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.