Gathered Trash

Went to SF today to get my car's remote transmitter's chip replaced and both keys re-coded.  Wanted to do it today instead of Thursday.  Got back home around 4 pm, changed into hiking togs, went to library and then to Route to pick up trash.  Gathered 3 plastic grocery bags full plus found, near where I parked, a partially filled, plastic gallon jug of motor oil.  I know I should take the motor oil for special recycling at the waste station but I just put everything in my trash barrel.  Part of the trash was from a short section I walked along Camp May Road to get back to my car.  A bicyclist going by thanked me which startled me because I was deep in thought. The amount of trash gathered on the Route surprised me because I didn't think there was that much but once you start looking...

I didn't get home until past 7 pm.  Ate a late supper and have to get up early tomorrow to go with the Tuesday group.

Blood Bath on the Route

Now, don't get excited.  It was only me slitting the throats of NM locusts.  I also sawed off some tree branches and refined the cairns.  I left the lopper in the trunk and only took the compact pruning saw because the weather looked like there'd be a thunderstorm so I had to carry my umbrella.  Clouds rolled in and out all afternoon while I worked for over 4 hours but other than some distant rumbles and a few raindrops on my windshield as I drove to the Route trailhead, the weather was beautifully sunny.

Next, I pick up trash.  There really isn't that much - just a few beer bottles and beer cans.  I'm debating - should I leave the half-finished pint of peppermint schnapps in case the owner comes back or toss it?

Have to start packing for RMNP trip.

Made a huge batch of soup-stew - garlic, onions, Napa cabbage, bean-rice mixture, buckwheat udon noodles, Thai chiles, ginger, boletus edulis mushrooms.  It looks gray but tastes delicious.

Yesterday we saw Joan Rivers: A Piece of Work at the CCA in Santa Fe.  I love her foul mouth and risqué jokes!  Afterward, I bought way too many plums and pluots at Sunflower Farmers Market.

Wednesday-Friday

Wednesday - Helped at PEEC evening walk up Valle Canyon for the Los Alamos county big trees project sponsored by PEEC.  Myself and another cohort of the woman who compiles all the big tree info led a group of 5 up to the Clothespin Tree - a big southwestern white pine.  I was the sweep.  I didn't have much to say other than that a tree expert says it's a southwestern white pine based on the photo, a cone and some bark.  I showed them that you could stick your hand inside the tree.  We didn't have copies of the booklet that tells how big this tree is but they didn't ask so that's OK.  Met a nice young couple who just moved to town.  One participant found a piece of worked obsidian right on the trail.  She threw it to the side so no one would abscond with it.  Seven other participants walked a lesser distance up canyon to look at a big tree.  Drove home from Valle Canyon trailhead at 7:39 pm.  Would be nice one day to take an evening walk up Valle Canyon but start earlier.  We hurried to much on the hike and didn't stop to enjoy.  It was enjoyable anyway because I'm not usually on the trail in the evening.  It was something different.  Two other women and I exchanged bear sighting stories on the way up!

Thursday - Santa Fe trip ostensibly to replace the innards of my car's remote transmitter (keyless entry).  There's a service bulletin on it and since I have to sometimes press it 3 times to open the trunk or doors, decided to get it replaced.  One problem - their machine that re-codes the remote wasn't working so I have to go back next week when they have the new machine.  Shopped at Walmart and Natural Grocers.  Got home in time to walk on Route.  Need to trim some branches and NM locusts with lopper.

Friday - Husband walked almost 2 miles RT on new Canyon Rim Trail but found that was too much for his ankle.  He'll watch grandson next week while we are at RMNP and I'll hike with daughter.  He'll hike some but only what his ankle will tolerate.  He started physical therapy Thursday. After lunch, went to library with spouse.  Stopped by Romero Cabin but they were closing up so I'll go back in September.  Banged head in doorway as I entered but didn't get hurt.  Docent had just taken down bumper guard that softens the blow.  In recent renovation of cabin, floor had to be raised which makes doorway even lower.    Walked back home on Rogue Trail.  Daughter and grandson came over for spaghetti dinner.  Then they and husband went out for ice cream because tomorrow is daughter's birthday.

Cocoa Addict Flys HIgh

Cruising along the Canyon Rim Trail, listening to Eagles songs, I understand why people become addicts. My mind and body are flying fast. I love the whole world.  I clearly see how beautiful life and the world are.  As I become "airborne", small birds fly ahead, fleeing as I soar.  I hover to admire a glorious sunflower and tell it "You're beautiful!"

The cause of this is 2 T of cocoa in my green tea this morning (along with soy milk and 1 t each of turmeric and ginger - none of which I'm addicted to!).

I scribble notes as I jet along.  I refuse to stop to neatly write.

Sometimes life is not enough.  We get bogged down by anxieties concerning most everything.  Cocoa (and the Eagle's music!) help me, at least for a while, to rise above these worries.  I feel plain good. I've shed my aging body and all my worries.  I step back (fly high!) and appreciate how wonderful life really is.  It's like the first day of summer vacation when I was a kid or like suddenly noticing a rainbow arc across the sky.  I feel free.  This is what most of us want instead of how our lives get so mixed up sometimes.

4-T's Hike Alamo Boundary-Coyote Call Trails

I hiked with the 4-T hikers this morning.  There were 14 of us but we ended up with twelve because two only went part way. We parked on the Dome Road and walked the Alamo Boundary Trail over to the Coyote Call loop.  We took the lower part of the loop going out and the upper part going back.  The views of the Valles Grande's grasslands were splendid.  Even though Fall is not here yet, the day was cool so it felt fall-like. On the Alamo Boundary Trail, we saw lots of purple meadow gentian flowers (I call it star gentian.)  There was nice shade on the Coyote Call loop.

The group could easily call themselves the 5-T's because there are so many retired teachers in the all-woman group.  I hiked off and on with this group in the late 80's but their name was different then.  The old timers that I knew don't hike anymore so it's an all new group except for one hiker who's been with the group since the late 80's. 

On the drive to the trailhead, we saw 2 deer in the woods along the highway and saw 2 more running through the forest as we stood at the trailhead.  The leader had us all stand in a circle to introduce ourselves and tell how long we had hiked with the group and if we intended to complete the entire hike today.

I spotted a young shaggy mane mushroom in the parking lot.  Its condition was perfect but I didn't pick it since that's not allowed in Bandelier National Monument unless I plan to eat it on the spot. 

This group doesn't stop for lunch but instead has a tradition of enjoying an extended snack around 10-10:30 am.  I don't snack but felt comfortable sitting on the ground, listening to the conversations.

Afterward, when they dropped me off at the Back Gate, I drove over to Ponderosa Group Campground to use their outdoor privy.  Then, I took off my sodden shoes and socks.  Before changing into dry shoes and socks, I pulled out a wooden orange stick and used it to push back my cuticles since they were so nicely softened.  Of course, several vehicles pulled up while I was doing this but pedicures in the national monument are probably legal!  Not sure if showing huge, bare feet in public is though!

Rice, Eggplant, Mushroom Recipe

No one's going to follow this recipe because it makes a massive quantity of 7 quarts.  Consider it a concept.  I don't really follow recipes because what I makes depends on what's in the pantry.

1 quart brown rice
1 quart boletus edulis mushrooms broth (from freezer)
1 quart boletus edulis mushrooms with parsley, onions, garlic and olive oil (from freezer)
1 jar sweet red peppers, undrained
1 jar 24 ounce Bionature strained tomatoes
1 can 28 ounce Bionature diced tomatoes
1 eggplant diced
1 cup bean juice from Westbrae 25 ounce can black beans (I ate the black beans the day before)
1 cup dry vermouth
1/2 cup jalapeño slices (from freezer)
2 T olive oil
dried Italian seasoning, tarragon, thyme, parsley, ground fennel - all to taste
salt if you use it

Brown the rice in the 2 T olive oil in a huge cast iron pot.  Food process the jalapeños and sweet red peppers to a puree and add to rice.  Add the mushroom broth and mushrooms to the rice.  Throw in the tomatoes, bean juice, eggplant, vermouth and water.  Bring to a boil, turn down heat, add seasoning and cover, simmering until rice is soft. I forget how long I cooked it but it took over an hour.  I had to add more water.  The rice started to scorch and I turned down the heat. Fortunately the scorch flavor didn't permeate the dish.

I froze 4 of the 7 quarts this made.  I'm the only one eating it.  Each night I reheat some and add beans or tempeh or fish and cooked vegetables like spinach.  For salt, I add some miso.

Saturday-Monday Synopsis

Saturday, I walked on the Route.  I picked up some puffballs and a large, insect-eaten boletus edulis.  It was drying out and when I cut off the stem, there were lots of holes from insect invasion so I put it in our garden (garden is a euphemism for place to toss weeds and such).

The puffballs weren't worth the work of peeling their warty skin.  I fried them in olive oil but there wasn't enough and even though they hadn't spored yet, their taste wasn't the freshest.  Maybe that's because they sat for a while before I washed, peeled and cooked them.  I didn't get sick at least.

I heard paintballers shooting each other in the woods and saw their marble shaped blue paintballs.  A broken in half one made me believe it was a fallen robin's egg.

Sunday we went out to eat at Jinja House Bar and Bistro.  I got the tofu and spinach salad - very good.  Then we went to see The Kids Are All Right.  I enjoyed the movie very much but check the reviews first to determine if its your cup of tea.  The gist of it is that families are families no matter how unconventional they appear.  Afterward, I bought lots of fruit at Sunflower Farmers Market.  My four miles consisted of walking downtown in the evening and listening to Prairie Home Companion.

Today, I walked the newly opened section of the Canyon Rim Trail and connected, by crossing NM502, to the Pueblo Canyon Rim Trail along the south boundary of the airport. To do this, I had to walk a short distance along the noisy highway and along the sidewalk in the Pajarito Cliffs county yards with large buses passing by.  I followed the Pueblo Canyon Rim Trail to the Mesa Trail and followed that back home, past East Park.  The sign at the Canyon Rim trailhead says this loop is 4 miles roundtrip.  I got back home just in time for a brief thunderstorm which prevented me from weeding the tall amaranth out of, ahem, our backyard showcase.

The power went off briefly this afternoon.

Gathered Wild Boletes

I got invited to go mushroom foraging.  We met up at the Dome Road at 8:15 am. This was with the same friend that brought over a bag of cream of the crop Boletus Edulis mushrooms last weekend.  He drove the loop on the Dome Road and Paso del Norte Road.  We collected a few but the majority were collected on Peralta Road.  This outing was meant to be an overview to teach me to spot Boletus Edulis.  We got done just past 11 am.

Since I cornered the market in young boletes last weekend, I gave the cream of the crop boletes bambinos (the beautiful young ones) to my daughter.  She seemed excited about them.  I asked her to let me know how she fixes them and how she likes them.  I forwarded her recipes from my Italian friend.  His family has been collecting boletes in New Mexico for a long time.

I stewed the others but only used water.  I wanted to taste the mushrooms because last time I drowned them in onions and garlic.  I had some with canned black beans tonight and will freeze the rest to add to recipes.  They were yummy!  I still chickened out on eating the very yellow sponges on the huge boletes but did include the lighter-colored sponges in the stew.  I cooked the stems first to make sure they were softened.   Any trimmings went back to the soil in my backyard.

I'm thawing out last week's mushrooms and broth to make my rice dish this weekend.

I will try to walk the Peralta Road area next week to hunt for more bambinos. 

Doing a quick Google search, I found that the mycella (part that nourishes the mushroom) is in the soil.  if you pull the whole mushroom out and leave a hole in the duff, the mycella dries out.  Another friend cuts the mushroom off the stem and leaves the stem bottom in the duff to keep it moist.  If the mushroom is pulled out, stem and all, re-covering the hole in the duff keep it from drying out or even placing the stem trimmings back in the hole and then covering them would work - lots of options.   I read it's advisable to put the mushrooms you don't want back in their hole, stem  side down, to help them drop their spores.

Afterward, I walked 4 miles on FR181.  I picked one of the mushrooms I wondered about a few weeks ago.  It was a boletes but it turned bluish when I pressed on it and it had an orange-brown cap and very stiff, scaly stem.  I threw it back in the bushes!  I've learned in a short time how to recognize edible boletes!    Avoid ones that turn blue when you cut or press them and/or have red or orange tubes (the spongy underside).

The main mushrooms that I'll collect will be Boletus Edulis and Puffballs. 

Exploring Unofficial Cerro Grande Route

Today I decided to explore the bottom mile of the unofficial Cerro Grande Route aka the Coker Trail.  I started around 10 am.  The route starts as a definite path through the grass but then the situation disintegrates.  The path disappears and then reappears with no logic to it.  I know basically how to get where I want to go but anyone who's never been there wouldn't know - unless they have read about the hike in Hiking Adventures in Northern New Mexico.

First, I walked to the elk exclosure/monitoring station on the right and not very far from the highway.  I followed along the west side of it hoping it would funnel me into a definite trail.  It sort of does but then the track gets indefinite again.  The problem is that there are paths trampled here and there but none distinct enough to be THE one to follow.

I blundered around following this path and that, saw cairns here and there and compounded confusion by making a few of my own. 

The way I like to go is to first head uphill toward the "air" to the east with great, close-in views of the Water Canyon drainage below but going up this way leads to an obstacle course of downed trees.  There are several ways to tackle these - either go wide around or go right through.  It doesn't seem right to not detour over to enjoy the view.

Today, I tried to pass the mish mosh of trees on their east side but it became too steep.  Then I started to clear a small area to go west but it's too big a network of giant pick up sticks.  I'd need a chain saw and Bandelier National Monument would frown on that.

I saw an area that seemed passable.  As I picked my way through, I saw a path that went north right up the middle of the mess but I didn't follow it because I wanted to get over to the old logging road to the west.

Eventually I got to the old logging road that goes directly to the first golden grass meadow on the way to Cerro Grande.  At the meadow, I tightened my shoelaces for the trip down.

I decided to follow the old logging road down.  It's no piece of cake either as I had to step over plenty of logs fallen across the road.  The road led right by a second,large elk exclosure.  I just kept following the road, bearing somewhat to the east,  ignoring a broad turn off to the right/south, and eventually got to the far north corner of the first elk exclosure.  I left some rocks and pieces of wood here and there to mark my route.  It needs a lot more marking. The road is not even clearly a road in places but I got where I needed to go. 

Conclusion is that we did the best that we could on Monday.  Until you get to the first golden grass meadow, there is not one definite path to follow but instead, there are many options to get to that first golden grass meadow which leads up to Cerro Grande.

When I got back to the first elk exclosure, I decided to go in a straight line east from it.  I ended up at the Bandelier boundary fence. 

On the way back to the elk exclosure, I saw a doe walking away from me, all the while keeping an eye on me. I thought it strange that she didn't just bolt away but kept  walking perpendicular to my line of travel while looking sideways at me.  

I was surprised at my boldness in walking into the untracked woods to the fence line.  It was a sunny day and a thunderstorm wasn't imminent.  I get spooked by cloudy days and rumbling thunder.

Almost back at the car, I saw an old logging road on my left. I've walked it before from another old road to the east but would like to walk it again one day. 

Hike of the Season

I hiked with the LL group.  There were 25 of us.  The hike description may make you breathless so hang on!  We left some vehicles at the Pine St. play lot and drove over to North Mesa picnic area to start the hike.

We headed on a sidewalk downhill  to  the Roundabout and then went briefly uphill to cross San Ildefonso.  We started walking on the Walnut Canyon Rim Trail at the northern edge of the golf course.  We took that over to the North Pueblo Bench Trail, crossed the tall Pueblo Canyon Bridge, took a jaunt on the South Pueblo Bench Trail to the Acid Canyon Trail to the Ranch School Trail (but stayed atop the canyon bench)  to what I call the Rogue Trail (a vertigo-inducing trail per a hiker) to Graduation Canyon (where we had lunch) then up canyon to our cars and the play lot where we had the usual end-of-hike soda pop fiesta at the picnic benches.  It was a good hike of a little over 5 miles.

One of our hiking leaders opted to do only part of the hike.  She and a married couple left the group at Orange Street.  She met us back at the play lot but the couple skipped the get together.

I found out who built the Rogue Trail.  I won't put his name here but he's a retired LANL scientist who worked with the Los Alamos Accelerator Code Group and truly did, as I had heard, go over to CERN to work.  Yesterday, our open space czar told me that the first trail this man built (wish I had asked where) wasn't built good but said this one improved after the man attended a  trail-building workshop.

The Rogue Trail is high on the south bench of Pueblo Canyon.  Most places have an uncomfortably steep looking drop off to the canyon bottom.  We met a doe on the trail today.  The lead hiker held his hand up to halt everyone.  The deer stood poised at the edge of the canyon looking cautiously at us.  Eventually, she turned around and walked in the direction we were going and disappeared.  A hiker in the back groused that she didn't care about seeing the deer and  didn't see the point of stopping. But, if we hadn't, there was a chance that the deer may have panicked and tried to head down into the canyon and hurt herself. 

The hiker who complained was getting hungry for lunch.  At the lunch spot, with beautiful views down canyon of mesas east of Los Alamos, it turned out she had forgotten her lunch.  Sorry to admit but I pretended not to hear and kept walking toward a scenic lunch spot  at the canyon edge.  Fortunately, others with extra food (I didn't have extra) came to her rescue! 

Graduation Canyon spills over a steep cliff into Pueblo Canyon.  The recent heavy rains must have created a spectacular waterfall because after lunch, as we walked up canyon, we saw flattened grasses  indicating that the drainage far overflowed its banks.