I stopped on Rincon Ridge to eat my sandwich. But the real feast was in front of me.
I could see deep into the Jemez, all the way to Redondo Peak. Between me and it, the Jemez’s drainages cut deep clefts through the Santa Ana Pueblo, the tops of its mesas glowing green.
A glimmer of the Rio Grande on Santa Ana came into view as clouds, then sun, then clouds bathed the valley.
A couple of steps to my left, and the volcanic neck of Cabezon Peak came into view.
Over my right shoulder, the Knife Edge of the Shield, one of the Sandias’ most famous rock formations. And, yes, the Needle – the rock dome I’d become smitten with at the top of the mountain earlier this summer.
We watched a raptor soar impossibly high above, so high we couldn’t be sure what we were looking at even with binoculars, but guessed a red-tailed hawk or golden eagle.
We’d reached this spot with a 1,500-foot climb up Piedra Lisa Trail, one of the most popular in the Sandias. But we’d had the ridge to ourselves since another pair of lunchers left half an hour earlier.
A short, faint trail and a little scrambling had brought us here. I warily eyed the steep, trailless slope between us and the highest rocks on the ridge. A brief stalemate ensued in which I repeated that I knew I could get up, but I didn’t know how I would get down. But ultimately I couldn’t resist checking out the top, and I did, after all, know how I could get down (I’ll scoot down a short slope on my butt if I think it’s too steep for me to stay upright on.) The green slopes of Juan Tabo Canyon came into view.
My husband found us a more challenging but less steep way down, and within minutes, we were back at the busy Piedra Lisa juncture.
When we last hiked Piedra Lisa, two years ago, we skipped this ridge. We were doing the whole six-mile trail with a car at each end, and I didn’t think I had the leg power for a side trip. I was probably right; the back side of the mountain is even steeper than the front, and I slipped and gashed my leg on the way down.
But I missed the best part.
Hike length: 6 miles
Difficulty: moderate
Traffic: popular on Piedra Lisa, light on Rincon Spur
Wildlife spotted: dragonflies, butterflies, lizard, blue jays, black-capped chickadee, raptor, swifts
Woman Seeks Elevation 