"Wilderness is not a luxury, but a necessity of the human spirit..."

~Edward Abbey

So true! Most of my hiking this summer has consisted of local hikes in & around town... which is great, but I really love going deeper in to the mountain wilderness. Last week, a friend I had the same midweek day off... so off to the mountains we went! Our hike started out at the Santa Fe Ski Basin, around 10,000 feet and had us hiking 11 miles up & over 3 peaks~ Deception, Lake, & Penitente. (12,320, 12,409 & 12,249 ft respectively.)

View from Raven's Ridge looking over the burn area from last years Pacheco Fire~

and up to the peaks we would soon ascend.

Climbing higher, we reach & surpass tree line to the summit of Deception Peak... just to the left in the distance.

I am always amazed that these  tiny, delicate, beautiful flowers grow in such high, rugged, windswept country!

We are rewarded for our climb with amazing views in all directions, and breathe deep the thin, clean air.

View into the valley from Deception Peak.

View from Lake Peak down to Nambe Lake Basin.

View from Lake Peak

The trail crosses one of the last snow banks of the season, ascending to Penitente Peak in distance.

View of Santa Fe Baldy from Penitente Peak. I love the scale & how the trees look so miniature.

Back into the valley, we stroll through one of my favorite meadows. 

The remainder of our hike is an easy stroll after the descending the Peaks, and I take in all the detail & beauty that nature has to offer.

:)

First Winter Hike of the Season~ Santa Fe Baldy! :)

I love it when nature cooperates with my schedule! It was a cold & blustery day on Saturday as I worked, but I paid it no mind, as the forecast for Sunday- my day off- was for blue skies... and I had a hike planned with a couple of new friends.

I love hiking in freshly fallen snow. The landscape seems so quiet, and the summer crowds are gone.

It was a chilly start... somewhere in the teens as we started our hike, but we quickly warmed up in our many layers with the gentle uphill effort. A couple of miles in, we get the first clear view of our goal~ the summit of Santa Fe Baldy.

At about the halfway point towards the summit, we were breaking new trail through the snow... it was only a few inches deep... not enough for snowshoes, but enough to make the hike a bit more challenging.

Below, a view of Santa Fe Baldy from the saddle. At this point, it's only another 1,000 feet or so to climb~ but it's the steepest part of the hike and the air is thin!

Climbing higher, we find we are not alone on this hike! We spotted a Bighorn sheep (look in the right hand corner)... he was very cool to observe from a distance.

But he apparently wanted a closer view of us, or perhaps he was a bit perturbed that we were in his territory, but in any case, he started down the trail~ making a beeline directly toward us!

I had never been this close to a Bighorn before... my experience has been that they keep their distance... and we keep ours. It was a little nerve wracking as he approached. Not knowing what to do, I implored the technique I'd use if encountering a bear in the wilderness~ yelling & clanging my hiking poles, trying to seem intimidating (as if!) He just came closer... staring us down. 

We changed tactics, and slowly began backing down the mountain... looking for possible shelter in the rocks.

We gave him a wide berth, and thankfully he got bored with us and sauntered on down the trail...

though he paused to take in the view!

With him now below us, (and with a fresh burst of adrenaline) we got back on the trail & continued on up the mountain.

Looking down from the summit ridge, I was able to observe for the first time the devastation from the Pacheco Fire this summer. I hadn't been up on Baldy since June, just before the fires... so my last view in this direction was of green forests. It was a little heartbreaking to see, though with the freshly fallen snow, it seemed to have a stark beauty all it's own.

The snowy windswept ridge, with the summit of Baldy in the distance.

Quite a glorious view from the top!

Summit of Santa Fe Baldy~ 12,622 ft

And the Summit shot! Normally there is a windbreak here, but it is covered in a mound of snow! In the summer, it is nice to hang around at the top... have a snack & soak in the view... but it was fr-eee-zing up there and with the shorter winter days, & 7 miles remaining to hike out, we did not linger long! We hiked out & drove down the hill just as the sun was setting, with that deep, relaxing feeling of fatigue only acheived from a day well spent in the mountains!

:)

Santa Fe National Forest on Fire

Well, the one thing I was hoping wouldn't happen has. Our beloved forest caught fire yesterday. Of course I've been following the news on the fires in Arizona and experiencing some seriously smoky, unhealthy, turn-the-moon & sun red sort of days, as a result of wind patterns blowing it on over. Here in NM there have been fires raging in the Gila Wilderness in southern NM, Ruidoso, Clovis and more recently the fire in Raton, NM just a couple of hours north... I suppose I knew it was just a matter of time. Still I was hoping & hoping it wouldn't happen. I left my place yesterday afternoon, saw this scene & my heart sank.

View from Central Santa Fe

The fire was thought to be started in Pacheco Canyon, about 6 miles NE of Tesuque, just "down the hill" from the Santa Fe Ski Basin. It is currently burning in our National Forest, and heading into the Pecos Wilderness.

Wide view to show extent of the smoke plume.

 Below the huge plume of smoke are the beloved mountains/trails where I often hike. I am well aware of "fire science," and I know that forests actually need to burn sometimes to be healthy... but I am still so sad to watch the forest I love burn like this. 

A closer view from hwy 285 - photos taken near the Santa Fe Opera

Last night, the winds did die down, and I was hopeful the firefighters would be able to get a handle on it, though I did worry about resources being spread so thin across the state & in Arizona. (Those poor firefighters must be exhausted... likely going from fire to fire!) This morning it didn't look too terrible up on the hill. Unfortunately, when I left work this afternoon, the winds were gusting @ 30- 40 miles per hour... and this was the scene I saw from the parking lot as I left this evening.

The latest update online (I don't have a t.v.) was at 11:00 this morning... 900 acres burned with zero percent containment. As I write, our spring-turned-summer winds are still gusting at 30-40 miles per hour. It does not look good for our forest... and with no rain forecast, it doubly does not look good. Pray for the firefighters, out fighting the good fight...

( 9 p.m. update: 3,000 acres~ zero percent containment.)

(June 21st update: close to 5,000 acres~ 5% containment)

(June 26th update: over 9,000 acres~ 10% containment.)

Here's a great link for more info:

http://inciweb.org/incident/2344/

Sunday Mountain Escape

No need for words today...

:)

Creeksicles & More! Out & About in the Pecos Wilderness

I tend to make up my own words... one of my friends calls them Becky-isms. It turns out though, that there are others that use this term (I googled it...) but I couldn't find it in the dictionary. I was enthralled by these creeksicles I found today hiking along the Rio Medio in the Pecos Wilderness.

I thought the one below looked like an Angel. Or the letter "A."

Or both.

:)

I also found this sculpture... it reminded me of Andy Goldworthy's work. It was interesting though, 'cause in 5 hours on the trail... we did not see another soul. I wondered who did it & when? 

Remnants of Fall Color... mostly all on the ground now...

Afternoon sunlight backlighting the trees...

and a treat on the drive home~ gorgeous New Mexico Skies!

And a quintessential New Mexico Sunset!

It felt good to get back out on the trail again, out in the sunshine & crisp weather, & goof around with my camera!

:)