Today, Jan. 28, 2007, dawned bright and clear as a bell - as hoped - so after breakfast I was off and running - er, walking. Remember, over 2 months ago when I first got here, I sent the pictures of Bandelier Nat. Mon. with the ancient Indian cave dwellings ?? From that same parking lot, go the other way, downstream on Frijoles Creek, and after 1½ miles you’ll come to a very pretty waterfall, in a very scenic canyon. At the beginning, the trail starts uphill…………

There’s plenty of old snow on it, frozen hard, and ol’ Lar was pretty bundled up. It’s a nice walk………..

……..and pretty slippery. Gave this ol’ boy a good workout, it did, but then a tiny, skinny wisp of an old lady went chugging on past me………..

Bright and cheerful, with a friendly comment, she was digging her hiking poles in and going very fast. She hadta be in her 70’s, and I’m not too sure I’d want my mother out by herself in the wilderness, but she seemed to be fine, and sure left me in the dust. About ¾ of a mile or so into the hike, I saw a neat cliff with a large cave, and went off trail to get a better view of it………..

On the way, I noticed a string of old tracks, partly melted in, but of a good size. At 1st, I thought “Bear,” but the tracks are more round, and no claws showing………

‘Bout as big around as the end of my boot, so I thought, “Aha, Cougar.” To be sure, I sent an email to a friend in Oregon who’s a lifetime woodsman/hunter, and he came back with the thought that it was probably a Bobcat. Yah, he’s prob’ly right……..I sure won’t argue with that guy. Whatever, it sure had a long stride………..

Now, the canyon got serious. It got deeper fast, and much more rugged and steep. Coming on to a more southerly exposure now, too, and it started getting muddy and very slippery. Tremendous views, and a spectacular hike…………..

Tilt the camera up just a bit, and the Rio Grande is about 1 mile ahead. This is a portion of White Rock Canyon, near Los Alamos National Laboratory. (nuclear labs)……..

Upper Falls is supposed to be at 1½ miles, and the River a mile past that. I’d eased out onto an overlook by using a “Stay on the Trail” sign for a handhold, and was looking for that 1st falls, but couldn’t see anything. Small wonder. About 100 yards or so on down the trail, and on the 1st of a long series of downward switchbacks, I looked back, and I’d been standing right above them, but couldn’t see over a shoulder of rock………….

These falls are about 80 feet high, and very scenic. Long way to go to look at some water ?? Yup, I guess so, but the whole hike was very enjoyable. Here’s a closer look…………

Coming back up the trail was fun. The loose mud was like fine cinders and about an inch deep. Step down, fine; weight on that foot, fine; start to move weight forward….slide back ½ step….and watch that balance. Ol’ Lar got un-bundled in a hurry, and carried the jacket back. The return had much better light, and a different viewpoint. I’d missed these hoodoos on the way down………..

Then, about ½ mile from my starting point, I heard a strong drumming sound, like the ocean, sorta. Like drawn out surf. What the………..?? No falls around here - it was fairly flat ground. A quick search showed a small area of Frijoles Creek that had hollowed out the ice in one section, then the water level apparently dropped. It left an acoustical chamber, like a big guitar or violin, that amplified the sound of the riffles in the water. Don’t know how I missed it going down. Musta been asleep on my feet, eh ??…………

It’s hard to see in the picture, but there’s about a 3″ or 4″ gap between water and ice. What Fun, eh ?? Back to the campground, into the Diesel Dodge, and back onto the highway, heading home. Remember yesterday in Pecos Canyon, where I had the look at Santa Fe Baldy Mountain ?? Here’s Santa Fe Baldy from the other side, with Santa Fe’s ski area to the right of it…………

This was a grand way to spend a day, and when I got home it was time for a snooze. That feeling of “good tired” after a good workout is great. I’ll wait till it dries out some, then make the whole trip thru to the Rio Grande on that trail. Glad I didn’t today - that short distance of steep mud was an education. Lar.

P.S. It’s only been 5 weeks since the first big snowstorm on Dec. 20. Seems like 5 years. Phee-eeew. This is only the 2nd weekend it hasn’t snowed since then.

Larry Bourne
Santa Fe, NM
www.gogittum.com

Posted: November 11th, 2007 under 07-1-28 Frijoles Canyon, 08 New Mexico.
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