“Is that the wind or the creek?”
“It’s the creek,” my husband said.
Sure enough, as we descended, the roar grew louder. A switchback, and the water appeared: wide, deep, fast-flowing. Froth built and dissipated around rocks. Butterflies darted.
One electric lavender butterfly swooped, landed on a rock and promptly disappeared, camouflaged by the mottled gray on the backs of its wings.
We turned from Borrego Trail onto Winsor Trail, which forms the spine of many a hike or bike ride from Tesuque to the Pecos Wilderness. We walked the Winsor for less than a mile, most of that in sight of the rushing creek, and all in earshot of it.
We emerged from a meadow at Winsor’s junction with our return trail, Bear Wallow. The relatively short distance and the creek make this a very popular loop hike, but we managed to snag a shaded log above the creek for our lunch spot.
A hiker and his dog approached the creek, the dog curious but hesitant. He lapped water, dipped his paws in, then retreated up the bank before returning to try it again.
Suddenly, he galloped away and leapt on us, desperate to sniff and share his wet paws. His owner apologized profusely. All we could do was laugh.
We hiked downhill to reach the creek, so there was no escaping the fact that the hike back to the trailhead was all uphill.
The temperature was in the low 70s, a good 15 degrees cooler than Albuquerque.
The landscape changed from the ponderosas around the creek to cool, lanky aspens as we climbed.
Still, I sweated my way up the many sunny ridges.
I find it harder to motivate for a climb when there’s a hot car waiting at the top instead of an overlook, but it was more than worth it to see and hear the creek’s power.
Hike length: 4 miles
Difficulty: moderate
Trail traffic: plenty
Wildlife spotted/heard: butterflies, hawk, cicadas
Woman Seeks Elevation 