Hiking and Letterboxing

About a week ago Thomas and I took a trip through part of the Jemez Mountain Trail. We had a great time but there was so much to see and do we didn't get to stop everywhere we wanted to. So today we took a second trip to find a couple of letterboxes and hide one as well as get in some hiking.

The day started with a nice drive into Los Alamos. We left at a good time and we avoid all the traffic heading into the Labs. As we entered Los Alamos I wanted to visit a bookstore to see if I could find a good hiking book for the Los Alamos area. Astro D had told me about one that she said had some good books. So we stopped at Otowi Station and indeed I found a great book (actually two books) - Los Alamos Trails by Craig Martin and Guide to the Jemez Mountain Trail by Judith Ann Isaacs. I am going to love using these books. So after the shopping was complete we headed a little ways up the road to the Larry R. Walkup Aquatic Center. We parked here and found the trailhead kiosk. We were looking for the Acid Canyon Trail so we could hide a letterbox. We headed down the trail and kept our eyes open for a good hiding spot. We found a little bridge and crossed it. Not far along we found a great spot and hid Alphabetical New Mexico: A (Atomic Bombs). This is a pretty short hike (maybe a half mile round trip with maybe 200 feet elevation gain) and nice & quiet.

From here we headed to NM 4 and the Las Conchas Trail. There were only a couple of cars at the trailhead so we figured we would have a nice, peaceful hike. We went down the stairs and connected with the trail. Immediately we were transported into another world. It was absolutely beautiful. We walked along the trail following the Jemez River and enjoyed all the wonderful views the canyon had to offer. This hike is really easy. It is pretty flat all the way to where it ends at a Box Canyon. Great trees, beautiful wildflowers and wonderful views made this a fantastic way to start a holiday weekend. We took our time walking through the canyon and I took a ton of pictures. There were so many wildflowers all over and it made me wonder what this hike would be like in the Spring. I am hoping to get back there in the Fall to see what it looks like then. Eventually we had to leave this area so we made our way back to the trailhead and our car.

One more stop for the day. This one was in White Rock. We decided to find some food for lunch before we headed out on the next hike. There isn't much in White Rock and we ended up at the Bandelier Grill. It was an okay place and it provided us the fuel we needed for the next hike. The trailhead for the next hike was about three miles from the second traffic light in White Rock off of NM 4. We found the pullout and parked, went through the fence and headed up the trail. The trail had a few ups and downs but nothing too steep. The only thing was that it was pretty boring, very few views and really no flowers to speak of, mostly just junipers, a few cacti and some other pretty scraggly bushes. Also it was out in the open so the sun was beating down on us. After almost two miles we took another trail to the right. This lead us to some sandstone cliffs. Here we reread the clues to Fetch Fido and started climbing into the cliffs. We were supposed to count switchbacks (left, right, left, right, STOP). We did that and looked for the box. No box. Started from the beginning and again no box. One more time from the beginning and still no box. By this time I was getting hot and I wasn't feeling all that well. Even with drinking water the heat was getting to me. So I found a shady spot and sat for a few minutes while Thomas decided to go further down the trail and see if we were just counting the switchbacks wrong. Turns our we were in the wrong spot and Thomas found the box. So I made my way to where he was and stamped in. The views from here were incredible but unfortunately I just wasn't feeling all that great and didn't enjoy them as I should have. Once the box was back in place it was time to head back up the trail. Luckily, the 'up' part wasn't that much. Now we were out of the cliffs and back on the trail I felt like things would be okay - the hardest part was over. It took us a while to get back to the car because I needed to stop often and drink water. I am positive I just got over heated and probably didn't drink as much water as I should have going up. I drank plenty of water on the way back to the car. And on the way out of White Rock we stopped to get gas and Thomas bought me some Powerade. That really helped and by the time we got to Santa Fe I was feeling better, but still really tired. So I took a shower and just relaxed. I am sure I will sleep good tonight.