The biggest reward for the smallest amount of hiking

That’s sacrilege, right? I mean, the journey is the destination.

That’s true. And it’s also true that sometimes you find yourself in the City Different on a beautiful day, with a small window of time before you need to be somewhere. And that small window is also your best window to hike all weekend.

When that happened to me Saturday, I was armed.

A while back, I’d seen a gorgeous photo of a hike at Sun Mountain by Twitter user @virtualdavis. When I looked up the hike, I was even more intrigued. That view could be had for just 1.8 miles roundtrip.

The first thing I noticed when we hit the trailhead at 1:20 p.m.: the bluest sky I had ever seen, which, in New Mexico, is saying something.

The second thing I noticed: the panoramic view over Santa Fe started almost immediately. It was unbroken throughout the hike.

The third thing I noticed: You know how you get a killer view in less than a mile, right? A lot of climbing. 700 feet in 0.9 miles.

We didn’t quite make the summit. We were running out of time, it was wicked hot and I’m a slow hiker (several folks, including a fellow a good 30 years older than me, made the summit and passed us on the return while I was still tackling the climb.)

Taking a breather on a pink granite ledge below the summit, we looked out over the Jemez Mountains, Tetilla Peak and the forested hills surrounding Santa Fe.

It was its own reward. I knew there was no need to burn myself out to make the summit. Still, I was sad all the way down the mountain, even as I soaked up the last of the incredible vistas.