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