Burnt Mesa Windy Day

Thursday's hike with the Ad Hoc group was on Burnt Mesa. The trail was nicely dried out. I have to admit that even though I don't like tripping over the logs embedded across the trail at frequent intervals, they do a superb job of keeping the trail from getting cupped.  Walking on a flat trail surface instead of in a ditch is so much easier.

It was a very windy day - blowing at our back on the way out. When the group decided to turn around about 1 1/2 miles in, they realized the wind would be in their face. I continued another mile or so to the trail's end where you can look over into Frijoles Canyon and see the Long Trail in Bandelier National Monument. It was truly a hat-brim-flipping wind on the return journey.  I saw three other hikers. Bet they also had read on the Los Alamos Trails Facebook page that the Burnt Mesa Trail was in fine condition and we all went for it!

San Miguel Mountains, which include Boundary Peak and St. Peter's Dome, from Burnt Mesa.

Snowy, south side of Pajarito Mountain from Burnt Mesa Trail.

Ancho Springs Trail to Red Dot

Group hiked Ancho Springs Trail to Red Dot (via River Trail) on Wednesday. It's a 7.5 mile, one-way hike per the leader.  I thought about just hiking down to Ancho Rapids and right back up because I wasn't sure of my ability to keep up with the group on the full hike but when we got to the River Trail turnoff, I decided to go for the full hike. Several times the group stopped to look at petroglyphs but I continued on so I wouldn't fall too far behind. When they stopped for lunch, I continued, eating my LaraBars while walking. The trail to follow was clear and the group always caught up with me.

On the group's last petroglyph stop, near the bottom of the Red Dot Trail, I and some others started up the very steep Red Dot. I had a brief, scary spell of "stupid feet" near the top - where your feet get "tangled-up" with a not-very brilliant mind of their own. I waited a little at the top for a ride back to the Powerline Point/Ancho Springs Trailhead where my car was. Really grateful for the ride and the chance to do this great hike. The trail is in wonderful condition. Someone has "white-dotted" the River Trail from the turnoff in Ancho Canyon to where the trail crosses Water Canyon. Guess white dots are appropriate since it's in White Rock Canyon.

A slice of the Rio Grande River, probably not too distant from the River Trail turnoff.

Where the River Trail crosses Water Canyon, with wonderful, columnar basalt cliffs.

Beanfield Mesa

On walk this morning with the Ad Hoc Hikers. This is Beanfield Mesa. We had just walked on the Pajarito Trail beneath those picturesque cliffs, far below Beanfield's rim.

Ponderosa Campground-Frijoles Canyon

Wednesday, on Upper Crossing Trail, starting from Ponderosa Campground, looking upward at cleft in Apache Spring Mesa (my made-up name). Five fast hikers are ahead of me. They have a big task - go all the way to Bandelier Headquarters in Frijoles Canyon. Mine is only to amble down into Frijoles Canyon and right back up.

And amble I did, stopping to look at these pretty, snowy woods. The trail was snow-covered in places and trending to frozen mud in others.

Alas, whilst in Frijoles Canyon, I took no photos but saw these quirky turkey tracks on the mesa top while walking back. These are apparently very hardy turkeys as their tracks wandered everywhere! Oh, digress for a moment back to Frijoles Canyon: At the second crossing of the Rito de los Frijoles, for one brief, wild moment, I envisioned continuing downstream to Bandelier Headquarters and hitching a ride back to Ponderosa Campground but instead, lazily walked back up to the mesa top. The Rito, though, was running finely after our Monday snowfall.