A couple of weeks ago, my hiking partners and I wanted a good trail without too much heat. The elevation of our part of central New Mexico (around 4800 feet) keeps it cooler than, say, Phoenix. But it's still pretty hot to hike in the summer.
Water Canyon, in central New Mexico between Socorro and
Magdalena, has dozens of trails. The trail starting start at the bottom of the
mountains can be good for cooler weather. Most of them head up the mountain, so
they're an amazing workout. On hot summer days, hikers can start at the top of
the mountains. It's about 20 degrees cooler up there, at around 10,000 feet,
making it possible to hike even in July and August – but with such thin air, but
use sunscreen!
To get to the North Baldy Trail, drive up the long, winding
road from the campground. (Signs still claim this road is not good for
passenger vehicles, but in recent years it has typically been fine. In summer
you should have no problem even in a low-clearance car.) It takes about half an
hour to drive up the road from the campground to the top. This is the view from
the trailhead, looking away from the trail. Note the observatory in the upper
right.
The Timber Ridge Trail also starts near here. North Baldy
Trail, No. 8 as the sign indicates, starts
on the north side of the road. The trail takes you from South Baldy to North
Baldy Peak, with views of Sierra Blanca, Mt. Taylor, the Sandias, Manzano, and
Jemez Mountains. This trail starts in the forest, on a narrow, single file
track. Soon it comes out onto the ridge.
For much of the hike you can get amazing panoramic views in
both directions (roughly east and west – the center of this picture is roughly
north.)
We had some questions about this loose rubble. It looks like
it must have fallen down from a higher peak, but this is the highest peak! We
described it to my geologist husband, who suggested that these rocks collapsed
on each other as the surrounding earth eroded away. A reminder that even the
tallest mountain today might have been much taller in the past.
As a round-trip out and back, the hike is just over 10
miles. Of course, you can always turn around sooner!
Kris lives in New Mexico, where she enjoys hiking, watching
the sunset from her patio, and hanging out with her husband and their ferrets.
Her home office looks out on nature, complete with distracting wildlife such as
roadrunners and foxes. Her BFA in photography is used mainly to show Facebook
friends how lovely the Southwest is.
Fans of Mary Stewart, Barbara Michaels, and Terry Odell will
love Kris Bock’s romantic adventures. “Counterfeits
is the kind of romantic suspense novel I have enjoyed since I first read Mary
Stewart’s Moonspinners.” 5 Stars –
Roberta at Sensuous Reviews blog
Read excerpts at www.krisbock.com
or visit her Amazon
page. Sign up for the Kris Bock
newsletter for announcements of new books, sales, and more.
No comments:
Post a Comment