A Weekend in the Jemez Mountains

This weekend, my friend and I decided to skip town and all the potlucks and parties we'd been invited to (seriously!) and spend some time in the substantially cooler Jemez Mountains.  We camped on free public land (yeah - free camping!) in the Jemez on Forest Road 144, about fifteen minutes up the mountain from La Cueva.

It was lovely to leave Albuquerque's 96' sunshine behind and find some 67' cloudy sky.  I have long ago decided that the Jemez are actually where clouds are born in New Mexico, and we got plenty of cloud cover and sheet lighting during the night.  Also - it is open range out there, and the cow passing through the woods next to my tent was INCREDIBLY disconcerting.  I'm not a Sasquatchy lady - but I'm sure glad I knew it was a cow, because it was big and loud and far too close for comfort. :P

The next morning we went for a hike on a nearby trail, and bouldered around on some rocks.  I made the incredible rookie mistake of not checking to make sure the rock I was climbing had a feasible exit point on the top, and got stuck down climbing on some pretty sketchy stuff in my hiking boots.  My knee was a bit bloody and I was certainly reminded that I definitely need to think things through before showing off my not-so-mad bouldering skills.

Deciding that we had done more than enough damage for the morning, we headed for Fenton Lake State Park the next day.  While my friend did an incredible watercolor of the lake and mountains, I took lots of photos.  Lots of them.

On a sidenote, it seems every 20-something woman these days is into photography.  I guess I would fall into that category, only I am definitely not interested in photographing babies or engagements or senior portraits.  No thanks.  I want bright, sweeping landscapes with lots of crazy details.  So - here are some to share.

The Truth About the Subway

(From the Bottom Up)

Last December, my friend and I decided to hike the Subway in Zion National Park, Utah during the summer.  Even though both of us are avid hikers, and originally from Utah, we had never done the Subway and weren't quite sure what to expect.  The process of applying for permits, figuring out which direction to hike the thing, what to wear, and where the hike was - was all EXTREMELY confusing.  There are a million mixed messages out there, and once I had gone and actually done the hike, I decided to add my voice to the cacophony of others out there, in the hopes that my experience might be of some use.  So here it is: the Truth about the Subway (from the bottom up.)

First - some quick stats about myself and my hiking group.  There were four of us, and we were all in decent to good shape.  One of our group had done the hike from the top down previously (top down is the "hard" way).  I am an archaeologist, and am fairly well-acquainted with being in the wilderness and away from people and help for a day or so at a time.  We had a guidebook with a topo map (purchased at Zion, but available at REI), compass, and knew when and how to stop and make visual surrounding checks so we knew approximately where we were.  We went on June 16, and the temperature was in the high 80s to mid 90s at midday.  But in the canyon and in the water, it was still chilly.

Where is the Subway?

The Subway is technically in Zion National Park, but will not be found on the park map that you receive upon entering the park.  To access the hike (from the bottom up), you drive approximately fifteen minutes west of ZNP to the town of Virgin, and turn north (right) onto Kolob Terrace Road.  This road winds through some private land, BLM land (this is where we camped - FREE!), and eventually leads you over a high spine and into the backcountry of ZNP.  There are several trailheads with parking lots and facilities; use the one indicated on your permit.  Yes, you NEED a permit to hike the Subway, no matter which way you do it.  I'll talk about that later.

Check ou the BLM's website - it is FREE to camp on BLM land, so find some!

What is the Subway?

We've all seen the pictures - the stunning towering red cliffs, waterfalls, and pools.  In fact, here are a few for you now.  :)  Aren't I nice?

View facing northeast, from the top of the mesa.

This way to the Subway!

HOWEVER, the "Subway" is a small rock formation at the end of the bottom up hike, and in the middle of the top down.  If you're thinking there will be glorious miles of slot canyoneering on the hike (like I did), you're wrong.  Sorry.  But don't let that deter you!  The entire canyon is stunning, gorgeous, and well worth the time in and out.

What are these permits?

The Subway is a backcountry hike not patrolled by rangers, so it is accessible by permit only.  You can apply online for a permit at NPS.gov.  It costs a few dollars to apply.  You can apply three months in advance of the dates you want to go, and you get to pick three dates.  That way, if you don't get your first choice, you might get your second or third.  I applied, and got rejected because they were full.  We were afraid that we wouldn't get to hike it, but someone mentioned that we could to the information center at ZNP the day before and ask if they had any cancellations.  As it turned out, a Boy Scout group had had several people drop out, and they had enough slots left for us to have a permit.  I'm told that this is a fairly regular occurrence.  So if you get shut down on the online lottery, don't despair!  Come to Zion equipped for the hike anyway, and see if you can get in last minute.

How hard of a hike is it?

Good question.  I had been fearing a crazy-strenuous hike that would leave me exhausted by mid-day, no matter how in shape I was.  It's honestly not as bad as that.  I watched several youtube videos of the hike, looked at the NPS's website for information about the Subway, and talked to some people at REI.  The NPS will try to frighten you into thinking it's more dangerous than it really is - but that is their job, trying to keep people safe and from doing stupid things.  If you're in reasonably good shape,  have a good pair of shoes on, plenty of food and several liters of water, there isn't anything to be terribly afraid of.  BE SURE to have more water in your vehicle (something chilled in a cooler, say) for when you get out.  You'll want some more water, and you'll drink more of it if you have some that hasn't been steeping in your backpack for eight hours.

I won't give specific mileage, but from the trailhead, you hike downslope through some pinion juniper woods until you come out on top of the canyon, on a cliff.  It's gorgeous!  From there, it is a VERY steep and somewhat precipitous climb down on a trail.  Be prepared to scramble around a bit, sit on your bottom and scoot, and hop from rock to rock.  Once you reach the base, you will be in the mouth of a fairly wide canyon, right off the Virgin River.  From this point on, the trail is more of a pathway than anything else, and there are a few paths to choose.  All of them, though, lead upriver, east, which is the way you want to be traveling.  The path crosses the river a LOT, and you can go from getting your feet wet to walking upslope through beach sand to hopping and climbing over boulders within a minute or so.  The river is very inviting in the summer, but lots of advice I got said to refrain as much as possible from hiking IN the river on the way in.  Why?  It slows you down, more wear on your body, and the temperature difference could do odd things to you.  I waded a bit when I wasn't brave enough to leap across certain boulders, and it was definitely annoying to come onto the shore, get my shoes covered in sand, and then lose my footing on the next boulder obstacle.

Lots of river crossings that involve hopping from rock to rock.

You hike upstream and the canyon narrows.  My party left at around 8:30 in the morning, and got within a 1/4 mile of the Subway formation before we stopped for lunch around noon.  There are some slippery falls and things that you get to hike up; just be careful and they are lots of fun.

The only way up the red waterfall?  Right over the top.  ;)

The Subway itself marks the end of the bottom-up trail.  It is the midway point of the top down trail, which I honestly know nothing about.  :)  In June when I was there, there was a decent amount of water from spring run-off, and it was cold.  There are several smaller pools that like to HIDE in the Subway, so be sure to watch your footing.  I got so excited that I stopped watching where I was walking and found myself up to my shoulders in ice cold water.  It was fun and I wasn't hurt, but be sure to watch your step.

The entrance to the Subway

The interior of the Subway - where the pools HIDE

A bit deep for me - but you can see the higher waterline from earlier!

In the Subway, I left my pack on the driest ground I could find and jumped in to wade through about a hundred feet or so of "slot canyon" style formation, to end in the Shower Room, which is a rock alcove with a cascade of water pouring into it.  Cold, refreshing, and a total blast!

The Shoer Room

This is also the turnaround point (obviously, since you can't get any further).  You might run into people here who are doing the top-down hike.  They will repel into the slot canyon via their rope and harness (yes, they ARE necessary) and you will be able to see that they hiked towards the canyon from the east.

You get out the same way you got in - in a general westerly direction.  Make sure that you have a good idea of what the cliff that you came down from that morning looks like!  If you wind up on the other side of the river at your exit point, you will miss the tiny plaque that points you up the slope.  The upslope was, for me, the worst part of the hike.  I don't do uphills all the well, and straight uphill scrambling after nearly nine miles of clambering over boulders, swimming, and wading is a bit much on me, haha!  But, make it up, and you're just a short walk away through the woods to the trailhead.  And yes - remember there IS a bathroom there!  :)  It was about 4:30 when we finally made it back to the vehicles.

How should I dress?

This is an excellent question.  I wore some gym shorts and a light t-shirt that I could swim and get wet in, and that would dry quickly.  They worked really well, and I just made sure I applied plenty of sunscreen to my pasty Scandinavian self.  I also made sure I had on a hat to keep the sun off my head.  The bigger question here?  What SHOES do I wear?  I own four pairs of hiking boots/shoes/sandals, and I will tell you that, for me, none of them were the proper shoe.  I wore a pair of Keen hiking sandals, thinking - hey, water hiking - and was miserable the moment we left the Subway to come out.  I had three enormous blisters on my left foot.  Another person in my party wore some Chaco hiking sandals, and he was fine.  However, he hikes in and wears them day in and out, so apparently that worked for him.  The other two people in my party took the advice of an REI person, and it seemed to work the best: wear a pair of running shoes or trail runners that you don't mind getting soaked, and some socks.  The shoes will give you plenty of stability to hike and boulder, and will protect your feet from rocks while you swim and wade.  Bring extra pairs of socks!!  After you have left the Subway, and are fairly sure you're going to stay mostly on dry land on the way out, change your socks.  Make sure to let your feet dry out before putting them and your shoes back on to reduce the chance of chafing and blisters.  And if you get wet again, a third pair of dry socks will be your best friend ever, especially when you get to that final uphill climb.

I wore my trusty CamelBak, and everything inside was in doubled up ziploc bags.  This meant that even though my pack got wet sometimes (and could potentially have been easily soaked), my food, camera, and first aid kit where dry.  I have a 2.5 liter water bladder, which I had filled, and a Nalgene bottle as well.  I had enough water to keep me hydrated, and I made it out with some to spare.  DON'T skimp on the water.  The heat, exercise, and climate (if you're not used to high deserts) will really dehydrate you, and you're a long way from help at that point.

It is a pack it in, pack it out kind of place, which means you need to think ahead as far as bathroom privileges go.  It isn't honestly all that hard, you just need to have thought it through ahead of time.  :)

So that's it!  That's the mysterious Subway unravelled for you.  Have fun and be safe!

Lunch

Summer has Arrived!

Hello all!  This semester has been a series of tuck and roll moves, but summer is here and I am ending on a high note.  Usually the end of the semester finds me frazzled, sick, breaking out, and exhausted beyond reason.  This time around, I feel uncharacteristically amazing.  So amazing, in fact, that I immediately cut out of town and headed for the mountains.  Here are some pictures from Bandelier Natl. Monument and the Jemez Mountains.

In-accurate (but charming) reconstruction of a pueblo room.

Entrance to a cave.

Yes, please come in.

I could get used a view like this from my front door.

Yes, I noticed.  Yeah for ladders!

View from Alcove House.

Reconstructed kiva at Alcove House.

The view from Alcove House.

Halloo down there!

In the Ponderosa.

Valles Caldera - in mist.

Lovely day for a trip through the mountains.  Un-seasonly chilly and cloudy, but that's all right, we need the water.  :)  I am so glad summer is here!

'Tis The Season

My sister (you can follow her exploits here http://ilacktoastandtolerance.blogspot.com/)  looked at my blog a few weeks ago and reminded me that I haven't published anything since summer.  Of course I haven't - I've been juggling full time grad school, work, docent work, and two church callings since late August.  But since my third semester of school is FINALLY over, I can post again.

I really love Christmas.  I really, really love Christmas.  I love to sing along with my Bing Crosby White Christmas CD for the 5th time in a row, I love to wear a Santa hat, I love to wrap presents, I love to be overly bubbly and kind and wish everyone happy holidays.  I'm probably a bit annoying, just like other people doing these things, but just know - we are happy, are we are trying to share it.

I have worked retail during Christmas for about 6 years altogether, and it doesn't get me down.  For me, the thing that puts more of a damper on the Christmas season than anything else is school.  I arrive at the end of finals on the 12th of December an absolute wreck.  I can't think straight.  My stress acne is acting up.  My blood sugar is a disaster.  My laundry hasn't been washed in two weeks.  There are dirty dishes all over my bedroom, along with piles of books and articles that I have been feverishly looking through.  My roommate is getting sick of me not washing my dishes, and of leaving my junk all over the place.  All I can manage to do is curl up in my bed and let anthropology ooze out my ears until I have slept it off.

Putting my life back together afterwards takes at least a week, and attempting to do so while suddenly realizing that Christmas is in 2 weeks causes more panic and stress.  I have not sent out cards.  I have no packages to send to my family or friends.  And for some reason all the more tragic - my apartment has not been decorated.  Having grown up in a house where Christmas decorations were a sacred procedure and something that stayed around from the first of December until midway through January, having not a scrap of tinsel up is frankly upsetting.

But as of today - it's done!  The packages are ready to ship.  I have sent out all my Christmas cards except one, and the apartment is decorated!  It's not AS decorated as I would have liked - t
he mobile of snowflakes above the kitchen table is not going to happen.  The giant turquoise snowflake is not going to get made.  But I'm all right with it.  It looks beautiful and festive as I could make it on my student budget, and I'm going to sit back and enjoy it.

Before.  The horror, the horror.

After: festively flocked.

Yes, I am an inverted tomato cage.

My stocking hanging on the "fireplace."

Wise men bringing gifts.

Thank you, Pinterest, for ruining my life. Sorry, saving.

Indoor snowstorm, in blue.

 Now I am going to sit back and enjoy a mug of hot chocolate and try this Christmas thing a bit more slowly for the next week and a half.

Labor Day Weekend

When you're a student, you don't really get "vacations."  Even though the school system tells you there are a number of "breaks," "vacations," and "holidays" within a semester, they're lying.  Well, maybe not if you're a freshman and can afford to take a break.  But the further you get into school, the bigger the lie of the vacation is.  I was settled in at my desk for a long day of reading through three monographs, taking notes on them, and possibly doing a few of the logistical tasks that have been written on my To-Do whiteboard for ages.

And then my housemate said she was going mountain biking.

Dang.

On the one hand, that meant the house would be quiet and I could focus, and on the other, that meant no one would be around and I would probably end up watching half a season of Doctor Who or something.  I believed a compromise was in order.  I asked if I could come with.  She would bike for a few hours, and I would hike until I found a nice spot, get out my blanket, and do my reading in the lovely outdoors.

The view from my 'desk.'

Under a shady pine tree.

Wildflowers.

I will never get over New Mexico's skies.  Never.

The dry streambed behind my pine tree.

Wildflowers...with messed up camera settings.  

Grass.

Really.  Why would I do homework INSIDE?

The Turquoise Trail

I was sitting on my bed, laptop open, empty cereal bowl on the floor, unread theory books piled on the desk.  The sun was streaming in the windows, it was a beautiful day with clouds building over the Sandias, my housemate was still at work, and it was only mid-day.  I was terribly bored.

I had browsed Pinterest and Facebook until my mouse no longer wanted to function.  I had probably consumed half a box of Smith's discount corn flakes, and my theory books were leering at me from the desk, judging me.  I should be studying for my comps exams.  

Never.  It was summer, and I was supposed to be having fun.  

A few nights before, I had had been looking on Google Maps to see if a huge swatch of green, tilled land many, many miles from my worksite was labeled.  It hadn't been, but there had been a picture of a town called Golden nearby, and some interesting historic structures ruining off the side of the highway.  It struck me that I should find Golden and these ruins, and photograph them.  And so I did.

The Turquoise Trail runs from just east of Albuquerque, off I40, to Santa Fe, by a much more scenic route than taking I25 will give you.  In between the ABQ and Santa Fe are a series of small towns: Tijeras, Cedar Crest, Paako, Golden, Madrid (as in mad, angry: yes, I know it's wrong), and Cerillos.  The whole drive, without stopping, takes about an hour.  The road is good, thin, winding, and rolling.  Great views, no pull-offs.  Be prepared to drive a bit slower so you can gape at the scenery without becoming a permanent part of it.  Although the roadside crosses are pretty, it would be in everyone's best interest to avoid making more.

I had already been through Tijeras and Cedar Crest, so I will start this tour in Paako.  Paako is actually an archaeological site.  It is a prehistoric pueblo, with some historic Catholic church ruins mixed in.  However, what you see from the road is a slight opening in the trees to the west, and if you look closely, a battered blue sign announcing Paako, and that it is state land.  I think.  Please drive up to the fence and look over with your binoculars.  You won't see much in the way of ruins - this isn't Chaco or Mesa Verde, but you can see slight mounds, and the sign has more information, once you're closer.  If you're observant you might see some potsherds and such just the other side of the fence.  Please remember - look, take pictures, but DON'T touch, move, remove, etc! (Seriously, I will get you.) And if the prairie dogs who live there currently have been doing their jobs, probably not much will be on the surface near the fence.  You'll probably want to move on pretty quickly.

Leaving Paako (the real one), a minute later you'll drive past the turn-in for Paako's golf course.  No, not the prehistoric golf course.  For some reason  beyond me they've decided to make Paako's backyard into a gated community with a golf course.  It seems to have escaped builders, landscapers, real estate people etc that one of the reasons Paako was temporarily abandoned was because the water ran out.  Water ran out.  No nice golf course lawn for you.  Bad golf course.  

Ahem.  Getting off my soap box and back on the road, New Mexico State Road 14 has officially become the Turquoise Trail at this point!  Ten minutes further up the road and into my adventure, the speed limit dropped to a rather alarmingly low speed, and I crawled into - and still almost missed - Golden.  Golden is a few houses, a mercantile which looks charming and is never open, the ruin you see from the road, and a church.

Mining car on the west side of the road; ruins beyond.

Ruins on the hillside.

And the sky there?  Whew.  Talk about blue.

A stunning sky, a quaint mining car, and lovely solitude on the side of a road are about all the charms Golden has to offer, but it is still worth the stop.  And at this point in my journey, I was in no mood to turn around, so I decided to drive all the way up to Santa Fe, and stop at every random thing that took my fancy.  

The next town on the Trail is Madrid.  Not Madrid, as in Spain.  Say mad, like you're very angry.  Then add 'drid' onto the end.  Madrid.  Very good.  Again, I have NO idea why New Mexicans have decided to say it wrong, but go with it and they'll treat you like a local.  AKA, tell you where the only public loo in town is.

Madrid's main road is narrow and short - maybe a mile long?  It's packed with locals, tourists, children running amok, hitchhikers smoking, and bikers (motorized), so drive even slower than the posted speed.  It's kind of like being on campus, really...

Again, sky!

There are lots of places to eat, every house on the street is selling Bohemian clothing and New Age or Modern art, so find a parking spot (if you can), and walk it.  Eat.  Food is a bit pricey there, but tourism is the only income the town has.  It was a boom mining town, then in the 40s was said to have shipped coal out for the Manhattan Project.  After the war was over, it became a ghost because, get this - there is NO water.  None.  All of the water Madrid uses is piped in from ABQ.  Wells are too impractical here.  So when you're visiting, there are public vault toilets on the south end of town, on the east just next to the tavern and railway museum.  No water.  Crazy!

The Weather Bone makes me laugh.

A delicious pizza from Jezebel's Soda Fountain.

A boot store made from an old AT&SF rail car!

Go into the tavern and pay $5 for the tour.  They let you run around the old railyard and play in the train.

My favorite house there - it looks like part of a Wild, Wild, West set!

And that is lovely Madrid!  I definitely recommend it; it certainly made my day about twenty times more amazing than it had been before.  And I dragged my housemate back a few days later, and then my folks a month later when they came to visit.  Madrid is absolutely going to make you smile.  And eat ice cream.

Another 15 minutes north of Madrid is the turn off to Cerillos.  Cerillos is the complete opposite of Madrid; the nicest building in town is the State Park office.  I think it's a state park....hmmm.  You'll have to go check.  Take the turn-off, head west into the little drainage, and welcome to Cerillos, which boasts dirt roads and an impressive Petting Zoo/Gift Shop/Mining Museum all in an adobe house lined with the biggest number of aqua glass insulators I've ever seen in my life.  And I've seen my share of aqua glass insulators.

The Petting Zoo is free, and you can get a $2 bag of birdseed to feed the llama and goats from the gift shop.  The museum is also in the gift shop, and is another $2.  They only take cash. The gift shop is full of oddities found during the mining period.  There are also some other articles in there I wouldn't suggest buying (you'll know them when you see them), and things from other periods (the 1987 Pakistani paisas, for instance), but it's a great place to go if you like to buy rocks and minerals for your children.  And the llama is very friendly.

The llama eating some birdseed.

A nearby old structure next to the railway.

My parents feeding a goat.

After Cerillos, it's about twenty minutes to half an hour of smooth, lovely driving through the mountains before you reach Santa Fe.  The first time I drove the road a thunderstorm rolled in at this point, and it was spectacular.  Once I got to Santa Fe, I had spent about four hours driving, and had wiled away most of the afternoon.  You can be sure I took the Turquoise Trail back to ABQ, though.  No I 25 for me.

My next adventure - the Rio Grande Gorge and Taos.