Mountain Time: the Organ Mountains and White Sands

In January, Silas and I took a mini-break down to Las Cruces. We stayed at the Hotel Encanto de Las Cruces. It might look like a generic airport hotel from the outside, but once inside there is a stunning courtyard oasis and pool perched on a hill overlooking the city and mountains beyond.

We wandered the farmer’s market and went for a beautiful hike in the Organ Mountains on our first day. Snow clung to the shady side of the mountains, tucked under tree branches, but the trails were clear for the most part.

The next day we headed towards Alamagordo, to White Sands, which had become a national park since our last visit.

In the heart of the Tularosa Basin, the world’s largest gypsum dune field covers 275 square miles, forming shapes dependent on winds and not tides. Soaptree yuccas line the road, in places growing an elongated stem to reach above the gypsum as it drifts. It is a sea of sand, next to the White Sands Missile Range, about seventy miles from the Trinity Site, where the first atomic bomb was detonated on July 16, 1945. Signs led us into the park, noting the possibility of temporary closures for US military testing, and reminding us that the missile range is still active.

At the trailhead, signs warned us in English and Spanish to Stay Alive, Bring lots of water, Wear sunscreen, Pack layers. Which is basic desert logic. And there was more, an adjacent sign said, Know before you go, Alkali Flat Trail, This trail is not flat!, Do not touch any strange objects, sometimes military planes drop dangerous objects on our dunes, and Do not rely on GPS to find your way, sometimes military tests disrupt satellite signals for hours. There was no pretending that we weren’t hiking right next to an active missile range, no matter how beautiful it is.

At the base of most dunes, the sand changes. The interdune landscape. Harder underfoot, it holds in more moisture than the sand at the crest, and a handful of plants take advantage, Torrey’s jointfir, Ephedra torreyana, a small shrub shooting its roots down 6 feet into the gypsum, chamisa, and clusters of grass all trying to hold on in spite of the shifting sands.

Here, in the Alkali Flat, researchers have found the largest known field of Pleistocene ice age trackways. Dire wolf, ancient bison, saber-tooth cat, giant ground sloth, and mammoth all walked here and left impressions behind from 19,000-40,000 years ago. Ghost tracks occur just below the surface, only rarely appearing when a salt hollow forms above them. They can be detected with ground-penetrating radar and magnetic surveys. Raised prints left in mud were filled in with a stronger mineral, dolomite, that lasted long after the softer materials eroded away. And a third kind, ancient prints left in mud and filled in with sand can still be found. On the western playa, human footprints were found in a trench. Ancient grass seeds, Ruppia cirrhosa, were among in the sediment layers above and below. With radiocarbon dating, researchers recently learned they were from 22,806 and 21,130 years ago, far earlier than the previous estimates of humans in North America from 13,500-16,000 years ago. (for more info see nps.gov )

all photographs by me, Becca Grady, 2023

Mountain Time: Fall at 10,000 Feet

At the beginning of October, we drove north to Colorado to see friends in Denver and hike in the mountains. We traipsed along at Red Rocks and got caught in a few rainstorms in the city parks. It never rains like this, my friend told me as we raced for the shelter of the car. Rain in Denver turned to snow at higher altitudes and a few days later as we drove south towards Leadville and then Buena Vista, we were rewarded with snow covered peaks, Mt. Massive and Mt. Elbert included.

The sun came out as we circled the lake, melting some of the snow, burning the heavy clouds away. The next morning we hiked near Buena Vista, in between the peaks of Harvard and Yale, to a high mountain meadow and a small alpine lake, alone on the trail save for a handful of trail runners. I want to do that, Silas and I said to each other at the same time after a runner passed us by. A few moments later, the runner stepped lightly back to us, There’s a porcupine on the trail, watch out, and was off again. Our dog met one once before, on a coastal trail in Nova Scotia, not quite a face to face standoff, but she still caught a stray needle from the ground in her cheek, and we were happy to be of assistance.

All photos by me, Becca Grady, 2022.

Mountain Time: Mt. Ida

Last June, after closing up the jewelry business, Silas and I packed up the car and drove to Colorado, to stay in a cabin and hike. I’ve been sitting on the photos, editing slowly. Trying to get organized. And now as we get ready to leave the mountains I find myself sifting through them again.

Mt. Ida is my favorite hike in Rocky Mountain National Park. I’m sure there are other good ones, but this is the first mountain I climbed with Silas, way back on our very first trip together. So naturally we had to climb it again!

Just past treeline is the marmot castle. A cluster of rocks clinging onto the side of the mountain, where there is always at least one marmot hanging out. We saw more marmots than people on this trail.

All photos by me, Becca Grady

A Hike in the Pecos, Stewart Lake

Stewart Lake is an 11.5 mile loop hike to an alpine lake in the Pecos Wilderness, about an hour and twenty minutes from Santa Fe. Silas and I have hiked this several times since moving here. It’s a beautiful hike and we wanted to get one last trip to the Pecos in before the snow flew, so we headed out to catch the last of the autumn aspens.

Minus the month and change of a broken toe and limited mobililty, we’ve tried to hit the trails at least one day a week. The mostly Saturdays spent in the woods, far from cell reception, without emails, and usually with few other people, have been a balm this year.

Our dog Maisie loves looking at the lake but dislikes getting her paws wet.

Silas really likes tall grasses

all photographs by me, Becca Grady

Mountain Time: To the top of Jicarita Peak

It’s been a month of a broken toe keeping me extra indoors, and two weeks of smoke from the Medio and Caja fires making the air heavy and casting a haze that hides the mountains from Santa Fe’s view. I’ve been dreaming about mountain hikes, like this one, to the top of Jicarita Peak, last fall.

At 12,809 feet, it has amazing views of the Truchas. We went in late October, and the leaves were beautifully golden, but the wind was seriously cold and biting. The hike is beautiful, with some steep inclines. but worth it. Serpent Lake is not to far of the trail if you want to stop for a lakeside picnic or a camp, and there’s a great view of it from above.

A Hike to Cape Split, Nova Scotia

It’s the middle of winter and I haven’t been doing a whole lot of hiking lately. I have been dreaming about it, especially the beautiful Summer hike I did out to Cape Split in Nova Scotia.

This hike is a Grant family tradition. Silas and family love this trail. It’s a relatively short hike. Looking back, I doubt I’d have said that prior to moving to New Mexico. About an hour and a half drive from Halifax, Cape Split is on the Bay of Fundy. The trail winds up through the trees, and most of the way you only quick views of the water nearby. We went shortly after a big hurricane, and there were tons of trees down everywhere along the trail. Crews were still clearing the trail in many places.

I love the smell of the woods and salt air, mixed together. I especially love the moment when the trail opens up, to a clearing, almost at the end of the world. There are tall grasses, lots of gulls in the air, huge drops and cliffsides, a visible tide line in the Bay of Fundy, lots of lichen on the rock face (thanks to all those gulls), wildflowers, and lots of great spots for a picnic.

It’s windy up there. If you go, pack a windbreaker for the top!

Mountain Time: Trampas Lake

I love the drive to the Trampas Lake trailhead. It’s about an hour and a half from Santa Fe, but the last half hour drive is on a long dirt road, heading into the forest, past a small town and a number of campsites. We did this hike last summer. I was still pretty new to hiking at that point, so it was a tough one for me. This year it seemed much easier.

The day was cloudy and threatened to rain. The morning mist hovered in the trees, shrouding the mountains, never quite burning off with the mid-day sun. It was beautiful, and a lovely way to see Trampas Lake. Last summer, it had been really hot and sunny, and the trail, lake, and mountains looked completely different. Amazing what a little cloud cover can do.

Mountain Time: Nambe Lake

On the weekend, Soni and I hiked up to Nambe Lake. The trailhead starts from the Santa Fe ski basin. It was so hot in Santa Fe that I almost didn’t bring any layers, but as soon as I stepped out onto the trail I was grateful for my long sleeve shirt. There is a magical freshness in the cooler air, where everything smells like the forest. After the heat of the Summer sun in Santa Fe, climbing up to cooler air feels so good.

Lake side also means lots of bugs…

Soni in the adventure hat

It’s a pretty steep climb for most of the hike but there were some nice in between flats that offered a bit of respite, and of course the lake at the end of the hike was the best reward. We didn’t jump in, but had a nice picnic on some rocks before beginning our climb down. There are many small waterfalls that were rushing with water as we walked by. The wildflowers were tall and blooming. It was a summertime Saturday well spent.

Mountain Time: Wheeler Peak

The parking lot at the Wheeler Peak trailhead was almost full by the time Soni and I got there. It’s reassuring to climb a mountain with lots of company. The trail to Wheeler Peak starts with the trail to Williams Lake. We’ve hiked up to Williams Lake a few times. It’s a great and relatively short hike to an alpine lake. Soni had hiked up to Wheeler Peak before, but it was my first time. I found it really helped to have some of the trail be familiar. Once we passed the turnoff for Williams Lake, it wasn’t much further until tree line.

Looking down on Williams Lake

wildflowers on the side of the mountain

The trail was mostly clear of snow, with a few exceptions. We were happy to have our microspikes along for this section.

It was a beautiful day for it, not too hot, not too cold. We could see weather in the distance once we go to the top, so we ate our lunch quickly and hit the trail back down. We got a few raindrops on us on the way back down, but missed any big weather. Climbing Mt. Elbert last Summer definitely made this climb a lot more enjoyable. I was much better prepared for this mountain, and as it’s a lower elevation, it felt that much easier than Mt. Elbert. I even wanted to run (okay more like jog?) down part of the mountain, after seeing a few trail runners on the path. I would love to make this hike an annual tradition. Or maybe next year we cross some more New Mexico mountains off our mountain wish list….

Kitchen Mesa at Ghost Ranch

Now that Soni and I have been living in New Mexico for a year and a half, a nice thing is starting to happen. We’ve been able to return to favorite spots and trails and see them in the changing seasons.

Ghost Ranch in Abiquíu, New Mexico is one of those places. Ghost Ranch is a retreat and education center, and also has a number of beautiful hiking trails. Last Fall, Soni and I hiked Kitchen Mesa for the first time, and while the climb was steep, the views were so rewarding. We took my mom to Ghost Ranch in December, and did part of the Chimney Rock trail in the snow. A couple weeks ago, when Molly was visiting, I knew I wanted to take her here for a hike. I described the Kitchen Mesa trail and she said she was defintely in.

Ghost Ranch is about an hour from Santa Fe, just past the village of Abiquíu and Abiquíu Lake. The welcome center has maps of the property and can let you know where all the trailheads are. (They also ask that you check in before any hike and donate $5 per person towards the upkeep of the center and trails. )

The Kitchen Mesa trail is a 4.5 mile out an back trail that starts in a canyon. It’s a beautiful walk that begins relatively flat. There’s an area of fairly steep and rocky incline, with a bit of a rock scramble, and then you’re up on top with a beautiful view of the canyon. If you keep following the trail, there’s another short climb and then the trail leads out onto the mesa top, with a view of Abiquíu Lake and the rest of Ghost Ranch.

We packed a lunch, and had a little picnic up top, with the view. We followed the trail all along the mesa, and the ground changes color into small white rocks as far as we could see. Walking up the hill, all I could see was the white and the sky, and it felt like I was walking on the moon. A very windy moon though, so I had to hang onto my hat.

I love this hike for the rewarding view at the top, and also for the shadowy canyon walls on the way back. We always end up finishing this hike in the later afternoon, as the sun alternately spotlights canyon walls and creates beautiful shadows.

Into the Bisti/De-Na-Zin Wilderness Area

Earlier this year, I drove out to the Bisti Badlands with Soni and Mary. We’d been talking about it for ages, so it was amazing to finally see the badlands in person. The Bisti / De-Na-Zin Wilderness Area is in Eastern Navajo Agency and is managed by the Bureau of Land Management.

It’s about a three hour drive northwest from Santa Fe. We left in the morning, and got to the badlands just after lunchtime. It was a sunny day, but quite windy and cold. From the parking area, we could see a trail and some formations in the distance. As we walked out furthur the formations were everywhere, ranging in size from inches high to ones that towered above us. The wind was so strong that it was easy to imagine how these hoodoos (the spires and other forms created from wind erosion over time) were formed. The ground is made up of sandstone, shale, mudstone, coal, and silt, with most of the hoodoos formed from sandstone.

The BLM’s website offers this tranlation of the Bisti/De-Na-Zin from Navajo/Diné: ““Bisti (Bis-tie) means "a large area of shale hills." De-Na-Zin (Deh-nah-zin) takes its name from the Navajo words for "cranes."“.

The Bisti/De-Na-Zin Wilderness Area is a surreal place, straight from an illustrated cover of a fantasy novel. The wind creates the formations, and it also blows away the trails. We wandered around for hours, keeping track of where we were headed so that we wouldn’t get lost, as is easy to do among the hoodoos. I would love to go again in warmer weather, to see it in a different season. I defintely recommend a visit to see this magical place.

Snowstorm on the Chamisa Trail

One morning in January, my friend Mary and I set our alarms early, and headed up the mountain to see the first light in a snow storm. We were headed for the Chamisa Trail, a 4.5 mile loop trail in Hyde Park Memorial State Park. I love how the mountains and trees get shrouded in the fog and snow heavy clouds, and wanted to see it up close. We parked at the trailhead, pulled our cameras out and our gloves on, and headed up the trail. A lot of snow had already fallen before sunrise, but there was a break in the snow. The forest was quiet, with a snowy untouched path leading further into the woods.

Mary heading back along the trail after the snow picked up.

The weather really changed quickly. We were enjoying the break in the snow on our walk, but as soon as it started snowing again, it was so heavy and fast that it really limited the visibility.

We hung out in the car for a bit to warm up. Once it slowed down, we headed back into town. Old Fort Marcy Park in Santa Fe has a great vantage point of the city, so on our way back we stopped to get a photo of the snowy city.

It was a completely magical morning. Mary and I were both back in Santa Fe and working on our normal day to day around 9 am. This is one of the things that I love most about living in Santa Fe - the closeness to the mountains and the desert. It’s easy to get away into the woods, even if you just have an hour or so.

Mountain Time - Nederland

It took me a little while to get this post together, so right about now this view is a whole lot snowier and the lake is almost frozen! But Nederland is one of my favorite spots, so I wanted to share a bit of our trip there.

At the end of September, Soni and I went to Nederland, Colorado for a little part work/part vacation getaway. I was exhibiting at Denver Renegade over the weekend, and Soni had made plans to do some research at archives outside of Denver during the following week. So we decided to stay in Denver for the weekend and then head up to the mountains for the rest of our time. 

Nederland is a cute mountain town about an hour from Denver and a half hour from Boulder. It’s near Rocky Mountain National Park, Indian Peaks Wilderness and Roosevelt National Forest. There are a lot of great hiking trails nearby. We stayed here once before, two summers ago, on our first vacation together to Rocky Mountain National Park. We had wanted to see different sides of the park, so we stayed in Grand Lake for a few nights, and then Nederland for our last two. Both places are beautiful, but we felt more at home in Nederland, so we decided to head back. 

On the way to Denver, we stopped in La Jara to see our friend Sunny and the El Sagrado farm. It’s a beautiful spot, and Sunny’s been getting it ready to host workshops and retreats. She also trains horses, and I’m hoping to get back there soon for a longer visit. Going to Denver via La Jara meant we were on 285, passing through the Collegiate Peaks. It’s a beautiful drive, and the aspens were just starting to turn, so there was a lot more color on the mountains than there had been on our last Colorado trip. 

It was really nice to get to spend some time in Denver. It was cool in the mornings, which was great for running. But it still got really hot during the day and Renegade was outside, so we were scorched all weekend long. When the fair was over, we packed up our tent at Renegade. We drove straight to Nederland, climbing 3,000 feet, and were greeted with a chill in the air that was quite the contrast to Denver’s heat. We definitely did not pack enough warm clothes for Fall in the mountains, where it was dropping to just below freezing at night. 

We stayed in a small cottage in town for the week. On the first night, we pulled in, unloaded the car, and immediately layered up for our stroll into town. We went to a dive bar called the Pleasant Inn, that served dinner late. It was a Sunday night, and we had quickly learned that most places close around then in the off season. We loved it, and even went back a few nights later to play a game of pool, learning that they had temporarily lost their liquor license which was pretty hilarious given that it’s the only bar in town.  

Soni spent the first day at the archives, and I hung out in the cottage. It rained on and off all day. When it paused (and brought rainbows!), and the sun came back out, I went for a walk to the reservoir. It was strange to see that the water levels were lower than they had been only two year ago.

Rainbows!

The view from the path around the reservoir

I slept so well in our little cottage that week. I love sleeping in the cold under a heavy comforter. It was quiet in the town, past the big summer tourist influx. 

We went for an evening hike in the Indian Peaks Wilderness, driving out as the sun was getting low in the sky. There was snow from the night before. On the drive out of town, we saw a family of moose at the river. We went on the trail up to Lost Lake, spying a few more signs of moose in the trees, but not getting quite another viewing like the one by the river. The light was disappearing quickly and we didn’t bring any flashlights, so we turned back before reaching the lake. It was the perfect fall week to be in Nederland, with the crisp air, and the leaves turning brilliant shades of gold and red all around us.

I’ve never seen this many moose at once before!

The trail to Lost Lake

The next day we went for a trail run at Caribou Ranch. There was a beautiful 4+ mile loop that went past open fields, and wooded areas, near the old mine, and around this old homestead. I took Soni to the Mountain Man store, where I bought a warmer sweatshirt and a hat, since I just hadn’t packed warmly enough for the mountains. And then we finally went back have the best pizza at Crosscut Pizza in town. I tried to plan our week out so that we could go twice before we left. What can I say, pizza is my favorite food. Pretty much my favorite spots in town are Crosscut for pizza and Salto’s for coffee, wine and snacks, and the trail around the reservoir for slow wandering. We were both trying to work and relax on this trip, which meant there just weren’t enough days, and I’d love to come back again soon.

The old homestead at Caribou Ranch

For our last full day in Nederland, we planned an all day hike up to Arapaho Glacier. We packed our warmest layers, lunches and cameras and headed out. The trail was beautiful, and not many folks were out given the weather. It was pretty windy, but in the trees it was great. We passed another hiker who said that she had turned back above treeline because it was too windy. Once we made it to the top we understood what she meant! We headed up the path aways and got to a point with a nice view of the glacier, but the wind was fierce. We were both having trouble keeping our balance, and there were still several miles to go. We stopped and I took some photos of the view - the glacier and the lakes are gorgeous. I hope that we get a chance to come back on a less windy day, when we have some better layers. The wind was kicking up dirt all around us, and I ended up eating quite a bit of it. When we got back to the tree line edge, Soni took one look at me and started laughing. I had dirt stuck to my teeth and lips and looked quite strange. It was good that we were heading back down…

Treeline on the trail up to Arapaho Glacier

The trail up to the Arapaho Glacier, where I decided it was too windy to keep going up….

As close as we could get to the glacier, due to the wind and our inappropriate layers.

The lakes look beautiful from up high

The view from treeline, mountains as far as you can see

The view from the trail

On the way down, we went on a shorter hike out to the Rainbow Lakes

The drive back from the trailhead was just as gorgeous

Since our big hike was cut short, we had a bit of extra time and decided check out Boulder Falls, a quick walk just off the main road in between Nederland and Boulder.

Until next time, Nederland…

Mountain Time: Crater Lake, Cathedral Lake and Mt. Elbert

In August, the day after my birthday, Soni and I drove to Colorado for the long weekend, up to the Aspen area for a few days, to do some hiking, relax, and see a friend living in nearby Carbondale.

The drive up was beautiful, on 285/24 through the Collegiate Peaks. We turned off on CO 82 and stopped in Twin Lakes for coffee. It was rainy and misty, and the lakes were beautiful. Twin Lakes is a small little town but seems to get a lot of folks passing through. I told Sonia I wanted to come back and camp or stay in the B & B. After Twin Lakes, we took Independence Pass through the mountains to Aspen. It was jaw-dropping, beautiful, and terrifying. I was glad Sonia was driving. And that it was daylight, even if it was raining. 

We stayed in an Airbnb in Snowmass Village just outside of Aspen. When I was picturing it before we left, I had imagined the Taos Ski Village but a little bit bigger. Snowmass Village was actually much larger, with tons of condo buildings, restaurants and shopping. It ended up being pretty nice, we could walk to dinner in the evening instead of driving into Aspen. 

It rained the next morning as well, but as soon as it started to let up, we headed down into Aspen for some lunch, and then to the famed Maroon Bells. The peaks called the Maroon Bells get their coloring because they are made up of a lot of mudstone, like the cliffs at Blomidon in Nova Scotia. This also makes them prone to rockslides, and extremely dangerous for climbing. They are beautiful and very photogenic. The Maroon Bells are hard to get to, as no cars are allowed up during the day, so you have to take a shuttle. They are so popular that in the 1980s park management banned cars because the pollution from all the exhaust was killing the wildflowers. Today, I’m told much of it has been restored. It was totally worth the wait to see this stunning protected area. We just had enough time to make it up to Crater Lake and back down with a few minutes before the last shuttle headed down the mountain. The Crater Lake trail is an out and back 3.8 mile trail that gets a lot of foot traffic. It’s a pretty trail, fairly easy, and short enough to do in a hurry. The lake was pretty low this time of year and there was little snow on the mountains. After a winter with a lot less snow than usual, water levels seem to be low in a lot of areas - in Maroon Bells, and as we saw later on in Nederland, and in many places here in New Mexico. 

Maroon Bells

Very happy to be on vacation, at Crater Lake with Soni

We saw a lot of Gray Jays on this trip. This one was hanging out by Crater Lake.

The Maroon Bells at Crater Lake

Crater Lake

This is the view of Maroon Bells that gets photographed the most! This shot was taken from the walking path just off of the main trailhead where the shuttle drops visitors off. I couldn’t not take one as well, it’s beautiful.

In the Aspens

Maroon Lake

The next day we decided to go on a longer more strenuous hike to Cathedral Lake. The trail is a 5.3 out and back trail up to the lake, and it’s rated difficult. It was a beautiful trail, and a beautiful day for the hike. The hardest part was towards the end, almost to the lake, when the trail gets very steep. There were a lot of people on the trail that day, and you have to go pretty slow at this point, so it also ends up being a bit of a bottleneck. But once you’re up, the rest of the hike is relatively flat out to the lake. The peak next to the lake really does look like a cathedral, and I’m a sucker for an alpine lake, so we were very pleased. Being late August, most of the wildflowers were gone, but there were still a few here and there along the trailside, adding color to the greens and darks of the mountains. 

After the hike, we drove to Carbondale to meet up with a friend of mine from Maine, Allegra, who has been working on trails all summer in the White River National Forest. She was still on her way down the mountain to meet us but recommended some river hot springs for us to visit in the meantime. Penny Hot Springs is a cluster of small pools on the Crystal river just outside of town. They can get pretty crowded. We found a good hot spot to sit and soak in the pools for a bit, and then headed into to Carbondale to meet her. We had dinner at a fun diner and got to hear about her summer of trail work (she loved it!). She’s been doing work on trails all over the forest, some in the Maroon Bells, and elsewhere. And if you want to see what the Maroon Bells look like now that they are covered in snow - there are some good photos on Allegra’s instagram.

Cathedral Lake

wildflowers on the Cathedral Lake trail

The general plan for our trip was to stay in Aspen/Snowmass for three nights, hanging out and doing some shorter hikes during the day. Then we would drive to Mt. Elbert, near Leadville, and camp near the trailhead so that we’d be ready to try our very first 14er (14,000 feet high mountain). The weather decided not to cooperate with us, and we had to move our hike up a day. So, on Monday morning, we got up at 4am, packed up our car and drove to the trailhead. Thankfully, again, Sonia did the driving. Because heading out so early meant that we were on the windy Independence Pass in the dark, spooking some of the deer that were out in the early morning. 

Sunrise at Twin Lakes, on the way to Mt. Elbert

We got to the trailhead around 6:30am. It was so damn cold as we packed up our gear for the hike. The North Mt. Elbert trailhead is at about 10,000 feet, so it’s higher up and colder than where we’d been staying in Snowmass, at about 8,000 feet. While it felt a bit was a bit crazy to get up at 4am and drive for two hours before hiking for 8+, we would have been really cold camping out near the trailhead. 

We were still cold when we started on the trail by 7am, but there’s a good incline fairly early on so we soon warmed up a bit and were able to take off our warmest layers. It’s a pretty trail, mostly wooded until we got up to tree line. Once we got to tree line, it became significantly harder. Soni had read up on the trail guide ahead of time and knew that there were three “false peaks” which really came in handy. False peaks are when you think you can see the top, but the top is actually beyond it. It was actually nice to know that, but I still found myself pretending that I was almost there with each one. We took a lot of breaks, had a lot of snacks. The trail is steep, and the elevation gain really started to get to me above tree line, so I just always wanted a break to catch my breath until we got to the top. 

On the way up Mt. Elbert

The weather was really clear, sunny, and very hazy. With no chance of thunderstorms, we could take our time getting up to the top and back down again to tree line. The next day (our original Mt. Elbert day) called for thunderstorms all day. 

I’m not sure where it was along the trail, it was close to the top, but don’t know how far or what the elevation was, but I hit a pretty big breaking point and almost lost it. The trail started to get really eroded, with softer dirt, and rocks sliding everywhere. It was very much a scramble, and a steep one. It also gets windier as you get higher, and I felt really unbalanced. I pretty much felt like I was going to fall off the mountain. I went really slowly and took a lot of breaks, but still had a hard time catching my breath. In part from the elevation, part from the anxiety (can I really do this?), it was hard to breathe, and I finally took Soni’s offer of the can of oxygen we’d brought along. We made it past that section, and up to an equally steep very lichen covered rocky section, and I had a similar panic. I had to stop for a bit longer here. This portion of the trail was still tricky, but the rocks were bigger here and felt like they weren’t going anywhere, so I found myself a seat, gripped the rocks and closed my eyes. After a while, my breathing returned to normal, and I finally began to relax.

After a break, we continued up the rest of the way. It was still hard, but the panic didn’t come back. At this point, as we passed folks on their way back down, they were sincere when they said, “almost there!”. Also, we passed a few older hikers, one who said he’d had five knee surgeries, who all said variations of “if we can do it you can do it”. Which sounds cheesy, but at that point I really appreciated it. 

the hazy view from the top of Mt. Elbert

We made it to the top, finally! There was actually a fair amount of wind cover if you stayed on one side of the top, so it was quite comfortable to be up there for a rest before heading back down. There are also a few shelters that I’m sure come in handy on rough weather days. There were lots of folks at the top. Many who we’d been on the trail with at some point. A few runners, and a pair of mountain bikers with their bikes who took our photo with our camp stove and picnic lunch. To be honest, having had such a hard time walking up the mountain, I was completely flabbergasted by the runners and bikers. But maybe once you’ve done more of this kind of thing it’s less daunting. I also heard someone say that some folks once drove a jeep up to the top. 

Soni’s best hiking trick is to bring the camp stove up and heat up some veggie chili for lunch, it’s better on top of a mountain.

very tired, but happy to be at the top!

This fella also made it up there, but not sure when…

At the top, you could see pretty far out, but everything was dimmed by the haze. Some other hikers said that it was all the smoke from the nearby fires that was causing the haze, and that there was a smoke warning in the area. This, of all things, made me feel better. Not because there was a fire, but because the added smoke in the air makes it harder to breathe at high altitudes and this made me feel like less of a wimp for struggling so much. No plans for another one, but it perhaps it won’t be as hard?

Last of the wildflowers on the mountain

The Cottonwood Hot Springs are in Buena Vista, about an hour and a half drive from the trailhead. After we made it down, we headed straight there. We pitched the tent next to the river and headed straight for the first pool. It was getting late, so we just did a quick dip, and then went into town for dinner. When we got back to the springs, we went back in for another soak, and then straight to bed. I have never slept so well in a tent in my entire life. The combination of exhaustion and the sound of the river, I slept ten hours straight no problem. We spent the morning in the hot springs and then headed back to Santa Fe. Surprisingly, neither of us were sore from the hike. The hot springs did their magic.

The rock pools at Cottonwood Hot Springs. This one was the hottest!

My dad sent me flowers for my birthday the day before we left, so I decided to bring them on the road trip with us. Here they are, dressing up our campsite at Cottonwood Hot Springs.