On Saturday, June 4, 2016 the First U hiking group enjoyed a beautiful Coyote Call 2.7 mile loop trail with views into the Valles Caldera National Preserve, newly part of the National Park Service. Splendid NM scenery and weather! There were more dandelions than any of the 11 of us had ever seen. They had a wet spring.
Scott Lake was the leader. The participants were Jodell Bullock & Mick Porter, Judy Bentley, Cat Ivie, Felecia and Evan from the Los Alamos UU church, Don Saver, Nancy Shane, Carol Moss, and Kathleen Rhoad
We went to the Visitors Center and got a park map. There’s a 12 mile drive in the Caldera that goes north from the Visitor Center to a 10 mile drive along San Antonio Creek. There’s trail # 12 worth scouting – in and out about 6 miles total. Right now there is no overnight camping in the Caldera and no reservations. One needs to arrive the day of a hike at 8 am, for instance to Trail 12, and get a back country permit that are limited in number. And one must be out of the park by 7:30 pm. So for future planning, we might consider arriving the day before hand and sleeping over in a nearby motel in La Cueva.
More Information – https://www.nps.gov/vall/index.htm
Kathleen
Pictures by Kathleen Rhoad and Scott Lake
The Hike
The Flora
