Memorial Day weekend in New Mexico

Ah, New Mexico. I flew out to Albuquerque Friday night for a long weekend of hiking in northern New Mexico. It's been a blast so far.

Saturday morning I got up and headed about an hour north of Albuquerque to Tent Rocks National Monument. The monument is full of sandstone pillars, called hoodoos. They eroded over time and have taken the shape of teepees. Why they're not called teepee rocks, I don't know. It was a fun hike, but my favorite part was hiking through the slot canyon on the way to the view point. It was only about three feet wide in spots and the walls were a few hundred feet high above you. Really cool.

From there I drove up through Santa Fe and Taos to the Taos Ski Valley. I decided to do a hike up to Williams Lake, a glacial lake that sits at the base of New Mexico's highest peak, Wheeler Peak. The hike was about eight miles round trip. It started at 9400' above sea level, which is the highest I'd ever been, and ended at a little over 11000'. It wasn't as bad as I thought it would be, but I could feel the effects of the altitude.

The hike was really awesome. Tent Rocks is in the middle of the desert. The land was dry, full of scrub brush and dust blew all over everything. Williams Lake was completely different. It reminded me of being in Oregon. The land was wet and huge Douglas Fir and Ponderosa Pine trees surrounded the trail. I even had to hike through some remaining snow, which was an odd feeling after hiking through the desert that morning.

Yesterday morning I drove up to the Rio Grande Gorge for a seven mile hike. The gorge was incredible. You start up at the top and drop down nearly 700 feet to the river below. From there you hike along the river, eventually reaching the point where the Red River joins the Rio Grande. After that, it's time to turn around and head back. It was a great hike.

After that I drove down towards Bandelier National Monument near Los Alamos. I was pretty hungry so I stopped at a restaurant known for it's New Mexican food. They don't call it Mexican here I'm learning, it's New Mexican. I won't get into the details, but it was the best New Mexican food I'll probably ever have.

From there I continued on down to Bandelier. The monument sits in a canyon and the main attraction are Indian cliff dwellings built into the canyon walls. It was just as scenic as the Rio Grande Gorge, but was really neat to see the ruins.

The trail is only a mile long and ends into the canyon. From there, it's a dicey 140' up a series of ladders to reach a spot called Alcove House. I don't have a fear of heights, but even I got a little nervous coming down those wooden ladders.

Alcove House contains a structure called a kiva, which I think was used for ceremonial purposes. It was nice to, as it's one of the most heavily visited spots on the park, I was lucky to have it all to myself. After that I checked out Long House, another dwelling, but then it was time to leave. It was a short trip, but definitely worth it.

So, now I'm back in Santa Fe. Today's plan calls for a big breakfast and then a grueling fourteen mile round trip hike up to the summit of 12600' Santa Fe Baldy. My legs are sore, so hopefully I can make it up there. I've got all day though.