Smoke, sun and piñon nuts at Juan Tabo Canyon

Haze shades each ridge of the Sandias blue.

Wildfire smoke all the way from the West Coast shapes our view of Juan Tabo Canyon today.

But air quality readings are acceptable.

And just past the trailhead, a couple shakes piñon nuts from tree into basket.

I’ve never seen anyone do that in person. And in all these years of wandering piñon-juniper hills, inhaling pine sap, I’d never spotted a cone bursting with nuts.

But once I do, they’re everywhere.

High desert and forest formed a truce in this canyon. Sandy arroyos underfoot (literally: we’re on the Sandy Arroyo Trail.) Chamisa, cacti. Oak, juniper and cone-heavy piñon line the arroyo.

Almost no humans. Mostly flying things.

A hawk haunts the notch atop the canyon wall, hundreds of feet above. Pinyon jays crisscross the drainages. A flash of yellow, maybe a warbler, in an oak. Tarantula hawk above.

The canyon bottom has water, sometimes. Not today. But a small cottonwood thicket stands strong. Patches of dark soil remember being mud.

Haze persists over the mountain, but the sky right above us is now blue.

The midday uphill trek in sand reminds us it’s still summer. The last ridge back up to the car, still in cool shadow this morning, punishes in full sun.

Now, several piñon-seekers line the path to the trailhead.

It’s still summer in the canyon, but it’s fall in the trees.

Hike length: 6.4 miles

Difficulty: moderate

Trail traffic: light

Wildlife spotted/heard: pinyon jays, doves, hummingbirds, yellow warbler, crows, hawk, nuthatches, tarantula hawk, brave jumper, flightless wasp, velvet ants, lizard, squirrel