This week started with a revelation. I got up pretty early in the morning, grabbed my backpack, and went to the office to wait for Dale to pick me up. I was going to join him for the morning hunting patrol (hence the early wake up call) and then head out to the cabin from one of the trail-heads on the other side of the park. While I was waiting I even had a chance to call a friend in Israel- so the morning really started pretty well. We drove around for about an hour or so, looking for trucks parked in places that would indicate that the owners were hunting on park land. Also got out and walked around for a bit in an area that has had a few poaching cases in the past. After that, Dale drove me up to the Alamo Springs TH (Trail Head) to start my hike. I think I mentioned before that Dale is really fun to ride with. He has been in the park for the past 17 years and is full of stories. There is a lot to learn from the guy. I also happen to like his taste in music. He has his Sat radio tuned to 60's-70's music all the time, so in other words- he would fit right in with the Mike's Place crowd. I've told you about him before- but as he parked the car and we both got out to admire the beautiful clear morning- we both realized I didn't have any pictures of him. 
Had to use the hood of the truck as a tripod and put it on timer, but I finally have attached an image to my imaginary ranger-friend.
Alamo springs TH is one of the less used trail heads of the park. the main reason for that is that in order to get to it you need to drive on a very bad dirt road for about 40 minutes, through national forest, and that dirt road is not always open. Little to no people would hike all that just to start their hike in the park. As a result, it's very easy to loose the trail and especially in the early morning hours- when I set out, you end up whacking your way through the brush and getting soaked from the wet branches and leafs- after the night fogs. Dale sent me out this week with a specific task. Keeping record of all the signs in the back country. Writing down their condition and taking pictures of them. Some of the signs need to be replaced because they point to trails that are not open any more, and some of the signs get damaged from the weather or the wild animals. For some reason, the bears really like to claw the new signs- something about the smell of the treated wood, and let me tell you- no sign will stand that for long.
Had to use the hood of the truck as a tripod and put it on timer, but I finally have attached an image to my imaginary ranger-friend.
Alamo springs TH is one of the less used trail heads of the park. the main reason for that is that in order to get to it you need to drive on a very bad dirt road for about 40 minutes, through national forest, and that dirt road is not always open. Little to no people would hike all that just to start their hike in the park. As a result, it's very easy to loose the trail and especially in the early morning hours- when I set out, you end up whacking your way through the brush and getting soaked from the wet branches and leafs- after the night fogs. Dale sent me out this week with a specific task. Keeping record of all the signs in the back country. Writing down their condition and taking pictures of them. Some of the signs need to be replaced because they point to trails that are not open any more, and some of the signs get damaged from the weather or the wild animals. For some reason, the bears really like to claw the new signs- something about the smell of the treated wood, and let me tell you- no sign will stand that for long.
As I hit the main trail I was supposed to take, the one that is more well maintained, I really enjoyed the rays of the morning sun warming me up and drying up my pants that got wet coming down Alamo Springs. The sun didn't stay out for long, though. After about 5 minutes, I saw the clouds coming in from behind me. Thick heavy grey clouds rolling down from the Jemez mountains. I had just enough warning to pull out my poncho and the rain cover for my backpack, and to bury my camera deep inside the pack. Then the hail came- and I still had a good hour and a half to two hours of a hike. I wasn't sure which of us- Dale or me, got it worse. I had to hike in the rain and was getting undeniably wet. He had to drive back, uphill, into the center of the storm, on a dirt road that got very slippery in the rain, with a serious cliff on one side...
I'm very happy with my poncho, because when I finally made it to the cabin, I was only wet from the hips down. My shoes and socks were soaked and my leather hat was dripping. My fingers were a little cold- but that's about it. It was time to put the wood stove to the test. Though I got to the cabin before noon I went no-where that day. For one, I didn't have shoes to walk anywhere in- they were drying up in front of the stove, and secondly- I was hiking with a pretty heavy pack and pushing my way pretty quickly to get out of the rain. I was pooped.
I'm very happy with my poncho, because when I finally made it to the cabin, I was only wet from the hips down. My shoes and socks were soaked and my leather hat was dripping. My fingers were a little cold- but that's about it. It was time to put the wood stove to the test. Though I got to the cabin before noon I went no-where that day. For one, I didn't have shoes to walk anywhere in- they were drying up in front of the stove, and secondly- I was hiking with a pretty heavy pack and pushing my way pretty quickly to get out of the rain. I was pooped.
Did some reading, cooked some dinner, and dried out.
Woke up the next morning with the flames dying in the stove and dry shoes waiting in front of it, and dry socks hanging over it. Quite a soothing pictures. All it needed was a kettle warming up on it. Should have taken a picture of that- but my camera was in the other room, and the concrete floor was too cold to attempt in bare feet. After breakfast (that was indeed cooked over the wood stove) I headed out to the south end of the park with a hand drill and two screws. On one of my last trips out, I discovered the sign down there had not been mounted on a post, but was just leaning on a pile of rocks. So the next time out I hiked out with the post and stuck it in the ground. Only problem then was that I discovered there were no holes in the sign to put the screws through. So this time I intended to finish the job with the hand drill. Some gut feeling told me that nothing is that simple, so I also hike out with some wire and pliers. Knowing how wet the grass would be after yesterdays storm, I wrapped my legs, from the knee down, in garbage bags reinforced by duck tape. After an 8 Kilometer hike I got to the sign and discovered two things. One- though the garbage bags had, by now, slipped down and were no longer covering my shins, but were wrapped around my ankles- they did help keep my feet relatively dry,
and two- I was right to hike out with a backup plan because the holes in the pole were too small for the screws I had. If no bears hang out in the southern part of the park (they usually keep to the greener areas), sign might stand a chance.
From there I decided not to go back on one of the trails which i have hiked before. Instead I headed back north along Hondo canyon. I've crossed Hondo before and came up along an Indian trail- that's when I met Gumaz on the mesa. This time I was going to hike the whole length of Hondo canyon. I guess I hit it just at the right season. The first few miles of the canyon have a wide sandy, dry, creek bed. I the summer, I'm sure hiking along that would have meant sinking in the sand the whole way, but after a few rains the sandy bottom was packed down and it was like trekking on a highway.
Another amazing thing about Hondo were the crazy rock formations I found about a mile up from the mouth of the canyon.
Woke up the next morning with the flames dying in the stove and dry shoes waiting in front of it, and dry socks hanging over it. Quite a soothing pictures. All it needed was a kettle warming up on it. Should have taken a picture of that- but my camera was in the other room, and the concrete floor was too cold to attempt in bare feet. After breakfast (that was indeed cooked over the wood stove) I headed out to the south end of the park with a hand drill and two screws. On one of my last trips out, I discovered the sign down there had not been mounted on a post, but was just leaning on a pile of rocks. So the next time out I hiked out with the post and stuck it in the ground. Only problem then was that I discovered there were no holes in the sign to put the screws through. So this time I intended to finish the job with the hand drill. Some gut feeling told me that nothing is that simple, so I also hike out with some wire and pliers. Knowing how wet the grass would be after yesterdays storm, I wrapped my legs, from the knee down, in garbage bags reinforced by duck tape. After an 8 Kilometer hike I got to the sign and discovered two things. One- though the garbage bags had, by now, slipped down and were no longer covering my shins, but were wrapped around my ankles- they did help keep my feet relatively dry,
and two- I was right to hike out with a backup plan because the holes in the pole were too small for the screws I had. If no bears hang out in the southern part of the park (they usually keep to the greener areas), sign might stand a chance.From there I decided not to go back on one of the trails which i have hiked before. Instead I headed back north along Hondo canyon. I've crossed Hondo before and came up along an Indian trail- that's when I met Gumaz on the mesa. This time I was going to hike the whole length of Hondo canyon. I guess I hit it just at the right season. The first few miles of the canyon have a wide sandy, dry, creek bed. I the summer, I'm sure hiking along that would have meant sinking in the sand the whole way, but after a few rains the sandy bottom was packed down and it was like trekking on a highway.
Another amazing thing about Hondo were the crazy rock formations I found about a mile up from the mouth of the canyon.
It was a long hike, in mileage, but those soft comfortable first few miles, really made it fun.
I also had a chance to record quite a few signs that day.
On my second day I stuck around Capulin canyon- where the cabin is. The park boundary crosses Capulin up canyon from the cabin, and the signs in that part needed to be checked on. I also wanted to do some clearing on the trail that comes down to the cabin from the Dome TH- the shortest way in to my cabin.
So I started the day hiking out with a new sign for the boundary and after lunch took the big cross cut saw and an axe and went up to the big log that blocks the trail where the rattle snake had surprised me on my last hike to the cabin. Just in case, I also took the snake hook with me, but he wasn't there. That saw can be used by one or two people, and I've only used it, up until now, for cutting firewood for the cabin. I never tried any large trunks. It took me a lot less time than i had expected. Within 20 minutes I cut it twice and got it out of the way. Just imagine what two real lumber jacks, that know what they are doing, can do with that thing. I cleared 3 more trees off of that trail and called it for the day. I was going to use that trail the next day- so I was expecting instant gratification.
I spent the rest of the day replenishing my supply of firewood, and taking a cold shower outside.
These showers tend to be really short, as you can imagine.
I woke up the next morning with the sound of rain on my roof. I stalled the whole getting out of bed and making breakfast process enough to convince the clouds to go find somewhere else to play, so by the time I headed out, it wasn't raining anymore, and the sky was pretty clear. Like i had planned, I was headed up the trail that i had cleared the day before, towards the west boundary and I place called Turkey springs. It's the only steady source of water in the park outside of the three main canyons. again, the mission at hand was recording the condition of the signs at the boundary. After I was done with that I headed down along the creek that comes out of Turkey springs. There is no trail there, but as I made my way down I realized that I was, in fact, following the foot steps of others. Well, it's more like following paw-steps. Apparently the bears walk along that creek a lot.
They left quite a lot of evidence behind. During this season the bears like to feed on cactus fruit. I guess it doesn't entirely agree with their system, because that's what it looks like when it comes out. The other side of the bear, that is.
Following bear trails is really great. The trail is very wide, and they are pretty lazy, so they keep all the climbs really gradual. Only problem is they walk on all fours, so here and there the trail just goes under branches that are too high to climb over, and too low to easily go under when you are carrying a loaded backpack. I was headed towards San Miguel pueblo- one of the three largest ruins in the park. It's off the maps and not easily accessible from any of the trails. I was going to follow the creek until I got under the meas where the ruin is on and then find a way up
the steep slope. On my way along I stopped for lunch on this funky boulder that I found just sticking out on the side of the creek. From there it was just a matter of climbing up the side of the canyon and on top of the mesa. The climb was harder than i had planned. At the top of the slope it turns into a cliff, about 3 meters high. I wasn't going to play rock climber, so it took me about 15 minutes before I found a way up. Then I started looking for the ruins amongst the junipers. I only found one when suddenly i heard Dale's voice on the radio calling one of the vegetation monitoring crews that were working one of the mesas north of me. "Veg crew 1, this is LE3. Are you still on that mesa? I'm above upper Frijolis canyon. There is a storm coming down your way. It looks pretty serious, and I can see lightning. You better get down to lower ground". I turned around, and sure enough, those clouds that had gone to play somewhere else in the morning... well they decided to claim back my back yard as their playground, and they weren't happy I fooled them earlier that day. They brought along some lightning and were headed my way quickly. I decided I better take Dale's advice, even though he wasn't talking to me, and get off the mesa. Again, poncho came out, camera went in, and my pack was covered. As the first drops started falling I realized that while no one ever died from getting wet feet, getting hit by lightning while hiking the top of a meas wasn't a great idea, and falling off a cliff while trying to get off that meas wasn't a great idea either. About the same time Dale decided to check on me and when I gave him the general picture, the only advice he could produce was "...be careful..." I made it down in one piece but it was another hour and half back to the cabin through wet grass and on-and-off rain, so, as could be expected, my feet were wet again, but when I got to the cabin and started the fire I realized that one of hiking boots had a seam tare and the side of it was pretty open. Again I was housebound until my boots dried out and I used the rest of the day going through some of the first aid equipment in the cabin and checking the Search and Rescue kits. The oxygen tank gauge showed it was empty, so when I called in to say good night I said i would hike out with it so it could be filled. I also packed a couple of first aid kits that were missing a lot of items.
The next morning I got Wendy to pick me up at the Dome (Shortest way out). Right before I stuff the oxygen tank in my pack I decided to check it again, and this time i opened the valve. Yeah, I made a boob out of myself. The tank was fine. I just checked it wrong. At least I found out before I hiked out with it and proudly handed it over to the rangers. I had set a time with Wendy- 11:00 am, and between packing up, checking the oxygen tank, and duck-taping my torn shoe, it was getting pretty late. So when, at 9:20 I headed out, I was in quite a hurry. Though the Dome trail is the shortest way out- it does have one very obvious disadvantage- It's one long steep climb, the whole way. I was a panting hurt'n dog (that's a Dale phrase- I kind'a like it), but think I broke a record coming up. I got up in an hour and 20 minutes, which even left me twenty minutes to climb Boundary peek. I've been wanting to climb that one ever since I saw it. It's only about 15 minutes up from the trail, but you feel like you're at the top of world. The whole park is down at your feet.
The peek itself is a pile of boulders that look like they were left there after god had finished some construction project. I was really hoping Wendy would be early and I could call her on the radio and take a picture of me on the top- but I guess you can't have everything.
In fact she was even a little late, so I had time to eat a snack and doze away under the sun in the cool breeze.
When I got back to HQ I handed Dale my sign report and preceded to take care of the shoes. In fact, a good portion of my two days off has been spent on trying to get them fixed. Unfortunately, though the shoes are made by an Italian company that has a very good reputation in Israel, no one here seems to have heard of them, and their website was offline and I couldn't find any store in the area that services them- so my life time warranty was pretty worthless. New shoes, in my current financial situation are out of the question too. Finally Dale recommended a boot repair shop in Santa Fe. I had to drive there on Tuesday and beg that they would do it as quickly as possible. Drove out there again today to pick them up, and also picked up a bottle of HUBERD'S SHOE OIL that they recommended. Hopefully that will reduce the number of wet feet incidents. And all at a total cost of a mere 21$. I'm headed out again tomorrow morning, so we will find out how good a job they did. Wish me luck.
I also had a chance to record quite a few signs that day.
On my second day I stuck around Capulin canyon- where the cabin is. The park boundary crosses Capulin up canyon from the cabin, and the signs in that part needed to be checked on. I also wanted to do some clearing on the trail that comes down to the cabin from the Dome TH- the shortest way in to my cabin.
So I started the day hiking out with a new sign for the boundary and after lunch took the big cross cut saw and an axe and went up to the big log that blocks the trail where the rattle snake had surprised me on my last hike to the cabin. Just in case, I also took the snake hook with me, but he wasn't there. That saw can be used by one or two people, and I've only used it, up until now, for cutting firewood for the cabin. I never tried any large trunks. It took me a lot less time than i had expected. Within 20 minutes I cut it twice and got it out of the way. Just imagine what two real lumber jacks, that know what they are doing, can do with that thing. I cleared 3 more trees off of that trail and called it for the day. I was going to use that trail the next day- so I was expecting instant gratification.
I spent the rest of the day replenishing my supply of firewood, and taking a cold shower outside.
These showers tend to be really short, as you can imagine.I woke up the next morning with the sound of rain on my roof. I stalled the whole getting out of bed and making breakfast process enough to convince the clouds to go find somewhere else to play, so by the time I headed out, it wasn't raining anymore, and the sky was pretty clear. Like i had planned, I was headed up the trail that i had cleared the day before, towards the west boundary and I place called Turkey springs. It's the only steady source of water in the park outside of the three main canyons. again, the mission at hand was recording the condition of the signs at the boundary. After I was done with that I headed down along the creek that comes out of Turkey springs. There is no trail there, but as I made my way down I realized that I was, in fact, following the foot steps of others. Well, it's more like following paw-steps. Apparently the bears walk along that creek a lot.
They left quite a lot of evidence behind. During this season the bears like to feed on cactus fruit. I guess it doesn't entirely agree with their system, because that's what it looks like when it comes out. The other side of the bear, that is.Following bear trails is really great. The trail is very wide, and they are pretty lazy, so they keep all the climbs really gradual. Only problem is they walk on all fours, so here and there the trail just goes under branches that are too high to climb over, and too low to easily go under when you are carrying a loaded backpack. I was headed towards San Miguel pueblo- one of the three largest ruins in the park. It's off the maps and not easily accessible from any of the trails. I was going to follow the creek until I got under the meas where the ruin is on and then find a way up
the steep slope. On my way along I stopped for lunch on this funky boulder that I found just sticking out on the side of the creek. From there it was just a matter of climbing up the side of the canyon and on top of the mesa. The climb was harder than i had planned. At the top of the slope it turns into a cliff, about 3 meters high. I wasn't going to play rock climber, so it took me about 15 minutes before I found a way up. Then I started looking for the ruins amongst the junipers. I only found one when suddenly i heard Dale's voice on the radio calling one of the vegetation monitoring crews that were working one of the mesas north of me. "Veg crew 1, this is LE3. Are you still on that mesa? I'm above upper Frijolis canyon. There is a storm coming down your way. It looks pretty serious, and I can see lightning. You better get down to lower ground". I turned around, and sure enough, those clouds that had gone to play somewhere else in the morning... well they decided to claim back my back yard as their playground, and they weren't happy I fooled them earlier that day. They brought along some lightning and were headed my way quickly. I decided I better take Dale's advice, even though he wasn't talking to me, and get off the mesa. Again, poncho came out, camera went in, and my pack was covered. As the first drops started falling I realized that while no one ever died from getting wet feet, getting hit by lightning while hiking the top of a meas wasn't a great idea, and falling off a cliff while trying to get off that meas wasn't a great idea either. About the same time Dale decided to check on me and when I gave him the general picture, the only advice he could produce was "...be careful..." I made it down in one piece but it was another hour and half back to the cabin through wet grass and on-and-off rain, so, as could be expected, my feet were wet again, but when I got to the cabin and started the fire I realized that one of hiking boots had a seam tare and the side of it was pretty open. Again I was housebound until my boots dried out and I used the rest of the day going through some of the first aid equipment in the cabin and checking the Search and Rescue kits. The oxygen tank gauge showed it was empty, so when I called in to say good night I said i would hike out with it so it could be filled. I also packed a couple of first aid kits that were missing a lot of items.The next morning I got Wendy to pick me up at the Dome (Shortest way out). Right before I stuff the oxygen tank in my pack I decided to check it again, and this time i opened the valve. Yeah, I made a boob out of myself. The tank was fine. I just checked it wrong. At least I found out before I hiked out with it and proudly handed it over to the rangers. I had set a time with Wendy- 11:00 am, and between packing up, checking the oxygen tank, and duck-taping my torn shoe, it was getting pretty late. So when, at 9:20 I headed out, I was in quite a hurry. Though the Dome trail is the shortest way out- it does have one very obvious disadvantage- It's one long steep climb, the whole way. I was a panting hurt'n dog (that's a Dale phrase- I kind'a like it), but think I broke a record coming up. I got up in an hour and 20 minutes, which even left me twenty minutes to climb Boundary peek. I've been wanting to climb that one ever since I saw it. It's only about 15 minutes up from the trail, but you feel like you're at the top of world. The whole park is down at your feet.
The peek itself is a pile of boulders that look like they were left there after god had finished some construction project. I was really hoping Wendy would be early and I could call her on the radio and take a picture of me on the top- but I guess you can't have everything.In fact she was even a little late, so I had time to eat a snack and doze away under the sun in the cool breeze.
When I got back to HQ I handed Dale my sign report and preceded to take care of the shoes. In fact, a good portion of my two days off has been spent on trying to get them fixed. Unfortunately, though the shoes are made by an Italian company that has a very good reputation in Israel, no one here seems to have heard of them, and their website was offline and I couldn't find any store in the area that services them- so my life time warranty was pretty worthless. New shoes, in my current financial situation are out of the question too. Finally Dale recommended a boot repair shop in Santa Fe. I had to drive there on Tuesday and beg that they would do it as quickly as possible. Drove out there again today to pick them up, and also picked up a bottle of HUBERD'S SHOE OIL that they recommended. Hopefully that will reduce the number of wet feet incidents. And all at a total cost of a mere 21$. I'm headed out again tomorrow morning, so we will find out how good a job they did. Wish me luck.
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