Uncategorized – Page 30 – Living Wonderously

On The Trail Again

We’ve had so many back-to-back trips lately that there hasn’t been any time in over a month for us to plan a local hike in our favorite spots around Albuquerque. Today we finally had the time to get back out on familiar trails.

With all we’ve had going on, it felt good to have a day with nothing scheduled. We weren’t in a rush in the morning to make up our minds where to go or to get ourselves ready. Since it’s a short drive to get to the hiking trails on the east side of the Sandias, we decided to hike on the 10K Trail, maybe making a loop or just an out-and-back depending on how we felt.

What we failed to account for is that it is still the monsoon season around here, which means an afternoon thunderstorm can quickly build up in the mountains, while it’s still hot and sunny in town. And that’s exactly what happened. Our loop took us up to the North Crest for a nice overlook lunch spot, but as we turned around to head back we could see the dark clouds beginning to form.

We walked back on the Ellis Trail, which is not as forested as the 10K Trail. I was getting nervous on the exposed slopes when I began to see lightning and hear thunder. Fortunately, before the storm hit we had looped back to the 10K and were under cover of the trees. What surprised us the most was starting to see hailstones bouncing on the trail and then suddenly we were getting pounded by hail before it began to rain in earnest. Typical of storms around here, though, it didn’t last very long. In less than 20 minutes we were back to the car and the storm had stopped.

Driving back down the mountain the road was slick and white, covered with hail, looking like a winter storm had hit. The temperature had dropped to 52 degrees. Back in Albuquerque, which is only a 30-mile drive, the temperature was 94 degrees. It was hard to believe that just a short time before we had been wet and cold. It’s like a different world when you go from the desert up into the mountains. One of the best things about living here is how quickly you can go from one to the other. There’s nothing quite as refreshing as a hike in the mountains on a hot summer day, hailstorm and all. I’m thankful we finally had the time to get back on the trail.

View from North Crest, looking south towards Albuquerque.

From North Crest looking towards Rio Rancho.

We took a shortcut from the Ellis Trail back to the 10K by walking along the power line.

Stalagmite Sitting

Reading the signs as we walked through the Lost World underground caverns at Lewisburg, WV, I knew I could refresh my memory of stalactites versus stalagmites, but I didn’t expect to learn that there was a World Record for “stalagmite sitting” and it was set right here at Lost World. As we stood gazing up at the 28-foot high stalagmite called The War Club, on which the event took place, it was hard to imagine who in their right mind would do such a thing. Bob Addis in 1971 spent 15 days, 23 hours and 22 minutes sitting on a small platform built on the 4-foot diameter peak of the column. I guess “flagpole sitting” was once a fad and maybe that’s where he got the idea. But thinking of all that time hunched in a cold, dark, drippy cave gave me extra shivers beyond what I already felt in the 52 degrees underground chill.

The War Club, stalagmite on which the event took place.

IMG_20150723_124126404 — Flowstone Formation

Besides gazing up at cave formations, we also got to shine flashlights down into holes and passageways filled with unknown mysteries. One hole we were particularly interested to peer into was the one in the center of the cave where the sign explained how the cave had been discovered in 1942. For years before that discovery, the farmer who owned the surrounding land had been making use of a hole in one of his fields as a convenient place to dispose of animal carcasses and other debris. He didn’t know how deep the hole was but knew it was deep enough that he couldn’t hear things hit the bottom. When some cave explorers heard about the hole and talked to the farmer he said they were welcome to check it out. Letting himself down the hole with a rope, one of the men reached the 120 foot bottom, and was excited to discover that he was in the middle of a vast underground cavern.

In the years since the cave’s discovery a new opening with steps and a walkway was constructed at one end of the cave so tourists like us could explore it without climbing down a rope ladder. But when you get halfway through the tour you can climb up a platform that is below the natural opening. This allows you to look down at the pile of bones and junk that had collected for years at the bottom, as well as looking up at the daylight through the natural opening above.

Looking up at daylight through the hole that opened up in the farmer’s field to the cave below.

Fun stuff for 2 young boys and always a delight for grandparents to take the grandkids on new adventures. You never know what World Records your grandkids might end up setting (sitting?)