Before I knew it, this hike had seeped into my heart

I doubt we would have seen the seeps if we’d gone on a different day.

Today’s hike followed five consecutive days of rain, the first time I’ve seen that in eight years of living here. The total haul at our house was over two inches.

So when we headed into Embudito Canyon, we knew we were likely to see some sights we wouldn’t get on another day. And almost immediately, we noticed the seeps.

Trickles of water cascaded out of stacked rocks, coursed over the ground under us, pooled in depressions in smooth granite.

It was an amazing sight, and made for slippery going on said granite.

This is a tough hike. There’s a lot of clambering up and over giant rocks. It’s a hike you want to take with someone you’re comfortable giving a butt-boost up to the next level of the trail, or vice versa.

It is also spectacular.

The canyon walls are the tallest I’ve seen in the Sandias. They’re stone dominoes at first, transforming to forested coves as you ascend.

Fall had already announced itself, chamisa blazing yellow, leaves shading through orange and brown, Virginia creeper bleeding deep red (how is there Virginia creeper in this canyon? If that wasn’t it, it was some fine mimicry.)

I would be remiss if I did not note that this canyon also boasts an embarrassment of big flat rocks perfect for a rest.

I found a boulder twice as long as I am where I could catch the breeze under a tree and practice my new hobby – photographing whatever I can see while lying on my back at the halfway point of a hike.

But it wasn’t quite halfway. We scrambled on up a game path in search of a sweeping view. There wasn’t one, but we had no complaints about what we could see.

The Sandia Mountain Hiking Guide promises even more delights if you keep going. The trail will take you to “one of the most secluded and prettiest spots in the Sandia Mountains,” it says.

I find it hard to believe the first two miles of Embudito Canyon could be improved upon, but I look forward to finding out whether they can.

Hike length: 4 miles

Difficulty: difficult

Trail traffic: light

Wildlife spotted: Gambel’s quail, finches, robins, bluejays, butterflies, cottontail, lizard, millipede, red beetles