Fourth of July Trail, Manzano Mountains, NM, 5/25/14

 Plan B: Fourth of July trail, ~ 5 miles, 800 feet elevation.  On Friday, we drove up to the northern NM region of the Pecos to the Santa Barbara campground with intention of camping for 3 nights and 2 days of hiking...  and, I did not even get out of the car.  Rain, hail and 45 degree temperatures welcomed us as we selected a camp site.  We decided to drive back home. 

The Fourth of July Canyon is known for its bigtooth maples and brilliant scarlet fall colors, making it a favorite fall destination.  This Memorial Day Sunday we had the trail to ourselves, however.  Probably because of the w.e. weather forecast of thunder storms.  Above, the Fourth of July spring, dripping in a trough used by cattle.

Trail 173 joins trail #79, a connecting trail to the Manzano Crest trail. Mosca Peak surprised us as we joined the Crest trail.  Our hiking instructions directed us to walk 1/4 mile to a saddle with views of Guadalupe Peak.  We did not make it to the saddle.  There it was in a turn of the trail: a large brown bear, staring at us. For just 2 seconds,  I'm sure, but it felt like an eternity. And then it ran away from us, crossing the trail.  We turned back and settled for lunch in a spot with views of Mosca Peak when we got another surprise: a bull wandering out of the oak shrubs, observing us and deciding to move on.

Kasha Katuwe Tent Rock National Monument, NM, 5/17/14

 My friends Rossi,  Ivana and I decided to to go to Tent Rock for a morning of photography. Above, entrance of the Canyon trail. This 1.1 mile spur trail leads through a slot canyon and then climbs up to a ridge with 360-degree views.  Hiking the slot canyon requires a bit of scrambling. My hiking book, 60 Hikes with 60 Miles states, "if  you can climb up on a kitchen counter, you can manage."

Entering the slot canyon. Kasha Katuwe means "white cliffs" in the language of the Cochiti people.  The numerous hoodoos and other fascinating formations were formed by volcanic explosions 6-7 million years ago, when ash and pumice accumulated over the plateau.

 Hoodoo views as we left the slot canyon and started to climb up to the ridge.

One last picture...

Appalachian Trail in Hot Springs, NC, 4/29/2014

 My dream: hiking the Appalachian trail. We hiked  0.0007th of its 2,200 miles, but that was fine with me.

 The trail runs right through the town and vears North after crossing the....

roaring French Broad River.

 For once, we had no trouble finding our way: white blazes mark the trail.

 View of Hot Springs from the first overlook and below from the second overlook.

Are there hot springs in Hot Springs, NC? Yes. And did we soaked in the hot springs? Yes.  After climbing up to the overlook (1.6-mile round trip) we had a relaxing soak.

Dupont State Forest, NC, 4/27/2014

 Selfie :)

 First of 3 waterfalls for the day: lower section of Triple Falls.

 Higher section of Triple Falls.

 Still at Triple Falls.

 High Falls with its 120 feet drop. Hooker Falls below.

 The park is located between Brevard and Hendersonville in Transylvania, NC, south west of Asheville. It is the land of water: four major waterfalls (we visited 3) on the Little River and five lakes!

Glassy Mountain, Carl Sandburg Home, NC, 4/26/14

 We joined a Asheville Unitarian Church group on a hike to the historic Carl Sandburg home. Carl Sandburg moved to this home near Flat Rock, NC,  at age 62 and wrote several of his most well know works here, including his biography of Lincoln.

 Approach to the house up on the hill.

 Along the hiking path up to Glassy Mountain, mosses and more mosses....

This is Glassy Mountain, a large expanse of granite rock with great views, used as the local sunning beach.

 Don't see this in New Mexico: violets.

 Another flower we don't have in NM: a dwarf, crested, bearded iris.

Can't go hiking on the East Coast in the Spring without getting at least one picture of the dogwoods in bloom.

Carl Sandburg wrote, and his wife kept champion goats. She meticulously recorded how much milk the goats produced. The record: 2 gallons per day!  We were in luck visiting her Connemara Goat Dairy Farm: baby goats gallivanting in the meadows.

A great day combining history and hiking. 
Glassy Mountain: ~2 miles round trip, elevation ~500 feet.

Embudo Trail, Sandia Mountains, NM, 4/20/14

 Normally, this is a waterfall.  Water from the Embudo trail spring emerges and flows over the concrete retaining wall, creating a pond at its base. We last hiked here maybe two years ago and there was plenty of water.  This is what we found on this spring day.... just a trickle.

 Hiking out of the narrow canyon, we reached a burned zone. Although we live in Albuquerque, we were not aware that a wildfire had devastated this area.

 City views on a not so clear day....

 In spite of the lack of moisture, the wildflowers were at their best.

Embudo trail: 6.4 miles round trip, elevation ~1680 feet.

Carpenter Peak, Roxborough Park, CO, 3/23/14

 Want to see beautiful rock formations, panoramic views of Denver and the Front Range, and wildlife? This is the hike.  We had not started our 6.4 mile hike when we met a herd of deer along the road.

 This moderate hike starts at the visitor center and follows Willow Creek Loop to South Rim trail. Carpenter trail starts with a series of easy uphill switchbacks and then levels out before reaching a bit of a scramble to reach the top.

 View before reaching Carpenter trail.  It was cold and snowy the previous day - the white patches on the picture above are the remainder of yesterday's snow.  Our challenge today: mud on the trail.

Views to the north-west from the peak.  I used my new camera with a 50x zoom.  The snowy peaks were actually a sliver of white with the naked eye.

We visited Roxborough Park during one of our first trips to Denver.  We revisited because we were enchanted by this wonderful place. For pictures of that earlier hike, check the blog "Denver Hike" posted in February 2009.