The day glowed brilliant at Cerrillos Hills, but a huge dark gray cloud pulsed overhead.
No rain was forecast, and the cloud didn’t look like action was immediate.
But as we climbed the steep Jane Calvin Sanchez Trail, the cloud stretched. Its interior grew darker and fluffier.
Dramatic light played all over Cerrillos Hills State Park. Grand Central Mountain disappeared into shadow against the blue beyond. Gray lines hovered above a mesa, evidence of rain in the air. Fresh snow came into view on the distant Sangre de Cristos.
We’d begun our hike in the harsh light of noon, when photos here normally show little contrast. But it looked like sunset.
I stood in place, snapping photo after photo in the cold, damp breeze.
Last year in these rugged hills, scraped clean by miners, a canyon led us to the skeletal remains of two elk. Today we were on an official loop of marked trails, but the terrain was nearly as challenging.
We passed fenced-off mine shafts, some covered with mesh to prevent tumbling into their 20-foot depths. A canyon fed by a small mineral spring glowed yellow with cottonwoods.
A blue blur over the Sangres, like a raindrop on a windowpane, conveyed that it was snowing there again (hallelujah!) More clouds cast dramatic light on the jagged Ortiz Mountains. Mount Taylor was just visible on the horizon, 140 miles away.
I watched the clouds black out, then highlight Grand Central Mountain. A couple from Mendocino County joined us on an overlook, delighted. In 40 years of visiting New Mexico relatives, they’d hiked nearly everywhere we had.
As we talked, a racket arose from the mountain. At first I thought the park’s morning guided hike had turned raucous. Then we realized it was coyotes, yipping frantically. A dog’s bark followed, and we hoped fervently that he was leashed.
We bid the California couple farewell and made our way back through the rugged and rolling hills, stopping to admire the cottonwoods in the Cerrillos valley.
Our route back traveled a road studded with off-grid dwellings from adobes to tepees and Airstream trailers.
We almost didn’t see any of it. Our first hike attempt this morning took us to the green valley of La Cienega, just outside Santa Fe. But though the hike was on public land, the access route was gated and padlocked (not the first time that’s happened to us north of Albuquerque.)
My husband realized if we took dirt Waldo Canyon Road for about 10 miles, we’d reach Cerrillos Hills.
The strange little weather system that bathed the hills in light and shadow was just a lucky coincidence.
Hike length: 6 miles
Difficulty: moderate
Trail traffic: light-moderate
Wildlife spotted/heard: coyotes, hawk, raven, crow, butterflies, beetles
Woman Seeks Elevation 