More Wilderness and a National Monument

The Canada Violets have been spectacular this spring in the mountains

A short drive heading west from Red River brought us to Columbine Campground in the Carson National Forest just 5 miles east of Questa, NM. This beautiful campground is nestled in a narrow canyon with Columbine Creek flowing through the middle and then joining with the Red River just below the campground.  The steep walls of the canyon plus the thickly forested campground provided ample shade and as temperatures were on the rise, it seemed like the perfect place to stay for the week.

 

View along the Columbine - Twining National Recreation Trail

After an easy afternoon of enjoying the creek, cooking dinner and then a great night’s sleep, we woke rested and ready for some hiking.  From our campground, the Columbine Canyon Trail #71 led into the Columbine-Hondo Wilderness where it intersected with several other trails in the wilderness providing us with many hiking options to consider.  We decided on attempting part of the Columbine - Twining National Recreation Trail which started out on Trail 71 and then followed the Deer Creek Trail, then the Gold Hill Trail (at 12,711 feet, Gold Hill is more than just a hill) and eventually ended at the Taos Ski Basin for a 14.2-mile trek.  We knew we would not be going that whole distance and climbing nearly 5,000 feet in elevation in the process, but we decided to start hiking and see how far we got.

 

Maya appreciates a sturdy bridge when the streams are full and swift

There were several stream crossings but thankfully bridges were intact, so no problem there.  When we turned off the Columbine Canyon Trail to follow the Deer Creek Trail, we started a shady climb through a young aspen forest that was beautiful with flowers.  But after about a mile the trail topped out of the aspens into a sunny west facing slope and began climbing in earnest.   We went on for another couple of miles as the trail teased us with glimpses of blue sky.  But every switchback brought us to another slope to climb and the top with views of Gold Hill remained ever illusive.  It was getting warm on the sun-soaked slope and the rocks were many and sharp.  We were concerned about Maya’s paws so we decided to head back to our cool canyon campground.

 

Maya rests her paw

The next day we drove over to the Taos Ski Valley and hiked the other end of the Columbine – Twining N.R.T. so we could at least have tried both ends.  This end of the trail was just as steep and rocky as the other and by the time we were done Maya was beginning to favor her left front paw.  Although we enjoyed both ends of this National Recreation Trail and the scenery was gorgeous, it was seriously rocky.  The trail is rated difficult and we all thought the rating was deserved though we didn’t even hike the steepest section that climbed Gold Hill. 

 

Marsh Marigold along Deer Creek

Thursday Maya’s limp was even worse and we decided she needed a day or two off so we went on a car excursion.  The Rio Grande del Norte National Monument was just about 10 miles away from our campground and it seemed like a good time to explore this very new national monument.  Being quite familiar with the southern end of the Rio Grande and having taken many a canoe trip down the ‘Rio’ in Big Bend, we thought it was time to enjoy and learn about the northern end of this grand river.

 

Rio Grande del Norte National Monument

Part of our mission this summer is to explore some of the lesser known and visited National Park Service administered sites in celebration of the 100^th Anniversary of the National Park Service.  But the Rio Grande del Norte National Monument is not administered by the NPS.  Things are sometimes confusing when it comes to our Congress and government (and that is as political as this blog will ever get).  It seems that not all national monuments are the same.  The best that David and I can figure is that the land of the Rio Grande del Norte was originally under the administration of the Bureau of Land Management (BLM).  So when President Obama proclaimed this area a national monument in 2013, it stayed under the management of the BLM.

 

Prickly pear cacti were in bloom all over the monument

Looks like a fun rapid

The Rio Grande is almost as brown here as it is in Texas

Regardless of all that, we were not going to let a technicality keep us from visiting a very cool national monument.  We drove through the larger, northern part of the monument, known as the Wild Rivers section.  Here both the Rio Grande and Red Rivers flow wild and undammed through the 242,455 acres of the monument.  There are many scenic pullovers with views of both rivers and trails that take you along the top edge of the two canyons and some trails descend down into the canyons.  We did every pullover and visited the many campgrounds in the monument, all of which were nice.  We took very short walks along the tops of the canyons while Maya rested in the car (parked under shade).

 

The confluence of the Red River and the Rio Grande

Red River is on the left and Rio Grande is on the right

The Wild Rivers Visitor Center was very fun to visit and there we learned that the Rio Grande had help making its canyon or gorge of over 800 feet deep.  The canyon is actually part of the Rio Grande Rift that it is slowly pulling the land apart.  This weakness in the earth’s crust has also allowed multiple volcanic fields to arise in New Mexico these past few million years. (Don’t you just love geologic time?  A few million years is hardly any time at all…)

My Tia's in the middle of nowhere but worth the trip

After all this new exploring and knowledge, we were hungry and asked the ranger to recommend a good place to eat.  He directed us to My Tia’s in the little village of Cerro on our way out of the monument.  It was an excellent suggestion –  home cooked, fresh and local food.  My stuffed sopapilla with chicken, beans and green sauce was delicious and huge!  David and Maya had to help me finish it.  I love those rangers; they always know the best places to eat.

 

The Rio Grande Gorge Bridge north of Taos, NM

With Maya still limping on Friday, we decided to finish our tour of the Rio Grande del Norte and we drove to the Orilla Verde section of the monument that is about 12 miles south of the famous Rio Grande Gorge Bridge or High Bridge near Taos.  Although we have seen the bridge several times before, we stopped again on our way to the southern part of the monument.  The bridge stretches over the gorge at a height of 564 feet above the waters of the Rio Grande and it is always an impressive sight.

Looking down into the gorge from the bridge -- pretty awesome!

The southern part of the Rio Grande del Norte is mainly a “floater’s or river runner’s paradise.”  Rafting companies and outfitters are everywhere and will shuttle you between put in and take out points.  This part of the river reminded us a lot of the Rio Grande down in Texas.  It was even the same shade of brown!  I guess that old Rio Grande always carries a lot of sediment as it rolls along. 

 

Looks a lot like the Rio Grande near the Texas border

Both sections of the Rio Grande del Norte are in a high desert environment and were much warmer than our sheltered Columbine Canyon Campground.  But the day we visited the southern section, the temperatures reached the 90’s.  It wasn’t just warm, it was hot and suddenly, we were not avoiding summer anymore.  

 

The walking stick cholla cactus were aflame with blooms

We headed back to our cool canyon to enjoy one last night before moving on to perhaps some even warmer places before we would arrive in the mountains of Colorado.  But first, one more trip to My Tia’s.  That was some seriously good food.

David’s Stats:

Days Hiked   2 
Total Miles Hiked    13.08
Ave. Miles per Day    6.54 
Total Elevation Gain     3,120
Ave. Elevation Gain per day  1,560

 

The desert in bloom is glorious!