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Today’s hike in the Apache Kid Wilderness was our second visit to this remote area in the San Mateo Mountains and the second time that we didn’t accomplish the hike that we set out to do. Which, by no means, detracted from our enjoyment of the hikes. Without a 4-wheel drive vehicle we often find on Forest Service roads that we have to change our planned itinerary.

We first attempted the 14-mile drive over rough Forest Road 225 in February. Our plan was to park at Springtime Campground where the Apache Kid Trail starts. We got within a mile or two of the campground before we had to turn around because the snow on the road was more than our car could safely navigate. On the way in we had passed the trailhead for the Indian Creek trail. Turning around, we drove to that trail for an enjoyable hike.

The third week in August we knew snow wouldn’t be an issue. Our plan this trip was to camp at Springtime Campground and then hike the Apache Kid Trail the next morning to the San Mateo Lookout. This isn’t snow season in New Mexico but it is monsoon season.

We got to camp Wednesday just in time to sit in our shelter and watch the rainstorm, accompanied with a good amount of hail. The rain stopped in time to fix dinner and take an evening walk. But then at bedtime it started to rain again. As we listened to the rain throughout the night we didn’t have to worry about getting wet. But we did worry about how wet the road was getting. There were some bad spots we remembered that could easily get impassable without 4-wheel drive. As dawn approached the rain had quit but it looked like it might start up again at any time.

We debated whether to immediately drive out or to take our chances on the weather and hike as planned. It was early enough that we decided to hike and then if the weather didn’t improve we could turn around. Sometimes it looked like the clouds were moving out but they never got far before moving back over the sun. As we climbed higher up the trail the views were impressive, even if somewhat lost in the cloud cover.

After hiking 3 miles we decided to turn around and leave the goal of reaching the lookout for another trip. Back on the dirt road it was evident that the previous night’s rain had eroded some new gullies but, fortunately, there weren’t any spots that our car couldn’t handle. I love the remoteness of the Apache Kid Wilderness, but to really do it justice we will have to have a different vehicle. Darn those renegade Apaches.

Summer seemed like a good season to plan a visit to Glacier National Park. We could combine it with stops to see family in Idaho and Montana, giving us a two-week escape from the summer heat of Albuquerque.

What we didn’t know about our planned travel time is that there are actually 6 seasons in that part of the country. We learned the 6 seasons from an old-timer in Salmon, Idaho–Winter, Mud, Spring, Summer, Smoke and Fall. The time we had picked was in the middle of Smoke season.

When we drove towards Glacier through the mountain pass east of Provo, Utah, and for the first time viewed the smokey haze that hung over the valley, I thought that there must be a forest fire somewhere in the area. But when I asked the clerk who checked us into our motel room, I was told that it was smoke drifting in from forest fires as far away as British Columbia, Canada. Throughout the week we learned of other fires in Montana, Idaho, and Washington. We never figured out the specifics of where the fires were and if/when they were brought under control. But every day for the next 11 days we were surrounded by the lingering effects of thousands of acres of forest land reduced to smoke and ash.

Smoke season may not have been the best time to visit Glacier, but the park scenery is so stunning that every hike we did was a new thrill, leaving us with no regrets about our week there. If I were to make a visit there again I think that I would do it in the fall. Smoke season, as well as the tourist season, should be over by then. The season for wildflowers would be over, too, so I’d have to convince Lee that it would be possible to enjoy the visit even without being able to collect hundreds of wildflower photos. And, speaking of photos, here is a link some of the Glacier photos that I collected.