Yes, Virginia, there is water in the desert. We found some.

I saw it before I heard it.

Water.

Cool, clear water, trickling over rocks, leaves and branches.

Maybe I hadn’t heard it because I’d almost forgotten what it sounds like. It’s rained once in Albuquerque in the past 120 days.

Year-round streams in the Sandias are rare. But we’d stumbled upon one, about a mile up Domingo Baca Trail.

Truth be told, I wasn’t that excited to take this hike. I love the desert and its colors in all seasons. But with this brutally dry winter, there’s no getting around it: Everything just looks faded and dusty. It had begun to feel like we’d never see water and colors again.

But then we did.

We clambered over the little stream and over a ridge. Evergreens lined the north-facing wall of the canyon. Patches of snow nestled at the base of some. A red-tailed hawk swooped along the canyon wall and perched in a tree.

We lay in the sun on a boulder, soaking up the sight of blue sky and green trees.

On the way down, we passed a ruin, a small stone structure.

Near it is an unmarked trail to a site where a plane crashed in the 1950s. It’s said to be one of the most difficult and beautiful hikes in the Sandias, and the most haunting. It’s on my bucket list. That’s why we were scouting Domingo Baca Trail today.

I’m grateful that trail brought me exactly what I needed to see.

Hike length: 4.7 miles

Difficulty: moderate

Trail traffic: moderate

Wildlife spotted: red-tailed hawk, canyon wren, mountain chickadee, bluejay