A Visit to Cochiti Lake and Tent Rocks

Today I had an incredible outing with a few fellow letterboxers. Astro D, Bell Motel, californiabluefrog and I headed south from Santa Fe and drove to Cochiti. Astro D and I had already found all the boxes in the area so we were just hanging out with Bell Motel and califoniabluefrog while they letterboxed. So our first stop was Cochiti Lake Visitor Center. We took the nature trail and they found Tent Rocks by Mim and Mim's Lagniappe by Wronghat. While they stamped in, I enjoyed the views of the lake. When they were finished we returned to the car and then drove a short distance up to the overlook. At this spot they found Pueblo de Cochiti by Wronghat. I walked to the overlook while they stamped in. Once they were finished we left the Visitor Center and made our way to Kasha-Katuwe Tent Rocks National Monument.

It was around noon when we arrived in the parking area for Tent Rocks so we decided to grab a picnic table and eat our lunch. We spent about 20 minutes relaxing and eating before we headed out on the trail. We decided to do the Canyon Trail first. Just beyond the junction for the Cave Trail we stopped and looked for Osiris' Secret. Unfortunately, we weren't able to find it. So then we just continued along the Canyon Trail. This is one of my favorite hikes. The trail and views are beautiful. You go through a couple of slots and pass some of the tent rocks. It is about a mile and a half trail that goes up to the top of the plateau for some awesome views. Most of the trail is easy but there are a couple of spots where you have to scramble over some rocks and then the ascent to the top is a little work as well. But the hike is so worth doing. Along this hike we looked for El Corredor but again we didn't find the box. After completing the Canyon Trail we took the Cave Trail so that they could look for El Ladron. We walked the trail and when we got to the cave Astro D and I sat and visited while Bell Motel and californiabluefrog went and searched for the box. When they returned to meet us we headed back to the car and left the monument heading back to Santa Fe.

Apache Tears

On NM16 we stopped at one of the Historical Markers for them to find New La Bajada Hill by ArnoldZiffel. This was a quick stop and we were on our way. We got on I25 and headed north up La Bajada Hill. Then we stopped at the rest area for them to find Harry Potter Horcrux Series #1 - Tom Riddle's Diary by ArnoldZiffel. Another quick and easy find and then we were back on the road. Last we made one more stop at Santa Fe Brewery for them to find Plant A Beer 2017: Santa Fe Brewing by ArnoldZiffel. Once they were done with this series of boxes they dropped me off at home.

It was a great day of hiking and letterboxing and we had a lot of fun. I really love Tent Rocks and it had been a while since I had been there so this was a perfect outing.