This little canyon stair-steps up to the north off Foothills Trail 401.
A bit of bouldering is required in spots.
This is why I always shunned the casinos while in Sin City for Interbike.
I gambled on a nice long hike yesterday, betting that today would be better for the old bikey ridey.
Wrong.
Sure enough, something snuck in over the Sandias.
Yesterday was most enjoyable, two hours of up and down and all around, with a bit of light jogging thrown in here and there as the spirit moved. Rolled up the sleeves. Probably could’ve worn shorts.
Today I gnawed on a chilly wind from behind a handlebar for an hour and the nicest thing I can say about that is that I was not indoors. Long sleeves. The knickers and fingerless gloves proved unwise. Airborne allergens caressed my nostrils the way a peeler does a potato.
And now the weatherperson says snow is on the way? Snow? Who dealt this mess?
Tags: Gambling
Mad Blog Media 
March 16, 2021 at 4:42 pm |
I brought Annie up to the dog park yesterday. Was sunny and almost windless and we did a long hike. Given how nice it was I ditched the Stumpjumper idea and took a road bike down from the hook. Went inside to change, etc. Get on the bike….the wind picks up, clouds moved in, and I froze my ass off. Today it is supposed to rain. I’ll imagine I’m riding.
March 16, 2021 at 6:25 pm |
It’s March. We have to expect it. At least we’re not getting it two feet at a time, eh? And then there’s April, “the cruellest month.”
March 17, 2021 at 2:09 am |
There have been many days where I’ve changed into riding togs, ratcheted into the shoes, filled the water bottle, coaxed the bike down, opened the garage door, walked out, felt the light precip or saw the rapidly advancing weather and thought, man those chips sure will taste good in a minute, and wandered back inside.
April? Oh yes we must keep the mad dog away from the garden. He might dig something up.
March 17, 2021 at 7:05 am |
Yeah, on those days you need someone to goad you into riding. In Bibleburg a couple old cyclocross buddies and I would loudly debate questions of masculinity, advancing age, bravery in the face of adversity, etc., until we all agreed to go out and do something stupid.
Here I have to have those arguments with the voices in my head. They spend a lot of time laughing at me.
March 17, 2021 at 7:28 am |
Keep the dog from digging in the spring. My neighbor is a veterinarian. On Sunday she commented, with a laugh, that this is canine GI season. After the snows recede, Bowser finds all sorts of good stuff to eat, and that drives the vet business way up.
March 16, 2021 at 5:05 pm |
Mark Twain keeps popping into my conversations, both interpersonal and the ones in my head.
“We all grumble about the weather, but nothing is done about it.”
” Climate is what we expect, weather is what we get.”
“If the thermometer had been an inch longer we’d all have frozen to death.”
Somehow I got my exercise minutes in, even though all I did was stand on a hill side and watch the kids sled up and down. Someone felt sorry for me and decided that the little bit of shovel work I did building ramps and jumps for the neighborhood should count triple.
Insert your own “irishman with a shovel” joke here.
(PS, thanks for the edit assistance on yesterday’s post!)
March 16, 2021 at 6:27 pm |
Someone has to shovel so that others can get the big air. Well done, sir. And no worries about the minor edit. Just buffing out a scratch or two was all it was.
March 16, 2021 at 9:10 pm |
That looks like Embudo Wash? I have many fond memories of hiking in the Sandias. Did two hikes up to the top of the Tram which were very memorable. One time up Pinto Trail and the other time up the La Luz. Late lunch at the restaurant at the top and then a sunset ride down on the Tram. You live in the best part of ABQ. Being near the open space there is key.
March 17, 2021 at 7:12 am |
I’m not sure what that one is called. It’s a narrow slot, about a five-minute walk due north of the Indian School trailhead parking lot. I’ve followed it up a ways a few times and only ever saw one other person; it requires a fair amount of bouldering and looks like a great place to get jumped by a mountain lion, so doing it solo probably isn’t all that smart. Who wants to be cat food?
And yeah, this is definitely the right spot for us. The trails are what sold us. I’ve not done La Luz yet — there is definitely at least one lion up there — but that’s something I’d like to tackle. Pino Trail out of Elena Gallegos is also on the wish list, but I need better legs for that, because I want to start from home, not the EG parking lot. That adds a bit of distance.
March 17, 2021 at 10:47 am |
Shoot, you are right. I meant Pino Trail, not Pinto. We parked at the Tram parking lot both times. For the Pino Trail, we hiked along whatever trails take you back to the Pino and then up. For La Luz, hiked over to that trail. These hikes were no joke and I was 26 years younger:-) although I may be in better shape now than then.
I am not positive the trail you are talking about is the Embudito Trail. We used to hike up the Embudito once in a while. I don’t remember any warnings about mountain lions back in the mid-90s. It could be that we were unaware (totally possible) or that the mountain lions have come back to the area.
At any rate, enjoy! I love those trails.
March 17, 2021 at 1:47 pm |
The Embudito trailhead is a few blocks north of us. I normally use it to get to or from High Desert and/or Elena Gallegos, but now that I’m hiking more I plan to check that trail out … once the weather warms up. I haven’t even been up to the Candelaria Bench Trail lately, assuming that everything north-facing is a mess.