I started and ended this hike dizzy.
There is no lengthy climb to a dramatic viewpoint in Diablo Canyon, no delayed gratification. You’re face-to-face with some of the most eyeball-stretching sights nature has to offer the second you get out of the car.
Columnar basalt towers hundreds of feet into the sky on both sides of a narrow canyon. I tilted my head back as far as it could go, seeking the best possible view of the formations. (Luckily, the canyon is basically flat, an excellent attribute in a place where a hiker will be focused on what’s above her instead of what’s under her feet.)
The last time my in-laws hiked in this canyon, the movie “Cowboys and Aliens” was being shot there, and men portraying bandits climbed all over the walls.
There were no bandits on Christmas Day, but as we examined the walls around us, we spotted climbers scaling the rock. Several were still going when we left the canyon two and a half hours later.
When we finally managed to take our eyes off what was above us and focus on what was in front of us, we realized we were hiking among some of the biggest, smoothest basalt boulders we’d ever seen.
A natural spring trickled through the sandy canyon bottom, ending in a patch of ice.
It was the only piece of ice or snow we encountered in two days in Santa Fe at the end of December.
Even in a snowy year, this would be a killer winter hike. Once you’re through the throat of the canyon, it widens, becoming a massive arroyo that leads you toward the Rio Grande. The sun pours onto that arroyo at midday.
The ecosystem of the canyon creates 20-degree temperature differentials. As we came out the neck of the canyon, a wave of warmth washed over us. It was coming from a rock and sand wall that had been soaking up sun all day. And while the flat arroyo was in full sun, when we came back through the narrow canyon at 4 pm, all but the tops of the walls were in shadow, and it felt more like 40 degrees than the high-50s air temperature.
Though it was flat, hiking a sandy arroyo is always more work than it looks like. We turned around about two and a half miles in, knowing daylight and warmth were growing short. Later, we realized we’d only been about half a mile from the river.
The steady flow of families and groups of friends we’d seen as we started our hike slowed to a trickle. The falling sun cast a shrinking slice of light on the top of the canyon walls, shading them deep red.
By the time we returned through the chilly canyon, our only companions were a few climbers and a black-capped chickadee drinking from the spring.
Hike length: 5 miles
Difficulty: moderate
Trail traffic: moderate
Wildlife spotted: crows, ravens, black-capped chickadees, canyon wrens
Getting there: The price you pay for enjoying a free visit to this fabulous public land just outside Santa Fe: You have to drive on Old Buckman Road. We have been on a lot of rough unpaved roads in search of remote hiking spots. This is the worst road I have ever driven on – not the most dangerous, but the most uncomfortable. “Washboarded” is an understatement. When we drove to the end of this road in my husband’s little truck to hike along the Rio Grande, my Fitbit measured my time rattling around the cab as an “outdoor bike ride.” Beg or borrow the biggest, most heavy-duty vehicle you can. We borrowed my father-in-law’s Toyota Tacoma this time and it made a world of difference.
Woman Seeks Elevation 