Hello First U Hikers and Friends,
Today 4 of us with Rick Held leading hiked at Kasha-Katuwe Tent Rocks National Monument (designated Jan 17, 2001) from 9 am to 12:30. Good we got to see the early morning light on the formations and initially had lighter foot traffic on the trail . As the morning progressed, many others were walking on Canyon Trail. We saw Manzanita shrub w/ small white blooms, white Spectacle Pod, Golden Pea, yellow Western Wallflower, yellow Perky Sue, yellow Showy Goldeneye and red Indian Paintbrush.
Kasha-Katuwe means white cliffs in traditional Keresan language of the Cochiti Pueblo. The elevation ranges from 5,570 feet to 6,760 feet above sea level. According to a BLM trail guide: “The cone-shaped tent rock formations are the products of volcanic eruptions that occurred 6 to 7 million years ago and left pumice, ash and tuff deposits over 1,000 feet thick.” The complex geological landscape is spectacular with distant views of mesas and Mt Baldy near Santa Fe. Now the road to Tent Rocks passes the base of Cochiti Dam, the major feature for flood control north of Albuquerque on the Rio Grande River. Construction began in 1965. Impoundment of water in Cochiti Lake began in 1973. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cochiti_Dam More informatin is at http://www.pueblodecochiti.org/recreation.html
The hikers were Pam Bliss, Heather Gram, Rick Held and Kathleen Rhoad. On the way home 3 of us stopped road-side for Indian taco on delicious fry-bread made before our eyes! from a Cochiti mother and her three children raising money for a planned trip to Denver. How about a snowy winter day for our next hike to Kasha-Katuwe….?
Kathleen Rhoad
