Christmas Eve Hike

Not far from the midway point

Our best bet this morning was to hike the Grand View Trail again since the trailhead is just a few miles away.  Nevertheless, the getting there had its treacherous moments.  Many of the winding mountain roads are covered in layers of ice the sun has yet to reach.  The main road up and down the mountain (Route 82) was clear, and after our hike we drove down to Stone Canyon to pick up some supplies at the general store there.  I bought a six-pack of Happy Camper IPA, a tangy little beverage put out by the Santa Fe Brewing Company.  That will be our Christmas spirit for the next few days.

From the inside of the New Mexico Rails-to-Trails ramada

Looking down canyon toward White Sands

Extra snowy section

Our handiwork

Mini-Me Frosty

Becca checking out our awesome creation

Marlboro Country

A young pine towers over little Frosty

Sacramento Mountains Fun

Starting off on the Grand View Trail

We finally won our bout with cabin fever by getting out of here to do a short hike on the Grand View Trail.  It was great to stretch our legs and get some aerobic exercise.  Becca had so much pent-up energy we could almost not control her enthusiasm to forge ahead.  After our hike we drove up to Cloudcroft to dump garbage, buy some bottled water and pastries before returning home.  I'm sure glad the Jeep Commander has a feature called "Hill Descent," which gently cradled us down the steep icy and snowy section of our driveway.

On the horizon:  White Sands National Monument

The snowy way

A good track for cross-country skiing

Looking at still higher elevations

Snow dog

Hiking through a snowy canyon

Nature's Christmas tree

Almost done hiking

Snowed In

We had quite a significant snow event up here, and we're not inclined to try getting out.  We could if we needed to, but it's a big hassle; and as we don't have anywhere we need to be we'd just as soon stay put.  This negates a hike for the second day in a row, but I've had Becca out several times already for morning exercise--and, boy, does she love to run in the snow.  As you can see from the images the sun is shining now, and that can mean only one thing for mountain living:  the coming-and-going will get pretty sloppy for the next few days.

Turkeys on ice

Playing With Pals

We were pretty sure Becca would have the chance to play with her neighborhood friends.  Here she is with Hoss (Brown Lab) and Cowboy (Australian Shepherd) having a blast in the snow.

Snow in the Sacramentos

It started snowing early evening yesterday, and it snowed pretty much through the night.  We awoke to a couple of inches of the white stuff this morning, and I discovered--when I took Becca outside--that there's a layer of crusty ice beneath the blanket of snow.  This will preclude a hike today as driving conditions are almost certainly treacherous, and I have to navigate along windy mountain roads to get to a trailhead.  Becca will be disappointed, but she'll probably get to play with her canine buddies later today.

Up in the High Country

Entry through the mud room

After Becca and I did a quick hike in the lower desert we went home to collect Dr. K and the supplies for our trip to the Sacramento Mountains.  It's a lot colder here at 7,000 feet than it is in the lower desert.  And we've only had sporadic sunshine in the High Rolls/Mountain Park area.  I just returned from a short walk around our property with Becca, and the wind is starting to pick up such that we returned to the house after about fifteen minutes.  I think we have a chance of snow through tonight and into the day tomorrow.

Becca near the pumphouse

Home in High Rolls

The view up Haynes Canyon

Our driveway

Dog Butts

Hiking from sunlight . . .

Becca and I ran into JC and Shaque, and after hiking with them a while we bumped into Jimmy, who was heading to the mountaintop.  Jimmy's outfit reminded me of the Marlboro Man, the iconic figure used to sell cigarettes to the American public years ago.  We all had a nice gab--dogs excepted--until I had to head out.  Dr. K and I needed to go shopping for supplies to take with us up to High Rolls tomorrow.  There's a chance for snow in the Sacramentos on Saturday; let's hope we don't get too much.

into shadow

Shaque and Becca