Camping near Taos
Although summers here in Santa Fe are much more tolerable than in Austin, it still gets uncomfortably warm in June, especially in the sunshine. Not far away, further up and into the mountain forest there’s a pleasant cool available. Late last week we drove 60 miles north, mostly on the scenic byway to Taos, to the Agua Piedra campground for a night. We arrived moments before thunder and rain and waited a half hour in the car before venturing out under clearing skies to eat a late lunch and set up our tent.
Once settled in, we decided to take a little hike. I was planning on just a couple of miles, or something slightly longer if flat as I was a little tired and sore from a Pilates session earlier in the day. The All Trails map that Robert had downloaded earlier in the day directed us to a wooded path with some slope. Up we trudged until we came to a sign that pointed us further up the mountain. The cool air and light breeze compensated for gravity’s pull, up to a point. Eventually, as the path began to zig and zag to moderate the incline, I decided I had had enough.
Robert continued onward and upward toward the lake that gave the trail its name. I checked my watch when I got back to camp at 6:18, a good time to start dinner, if Robert didn’t have the car keys with him. All our food and everything else I needed to cook was in the car. Without signal my phone was useless as a diversion. I spent the next hour or so whittling a stick into a point using my father’s very dull Swiss Army Knife. By 7:40 Robert had made it back to camp, having ascended 1100 ft to Indian Lake. It is a good thing that the trail was so scenic because calling this a lake is a bit of an oversell.
We had an unremarkable dinner as the sun set, accompanied by humming birds and woodpeckers, and soon climbed into the tent for the night. The next morning came early as the birds started their chorus at 4:58. I rolled back the tent flap to watch the sky lighten and to listen. This is my favorite part of the day.
After a pancake breakfast, we went back out to hike. It was a beautiful morning and just like the day before there was no one else on the trail. Three ravens called to each other in some sort of negotiation I could make no sense of. On the path we saw evidence of deer and elk, but no direct encounters.
And then it was time to pack up and head home. Someone else had the site for that night and we had to prepare for our beekeeping class in Albuquerque the following day. The return to Santa Fe had vistas even more remarkable than those we encountered on the drive up. As we descended from mountain into dessert, we could see for miles and miles contours of land and strata of millennia uninterrupted by vegetation. Here and there a stream would wander through making a deep green stripe. The road would turn and suddenly we were back in forest for a minute. And so we made our way home carrying memories of aspen, streams, and wildflowers.
Thanks for reading.