Advertisement
Published: September 7th 2009
Edit Blog Post
[youtube=SX3T_ff7Tho][youtube=SX3T_ff7Tho]
Cool Old Bridge
On highway 63 towards the trailhead. "In every walk with nature one receives far more than he seeks."
John Muir
It is true that the things you already have you tend to take for granted. I have hiked in the jungles above Chang Mai, Thailand and walked the 4-day long Incan Trail leading to Machu Pichu in Peru, but outside of the La Luz trail in Albuquerque I have not hiked in and camped in any New Mexico Mountains. I decided to change this for the Labor Day Weekend this year.
A quick search on backpacker.com's website and I discovered a close hike in the Santa Fe National Forest, which isn't too far from Albuquerque. After a quick stop to REI (who has unofficially non-financially sponsored me since I worked there in 2001) I set off towards Highway 50 and 63 to find my trailhead.
Hiking and camping to me is similar to watching a movie in the theater. It was something that could be done by yourself, but feels too socially awkward to do so. There is no logic in this, considering that during a movie it is hardly ever the appropriate time to keep a conversation with someone next to you, and
In the beginning...
Me and the T-Reg depart ways. while hiking in the woods, it is usually done to get away from the higher intensity of the inner-city and the day to day drag of 60 hour work weeks, small notes left to correct small mistakes, and all the small annoyances that are washed away with a simple trail, simple food, and simple shelter in the more simple outdoor environment.
There were a lot of families all along the highway at various camping spots, and I only spotted one questionable "Deliverance" looking vehicle (red 80's model Ford Bronco with faded paint and large tires and no windows). Finding the trailhead was easy considering I was given the exact GPS coordinates (yes I see the irony of getting away to the mountains only to use a GPS to find it.). After checking and double checking to make sure I had everything I needed: tent, sleeping bag, sleeping pad, small stove and fuel, wind-proof lighter, rain jacket and long sleeve shirt, partial fire starting brick, two freeze dried meals, 5 Harvest Bars, camera, camcorder, headlamp, knife with L.E.D. light on it, full-brimed hat, theoretical physics book "Parallel Worlds," pot to cook in, I set off on my way. It was
2 PM and there was a light drizzle coming down, and the trail was muddy, but very walkable in most areas. I passed only two people, a father and son it looked like, and after the courtesy greetings to each other, the father told me "You're the first one we've seen going up today!"
"Why? Is there something up there that is making you say this? Has there been a mudslide? Slasher murderer? Pack of nudist hippies? What?"
But instead of that, all that came out of my mouth was "Cool."
Damn my slow survival instincts with strangers.
The rest of the hike was...well...unremarkable. Which made it very remarkable. I found myself at times almost getting tunnel vision, focusing strait forward on the trail (much as some people do in life). It reminded me of Laurence Gonzales's book called
Deep Survival. What he talked about was people in dangerous and unfamilar circumstances (lost on a mountain, someone trying to actively kill you) and how they experience tunnel vision. Gonzales talks about stopping where you are and just turning your head from left to right, observe the surrounds next to you (this is also taught in
my Police Academy as a required function after any shooting drill). The idea is to break the tunnel vision, and give your brain more environmental stimulus to evaluate your situation. While I was far away from any type of high stress situation, it reminded me to not just focus on what is in front of me, and to look side to side every now and then, I never know what I might see.
Hills and trees is what I saw.
I arrived around 4 PM at Stewart Lake, and found a campsite that was open with a bonus already make rock fire pit and some left over gathered wood! There was a strange pile of rocks nearby which did give me a bit of Blair Witch caution, but otherwise I loved it. The small creek that left Stewart Lake ran right by me, and I was a mere 50 yards or so from the lake. There were a couple of guys fishing that I tried to engage in friendly conversation, but from their brief dialogue and tone, the fishing had not gone as planned and they did not seem to be in the mood to meet a stranger.
After setting up my camp, I immediately went to find a reading spot near the lake. Around the north side of the lake I did spot a tiny entry stream into the lake with a nice big tree with a perfect mold for back to nestle into. While Michio Kaku schooled me in the debate over the Omega of the universe and explaining why it is so flat, I paused every so often to take a deep breath and remind myself of the almost pure mountain air near 10,000 feet.
I could hear distant thunder coming from the west, and from what limited experience in the mountains I had, I knew that rain is always a moment away up that high. So I went back and got out my stove, food, and fire starting materials. I started the fire fairly easy enough, but my MSR stove was having trouble. It would briefly light and then flicker out several seconds earlier. It was a full can of fuel, and I swooshed it around a few times and could hear the swishing. Finally I decided that maybe after a couple years of non-use, maybe there was some clogging. So I
lit it again and turned the burner up very high, and blue fire was blasting out a couple of inches, making that loud fire noise that usually makes someone move further away. But by either good guessing or luck, it worked after that.
I started boiling my 600 mL of water to eat my freeze dried beef stroganoff, and discovered (as the instructions I was reading told me to stir the contents with boiled water) that I had left my little plastic fork in my car. Damnit. Not only is this my stirring tool, but is also my consumption utensil. Long story short, I would use the roots of a big plant that looked safe to stir it, and poured the contents into the pot lid and eat it by hand. This was successful except for the big chucks that would come out, and me thinking it was some surprise chicken, when it was in fact a collection of noodles guarding a brigade of un-watered seasoning. So the first one I bit into I was met by a dry hot powdery surprise.
The fire was going good now so I sat by it as it became completely dark
out, and enjoyed some more Kaku and his Parallel World's. The next time I looked it was 9PM, completely dark out, and cold enough that I could see my breath when I was away from the fire. I tidied up the fire and snuck inside my home, found my queen size sleeping bag, turned on my clock radio with the sound of streaming water and locusts with light wind, and easily fell asleep.
I easily awoke at 7 AM to the sound of rain on my tent, and decided it best to begin packing up. By the time I had my inside contents ready, the rain had stopped and I finished packing up my tent and pack, and took a stroll up to the lake and watched it interact with the early morning sun.
In a breezy two hours I was back at my vehicle, with nothing more than a sore ankle and a smile on my face. Grateful for things like protected wilderness and the ease of me physically getting there, with hopes I can get over any mental walls to go again, go often, and go soon.
Advertisement
Tot: 0.088s; Tpl: 0.011s; cc: 9; qc: 52; dbt: 0.0458s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1.1mb