Date: 2003-08-03
To: santa fe baldy (the cowboy way)
Miles today: 0.0

now, i¢m not the weatherman (although- i do know the weatherman and he is a good friend of mine. sometimes goes by the name of shoeless jon, jon j joffner, or don ofer-formerly of the don ofer band-you may remember them from the great tie down tour of ¢73), but i should like to think that i have been playing this game long enough to be able to read the weather correctly more times than not.yesterday, when i climbed up on my roof at one o¢clock in the afternoon and looked up past the santa fe ski area toward santa fe baldy i could clearly see that the mountain was getting slammed- thunder, lightning, and rain- all the good stuff. so, i decided to give it a couple of hours and wait to see what might happen. i climbed onto the roof again at three o¢clock and, even though the skies above santa fe were almost pitch black, i could tell that the skies above the mountains looked promising. it was still fairly cloudy where i was headed, but i could tell that it wasn¢t going to rain. i¢ll say it again- i may not be the weatherman, but i can read the weather.it was time to get things done. i was going to park at the ski basin, hike to santa fe baldy (elevation: 12,622 feet), and do some cowboy camping (you know the kind- no tent, no tarp, just you and the stars, your saddle as your pillow- okay, so maybe i wouldn¢t use my saddle as my pillow, but that is the way that the real cowboys do it). now, we all know that i¢m not a real cowboy in the true sense of the word. i don¢t have the appropriate boots (with spurs, of course) or hat. i don¢t wear a six-shooter at my side. i don¢t wear chaps. i don¢t even like horses. (of course, that all goes back to the time that i was bitten by a horse when i was four. i¢ve never met a horse that i liked since that day). and, i will probably take a tarp with me on this little venture. although, i do admire real cowboys and can appreciate what they stand for. i have often thought that i might like to have been a real cowboy in the wild west. boots (with spurs, of course), hat, six-shooter at my side, chaps strapped to my legs, my saddle as my pillow- the works. heck, maybe i would have even been a sheriff in the wild west. then, i could have walked around with a badge pinned proudly to my chest announcing to any and all who may cross my path that i was the law. so, i may not be a cowboy in the true sense of the word, but i am a cowboy in this sense- it all goes back to a little conversation that my friend, valley girl, and i had on the AT last summer. it went something to this effect:valley girl and i were talking about females and relationships and all that crap. i told him (yes, valley girl is a him) that unless i could find a girl that was down with my vagabond ways, then i didn¢t know how i would ever get a girlfriend. he told me that i was looking at it all wrong. he said that i shouldn¢t think of it as being like a vagabond and having vagabond ways, but as being like a cowboy. cowboys always got the girl and they were nothing more than high plains drifters. there was just something about the cowboy that was very appealing to women. so, i¢m not a vagabond. i¢m a cowboy. i¢m a cowboy and i have cowboy ways. and, i¢m going cowboy camping.can you say tangent?let us move right along now.so, i gathered my gear (what little gear i was taking), drove to the trailhead, and set off on the windsor trail- probably the most heavily used trail in the area. (my watch read- four pm when i began hiking). within the first half mile from the parking lot i crossed paths with at least twenty hikers. i ran into two backpackers that were defeatedly returning to their car. they had been caught in the earlier storm- which consisted of not only thunder, lightning, rain, and hail; but, also sleet. they had gotten slammed, taken refuge in their tent, flirted with hypothermia (i know that game all too well), and decided enough was enough. they looked like someone had taken them out back and opened a can on them. i told them that maybe next time they would have better luck and they told me to be careful because it looked like it might rain again. i told them (along with countless other hikers that i spoke to) that it wasn¢t going to rain again.after a half mile on the windsor trail, i cut off onto a side trail that followed a ridge, climbing 1600 feet over two miles, to meet with the skyline trail at lake peak (elevation: 12,404 feet). from lake peak i had a grand view of things. i could see that santa fe was finally getting some much needed rain. i could see nambe lake below me. i could see santa fe baldy in front of me. in the distance, behind santa fe baldy, were more of the high peaks of the sangre de cristo mountains- pecos baldy, truchas peak, middle truchas peak, and north truchas peak. the sky around me was still filled with the grayness of recent rain clouds and there was one beam of late afternoon sun illuminating these high peaks of the sangre de cristo. it was an incredible sight.i sat and admired the view for a while before pushing on. when i finally did continue moving, the skyline trail took me over penitente peak and onto a grassy ridge. the ridge was fantastic- high and exposed, scattered with large boulders, covered with wildflowers. i took my time traversing the ridge before the trail started to descend for 12 a mile in order to meet back up with the windsor trail. i soon entered a dense spruce forest, walking along a well-graded trail, the soft cushion of pine needles beneath my feet- it was easy going. i met up with and walked the same footpath as the windsor trail for another 12 mile before the two trails split at puerto nambe.i reached puerto nambe at just after 7:30. puerto nambe is a large meadow that sits at about 10,600 feet- scattered with wildflowers, coniferous trees, and cow dung. it is at the base of santa fe baldy. it is a very popular place for camping. i passed a few tents as i continued on the skyline trail and began the ascent of santa fe baldy ridge. as i walked i could see the ridgeline a thousand feet above me. and, a thousand feet above the ridge was my destination: the summit of santa fe baldy.by the time i reached the ridge, it was after eight o¢clock. the sun was nearing the horizon. it was just peaking out from under the clouds. i knew that it would be setting as i reached the summit. i could see that to the east a few new clouds were heading in my direction. at the top of the ridge i left the skyline trail, which continued to lake katherine (one of many alpine lakes in the pecos wilderness- it is said to be the most pristine alpine lake), and, then, deeper into the pecos wilderness.from the top of the ridge i started my last mile and last thousand foot climb of the day. it was by far the longest, most difficult mile that i have done in a long time. as i climbed the ridge towards the summit, i began to experience the most excruciating pain in my legs. every step i took sent a jolt of pain down the length of each leg. add that to the fact that my head started hurting in the worst possible way. i wanted to lay down and die. i am going to attribute the onset of these symptoms to the elevation. i don¢t know that i have ever hiked at that altitude before. naturally, all of this made for a very long and difficult final mile.just as i finished the push towards the summit, i was enveloped in a cloud. i could no longer see the valley below me. i could no longer see the distant high peaks of the sangre de cristo. i could barely see twenty feet in front of me. the wind picked up. the temperature began to drop. a light mist started to fall. (was it really falling or was it just there since i was actually in the cloud?)i took refuge behind a small clump of rocks long enough to put on my fleece shirt and rain jacket before pushing on. i only walked a hundred more yards before finding what i was looking for- a large boulder with a light overhang that i could take refuge behind. 12,600 feet is no place to get caught in the rain. especially at dusk, with howling winds, and fifty degree temperatures. when i got behind the boulder it offered a little protection from the elements. i got my tarp from my backpack (a tarp which i actually found tangled in some thorns on the summit of max patch mountain in north carolina) and placed it over my legs. i put some rocks around the edges to keep it from blowing away.there i sat- at 12,600 feet, a quarter mile from the summit of santa fe baldy, the last light of the day quickly slipping away, the wind gusting around me, visibility at twenty feet, the temperature in the upper forties, and a light rain falling. (wait a second. did you say rain? i thought it wasn¢t going to rain anymore. yeah, well, i think it is a different story when you¢re actually in the cloud). can it get any better than this? i don¢t think so. absolutely incredible. a great way to end a great day.as the sun set, i sat behind my boulder, beneath my tarp, a slight chill setting in, and i thanked God for this great day and for giving me the strength to get to this point. i thanked Him for this great creation and this opportunity to experience it up close and personal. i thanked Him for my health and my safety as well. i was completely content.it wasn¢t long before the rain stopped and the cloud that i had been sitting in moved on towards the western horizon. the valley opened up and before me were the early evening lights of santa fe sitting 5,000 feet below me. i cooked dinner and watched as more and more lights came on. it wasn¢t long before i had eaten and was full, and santa fe was bright with the nighttime lights. there were so many of them and they were so bright that i didn¢t need my headlamp to see my surroundings.i got up and stretched my legs, walking in the direction of the summit proper. i did a little exploring, looking for the best place to bed down for the night. i found what could be considered a small cave in a group of boulders that could provide excellent cover if a storm should blow up. in the cave i found the droppings of what i deduced to be a marmot (thanks to my mammals of north america book). i decided to let the marmot have its little cave for the night and returned to my boulder. having somewhat acclimated to the altitude, i was feeling much better. the clouds were breaking up above me, revealing a few stars here and there.i got out my sleeping bag and put it between the folds of my tarp. i again covered the edges with rocks to keep it from blowing away. i secured my camera in its waterproof sack, and then in a garbage bag, and then in the depths of my small backpack. i finished off the last of the gatorade that i¢d brought with me to have as a summit celebration (or, more importantly, to replenish my fluids). i tidied my little camp, settled into my sleeping bag, checked my thermometer- 45 degrees, and finally turned off my headlamp at 10:15.i was exhausted.the lights of santa fe were my nightlight, illuminating things just enough to keep the monsters away, as i quickly drifted off to sleep.someone once told me that ¢the stars are but a glimpse of heaven teasing us with eternity.¢ i now know what that person was talking about. i woke up at three o¢clock this morning to a cloudless, star-filled sky. there were so many of them. more stars than i have ever seen. and, they seemed so close. much closer and much bigger than the stars that i am used to seeing. the stars truly are but a glimpse of heaven teasing us with eternity. it really gives a person something to look forward to.i awoke again at just before five o¢clock. just as i opened my eyes i saw a shooting star streak across the sky. a magnificent way to start my day. the stars were still shining bright above me as santa fe was still shining bright below me. i wish that i could turn off the lights of santa fe so that i could look upon the stars without interruption.after gazing at the sky for a while, i decided that it was time to get up and walk to the summit of santa fe baldy. i put my sleeping bag in my pack and began to slowly walk the quarter mile (gaining twenty-two feet in elevation in the process) to the cairn marking the actual summit at 12,622 feet. along the way i passed a 30 foot by 5 foot swath of snow. yes, today is the third day of august and i did, in fact, just say- snow.i reached the tower of rocks marking the summit and found the usgs marker a few feet away. i also found the place where i will lay my head for the night the next time i am on santa fe baldy- a perfect patch of grass and wildflowers not ten feet from the very top of the mountain.i sat on a rock at the base of the cairn and watched as the eastern horizon began to dance the dance of the approaching light of day. the sky turned from night to a dark gray. next came a lighter gray. traces of a pale pink began to show up in spots. it then added in a reddish color in various places. take out the pink and replace it with more of a fuchsia, or maybe almost a magenta, and then throw almost a hot pink into the mix. add some pale oranges and yellows with the approaching sun. bring the high peaks of the sangre de cristo into focus. there is the mighty truchas peak, standing proud at 13,103 feet, silhouetted against the colors of dawn. the deepest orange lies just at the horizon, growing deeper and deeper as daybreak draws near.and, there it is.the sun bursts up and over the horizon, bathing everything in its path in a bright light. i close my eyes and breath deep as the first rays of light touch my face. this is a new day. this day will unfold before me in whatever manner i chose. this day will be what i make of it. this is my day. no. this is the Lord¢s day.everything is bright with light now. the sky above me is a deep blue. tiny butterflies hover all around the wildflowers on the summit. lake katherine reflects the early morning sun seven hundred feet below me. it is forty degrees and i am not cold. i am too excited to be cold. i have just witnessed the most stunning sunrise of my life. after sitting, soaking up the light of day for who knows how long, i give a quick thanks to the Lord and return to my boulder to pack up the rest of my belongings.i am surprised to learn that it is only 7:15 as i start making my way back down the rocky trail towards the junction with the skyline trail. i can see people up and moving around outside of their tents far below on puerto nambe. the rays of the sun haven¢t yet made their way down into the meadow.by the time i hike down to the skyline trail and descend to puerto nambe, the tents have been packed up and the people are gone. they are somewhere on the trail ahead of me. i soon come to the junction with the windsor trail and decide to follow it all the way back to the trailhead instead of going back the way a came yesterday. this will cut two miles off my hike today. it isn¢t long before a catch up to and pass four guys with a dog. they are the ones that were camping at puerto nambe. i bid them a good morning and quickly leave them behind.now, i thought i was pretty tough, pretty hardcore because i cowboy camped at 12,600 feet last night. i am tough and i am hardcore for doing that. but, i¢m not quite as tough or hardcore as the six guys that i met on my way back to the trailhead. they were all spread out at various distances and heading up the trail towards me. i met the first guy not long after i passed the campers from puerto nambe. i looked up from the trail to see a man running towards me. i stopped and watched as he ran right by me. i hadn¢t gotten much further down the trail when another runner came by. and another. and another. and so and so forth. six or seven guys were out running the windsor trail this morning. none of them seemed to be tired or even breathing heavy. i finally stopped and talked to a guy that was hiking with his daughter about these runners. he told me that they do this almost every sunday. they run what they call the three peaks- up to santa fe baldy, back to penitente peak, and over to the radio towers at the top of the ski basin. three peaks that are over 12,000 feet. a total distance of over twelve miles. the guy i was talking to said that a couple of them will finish in about two hours. most of them will finish in less than three hours. i¢m thinking that maybe i need to start running with these guys. i¢m thinking that if i do that, i will be in very good shape when i start hiking in october.i¢m also thinking that the next time i want to do some cowboy camping, i¢m going for the big dog- truchas peak (elevation: 13,103).