When I need a hike stat, the Sandia foothills are my medicine

Around 12:15 p.m., I make a deal with myself.

If my headache, sore throat or cough get any worse, I’ll turn around. But I’m going out there. When the sun’s out, it’s usually warmer outdoors than indoors this time of year.

We arrive at the Michial Emery Trailhead in the Sandia foothills in the early afternoon. We actually have to circle the parking lot twice before a space comes free, a rarity at a New Mexico trailhead.

This foothills trail quickly meets a spiderweb of other trails that curve up and down arroyos, through mini-rock gardens and tons of cacti. To see it this time of year rests your eyes. The grass reflects light rather than displaying color. Blue sky, rock shading from gray to tan.

None of my symptoms get worse. They don’t get better. They’re just negligible, overshadowed by the warmth of the sun, the chill of the breeze and the shadow, the thrumming of the muscles in my legs as I climb.

We explore a side trail in the shadow of a rocky canyon wall. It contours steeply along the wall’s base. Just beyond that wall lies Embudito Canyon’s wildly steep north wall, the one we stumbled down a few weeks back, where I mooned the High Desert subdivision during cactus needle removal.

No mooning today, just as much motion as we can pack in (there are way too many people out here to drop trou anyway, although the trails tucked up against the canyon’s base are relatively quiet.)

We’re back at the trailhead a little less than two hours after we began.

It’s too soon, or maybe just in time.

Hike length: 4 miles

Difficulty: moderate

Trail traffic: busy

Wildlife spotted: swift, doves