Garcia Falls Canyon June 30

Poor New Mexico. No slot canyons for you despite your well endowed four corner neighbors. It seems like the canyons practically end at the state line. I got a tip from a NM waterfall hobbyist that the most slot canyon-like thing in the state is a canyon in the San Mateo Mountains about an hour and a half south of Socorro. Eager to tick it off (and with the hope of actually finding a real canyon), we set off at sunrise on a drive south. 

Thankfully the forest service roads were still open and we arrived without incident. In contrast to the small trickling water I saw in photos, the canyon was bone dry all the way through. The approach hike took almost a hour (up and down a hill), the canyon, less. A couple chossy downclimbs in a side drainage led into the canyon. A tall tower of rock in the middle of the canyon signified the first (dry) waterfall. I provided a meat anchor for Sara to abseil and easily downclimbed this double falls (10m high).

A few other very small downclimbs and some almost interesting narrows led to another 5m high dryfall. Again a meat anchor and a downclimb got us down. Sara spotted a really pretty snake that seemed pretty unflustered by our presence.

Before we knew it we reached the final 3m high dryfall. "That's it!?," we thought. The whole canyon can be upclimbed relatively easily. The canyon is probably a bit more novel and interesting with some water in it, but it is not something I would return to. Better luck with climbs and caves in this state I guess.

Jemez Springs June 23

Sara and I had to spend another Saturday in Albuquerque so we decided to make a weekend of it and camp up on the cool, forested slopes of the Valles Caldera north of Albuquerque. We quickly found out that over half of the places we hoped to visit were closed due to extreme fire danger and that on Monday the entire forest would be closed until further notice. We pulled into one of the few campgrounds actually open and pitched out tent as the bright moon cast long, dark shadows across the forest. 

Once we figured out what was actually open, we started the day off with a hike to McCauley hot springs. We followed the switchbacked trail up away from the small stream and past large boulders of flow-banded obsidian which had obviously fallen from further up the hillside. Although early, it was already starting to get warm and sweaty. Somewhat abruptly we reached a open hillsided meadow between the trees and the source of the hot springs. Although calling them "hot" is being rather generous, the temperature was refreshing given the heat and the surroundings, fantastic. There were at least four different pools to soak in, the first and third being the best. Because the temperature was not overwhelmingly hot there was a surprising amount of life at the hot spring- small fish that tickled, little frogs, even wild orchids at the water's edge. We enjoyed having the whole place to ourselves. The place was serene.

We took a detour to look for nearby camping spots, then regained the trail and hiked back. We stopped quickly at the considerably more popular Spence Hot Springs, and then carried on to Soda Dam (both overrated I thought). Soda Dam is a 6m high travertine dam that formerly spanned the whole valley and presumably created a large lake upstream. The stream has since found a way through the deposit. Between the road cutting right through the dam, the large numbers of people and the heavily trampled vegetation, it is obvious the place has lost much of the charm it once had. We then drove through Jemez Springs and turned off on the backroad headed for Gilman Tunnels, which cut through ancient (>1 billion yr old) granite. Here we stopped for a refreshing swim in the cool stream before carrying on. We drove out of the granite and up into tuff of the caldera, which had some nicely textured boulders and slickrock. Once back on the paved road we found out the back road we were planning on taking past Tent Rocks was a no go, and drove back through Jemez Springs for home.

Bandalier NM June 16

My dad braved the long drive out from California to deliver my new car to me in New Mexico. After a tasty Thai dinner in Albuquerque, we drove on past Santa Fe and up the mountain to Bandalier NM where the evening was cool. In the morning we headed for the park headquarters and went on the main loop trail to see remnants of the abundant Ancestral Puebloan dwellings. Although I had been here before, I still enjoyed the stroll. We passed by the large circular complex of low walls and headed up the trail past the base of the cliffs. Many of the cave-like dwellings are carved directly into the cliff faces of soft tuff. There are literally hundreds of these rooms within the valley. In many cases these alcove rooms formed the back rooms of multi-storied pueblos plastered at the base of these cliffs. Further up the cliffs natural weathering creates similar alcoves and caves- it is easy to see where they got their inspiration. We walked out to the base of Alcove House. Even though the ladders up to the ruins were closed, we still enjoyed the walk. 

After some mostly aimless driving, we drove to Santa Fe for a nice lunch in an enclosed courtyard. Although a short trip, it was really great to spend father's day with my dad, a first in many years for me. Thanks to him for driving out.