This hike ended at just the right time

Until today, I had only seen the Winsor Trail along Tesuque Creek buried in snow.

Today, Tesuque Creek was flowing fast along the Winsor, surrounded by lush foliage and wildflowers. A sign on the approach to the trail noted that about 100 dogs travel on it with their owners each day. We didn’t see all 100 – maybe a fifth of that.

When we began the hike, it was a perfect 71 degrees. It’s actually been raining in Santa Fe, so the humidity quickly worked us into a swelter when we were in the sun, and sometimes when we weren’t. The sky was vivid blue; fluffy, towering monsoon-season clouds built in the distance.

The hike begins along the creek, climbs above it, then meets it anew further up the trail.

We began to see sunflowers as we climbed, first a couple at a time, then in clusters along the creek. We passed through a section of the trail with rows of sunflowers on each side. Several kinds of butterflies fluttered among them, along with some bee-like red insects we couldn’t identify.

The Winsor Trail goes all the way from Tesuque to Ski Santa Fe. You can use it to get up to Lake Katherine, one of the hardest hikes in New Mexico.

We weren’t going to get anywhere near that far this day.

We’d hoped to see more of the higher section of the trail, but after two and a half to three miles, we reluctantly decided to head back. I’ve been having some high desert summer nosebleeds and my allergies were starting to kick up, so I decided not to push my luck.

The sky above was inviting, beckoning us higher, just one single dark cloud among the fluffy white ones.

But we turned and headed back. Somehow, on the way down, my husband managed to spot a tiny horny toad, not much bigger than the tip of a finger, camouflaged perfectly among the beige and pink rocks.

We stopped at a ridgeline to take one last look behind us – and the entire sky was grayish-black. That one cloud had managed, before noon, to bloom into something much bigger.

As we walked out of the Winsor and into the surrounding neighborhood, thunder began to crackle.

I’ve seen my fair share of New Mexico monsoons, and my husband has seen them all his life. Neither of us would have turned back solely for that one cloud.

I’d like to thank my nose for perfect timing.

And perfect performance. It didn’t even bleed.

Hike length: 5.5 miles

Difficulty: moderate

Trail traffic: busy, though less so the higher you climb

Wildlife spotted: butterflies, Abert’s squirrel, dragonflies, tiny horny toad, magpies, crows