I walked back home from the Los Alamos golf course after grandson's 10th birthday party. I was really surprised how short the walk is - only around 3 miles. I took the trail through Walnut Canyon to avoid dealing with errant golf balls. The steps into Walnut Canyon are steep! The canyon itself is an amazingly awesome urban gem. The ponderosas (and maybe I saw some Douglas firs) seem sky-scraper tall. The tuff cliffs are equally soaring.
There were two places where I could have gotten out of the canyon but instead I stubbornly followed it down the dry stream bed even after I lost the trail (if there even is one at that point). It did eventually, after negotiating some boulders and dead logs, meet the East Fork Trail. I followed that to the bottom of Pueblo Canyon, crossed the canyon and went up the Ranch School Trail. Valerian is blooming! I took the Pueblo Canyon Rim Trail back to Graduation Canyon and up to the asphalted Mesa Trail and home. Saw a biker and two joggers. Only the part of the Pueblo Canyon Rim Trail nearest to Graduation Canyon is scary now with a few spots where the trail is eroding away. The rest is comfortingly wide. I wonder where the trail builder's next project will be?
Saturday, April 23, 2011
Wednesday, April 20, 2011
Hiking Hellion
Been a hiking hellion this week - Monday, county open space to scout a hike, with a friend, for the WI group, Tuesday, Burnt Mesa for a ranger led hike, in honor of National Parks Week, to various Indian ruins, Wednesday, friend and I led the WI hike and had a great time - saw clematis and valerian blooming. Tomorrow, there's another ranger led National Parks Week hike, this time at Tsankawi. I have a podiatrist appointment in the afternoon but the hike starts early enough that I'll be able to go on it.
Hanger is really expensive. It's unbelievable what this Richie-type brace costs my insurance. It needs a slight adjustment which means a long drive to downtown Albuquerque. The brace seems to be helping my foot somewhat - there is no longer a sore spot above and behind my ankle. There is still some ankle pain and swelling but less.
Now, the dilemma is where to get new orthotics. Physical therapist in Albuquerque finally answered my emails and could make 4 pairs for $120. Would require a trip to Albuquerque. I'm going to ask the podiatrist tomorrow if I should get the same 3/4 length UCBL orthotics again or do I need forefoot correction which would require a full length orthotic. My forefoot problem (pain and swelling between 2nd and 3rd metatarsal - alleviated by podiatrist padding insole bottom) could be caused by the orthotics being stretched out. Walking and hiking are best for my bones so I need to keep my feet in working order.
Hanger is really expensive. It's unbelievable what this Richie-type brace costs my insurance. It needs a slight adjustment which means a long drive to downtown Albuquerque. The brace seems to be helping my foot somewhat - there is no longer a sore spot above and behind my ankle. There is still some ankle pain and swelling but less.
Now, the dilemma is where to get new orthotics. Physical therapist in Albuquerque finally answered my emails and could make 4 pairs for $120. Would require a trip to Albuquerque. I'm going to ask the podiatrist tomorrow if I should get the same 3/4 length UCBL orthotics again or do I need forefoot correction which would require a full length orthotic. My forefoot problem (pain and swelling between 2nd and 3rd metatarsal - alleviated by podiatrist padding insole bottom) could be caused by the orthotics being stretched out. Walking and hiking are best for my bones so I need to keep my feet in working order.
Saturday, April 16, 2011
Enjoyable Saturday
Went to Co-op grand opening. I bought some dried apricots (the dark, natural ones with no sulfur dioxide) and an Endangered Species espresso chocolate bar to share with spouse, although I could easily eat a whole one myself. Walked there on Canyon Rim Trail. Got a ride home with spouse. Then, in honor of National Parks Week, we attended a short nature walk hike on the Alamo Boundary Trail, led by Sally King. To get there, we had to drive on washboard-y Dome Road. Spouse was sure that our sedan car would self-destruct. Nature walk was a delight - a chance to slow down and really see the outdoors. Sally said that all the snow is already gone on Cerro Grande. It's shaping up to be a dry spring.
Friday, April 8, 2011
Pursuit of Pasque Flowers
Gonzales Road is definitely a pasque flower hot spot to check out next spring. I walked there yesterday, via the Bayo Canyon Bench Trail, and found the pasque flowers my friend told me about. She said she had counted 40 blooms at one visit. I didn't attempt to count them and it is late in the season but the locale does show promise. The usual place the WI goes for their annual pasque flower hike, Guaje Mountain, is very dry this year although they did found some of the pretty, lavender blooms. Maybe next year they would like to check out Gonzales Road - I surely will.
On my way to Gonzales Road, I marveled at how picturesque the Bayo Canyon Bench Trail is. To me, it's as beautiful as any formal garden. I love the way some of the ponderosa trunks are bent and misshapen. They are even more beautiful than the straight ones. I always enjoy observing how Bayo Canyon starts out shallow near the trail's beginning and then is at the bottom of
sheer cliffs further out.
I was surprised to see that the mountains had been refreshed with a dusting of snow overnight; blustery winds blew occasional sprinkles at me but not enough for me to need my umbrella. I took my camera but didn't take any photos. It was late afternoon and I hadn't eaten lunch so wanted to get back home.
On my way to Gonzales Road, I marveled at how picturesque the Bayo Canyon Bench Trail is. To me, it's as beautiful as any formal garden. I love the way some of the ponderosa trunks are bent and misshapen. They are even more beautiful than the straight ones. I always enjoy observing how Bayo Canyon starts out shallow near the trail's beginning and then is at the bottom of
sheer cliffs further out.
I was surprised to see that the mountains had been refreshed with a dusting of snow overnight; blustery winds blew occasional sprinkles at me but not enough for me to need my umbrella. I took my camera but didn't take any photos. It was late afternoon and I hadn't eaten lunch so wanted to get back home.
Wednesday, April 6, 2011
LL Hike from North Mesa Picnic Grounds
It's always fun seeing my fellow hikers after not seeing them all winter. There were 19 of us at the start. They walked all winter, choosing each Wednesday where to go, but I wait to walk with them until the spring-autumn hike schedule comes out.
To begin, we walked downhill from the North Mesa picnic grounds to the Roundabout where we picked up the Bayo Canyon Trail. Someone saw pasque flowers along the trail but I didn't find this out until later. Pasque flowers are scarce this year due to the dry La Niña winter. I'm told there are a lot on the Gonzales Road - must check that out.
We took the connector trail up to the stables where we said goodbye to 7 of the hikers while the rest of us continued out to the end of Kwage Mesa where we had lunch with a tremendous view of Big and Little Otowi Ruins as well as all the way to the Sangre de Cristo mountains. I wasn't yet hungry so I drank in the view and later ate my lunch at the hike's end whilst they all gathered around the cooler to enjoy sodas and juices.
How lucky I am to be able to go on these hikes and how grateful I am for our hiking leaders and my fellow hikers! Another beautiful day in northern New Mexico - why would you want to be anywhere else!
To begin, we walked downhill from the North Mesa picnic grounds to the Roundabout where we picked up the Bayo Canyon Trail. Someone saw pasque flowers along the trail but I didn't find this out until later. Pasque flowers are scarce this year due to the dry La Niña winter. I'm told there are a lot on the Gonzales Road - must check that out.
We took the connector trail up to the stables where we said goodbye to 7 of the hikers while the rest of us continued out to the end of Kwage Mesa where we had lunch with a tremendous view of Big and Little Otowi Ruins as well as all the way to the Sangre de Cristo mountains. I wasn't yet hungry so I drank in the view and later ate my lunch at the hike's end whilst they all gathered around the cooler to enjoy sodas and juices.
How lucky I am to be able to go on these hikes and how grateful I am for our hiking leaders and my fellow hikers! Another beautiful day in northern New Mexico - why would you want to be anywhere else!
Tuesday, April 5, 2011
Guaje Mountain and Points East
WI group will hike up Guaje Mountain tomorrow. I'm going with LL group instead but wanted to do the hike so I did it by myself.
Who would have known that the trail up Guaje Mountain continues eastward down the back of the mountain? It appears that motor bikes use it but it was fine for hiking. There was only one, very short downhill that made me wish I had hiking poles.
I HAD to find out where the trail went so I kept following its winding route. It eventually became a dirt road which led me to what's called the Poor Man's Shooting Range, off Rendija Canyon Road. Not wanting to walk Rendija Canyon Road back to the Pajarito Trail trailhead, I continued following the dirt road, now the Rendija Trail, as it meandered westward among the tall ponderosa pines, frequently crossing the dry bed of Rendija Creek. Most of my hike had hitherto passed through areas severely burned by the Cerro Grande fire and an area of piñon-juniper so I really appreciated the shade of the ponderosas. The area was very dry and I spotted no pasque flowers but did see deer bounding away several times. All in all, a very satisfying hike. A beautiful day!
Who would have known that the trail up Guaje Mountain continues eastward down the back of the mountain? It appears that motor bikes use it but it was fine for hiking. There was only one, very short downhill that made me wish I had hiking poles.
I HAD to find out where the trail went so I kept following its winding route. It eventually became a dirt road which led me to what's called the Poor Man's Shooting Range, off Rendija Canyon Road. Not wanting to walk Rendija Canyon Road back to the Pajarito Trail trailhead, I continued following the dirt road, now the Rendija Trail, as it meandered westward among the tall ponderosa pines, frequently crossing the dry bed of Rendija Creek. Most of my hike had hitherto passed through areas severely burned by the Cerro Grande fire and an area of piñon-juniper so I really appreciated the shade of the ponderosas. The area was very dry and I spotted no pasque flowers but did see deer bounding away several times. All in all, a very satisfying hike. A beautiful day!
Thursday, March 31, 2011
Loved Ones Coming Home Today
I've been alone in the house since Sunday night. Spouse, daughter and grandson went to Disneyland for spring break. I don't want to fly and had been to Disney World and Epcot Center often enough when we lived in Florida 8 years. I would have loved to have spent the time with them, though. It will be good to have them back home.
Today I drove to the Mitchell Trail trailhead and headed off on my old bread and butter jogging route (when I used to jog!) behind the houses on Arizona. It's changed a lot since the Cerro Grande fire. It used to be treed but now most areas are toasted. Part still has trees but much thinned out from the old days.
I tried intervals of almost jogging on the 2 mile trip out to the Rendija Trail and on the way back, walked as fast as I could, especially on the uphills. At one point, as motivation, I pretended that Geronimo was chasing me. (I recently watched the Geronimo segment on the excellent PBS series "We Shall Remain".) My aim was to attack the uphills to try to get in better shape because when I walk with hiking groups, it's not always at a pace that conditions me aerobically.
Today I drove to the Mitchell Trail trailhead and headed off on my old bread and butter jogging route (when I used to jog!) behind the houses on Arizona. It's changed a lot since the Cerro Grande fire. It used to be treed but now most areas are toasted. Part still has trees but much thinned out from the old days.
I tried intervals of almost jogging on the 2 mile trip out to the Rendija Trail and on the way back, walked as fast as I could, especially on the uphills. At one point, as motivation, I pretended that Geronimo was chasing me. (I recently watched the Geronimo segment on the excellent PBS series "We Shall Remain".) My aim was to attack the uphills to try to get in better shape because when I walk with hiking groups, it's not always at a pace that conditions me aerobically.
Dark Pit
Written this morning but then I relented and added a title: Too tired and depressed to even make a title. Considered giving it the redundant title of today's date and time. Redundant because that would appear on the post anyway. Instead, I'll leave it title-less and see how it looks on the page.
Sometimes I feel like I don't want to live anymore or, at least, that I don't have a reason to live anymore. Not that I'm planning to off myself but sometimes, everything seems to be too much. Stupid things like dealing with contractors regarding our aging house or aging - nothing serious like a fatal disease, which would really give me something to worry about.
I'm almost wondering if this loss of joie de vivre is caused by chocolate. To test my theory, I didn't have any for a week or so and the terrible feeling of doom seemed to go away. Then, on Tuesday, I filched chocolate-covered almonds and chocolate-covered walnuts from the bulk food bins at Whole Foods and yesterday evening, I had that awful feeling that everything was hopeless and I didn't have a reason to live - I felt like my life was purposeless. Part could be that I had only a little over 6 hours of sleep each of the last two nights - like, duh! Stayed up so late Tuesday, the day of the Albuquerque trip to the podiatrist and Hanger, trying to make pads for the sore spot on my left foot. The podiatrist made several of them but left the making of the rest of them (for my 3 insoles and 3 orthotics) to me.
More later. I have to get ready to go out to the library and walk my four miles. If I don't quit now, I'll be on the computer all day.
Sometimes I feel like I don't want to live anymore or, at least, that I don't have a reason to live anymore. Not that I'm planning to off myself but sometimes, everything seems to be too much. Stupid things like dealing with contractors regarding our aging house or aging - nothing serious like a fatal disease, which would really give me something to worry about.
I'm almost wondering if this loss of joie de vivre is caused by chocolate. To test my theory, I didn't have any for a week or so and the terrible feeling of doom seemed to go away. Then, on Tuesday, I filched chocolate-covered almonds and chocolate-covered walnuts from the bulk food bins at Whole Foods and yesterday evening, I had that awful feeling that everything was hopeless and I didn't have a reason to live - I felt like my life was purposeless. Part could be that I had only a little over 6 hours of sleep each of the last two nights - like, duh! Stayed up so late Tuesday, the day of the Albuquerque trip to the podiatrist and Hanger, trying to make pads for the sore spot on my left foot. The podiatrist made several of them but left the making of the rest of them (for my 3 insoles and 3 orthotics) to me.
More later. I have to get ready to go out to the library and walk my four miles. If I don't quit now, I'll be on the computer all day.
Wednesday, March 9, 2011
Eagerly Awaiting Time Change, Spring and Demise of Old Man Winter!
Haven't felt like writing in this and still don't but what the hey!
Since my last post on January 13, 2011 which extolled spring-like temps, a lot of harsh, cold weather has occurred. OK, maybe it wasn't that bad but on the night of February 3, record cold temps froze both our hot and cold water pipes in the unheated laundry room. They burst while I was home eating lunch so I was able to turn the water off fairly quickly. A week in the local Holiday Inn Express ensued while we waited for a plumber to fix the pipes. A lot of folks in northern NM were worse off as the extreme cold shut off their natural gas supplies. I'm happy that the restoration company our homeowner insurance recommended finally finally got the laundry room back together. I've written a multi-page narrative of the whole event but the short story is best here.
With my bum foot, the water pipe break and various snow events, I have mainly walked on city sidewalks, the asphalt paved Canyon Rim Trail and Camp May Road. Last week I ventured onto the Quemazon Trail and hiked it all the way up to Pipeline Road. I was in bliss to be on a trail and breathing hard. Of course, that evening, I was pretty exhausted by the 6 miles trek but happy to have done it.
Today, I walked the entire 4 mile stretch of American Springs Road/FR181 starting across from the Apache Springs trailhead and ending at the twin water tanks on West Jemez Road. This left me with the dilemma of getting back to my car. I debated hitch-hiking but was too scared to try that. I didn't have a cell phone so I couldn't call husband and beg him to pick me up. Instead, I walked on West Jemez Road to the Back Gate and took the escarpment on NM4 back up to my car - as there is no real shoulder to walk on, I'm grateful that no one ran me over! I figure I did 5 miles altogether.
Since my last post on January 13, 2011 which extolled spring-like temps, a lot of harsh, cold weather has occurred. OK, maybe it wasn't that bad but on the night of February 3, record cold temps froze both our hot and cold water pipes in the unheated laundry room. They burst while I was home eating lunch so I was able to turn the water off fairly quickly. A week in the local Holiday Inn Express ensued while we waited for a plumber to fix the pipes. A lot of folks in northern NM were worse off as the extreme cold shut off their natural gas supplies. I'm happy that the restoration company our homeowner insurance recommended finally finally got the laundry room back together. I've written a multi-page narrative of the whole event but the short story is best here.
With my bum foot, the water pipe break and various snow events, I have mainly walked on city sidewalks, the asphalt paved Canyon Rim Trail and Camp May Road. Last week I ventured onto the Quemazon Trail and hiked it all the way up to Pipeline Road. I was in bliss to be on a trail and breathing hard. Of course, that evening, I was pretty exhausted by the 6 miles trek but happy to have done it.
Today, I walked the entire 4 mile stretch of American Springs Road/FR181 starting across from the Apache Springs trailhead and ending at the twin water tanks on West Jemez Road. This left me with the dilemma of getting back to my car. I debated hitch-hiking but was too scared to try that. I didn't have a cell phone so I couldn't call husband and beg him to pick me up. Instead, I walked on West Jemez Road to the Back Gate and took the escarpment on NM4 back up to my car - as there is no real shoulder to walk on, I'm grateful that no one ran me over! I figure I did 5 miles altogether.
Thursday, January 13, 2011
Loving Spring-Like Temps Today
Beautiful, sunshiny, warm - unlike the overnight temps in the single digits that we've had this winter - I love it! Sometimes I wonder how I can stand spending yet another winter in this house, 1/3 of which is unheated, or even another winter in Los Alamos. I love a warm day like today but overnight temps in the single digits or even minus is hard for me to take mentally and physically.
Outdoor faucet on south side has lately been forming a long, ice stalagmite which worried me because I thought it meant the faucet had frozen but after I tightened the handle, the icy spear disappeared. Also out of fear of frozen pipes in the crawl space, I made cardboard covers for the 2 foundation vents on the south end of the house. I do have doors for the vents but I'm not willing to fetch them from the attic, buy more house paint and paint them to match the house. They are dark brown which is the former, yucky color of all the house's trim.
Today, all my favorite parking spots at the bottom of Camp May Road were taken or too snowy so I drove up Camp May Road to the Ocean and started my walk from there - went all the way to the Townsight Lift.
WI group now offers both a hike and a snowshoe. I chose the hike on Kwage or North Mesa. Five of us showed up. Since the dirt path was mostly snow packed, 3 of us donned YakTrax. The other two, because they thought the trail would be muddy, wore pack boots.
At the end of the mesa, our leader took off his YakTrax and went down rocks to the bench below. None of the rest of us did but I want to next time I go there.
Back in the parking lot, after everyone had left, I saw 2 coyotes trotting from the stables out onto North Mesa. Someone had told me that she doesn't like to walk her small dog there because of the coyotes.
Outdoor faucet on south side has lately been forming a long, ice stalagmite which worried me because I thought it meant the faucet had frozen but after I tightened the handle, the icy spear disappeared. Also out of fear of frozen pipes in the crawl space, I made cardboard covers for the 2 foundation vents on the south end of the house. I do have doors for the vents but I'm not willing to fetch them from the attic, buy more house paint and paint them to match the house. They are dark brown which is the former, yucky color of all the house's trim.
Today, all my favorite parking spots at the bottom of Camp May Road were taken or too snowy so I drove up Camp May Road to the Ocean and started my walk from there - went all the way to the Townsight Lift.
WI group now offers both a hike and a snowshoe. I chose the hike on Kwage or North Mesa. Five of us showed up. Since the dirt path was mostly snow packed, 3 of us donned YakTrax. The other two, because they thought the trail would be muddy, wore pack boots.
At the end of the mesa, our leader took off his YakTrax and went down rocks to the bench below. None of the rest of us did but I want to next time I go there.
Back in the parking lot, after everyone had left, I saw 2 coyotes trotting from the stables out onto North Mesa. Someone had told me that she doesn't like to walk her small dog there because of the coyotes.
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