Hyde Park’s ridges look so gentle, but its switchbacks don’t feel that way

This is torture. With really great scenery.

I was navigating a mile-plus of extremely steep switchbacks up West Circle Trail in Hyde Memorial State Park.

There are strategically placed benches at a quarter-mile up the trail and a quarter-mile from the top. I took advantage of both, plus a rest on the ground.

As I pushed and pulled myself up the trail, yellow and purple wildflowers flashed by. Rolling green ridges stretched above and below. Glimpses of Santa Fe and the Rio Grande Valley began to appear.

My husband spotted nine horny toads. One was the big-fellow-in-shades-of-gray type we’ve seen so often around Albuquerque. The rest were thumb-sized, rust-red, barely distinguishable from the mica-flecked rocks around them.

The switchbacks mellowed slightly as we got closer to the top. A sign marked the 9,440-foot high point of the trail. A little further, two picnic tables and a jaw-dropping view into the Jemez Mountains, complete with its drainage network of ridges and canyons. We could see the Santa Fe Opera, Los Alamos and the brown snake of the Rio Grande. A raven ripped through the air just above us, cawing, wind whistling through its talons.

My husband broke out the binoculars, sure he’d be able to spot his parents’ house, but a ridge blocked the view.

The steep descent took us past two yurts, a recent camping upgrade at Hyde Park.

We headed for a spur trail to a waterfall, hoping to catch it flowing, but red caution tape blocked the trailhead.

So we watched a Stellar’s jay and wound past campsites and over the world’s smallest creek.

The circle was complete.

Hike length: 4 miles

Difficulty: moderate

Trail traffic: light on West Circle Trail, moderate on rest of loop

Wildlife spotted: horny toad bonanza, Stellar’s jay, ravens

TIP FOR CAMPERS! Whether you get on the yurt train or not, Hyde Park has the prettiest, most well-kept campsites I’ve ever seen.