extremely well fed cows!

I also forgot to mention that Ann and Mike said they hadn’t gotten permission from Santa Clara to approach the area from the north through the Garcia gate.  The forest service actually has administrative access to that gate but needs to ask the pueblo permission to use it.  I am resisting a lot of useless, futile, editorial comment on what I think of the sovereign Indian nations that surround us.  On the way home, though, I did comment to Tom and Brooke that we are so distant from the Indians culturally but so close geographically.  From Chupaderos Mesa, I could see the water tower on North Mesa and I could also see the houses clustered at the end of Los Pueblos. 

Condition of Cerro Grande Route on Thursday, November 10, 2005

I last hiked the Cerro Grande route on September 21 with a large group and on September 22 by myself.  On those hikes, less than two weeks after the September 10 grand opening of the route, I was surprised at how quickly it had changed into a clear, stamped down trail.   When Dorothy and I hiked the route today to look at the condition of the trail, two months after the grand opening, I thought that other than more flattening of grass hummocks, the trail didn’t look that much worse for wear.   Perhaps photos of the route's condition over time would paint a more accurate picture.

The trail, as Dorothy says, looks like a trail now.  It is well worn in yet not entrenched.  There are places where it has worn into the dirt but there are other places where it is still grassy.

After the trail passes the large elk exclosure at the beginning and ascends to follow along the logging road above Frijoles Canyon, there is a portion of the trail where my feet tilt sideways.   Dorothy says that we have to see how wet the winter is and whether erosion occurs next year and that it’s always possible that water bars would be needed in places.  One hiker on the September 21 group hike was very worried that when it rains, the steepest parts of the route will become very eroded.

At least up to the high pass below the grassy summit of Cerro Grande, people have stayed on the route rather than making a criss cross of trails.  There are various elk trails going off the route but I didn’t see evidence that hikers are using them.  There are very few places where the route is wider than a single track.  It surprised me to see that people even followed a single track path on the wider logging road portions of the route.

The logging road ends at the high pass and the route follows through beautiful stands of golden, hummocky grass.   From this high pass and up to the top of Cerro Grande, there are several instances where short portions of the trail consist of two different paths that separate but than converge and there are also a few very short lengths of the trail that have been widened to a double path.

On the summit, there are two high rock cairns, each topped with a stick, built near the peak’s benchmark.  One of the cairns has conifer boughs arranged in a circle around it.   I saw a dirt depression near the benchmark where a rock was recently removed--maybe to add to a cairn.  On September 22, there were already signs of overuse (patches of bare ground) around the benchmark.  On today’s hike, the worst wear on the summit is around the benchmark which has a lot of bare dirt spots.  It seems that the benchmark area is where hikers (including our very large group on September 21) congregate to eat lunch and visit.  So as to not overuse that  area, Dorothy and I bucked the trend and had our lunch to the west of the benchmark where the views are just as beautiful.

There are places (especially around the elk exclosure) where fallen dead tree trunks lay across the trail’s path. As I step over them, trying not to trip, I wish midnight chainsaw man would appear and do his job!  There are also places where the trail has rocks loosened from all the footsteps but those are easily removed.  Overall, the Cerro Grande route is easy to follow because it is now well-worn and  crystal clear.  The grass hummocks in the trail tread have worn down and flattened enough that  it's an easy walking surface.  Without the route, hiking Cerro Grande would be harder. The route makes it easy to avoid walking in the meadow with all its tripping hazards--hidden tree branches and rocks and the stumble-inducing grass hummocks. Even so, it's a very steep, straight-up route.

All told, we saw 6 other hikers and one jogger on the trail today.

Upper Alamo Headwaters Report August 17, 2005

We enter into the Upper Alamo Headwaters area, from Dome Road, through an impressively massive, rusted iron gate which will soon be torn down and recycled by Sam Gardner, who will also build a small parking lot at the trailhead.  A rustic-looking wooden fence, similar to that along the Bandelier Upper Frijoles XC Ski Trail parking lot, will be built as an attractive, natural-looking entrance to the upper Alamo drainage.  Per Dale Coker, this Upper Alamo Headwaters land was added to Bandelier National Monument by 2000 legislation which recognized, when Baca Location No. 1 was acquired, that the upper Alamo Headwaters was an integral part of the upper watershed of Bandelier.

First thing I notice are lots of birds flying about--fellow hikers identify the beautiful big one as a flicker--and tall golden grass in a broad, expansive, inviting meadow.  Scooter Peak is on the right and a forest of mixed conifers and aspens is on the left.  

Some of the aspens are in island-like groupings and I am looking forward to walking in this area in the fall. It’s really hard to describe the emotional affect that these groupings of aspens have on me--it's something about their lighter green color, their white bark with black markings, and their shaking leaves that makes them seem ethereal.  

All throughout our hike we see tall stumps leftover from past logging.  There are also shiny black bits of obsidian scattered underfoot.    

Near the the beginning of the hike, on the right, is a large bermed stock pond, a leftover from when this land was used for grazing.  Around the stock pond are metal supports which look like tennis nets but with the nets rolled up at the top.  Per Dale Coker, Stephen Fettig uses this apparatus to net birds for an ongoing study. This is not the only stock pond--all in all, we end up passing about 3 or so stock ponds or seeps.  Dale Coker affirms that frogs sing here in the springtime.  Now I can hardly wait to return in spring!  

In addition to the stock ponds, we see a flattened rusty barrel and a HUGE black tire that Sam Gardner will thankfully remove when he builds the parking lot.  

My overall impression of the meadow is of welcoming peace and natural beauty.  As we get closer to Scooter Pass, I listen to the silence.  As I look on the scene before me, I instinctively breathe deeper and relax.

Some of the vegetation that I could identify throughout our hike was:  yarrow, purple daisies, dandelions, chickweed, clover, mountain parsley, pinedrops, sneezeweed, fireweed, geranium, green gentian, ferns, harebells, mountain juniper, lichen, moss, thimbleberry, currant, and mullein.  

Due to our recent outstanding monsoon, fungi of all wondrous shapes and colors abound! Canadian thistle, an invasive, appears here and there.  Dried wild iris stalks, which seem to especially like to grow in the middle of the road, promise  an iris-filled spring!

After the flat meadow, the road to Scooter Pass goes mildly uphill but it is not strenuous.  There are some places where signage would be required to keep hikers who wanted to walk the loop on the designated trail because there is a welter of confusing side logging roads.  

To the right of the road, there are glimpses of pocket meadows in the woods.  The Alamo drainage itself looked dry but the depression it forms is clearly visible.  Dale Coker says that to the left of the road are the cliffs of Rabbit Ridge.  One tree to the left of the trail has a dendrometer band on its trunk to measure the tree growth--more evidence of ongoing studies in this area.

In places alongside the road are huge boulders which look the scale of toddler-climbable mountains.  Often, a chipmunk is standing on sentry duty or a bird is perched on top. The vegetation growing on the boulders gives them the look of hanging gardens.  We did not see any large animals but there was evidence of elk throughout--scat and scuffed up elk trails.   

When we arrive at Scooter Pass, with a connection to the road up Scooter Peak on the right and a connection to the Coyote Call trail to the left, we backtrack and find an old logging road running along the bottom of Rabbit Ridge.  As we follow this, we eventually come to a snaggle of fallen trees and brush but than Dale Coker is able to pick up the logging road on a slightly lower contour.

While searching for the continuation of the logging road, we find a metal stake with a metal tag that reads "NHNM BAND VEG MAP".  Dale Coker says that this demarcates a boundary of a vegetation plot being studied by Brian Jacobs.

Evidence that this area has been logged abounds--there are scattered tall stumps, one even in the middle of the road.  We follow the logging road to its dead-end and then pick up an excellent, steep elk trail up to Rabbit Ridge.  Dale Coker will submit the GPS information on our entire route.  

As we hike uphill, a look back gives occasional small glimpses through the trees of Pajarito Mountain in one direction and the Rio Grande Valley in another.  The forest is variously deep and dark or dappled sunlight but,   overall, we are hiking through an open forest, only occasionally having to step over fallen logs, and not feeling hog-tied by downfall.

The first meadow that we get to has views on one side of some of Bandelier’s best--Boundary Peak, Rabbit Hill, St. Peter’s Dome and Cerro Pichaco.  In the distance are Tetilla Peak, Cochiti Lake, and the Sandias.   

Dale Coker points out the still visible damage of the trail the Valles Caldera National Preserve had put through the meadow on Bandelier land, We follow the grassy hummocks leading up to Rabbit Ridge and the first felsenmeer viewpoint.  

The view of the Valles Caldera from the felsenmeer is outstanding.  You can see all the way to the north rim of the caldera.  

We continue along the ridge, seeing one recently fallen aspen with a dendroglyph but the date is illegible and the dendroglyph looks recent.

Along the ridge we see ladybugs clustering on grass stalks and bushes.  As they get ready to hibernate, they collect in shiny orange globules.  It is a welcome sign that summer is winding down and autumn  is on the way!!  Dale Coker points out a small portion of Dome Road below. 

We stop at another rock felsenmeer and this view of the caldera, above the Coyote Call trailhead, is even more expansive and awe inspiring.  Definitely a place to slow down, sit on a rock, listen to the rustling wind, and meditate.  Another fabulous get-away viewpoint courtesy of Rabbit Ridge!

We see an excellent elk trail that heads downhill to one of the logging roads below Rabbit Ridge and resolve to check it out one day.  

We are at a pass between Rabbit Ridge and Rabbit Mountain and we close the loop by heading downhill through a meadow,to a logging road, seeing plenty of tall, gray stumps, and passing a warren of other logging roads. Dale Coker has hiked and skied this many times and knows perfectly the way back to the cars parked along Dome Road.  Once again, some sort of signage would definitely be appreciated at crucial spots in this area.  Although, in saying that, I want to go back one day and follow every one of the roads to see for myself where they all go!!

We pass a small drainage which feeds into Cochiti Canyon. On the way back to the Iron Gate, we pass an obsidian quarry which Bandelier hopes to be lucky enough to own one day when a boundary is redrawn. There are more numerous and larger chunks of obsidian spilling out of the road cut than I have ever seen before! Just past the quarry, we pass a Havoline oil container on the ground.  Later, near Dome Road, we see 2 discarded plastic bottles.  Dale Coker picks up a metal tag that is laying on the ground.  Other than this, the area is thankfully litter free.

I enjoyed very much the opportunity to participate in this ground survey--thank you! 

Upper East Fork Hike July 5, 2006

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.

Cerro Grande Handline Report September 21, 2005

Today I went up Cerro Grande and walked the handline down the ridge to the edge of the Valle Canyon meadow.  If you're up on Cerro Grande, near the benchmark at the highest point of the peak, the handline trail is in the trees to the north, more or less, of the benchmark.  In fact, if you look behind the biggest cairn that has sprung up on top of Cerro Grande, there is a dim trail behind it, in the grass, that goes into the trees to the north.

In the trees, the handline trail starts out like a pleasant walk in the woods,pine cones under foot, with very well defined, single track.  That part doesn't last long, though, because then you come to the steep, stony middle part and my first reaction is "elevator shaft"! 

That part is short also and than the trail moderates and comes to a rock felsenmeer.  There are views of Redondo, Redondito, Cerro del Medio, and La Garita from the felsenmeer.  You walk straight across the felsenmeer and the handline trail continues for a short distance down to the edge of the Valle Canyon meadow.

Walking the trail, you catch glimpses of the caldera and of Pajarito Mountain through the trees.  At one point, I spied Cerro Rubio and Valles de los Posos when I looked back during a rest stop while going back up the "elevator shaft". 

There are places where there are standing dead trees at the side of the ridge that block what would have otherwise been a great view.  The sides of the trail are littered with cut trees from the construction of the handline.  The trail is easy to follow because you essentially keep to a ridge that is more or less north-south trending and the various cut tree stumps are a dead giveaway that you're following the handline. 

There was a bit of fall color starting, mostly in shrubs growing in the understory. 

Sunday, October 22, 2006 - O’Keeffe Country Geology Field Trip

Just outside of Abiquiu, before steep climb to Abiquiu Dam and Chama River Overlook, and right before “Red Rocks” roadside marker on right side of road, is forest road and an arroyo that goes to Copper Canyon on your right.  Kempter says that Copper Canyon is in a little ways and he hikes up the black dike on the right to get a good view of Copper Canyon--there is no trail up the dike--which he describes as an expansive canyon.
Red rocks on way to Abiquiu Dam, off US 84, are pre dinosaur.  CO Plateau rose in elevation but very stable--didn’t rift or form mountains--maybe because the sediments are so thick.

230 mya, NM at sea level.  Rivers, etc., deposited sediments, including Entrada Formation (fossilized sand dunes) and ocean deposits.  70 mya North American and Farallon plates collided in Pacific and NM rises above sea level, raising sedimentary layers and then they are eroded over time.  Rocky Mountains formed during intense uplift 70-40 mya.  Then, last 40 my, Basin and Range pulling apart and extension occurs with a north south trending lineation.  Extension of crust allows magma from mantle to find its way to the surface.  CO Plateau uplifted but not much deformation.  San Juan Mountains are the north boundary of the CO Plateau.  Mesa de Abiquiu is another name for the long, dark mesa called Black Mesa.  Ojo Caliente sandstone is another fossilized sand dune. 

Abiquiu Formation was the earliest deposit in the Rio Grande Rift and it is mainly pumice and ash washed down from the Taos Volcanic Field (may also be called the Latir Volcanic Field).  It is 20-30 my old.   The surface of the cliff above the Rio Chama at the roadside Overlook is Paleo sandstone.  Cerrito de la Ventana is the dark dike that crosses US 84. 

We took CR 155 to Plaza Blanca or White Place, which Georgia O’Keeffe has painted.  We passed Helen Hunt’s, of Hunt’s Ketchup fame (I coined The Lycopene Queen), and Marsha Mason’s ranches.  Marsha Mason grows lavender.  Abiquiu Formation is very silica rich and hence its white color.  Ojo Caliente sandstone is 12 to 9 my old.  CR 155 is washboardy.  Kempter pointed out CR 156, off of CR 155, and said it leads to Shirley McLaine’s property and also to a piece of property that he co-owns and would like to build a 1000 square foot dwelling on one day. 

Sierra Negra is capped by 6 my old basalt and that is why it has not eroded down--same with Mesa de Abiquiu or Black Mesa.  Lots of erosion occurred between Sierra Negra and the mesas to the west and Polvadera.  Faulting and erosion makes the CO Plateau landscape look complex but underneath are all the broad, formerly continuous layers of the CO Plateau.  

After we parked at Plaza Blanca (parking and hiking here graciously allowed by the Dar Al Islam Mosque), we met some hikers coming back who said that they found a small labyrinth but we didn’t stumble across it in our walk. 

It is so elemental in Plaza Blanca with the hard-baked, glinting soil and the rock and boulder littered landscape, all set off by the whiteness of the place.  Kempter pointed to the upper levels of the Abiquiu Formation to a layer of big boulders and told us that was a former river level.  The whiter, more laminated layers of the fantastic turrets in Plaza Blanca are flood sheet deposits of the Abiquiu Formation.  Ojo Caliente sandstone is deposited on the Abiquiu Formation.  Also, the area has some young, Quaternary sediments (orange) from 60,000 years ago that redeposited over the Abiquiu Formation after the Ojo Caliente and El Rito Formations eroded away.  Some of the boulders, large and small, in the present day channels, washed down from the Tusas Mountains--Ortega Quartzite.  The arroyo with pink sand is from the Quaternary deposits of 60,000 years ago (although they look orange when viewed from afar in place on the mesa tops.)  Kempter says that these 60,000 year old Quaternary deposits were basically from the ancestral Chama River.  Chunks of black basalt on the modern day surface are from the black dike to the north of Plaza Blanca. 

Attending these field trips and listening to Kempter explain the scenery is like seeing Geology Revealed!!  Kempter says that 500 mya, this area was above sea level, 300 mya it was below sea level and the ocean came into this area.  By the Cretaceous, the sea had come down from the Alberta area and up from the Gulf of Mexico and that essentially the land that is now the United States formed 2 islands.  From 65 mya, the land was always above sea level and the ocean had disappeared from this area.  Volcanism didn’t begin until 40 mya.   In all that time, a lot of layers have eroded away.  The Chama El Rito formation originated from the Sangres.  The Ojo Caliente layer was aeolian.  Before the layers eroded away, the whole area was once as high as Sierra Negra.

Thursday group hiked on lower Water Canyon Trail.  Only 4 of us.  Old road into Water Canyon, from NM4, has some packed down snow in shady areas but no significant mud or ice yet. We started at 8:30 am so any snow was still frozen.  It softened somewhat on way back but mud not a problem.

One hiker, in his 80's, remembers driving into Water Canyon on the old road which now has a gate and on which no motorized traffic is allowed.  He said there was good deer hunting in there.  He remembers one involuntary "oil change" due to a collision of his oil pan with a rock!

The group turned around after about 1.5 miles but I continued on to the saddle between Water and Potrillo canyons and down to the Potrillo Canyon channel, where I turned around.  Very satisfying to be walking on a trail!

Going to give up snowshoeing and sell my snowshoes next year at ski swap.  I haven't been using them much at all in the past few winters and my posterior tibial tendon dysfunction seems much better.  The snowshoes weren't really appropriate for breaking trail but I used them for that anyway, to the detriment of my feet. 

So, instead of snowshoeing, when the trails are snow-covered, I'll walk paved roads, sidewalks and forest roads.  Today I wanted to walk FR181 but the parking lot was too treacherous for me to park there - fie!  (Next time bring a snow shovel!)  Instead, I drove to the plowed, paved parking area near the Dome Road, FR289.  I walked to its intersection with FR36.  They now have mile marker signs on the Dome Road!  I estimate I walked 4.5 miles.  It wasn't icy or muddy but I'll carry my YakTrax next time just in case.  

First cousin Butch died yesterday.  Only a year or so older than me.  Had recent operation for colon cancer.  Not sure it he'd started chemo yet.  Sad.  His Mom, my Mom's last remaining sibling, Ethel, had died a month or so ago - was in her 90's.

Yesterday, attended Halloween Potluck at WRSC.  We brought delicious tuna salad from LA Food Co-op.  I helped a little afterward with folding up chairs. Much more work remained to be done - dirty dishes, folding tablecloths, etc., but I had to leave.  I'll help again next time.  I like helping when it's not an obligation but freely done.

Also, on WRSC hike before potluck, one hiker had balance problems and toppled over and was very unsteady on way back.  I and another hiker stayed close to him on the walk back.

Upset last night when spouse partially closed laundry room door which has no heat and in which, several winters back, water pipes froze and burst.  He couldn't understand why I'd be upset over that!

Still trying to figure out what to do with handwritten journals.  There is much good in them but also much blathering and complaining.  How to easily get rid of the dreck and keep the interesting stuff?

Listening to Wild by Cheryl Strayed.   I like her honesty.

Yesterday, volunteered at Home Tour.  Sat at a house in our neighborhood to greet people and make sure they either put on paper booties or took off their shoes.  As a volunteer, I could have gone on house tour also but why bother?  I didn't even take a look at the lovely house I was stationed in, only venturing from my doorway chair to quickly use the bathroom.  Won't volunteer again on the weekend or at the Home Tour - not my style.

Family is making annual pilgrimage to Salman Raspberry Ranch this year.  Me, I can buy frozen raspberries at Trader Joe's so I stay home and reap the fruits of their labor.  Besides, I have to get up early tomorrow for a volunteer task that will occupy most of the day.

I will go with them next weekend to Rancho de las Golondrinas Harvest Fest - crowded, hot but at least it's family time!

Made brownies yesterday - cocoa powder, garbanzo bean flour, applesauce, honey, date sugar, vanilla extract, natural peanut butter, almond butter, soy milk, rolled oats.  They actually taste good - even husband likes them - but after we use them up, I need to start eating less green tea, cocoa powder and honey. Need to try to adhere better to OmniHeart diet to improve my cholesterol profile.

Cool, cloudy and drizzly.  Guess I should be happy after the sweltering days of summer!

Friday hike was local on White Rock streets so we could attend grand opening of new White Rock Visitor Center.  The new visitor center is beautiful! Hopefully no runaway cars will bang into it like happened with the old one twice!!  Spouse and I decided not to stay for the blah-blah-blah dedication and the wonderful spread of food given as a reward for attending.

Instead, we ate at Lee's.  I got the homestyle tofu with cashews.  Saltier than I'd like but delicious and I didn't eat all the sauce - only what clung to the food.
They don't have brown rice so I skipped rice.  Also skipped the soup and egg roll.

Felt sorry for obese elderly woman who could barely walk but came in for take out from their buffet.  She told waitress she comes in every day.  Too bad White Rock doesn't yet have a hot meal program for seniors.  They have to go 10 miles to Los Alamos to get a hot lunch.  Poor thing didn't need all that salt and calories when she already looks all swollen!

Signed up to volunteer at home tour tomorrow.  Ay yi yi - the agency sponsoring called to remind me and tell me about the list of rules that I'm supposed to tell people - no bathroom, no food, no picture-taking, no cell phones, no touching anything (have I forgotten any?)  Reciting the rules and handing out booties are my main duties - ay yi yi!!  I'll skip this next year!!

Let me first say  - I don't like the new blogger interface.  I preferred the old, so-called Beta version.  It was more attractive, easier to understand and use.  To figure out what all the symbols mean on the new interface, I'm forced to hover my cursor over them until they, a la "open sesame", reveal their meaning.

It's all hazy smoky here today from the conjoined wildfires in the Gila Wilderness.  This reminds me too much of last Spring when we were treated to days of smoke inhalation from the Wallow wildfire in Arizona.  It's also been dry and windy here which brings back unpleasant memories of similar conditions last year which resulted in the devastation of the Las Conchas wildfire.  I tell myself that there is not much left to burn but I know there is plenty left, especially if dry, windy conditions continue.

This morning we walked with the White Rock Senior Center Friday group on the north section of the Perimeter Trail, starting at the Mitchell Trailhead and going toward Quemazon Community.  The leader surprised my by wanting to ascend to Pipeline Road above the north branch of Pueblo Canyon.  We then went the short distance down Pipeline to Quemazon Road and followed that to an access trail which led to Upper Pueblo Canyon Trail and then down an access trail to Yucca Road and back to the cars.  We were joined by 3 hikers from the Betty Ehart Senior Center walking group because their leader was on a trip.  I forgot to check my GPS but think we did 3 miles.

After lunch at home, I did 2 more miles, going east on the Pueblo Canyon Rim Trail to just past Zeus's easy chair carved out of tuff.  Near the intersection with the Zipline Trail, I watched 5 turkey vultures circling around and around.  Despite their "naked" red head which looks similar to the carrion they eat, they are beautiful birds that fly with grace and ease.

Just realized that I went on and on so much about the Route and the forest service that I forgot to say where I walked today. I practiced jogging intervals on the White Rock Rim Trail from the official trailhead near Overlook to where it intersects Pajarito Canyon. I continued all the way to Sherwood Ave. on the rim trail but gave up on the jogging practice because of the wind, the rocky trail tread and the uphill. Was listening to book on CD, Head Trip, that I recorded to audio cassette. I meant to follow the easy way back but wound up back on the rocky part of the rim trail for part of the way. The whole round trip is ~5 miles.

Voted today. Stopped by forest service office (astounding to see it actually open and the desk manned!!) and asked when the Las Conchas forest closure will be lifted. Its been since last June 26 and I'm eager for the forest to reopen. Couple of weeks was the answer and the forest supervisor is working on the lifting of the closure order. I, of course, will believe it when I see it but if it happens soon, I'll be very jubilant!!

Very windy this afternoon. Was going to walk on the Route to see its condition after the Jemez Mountain Trail Runs (JMTR) 50k race used it on Saturday. The forest there is not actually open but the race directors had a one day special use permit. When the forest recovers more, they will go back to the race courses they used in the past but for the meantime, were forced by the Las Conchas wildfire to use different trails. Decided not to risk walking on the Route with all the winds. There is one tree that looks like the leaning tower of Pisa and ready to fall if I breathe too hard on it. I had hoped the forest service would remove it as a hazard tree to ensure the safety of the runners but that never happened. They put red flagging around the hazard trees and left them to fall where they may.

The forest service considers the Route an illegal, user created trail and really doesn't want to maintain it but they should because there is a real use for it. It's a safer way to walk up to Pajarito Mountain than using Camp May Road and runners and bikers have started to use it more frequently now. I met two runners on the Route and they said they were happy to have discovered this alternative to Camp May Road. Maybe with time, the trail will become so "real" that the forest service will be forced to maintain it. I suffer no illusions regarding how good a trail it is. It has far too many sharp turns to be safely used by bicyclists. I followed two bikers down one day and I could see the places where they skidded to a stop. The trail needs more maintenance than I can give it.

Last week while walking on the Route, just below Guardrail Hill, saw a portly gentleman sitting on a rock enjoying a snack. I'd earlier seen him walking by on Camp May Road. I'm not completely sure who he is (maybe the man who lived in a cave in Los Alamos Canyon several years back?) but he carries a stout walking stick and wears sandals. As I passed by, he commented on there being a trail in the woods and I told him that it would be part of the JMTR 50k race. I was doing a final sweep for trash on the Route to make sure it was presentable for the racers. Can't do anything about all the glass chips, though because it's too hard to pick up every last piece. I pick up the big pieces when I see them glinting.

When I speak of the Route, I'm only talking about the section from the Ocean to FR2998. The larger trail, called the Camp May Road Trail, of which the Route is a small, less than 2 mile section, goes all the way up to the Townsight Lift at Pajarito Mountain Ski Area.  The Route can be accessed from Camp May Road via the Coblentz Climb (which I assume is also an illegal, user created trail but really neat!), a short, steep connector trail that goes up to the Ocean where you can then pick up the Route on your left, just follow the cairns.  Other access points are the Ocean or FR2998.  I access it from the intersection of the West Road bypass and Camp May Road by following some old roads and crossing Camp May Road to go up to the Ocean.  

Walked out and back on Pueblo Canyon Rim Trail from Los Alamos Airport to top of Camp Hamilton Trail.  Skies looked dark to the south, with virga falling.  Got spit on by a few raindrops but made it back home dry and alive.  So much trash on trail below the Pajarito Cliffs site and the Eastgate Industrial Park.  I'd like to pick some up one day but it seems a big task for one person.

Spouse is fully retired from lab now but will teach a college course this Fall which shall keep him busy.  He's allowed to go back to the lab as an unpaid guest scientist starting next week which will also occupy him.

Today, we ate lunch at the senior center and right now, he's at the movie theatre.  On Mondays, ticket prices are reduced all day for seniors.

Been doing lots of hiking, as usual, but not much journaling.

Winds Calmed

Went out to walk around 4:30 pm. First mile, winds of Hades and some kind of occasional, white precip - maybe graupel. Second and third miles, terrifically odd because the sun came out and blue skies were overhead. I say "terrifically odd" because the day was mostly overcast and the mountains hid in pall of dust. Fourth mile, winds and overcast came back. Shall be interesting to see how much it snows overnight. Only an inch is predicted.

I'm now emailing these posts. I've gone back to using a subject because Mail becomes very suspicious if I don't and double checks if I'm sure I want to send a message without a subject. What would I do without this computer to supplement my brain?

Winds of Hades Upon Us - Snow to Follow

I've put off walking because the winds are blowing around so much dust. Soon, though, I'll walk and listen to the broadcast of This American Life and then NPR. We had several spring-like days last week but, alas, that is past. I wonder if I'd mind the cold as much if this house didn't leak warm air like a sieve. On last Wednesday's hike, a woman told me that she and her husband never have to turn on their furnace and sometimes even open windows to cool off in the winter. They live in a condo with a south-facing exposure and also get heat from the units above and below them. Sounds good to me! As I get older (or maybe as my thyroid gets older), I'm less tolerant of the cold.

OK, enough of that Pollyanna stuff of yesterday.  I'm already in need of another attitude revision.  I slept horribly last night. It wasn't so much the time change as it was the damnable leg cramps. At first, I fell half asleep for a while but then woke up too cold and when I dared to put another cover on, I got a cramp in my left calf.  Had to leap out of bed several times to stretch my calves and, of course, each time I got up, I peed thinking that perhaps that would hold me until morning.  When I last looked at the clock, it was 3 am.  I finally turned off the alarm and slept until 10 am but feel like a kicked around dog turd.

Good news - as you get older (I qualify), you do more of your peeing at night. The meds that would provide a solution are anticholinergics and would probably give me dementia.  The sleep doc recommended that I take dopamine agonists like Mirapex and Requip for the leg cramps but, once again, no thank you.  I think the allopathic cures would be worse than the afflictions.  Now I'm looking into something like Hyland's Leg Cramps.

Picture me, this morning, walking to the library, blue backpack burgeoning with books, grumbling inwardly that just a few days ago it seemed like Spring was here; but now, it's overcast and cooler than I, Supreme Majesty of the world, think it should be.

Along comes a neighbor, walking four, fawn-colored dogs at once. "Hello," I say to her and she replies "Lovely day for a walk!" We both continue on our way but now my eyes are open and I say to myself "It is, it is, it truly is!"

Everything is still the same - an occasional lost snowflake careens by, the mountains are still overhung with heavy clouds, my right foot still hurts, the book bag is still too heavy but my attitude is newly revised and I'm now thankful for the coolness and the beauty of the cloud-draped mountains.

Getting my 100,000 mile check up this year.  So far, the sleep doctor has dismissed my low nocturnal oxygen, in the 80's per an overnight nocturnal oximetry, as not bad enough for a sleep study.  He suggested taking Mirapex or Requip for my nocturnal leg cramps - no thanks!  Right now, I'm experimenting with increasing my vitamin B complex and so far that's helping.

Recent chest x-ray showed my heart was mildly enlarged so that, plus the low nocturnal oxygen and feeling that my exercise endurance has decreased, got me an echocardiogram of my heart and a treadmill stress test.  I haven't got the results but I assume that I'm not dying, (yet), because the cardiologist didn't need to see me again.

One good thing I learned from the stress test is that I'm not exercising hard enough.  What I mean is that there's a difference between daily 4 mile strolls (although I am faster than that!) and aerobic conditioning via hill repeats and intervals.  I lasted 12 minutes on the treadmill and was breathing very hard and I need to breathe that hard a couple of times a week to increase my aerobic conditioning.

Today I walked the first two miles of Camp May Road and did hill repeats x 2 on 2 of the steepest hills.  (Not sure of the correct terminology but first I walked up the hill, then walked down and then walked up again.) I feel like I accomplished something and plan to do something like that maybe twice a week.  Now that the trails are more snow-free (at least until after tonight's snow!), I will also try jogging intervals (jogging on asphalt and cement hurts my knees and my feet) but I won't make them as strenuous as the hill repeats.  They'll be mainly to practice jogging and hopefully work my way up to longer periods of jogging.  

It was very windy along Camp May Road.  I saw two ravens hanging out together in a tree, staying out of the wind.  When I tried to take their picture, they flew off from each side of the tree.