Palomas Cliff Trail and Peak

Palomas Cliff Trail leads up to Palomas Peak. It is located on the east side of the Sandia mountains off NM Road 165 to Placitas. It is an unofficial trail used by rock climbers. From the view of it, it gets plenty of traffic and is well-maintained. The trail is moderate in difficulty and short, 1.5 miles one-way, and leads to the limestone bands across the peak that you see in the picture above. (Palomas means dove in Spanish for band-tail pigeons resembling the limestone bands. )

Jim hiking along the limestone band. The cliffs created shade and made it a cool place to hike on a hot summer day.

Climber at work.

On our way down from the peak (about 8700 feet).

This was a great hike with exceptional views and the easiest peak I ever climbed! A wonderful half-day getaway from the city.

Nambe Lake, Santa Fe National Forest

We hiked up to Nambe Lake with our friends Katy and Marlin on July 11, after going to the Santa Fe Opera the night before. The hike starts at the Santa Fe Ski Basin and follows Windsor trail for about 2 miles until the turn off to Nambe Lake. The round trip hike is about 7 miles. Note the cattle grazing in the background.

The alpine lake is located at the feet of Lake and Penitente Peaks.

You don't have to go to Colorado for waterfalls. There are plenty in New Mexico also.

Purple-blue Columbine in flower.

Trinchera Peak, San Isabel National Forest, CO

During our 4th of July camping w.e., we attempted to climb Trinchera Peak, 13,517 feet, about 100 feet less than Wheeler Peak, New Mexico's tallest mountain. Needless to say, we didn't quite make it to the top...

Jim stopped at the tree line and enjoyed the views. I made it up to the saddle. From there there still was a steep climb along the ridge to the top. The views from the saddle were fabulous as you can see in the picture below. On the ridge to the north we could see mountain sheep with several lambs, grazing.

Tundra in flower.

Bear Lake, San Isabet National Forest, CO

This was our 4th of July w.e. camping in the San Isabel National Forest, north east of Trinidad, CO. There were 3 small beaufiful alpine lakes popular with fishermen fishing for trout.

Lots of water, creeks and mini water falls. As you can see, Jim is wearing a jacket. Great place to get away from the heat...

Snow in July!