Author: Scott Lake Page 3 of 9

Great day for a hike. The weather was great for the ascent and we found a wonderful place to have lunch at the crest. This hike offers an easy ascent even thought the elevation gain is about 1000 feet (starting at 8500 feet). As you can see we were seven in number – Scott Lake (Leader) Ken Callahan, Bob Liebman, Brian Hill, Theresa Watson, John Kwait and Camilla Haneberg.

There are not many good overlooks (view points) until the crest is reached. A good portion of the trail is well shaded by conifers and there were many wild flowers. Scarlet … Read the rest

The hike to the hot (warm) spring is a fairly strenuous climb but we all made it just fine. Tom Dorr led the hike. The day was warm and fair, and there were many hikers on the trail. This is open forest with good shade most of the way. There are a few nice views of the surrounding mountains along the trail.

There are in fact large numbers of obsidian boulders. The small pieces I found, unfortunately, had many impurities.

Pictures by Neal MacDonald and Scott Lake.… Read the rest

On April 8, 2017, Theresa Watson led a group of 8 on the White Mesa Bike Trails hike on BLM land near the Ojito Wilderness: Cheri Plavnick, Dawn Leach, Jane Knapp, Bob Diggelman, Carol Moss, Gary Donnermeyer, Camilla Haneberg and Theresa Watson. Camilla said: “The hike was lots of steep ups and downs, as advertised. The views were great and it was very much worth the effort.”

Theresa reported that it got windy after lunch and the group really liked the challenge of it – the scrambling and remarked on the gorgeous scenery.

Thanks, Theresa! You got rave reviews as … Read the rest

Hello all,

Pleasant cool morning for the start of the hike at 9:45 from the Gabaldon end, following the new earthen, crusher fine trail in the Bosque. Group spotted 3 or 4 porcupines. Did not see the Great Horned Owls’ nest. Walked at a brisk pace in order to be on time to meet the Rio Grande Nature Center group.

Group doing the loop from Gabaldon to Montano and back included Scott Lake, Ken Callaghan, William Maxwell, Theresa Watson, Carol & Bob Diggelman, Dawn Leach and Kathleen Rhoad for most of the first leg to Montano. Thanks Scott for becoming … Read the rest

Hello all,

On Sat, Feb 11, nine of us hiked the Piedras Marcadas canyons and trails near the lava escarpment: Scott Lake, leader, Ken Callahan, Dawn Leach, Jane Knap, Marta Dee, Don Saver, Dianne Fierro, Ro Danclovic and Kathleen Rhoad. The day was warm and sunny. The trails were sandy.

We looked at far views of the Sandias and petroglyphs. Don and Ken were first timers to Piedras Marcadas. Ken thought he was looking at graffiti….hum…humor. We saw a Jack Rabbit and spring plants pushing up through the sand.

Kathleen

The Hikers and the Trail

The Petroglyphs (First 3 … Read the rest

Tom Dorr led us on a Bosque walk on the River Loop Trail and the Canopy Trail near the Open Space Visitor Center off Coors. There were Sandhill Cranes in the field at the Visitor Center. The river was flowing full and the fresh air and temperature were fine.

We saw a bluebird, Flickers, other small birds.

Participants included: Dawn Leach, Cheri Plavnick, Jane Knap, Sally Vance, Scott Lake, Ken Callaghan, Sandra Schroeder and Kathleen Rhoad.

Seven continued on for lunch at Dion’s and the annual planning meeting. We have a good lineup of hikes planned for 2017 with several … Read the rest

On a sunny, mild Dec 10 fourteen UU’s walked along the Los Poblanos Fields: Heather Black, Judith Parsons & Bruce Newton, Tom Dorr, Eliza Schmid and friend Daniel, Jon Stein, Ann King, Chuck Gorecki, “snowbirding” from Wisconsin, Pam Bliss, Ro Danclovick, Dawn Leach, Neal MacDonald and Kathleen Rhoad. We took a look at backyard goats, 3 horses and 7 miniature show ponies.

There were lots of Sandhill Cranes and Snow Geese and we saw one Kestrel atop a large cottonwood. The group suggested several new destinations for 2017 hikes. Five enjoyed an early lunch at Flying Star.

Thanks … Read the rest

Twelve hikers met for this desert hike: Carol, Gary, Tom, Brian, Helene, Tony, Dawn, Roy, Dave, Diane, Julie, and Pam. First on the agenda was the 3.8-mile Mesa Hike.

Once atop the mesa (after a very steep climb), we noted that we were on the western edge of the rift and could look across the rift valley eastward to where the land abruptly rises again.

After lunch at the visitor center, most of the hikers also decided to add the 1.1 mile nature trail to the day, which means they can eat a bit more on Thanksgiving. Finally some of … Read the rest

Our hike had a bright fall day to explore and hike through the forest of beautiful red,yellow and orange  maples. The hike is a fairly strenuous five mile loop. The hiking group has made this hike several times over the last 5 years. This is a very popular place this time of year and the parking areas are often packet with people who came to admire the fall color and enjoy the cool temperatures.

We had a nice size group (Scott Lake, Bob Lienman, Judith Parsons, Bruce Newton, Kenneth Callahan, Kathi Foy, Dawn Leach, Carol Moss, David Colton and … Read the rest

Five UU hikers—Scott Lake, Ashley Mayle, Thomas Adams, Mymm Ackley, and Pam Bliss—met for the July 9 hike. Rather than do the Ellis-Survey loop, as originally planned, we decided to do the Survey Trail as an in-out hike, avoiding the open meadow of the Ellis Trail on a hot, sunny day. The Survey Trail is cool and shaded, and along the way we found the Start of the Wars of the Roses (1455) Medallion Tree. We also took the short but steep trek up the 10K Trail to the Del Agua Overlook, where, as an added bonus, Ashley and Thomas … Read the rest