April 2019 – Woman Seeks Elevation

April 28, 2019

The Manzanitas’ collected works

Things that might happen to you in the Manzanita Mountains:

In the 2:30 p.m. heat of the trail, you turn and see 8 p.m. on the ridge you just descended. Rain or shine, blankets of cloud spread over the Manzanitas, striping the ridges with shadow.

You hear an exultant whoop and hop off the trail to your right, expecting a mountain bike to bear down on you. The Manzanitas’ dozens of trails cater to mountain bikers and that’s mainly what they attract. You look everywhere, but you never see the exuberant biker, although you continue to hear him holler.

You choose to ascend one of the steep, rocky trails with little shade – say, Birdhouse Ridge – on any sunny day when the temperature’s above 65. Your I-can’t-wait-for-this-hike-to-end monologue unspools in your head as Tunnel Canyon and Highway 337 unspool below you.

Why did I do this today? My legs hurt and I’m tired from staying out late dancing last night. My knee hurts. I’m going to blow out my knee. I’m too old to do all the things I want to. I’ve waited for this hike all week and now I’m a mess. I’m sad.

You finally gain the ridge, the wind blows, the land levels out and the monologue stills.

You hike down to the overlook about a mile from the Tunnel Canyon trailhead. Most mountain bikers roll right past it. You have to travel at two miles an hour to spot it. It’s just off the trail, a landing of huge lichen-colored rocks, perfect for snacking and watching the shadow show. Nobody’s ever there.

Your husband takes off his shoes and socks. You think about how good it would feel to do the same. You never take your shoes and socks off during a hike, unless you’re fording a body of water, because you’ll just have to put them on again.

Screw it. The rock’s cool and your feet are hot.

You set them free.

Hike length: 5.8 miles

Difficulty: moderate

Wildlife spotted: butterflies, mountain chickadees, sparrows, kingbird, vultures, lizard, grasshoppers, canyon towhee

Trail traffic: moderate

April 20, 2019

All creatures go with the (prolific) flow on Corrales’ acequias

Have you ever seen a Gambel’s quail run? They really haul ass.

We watched two dart, synchronized, across a dirt road off an acequia in Corrales. They looked like smaller, less gangly roadrunners. With headwear.

We knew with the week’s latest round of prolific rain, the acequias would be flowing. And they were – at times the water rose nearly to the top of the ditches.

We saw a wilderness’ worth of wildlife, though we were frequently within sight of at least one of the village’s main roads.

We picked up the acequia behind the village recreation center, soon passing a Portland brewery’s New Mexico outpost, under construction.

Butterflies appeared as soon as the shouts of children at the skate park began to fade. Small white butterflies danced along the ditches, and an occasional yellow or black one fluttered by.

A Cooper’s hawk swooped to the water’s edge. It sat still and quiet, taking sips and sniffing the air for several minutes, then launching itself up to a green branch.

Quail called to each other and flew between fenceposts before taking off at a run. All About Birds describes their flight accurately as “explosive, powerful and short.”

More hawks. Ducks coasting in the high water.

Adobe bed-and-breakfasts cohabitated with simple homes stacked with wood and old machinery.

As we walked north, we came to a deep green apple orchard on the east of the ditch, a sunbleached field of cacti and yucca on the west.

Goats and horses peered from barns and yards at us.

We pulled into Corrales Bistro Brewery for a bite after the hike. The only spot left in the parking lot was next to two horses. As we left the brewery, we saw the horses transporting their owners south on another acequia. Equine designated drivers.

Folks in Corrales know how to live, and the village has life in abundance this spring.

Hike length: 4.4 miles

Difficulty: easiest

Wildlife spotted: Gambel’s quail, Cooper’s hawks, unidentified hawk, sparrows, swallows, butterflies, grasshoppers, kingbirds

Trail traffic: moderate

April 14, 2019

April snowflakes and a herd of deer on the North Mano Trail

The mule deer glided along the steep hillside. She froze when she reached the dirt trail, as if someone had pressed pause. Then she stepped over the trail and kept trotting. At least 14 companions followed her.

I heard a noise and turned to see a trail runner and his dog. The runner couldn’t see over the ridge, but he’d figured out what was happening from our stillness. We invited him to pass us. He broke into a wide grin when he caught sight of the deer.

“Awesome!” he said as he ran up the hill.

We kept watching the deer as they leapt one by one over a fence, crested a ridge and stood looking at us before heading down the back side.

We were on the North Mano Trail, less than a mile from the Embudo Trailhead parking lot. Butterflies darted along the trail, and the sun beat down intensely on the lower slopes. But as the trail twisted through a steep landscape of boulders and cacti, the wind picked up and clouds left from an overnight rain began to coalesce.

Shadow played on the walls of Embudo Canyon. Watercolor curtains of rain hovered between us and the Sierra Ladrones to the south, Cabezon Peak to the northeast.

After an intense ankle workout, the trail leveled off and curved around a ridge to offer a peek at the airport and El Cerro de Los Lunas to the south.

There were multiple paths back there and it was so tempting to keep exploring. But I’d forgotten my Sandias topographical map, the clouds were threatening and that steep granite would not be fun to navigate when wet.

I’d been nervous about descending that steep trail, but I stayed upright by moving slowly, using my hiking poles and being deliberate about where I placed my center of gravity.

As we rounded a huge boulder stack, snow flurries began to fall and thunder rumbled. But the cool, wet flakes lasted only a moment.

We reached the bottom of the steep climb just as a man and his corgi Pretzel began to tackle it. Pretzel’s tiny legs scrambled mightily on the 45-degree slope, but he looked like he’d found heaven.

The trail widened, the sun found us again, and I began to sweat in my hoodie once more.

April in Albuquerque has plenty of surprises this year.

Hike length: 4.3 miles

Difficulty: on the high side of moderate

Trail traffic: low

Wildlife spotted: mule deer, butterflies, caterpillar, lizards, turkey vultures, bluejay, junco, sparrows