Alternative Hiking

If you have read my last three posts, you know that we did some rather rigorous hiking.  Or some of us did.  Or some of us did some of the time.  It depends upon your perspective.

For the Wheeler Peak hike, Bart knew the hike might be a little hard for all of us but especially for the flatlanders.  Having left 1300 feet above sea level on Friday to hike to 13,000 feet above sea level on Saturday is pretty dramatic, and although Don and I had done stadium stairs, we knew it wasn't enough.  Luckily, Bart had a trick up his sleeve.

He had heard of a shuttle called Northside at Taos Ski Valley.  It was an SUV that was the perfect way to shave about 3 miles off the trip.  The hike was still hard, but the shuttle made it possible for Don and me to have the endurance to make the remainder of the hike.

For the Lake Katherine trip, I knew I wanted to walk, as the after effects of horse riding are too painful on my knee.  But several of the people who wanted to go preferred a different way.  So we took a two- pronged approach.  The walkers started at Santa Fe Ski Area to save a few miles; the others rode horses from Cowles.

By the time we saw the riders, it was raining and they were all decked out in their yellow ponchos.  And they got to wear the ponchos all the way back down.  By the time they had finished their 18 miles, one of the riders couldn't move her knee and was in the same kind of pain I usually am; two of them at least had saddle sores.  But they made it.

We were all tired and sore.  A few were cold and hungry.  But finishing the trip, either walking or riding, was exhilerating.  So I would say it was a successful day!