Life in New Mexico: 2009

Sunday, June 21, 2009

Sami and Zoran came to visit us during the week of June 14. On Thursday they joined Erin and I for a trip to the Carlsbad Caverns and Guadalupe Mountains (just over the New Mexico border into Texas).

Erin is trying to get into shape to hike with me to the top of Guadalupe Peak so she took along her daypack for a short stroll up the Guadalupe Peak trail. She has a new pair of hiking boots so she's working on breaking them in along with her feet! She's doing pretty well. Zoran and Sami pose here with one of the peaks in the background.

Zoran, Dad, and Erin taking a breather about 1/2 mile into the uphill trail. Here we're about 400 feet above the parking lot where we started. We were originally planning to hike further, but it was late in the afternoon and rain was iminent (we had no rain gear!). The short walk did get our hearts pounding.

Below is a jagged peak to the west of where we ended our short hike. The Guadalupes are actually a limestone reef once buried under an ancient ocean. The outside slopes are mostly treeless, but at the top there is a forest composed of both conifer and deciduous trees.

Over the weekend of June 5, 6 & 7, I went camping with a number of my colleagues in Northern New Mexico. My field partner, Juan Steen has family just north of the campground and goes camping here every year for his birthday (June 6 - he turned 24).

Entering the Santa Barbara campground from the town of Penasco offers a great panoramic view of the southwestern portion of the Sangre De Cristo mountains. The flat peak in the upper left is Jicarita Peak, a dormant volcano that was my destination for an overnight backpack trip.

Unfortunately, when I arrived at the divide, unmelted winter snow still dominated the gradual incline between me and Jicarita Peak. Initially I was able to serpentine around the piles but after about 1/2 mile I encountered a solid snow field with depths of 3 to 6 feet and could go no further south towards Jicarita.

The photo above is looking northeast from the divide. The winds were very strong, so I elected to not setup camp here even though it was the most flat real estate of my hike up the mountain. On my descent to find a high piece of flat ground, it started to rain so I continued trekking back to the campground turning my two-day trip into one long day hike with a backpack outfitted for an overnight stay. At least it was a good cardio workout!