The Natural Arch | Hike 03

The Natural Arch 

Hike 03 | 01-06-18

While we were in Santa Fe, Angie and I took a little trip over to Los Alamos to the Old Mitchell Trail to see the Natural Arch there. Google got us lost and I had lost my patience by the time we pulled up to the trailhead nestled right on the edge of a neighborhood. That was my first sign that this would be an easy, boring hike, which is exactly what it turned out to be. They had mullien everywhere. Mullien is an invasive species that we kill in the Wichita Mountains. It can eventually take over an area and make it impossible for the indigenous plants to grow. I was distracted by how much there was in the area. I kept wanting to stop and pull it as I hiked. Apparently there was a fire at some point and so it was wasteland. Overall, it wasn’t worth the effort. The arch itself is neat, but the excitement wore off fast. I do like the photos I got. Check them out.

 

Lake Nambé | Hike 02

Lake Nambé

Hike 02 | 01-05-18

Angie and I love the arts and the outdoors, so we took a little trip Santa Fe. We wanted to get some hiking in so we drove up to the Santa Fe Ski basin, which is at an elevation of 10,350 feet and began our hike on the Windsor trailhead. We crossed a lot of pines and aspens (I’ve decided that I absolutely adore aspen trees, they have eyes you know). We hiked about around 3.5 miles up to Lake Nambé at 11,300 feet. Angie and I were not acclimated to the elevation so we were huffing and puffing most of the way. We saw only a man and his dog on the way up. At the top I was sure I heard other people approaching, but we never saw anyone. Angie and I had it all to ourselves. A few days ago I looked up the lake on Google Earth and noticed that the ski lift was just on the other side of the peaks. I knew I wasn’t hearing things.