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North Dale Ball Exploration
There’s a great network of trails east of Santa Fe that doesn’t quite connect to the northern National Forest trails that in turn connect to the Pecos Wilderness. Today we set out to discover if the connection can be made cross-country. It starts well in open piñon forest. Then we hit an old barbed wire…
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Scouting for campsites near Utopian Vistas
This is the first time we’ve had any serious car trouble out in the boonies. We head up US285, then east on NM567, and finally up a small forest road. We’d like to find a good group campsite for the memorial day weekend, but it’s getting dark and we decide to settle in for the…
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Enchanted Tower Climbing
At last I get some routes in at this intriguing climbing area! During the blizzardy weather on our last trip we only scouted the pocket-strewn routes, so I was eager to pull on some of those pockets. Friday night is warm and tantalizing, but Saturday brings light showers. Determined not to miss any window, we…
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Our Favorite Santa Fe Loop Drive
We take Mom, Dad, and Sarah on this great drive through the Jemez mountains from Santa Fe. It features cliffs, waterfalls, Ponderosa forests, a giant volcano caldera, a lush river with a great hiking trail, hot springs, a soda dam, blood red sandstone and a native American pueblo. Mom took all the pictures again. Route…
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Post Moderate at Diablo Canyon
We take Mom out to Diablo Canyon. I lead Post Moderate 5.9, which is long enough at 165 ft to challenge my stamina. As I did before, I blow the two-rope logistics and have (or get) to climb to the top again after failing to lower. I need to use more visualization techniques – not…
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Atalaya / Dorothy Stewart Loop
I set out to hike ten miles to see how my leg holds up. The day could hardly be clearer, and the warm air smells like apples. I go slowly, and while my left leg feels a little more fatigued than the right, it doesn’t hurt! The Wyoming trip this summer seems possible again.
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Dead Cholla Wall Climbing
We planned our Petaca Point hike with hopes that conditions would be good for climbing at nearby Dead Cholla Wall, and they are perfect. We join one other couple, also easing back into climbing after a hiatus, to try some top roping here. As is often the case, reaching over the cliff edge to clip…
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Petaca Point Overnight
I can’t remember the last time I had such a terrible time leaving for an outing. The weather looks dreary, we’re slogging through our preparations, and neither Ann or I really want to go. “Just force it,” I say, “we need this.” The sky looks darker and darker as we drive north until our final…
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Easter Wanderings
Our initial desire is to check out the Mentmore climbing area near Gallup, New Mexico. We start out on Friday night, finding a pretty spot on the Continental Divide Trail to overnight. It begins to rain, then hail and snow. Reading the guidebook for entertainment, I notice a comment that the porous sandstone at Mentmore…
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A Desert Birthday for Ann
We’ve been waiting out cold weather (though not snowy as predicted), and today seems just warm enough to try an overnight. On our way we detour to the Gilman Tunnels for some mellow climbing on Sierra Corazón 5.5. Then we set off to find a dirt road that I know crosses the Continental Divide Trail,…