Picacho Peak, Santa Fe Canyon Preserve, NM, 8/6/17

 Drove to Santa Fe on Saturday afternoon to go to the opera that evening. Had a wonderful tailgate supper before the start of Donizetti's Lucia de Lammamoor. If you are wondering what we are dinning on, it was a ww pasta with tomatoes and basil from the garden cooked the previous evening and topped with leftover Shushaka we had served to guests for brunch that morning.

The next morning we drove to the very end of Canyon Road to the Santa Fe Canyon Preserve. The trail head starts at the entrance of the preserve and winds through a forest of pinion pine dotted with pink quartzite boulders (see last picture.)  Views of the Sandias to the south.

Picacho Peak - 8577 ft elevation. Walked up to the peak, then made a loop via Castle Rock back to our starting point; 5 miles, ~1650 ft elevation.

The maze of trails turned out easy to navigate thanks to the meticulously marked trails.  Each trail crossing has a number with a map above it, indicating its location. Impossible to get lost!

Tecolote Trail, Sandia Mountains, NM, 8/2/17

Wednesday Mountain Club hike.  Short hike with great views (~ 3 miles round trip; elevation ~ 500 feet.)  Special for Jim and me, as it is the very first hike we did together when we started dating, more than 10 years ago. At the time, I was searching for a class 1 hike I could lead for the Mountain Club and I asked Jim to help me scout it out.

 Detour to entrance of old mine.

Wednesday hikers waiting to take a closer peek at the mine entrance.

This was the hike with views! After a few switchbacks, the trail follows the ridge line with views of the highway and ski area.