This overlook wasn’t here before. A halo of stumps circles the promontory. Forest thinning must have revealed it.
We climb lavender granite, just behind a chipmunk. A Western bluebird swoops into pine. Waves of forest break below us, all the way to South Sandia Peak.
This is Juan Tomas Open Space, a city-owned property south of Tijeras. We’ll see no other hikers, but probably a dozen mountain bikers. The rolling hills offer plenty of room to move over.
Ponderosas hover above, their enormity granting needed shade. In meadows, green competes with green, grass and wildflowers waist-high. Smooth logs rest in a trail rut, washed there by the most recent rain.
We disagree at the same junction as always on which trail leads back. As always, we find our way.
Driving down Oak Flat Road, I think I see my first Western diamondback, but it’s just a gopher snake. A four-foot gopher snake. My husband is compelled to rescue all road snakes, living or dead, so I put on my hazards while he jumps out, finds a branch to pick up the snake with, and relocates him (or her).
It’s my first live snake sighting in the West.
Even the most familiar locations in the forest have so many surprises.
Hike length: 4 miles
Difficulty: easy-moderate
Trail traffic: moderate
Wildlife spotted/heard: nuthatch, flycatchers, Western bluebird, sparrows, lizard, beetles, chipmunk, gopher snake, butterflies
Woman Seeks Elevation 