East Fork Trail: A river runs (and ambles, and gushes) through it

A waterfall rushes beneath my feet.

As you can imagine, balance is challenging.

This shallow section of the East Fork Box of the Jemez River doesn’t boast any 20-foot cascades. But the water I walk through gurgles with power over the rocks.

The river’s motion has sculpted canyon walls, arches, hollows and caves. Moss, grasses and trees wrap around rock.

The first real waterfall has only a couple feet drop, but it’s enough to stop my forward progress. My husband, part gazelle, scrambles and glissades between rock and water until he nearly disappears around a bend. Then he, too, reaches a point where he can’t go further without going under.

We reverse direction and reach the point where we left the bank in minutes, though we spent nearly half an hour in the water.

Birds and blue dragonflies swoop over the river. American dippers seem to hop for joy in the water, which I can understand.

Thunder booms as we reach the end of the box. It’s a steep scramble back to the trail. The water in my boots sloshes as I heave myself up the slope.

The first time we hiked this beautiful trail, we reached a fence, turned around and hiked back, not realizing a gate led into the box canyon.

The trail alone could inspire one to burst into song.

The East Fork here babbles small and sinuous through high mountain meadows, through spruce and ponderosa, between 50-foot walls of black and orange rock. The river leashes its power; at times you can step across in one stride.

Rock climbers belay, fishermen angle, kids giggle, dogs pant.

And, oh yeah, thunder rumbles.

After driving 60 miles to our chosen hike today, we found the road closed until spring due to a plugged culvert, then drove another hour to the East Fork Trail. Meaning we started hiking an hour later than we intended. And even though it will be fall in six days, it’s thunderstorm o’clock.

The sun blinks off. The wind rises. The temperature falls. The canyon turns green and gray.

We’re close enough to the trailhead that we get damp, not soaked. When we reach our car, it’s 55 degrees and pouring.

The rain follows us for most of our drive back through the Jemez. The roads and the river run red with mud in Jemez Springs. Just when I think I’ll have a chance to practice “turn around, don’t drown,” it lets up enough that we can proceed.

I had no intention of spending four hours in the car today, but this hike is worth it.

Hike length: 5 miles

Difficulty: From the Las Conchas Trailhead to the box is easy; the scramble and the box are challenging

Trail traffic: popular

Wildlife spotted: vultures, crow, American dippers, robins, mountain chickadee, blue jay, dragonflies, grasshoppers, butterflies, fish (maybe a longnose dace)