This is what awaits you behind the Cedar Crest post office

I wasn’t sure where to begin today.

Like all of Albuquerque, I was grieving the loss of a beloved woman, a mother, wife, businesswoman and community service leader, in an unspeakable accident. With my colleagues, I’d written an obituary and created a tribute to her this week.

My spirits low, I dawdled getting to the trail. But when I got there, I could see that what this place had was good for me.

A fragrant green tangle of pinon and juniper. Blue sky and clouds sliding by. A gradual but steep climb to a rock shelf with a sweeping view of the deeply forested East Mountains and faraway Guadalupe and Mosca peaks.

This place is the Milne/Gutierrez Canyon Open Space, accessed behind the Cedar Crest post office. It’s close enough to Highway 14 that you can hear some level of highway traffic throughout most of the space. But the higher you climb, the more that’s overtaken by bird song, the wind and the squeaking of branches. The trail network is well-marked and lightly traveled, especially on the upper trails. We found no map of the full trail network online or at the information board, but it was easy to choose your own adventure.

A little brewery sits right next to the open space entrance. And a barbecue joint is close enough that the smell of smoked meat tantalized us as the sun fell and we meandered along an arroyo. You could stop at either or both to cap off an afternoon spent wandering high above the valley.

Or you could just head back to reality, feet aching, fortified with sunlight and gratitude.

Hike length: 6.8 miles

Trail traffic: light

Difficulty: moderate

Wildlife spotted: jays, caterpillar, beetles, rabbit, hawk, lizard