Healing Treks

I had been looking forward to this hike for some time, and finally the weather and family schedules worked out. I enjoy my solo hikes, but for longer ones I do prefer the company of a friend. Fortunately, I'm blessed with a wonderful friend who also enjoys hiking! We arrived at Bandelier National Monument at about 10:00am and finished our hike at about 4:20pm. The weather was perfect...mid-60s degrees F with a breeze just when I needed it. The first canyon we hiked out of was Frijoles, the trailhead being to the west of the Bandelier Visitor Center and parking lot. While I have visited Bandelier National Park dozens of times over the decades of living in the area, I had never viewed the dwellings from the perspective of climbing up the opposing canyon wall. The gradual incline, combined with my excitement of starting out, made for a fairly easy trek out of the canyon.  The second canyon was Lummis Canyon, a small and pretty interruption in the landscape with junipers and ponderosa...

  Lower Water Canyon Spur/Ruin Mesa (AllTrails link HERE ) is one of my very favorite local hikes. It is almost five miles long (if I don't get side-tracked on one of the many intersecting trails on the mesa), and takes me between one and one and a half hours to complete. It is perfect for a morning or afternoon hike when I want to get away from our neighborhood but don't want to drive too far. Jewel is a fan as well!  The trail starts right off of New Mexico Highway 4 a few miles towards Bandelier National Monument. The spur portion of Lower Water Canyon is near the canyon's walls with beautiful structure and coloring. After a little over half a mile, the spur trail meets up with the main Lower Water Canyon trail and proceeds toward Water Canyon. I always love getting to the end of the trail and viewing all of the layers of mesas, canyons, and mountains. The trail continues along the edge of the mesa and meets up with Ruin Mesa trail with a bit of a scramble to the top. If...