Friday, Oct 27

This is the day after the first snow in Taos! Deborah and I drove to Wild Rivers, north of Taos about 20 miles, past Questa, to hike La Junta - the most difficult and also the most beautiful trail down the Rio Grande Gorge to the river. On the way, Deborah suggested we take a short cut. I'm driving her Lexus SUV - and after driving on the "road" she suggested for about 5 minutes, I realize that the car feels like it's sliding to one side, even though I'm driving slowly. Finally, I mention something out loud to Deborah about how it feels like I have no control over the car, that it's sliding, and she says, "It is - you are driving on Taos clay - just drive like you are driving on ice." So between the sliding and trying to avoid the VERY DEEP ruts that would scrape the bottom of the Lexus, it took us about 40 minutes to drive 3.5 miles. I was a wreck by the time we reached the parking lot. Less than five minutes into the hike, I tell Deborah I'm not willing to slide off the icy rocks into the gorge more than a mile down because I'm not wearing appropriate foot wear for a trail of ice and snow. What I love about this area is that it is definitely a "live at your own risk" state. No guard rails along the roads, no rails along the trails, just you and your balance. So, she agreed that it was too icy, and we headed back to the Lexus for a LONG 3.5 mile ride back to the highway back to Taos. By the time we reached Taos, Deborah was no longer interested in hiking, so I dropped her off at her house and went on to the Devisidero Trail off the Canyon Road. She assured me that it was an easy 2-3 mile hike. I started up the trail at 2:30 p.m.

The Devisadero Trail runs along the mountain ridge behind the Murray's home, where I'm house sitting. It's one of the most frequently hiked trails in Taos - about 6 miles (not 2-3!) and does a complete circle of the moutain, so you see all directions. Beautiful! This is the trail I hiked that had snow. Plus I met a guy carrying his mountain bike up the mountain, coming toward me. His plan was to ride down the trail I had just climbed with 6-8 inches of snow - after hearing that bit of news, he continued to the top, then rode down the way he'd gone up, and just flew past me some time later. This was also the trail that Deborah told me was "about 2-4 miles" and I was wondering if I'd be down the mountain before dark for obvious reasons, in addition to not having warm outwear with me should I be on the mountain after dark. Fortunately, that was a short lived concern, I was making the final descent just before the sun went below the mountain. A great trail to hike! I will definitely go back!