Taos Part 3

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When we had driven to Angel Fire a few days ago, we had passed several trailheads that seemed fairly popular so we investigated what hikes start from there. The El Nogal trailhead is in the Carson National Forest and the parking area has room for about 3 dozen vehicles. We pulled in on a Saturday morning and the lot was almost full. Fortunately there was a spot since we didn’t have a plan B. There are at least five different hikes that start from this location. I suspect the most popular one is to Devisadero Peak on the other side of the road, but that hike was a bit longer than we were looking for. We opt for the South Boundary Trail which starts here and heads generally east for over 20 miles. Obviously that is much longer than we are looking to hike but there is a section of it that goes to the first peak. AllTrails lists this one as 3.8 miles out and back with almost 1000 feet of elevation gain. From the reviews, the views are worth the effort plus there were 2 geocaches to find along the way.

View from South Boundary Trail

The hike is one continuous uphill hike with an average grade of 10% so it was a decent workout. There are several switchbacks along the way to help with the steepness of the climb. The good thing was there are views along the way so we can see how our elevation has improved our scenery.

Chris Waits at Switchback

Stopping for the one cache partway up and checking out the wildflowers in bloom helped to break up the hike. There were some rather rocky sections that were somewhat challenging. The unexpected thing is that mountain biking is permitted on it. Now, we didn’t actually see anybody crazy enough to be biking this up or down, but there were some signs of bike tracks so there are some adventurous cyclists in the area.

Vibrant Red Flowers

Views Improve as We Climb

Rocky Section of Trail

The second cache was hidden at the first peak, so we didn’t miss the spur trail that leads to the overlook. Without having the geocache, we likely would have missed this side trail and just kept on hiking the main trail. There is a bit of a rock ledge that creates a nice place to sit for a snack and enjoy the great views of Taos. The cache was hidden just over the ledge but the drop off isn’t super steep and with a little patience and a lot of caution, I was able to make the find.

View at "First Peak"

View to the South

The hike back down was much less strenuous although the one rocky sections were somewhat treacherous. It was only a 2 hour hike plus the 15 minute break up top so it wasn’t a huge hike but pretty nonetheless.

Prickly Pear Cactus in Bloom

The next day had a weather forecast that was a bit questionable so a big hike was ill advised. But we still wanted to get out and do something. We were camped about 45 miles from the Colorado state line to the north. We didn’t have a geocache in the county in that part of the state, but we didn’t really want to drive all that way just for a cache on the other side of the welcome to Colorado sign. When we looked to see what was along the drive, we discovered the Red River Trout Hatchery was just 2 miles off the road we would be traveling near the town of Questa New Mexico. 

We had just driven north to Colorado for our train ride a few days ago and it had been a rather boring drive. The road we would be traveling this time was more or less parallel to the other road but just 20 to 25 miles to the east so we were envisioning it would be about the same scenery. We were way off base. Much of the drive was in the mountains and was rather beautiful. We got to the road to the hatchery and started down the road. It was in good shape but does drop over 700 feet in that short of distance.

Red River Trout Hatchery

The were no cars on the visitor parking lot but it appeared to be open and there were signs directing us on the self guided tour. The first building has a room with some information displays about rainbow trout and fishing in New Mexico. Outside is a small pond with a fair number of larger trout swimming around.

Trout

We continue following the signs up to a very large building with a roof but just fencing for the walls. We are a little cautious with the fence since there were signs explaining the fence is electrified to keep out otters. We could look through the fence and see dozens of holding tanks inside. There was one tank in particular that was nearly completely full of the fish.

Tanks Inside Large Building

Overcrowded Trout Tank

A second building has a small room that visitors can enter and see through some windows some of the smaller tanks that must be used earlier in the process. There wasn’t a whole lot to see here and we didn’t notice any workers wandering around that we could ask questions. As we retraced our steps, we spotted a couple of the little guys that must have shown off how high and far they could jump out of the water which led to their untimely demise.

Smaller Tanks

Escaped the Tank

We had noticed a sign when driving in for fishing access so we drove that way before heading out. There were lots of cars in this area and many people sitting around a half acre pond - I’ll assume a well stocked pond. There is also a small stream that runs through the property and is likely where the hatchery gets its water for the holding tanks from. There is supposedly a trail by this stream but it was so overgrown that we decided to skip the walk and just watch the couple of guys fishing in the stream.

Anglers in Stream

We head back up to the main road and continue north through the town of Questa before reaching the Colorado state line where we pulled over to get a picture and sign the log for the geocache.

Welcome to Colorado

We had mostly accomplished our main goal, but I had previously discovered there was a short walk in the town of San Luis Colorado just under 20 miles further north. The weather was still cooperating so we drove into what is touted as the oldest town in Colorado - established in 1851. In the distance we could see the hill with on the side of town with the white stones stating this fact as well.

Welcome to San Luis

Our goal here was to hike up the hill to a shrine. Coming from the downtown area, the trail goes up 180 feet past the Stations of the Cross. As we started the walk, we could see some very dark clouds off to the west. A quick check of the weather app made us suspect we can walk the mile or so before the rain would reach us.

Start of Stations of the Cross Walk

Chapel Atop Hill

The sculptures at each station are quite well done and very detailed.

Jesus Falls the First Time

Veronica Wipes the Face of Jesus

We continue up to the chapel sitting atop the hill. There were no cars or people up here but the doors were unlocked so we took a look inside.

Chapel

Inside Chapel

It is a pretty but simple design without lots of ornate features. There were some stained glass windows.

Rather Simple Altar

Stained Glass

We were a bit concerned about the approaching rain so we didn’t stay too long. We saw there is another building a few hundred feet to the east that appears to be some sort of conference or education facility. We made it back down the hill and to the car just as a couple of sprinkles started.

Mural in Downtown San Luis

We had our lunch along so we drove to a small park we had passed about 5 miles outside of town. They had a restroom and some picnic tables next to some sort of manmade pond. We parked in the shade of a big tree to eat lunch and watched as another storm started up over the mountains to the south. We got to drive through some rain on the way back to camp and had a rainy afternoon which kept us inside the rest of the day.

The next day, the weather seemed to have improved with a chance of scattered afternoon showers. We decided to try a more strenuous hike north of camp and get an early enough start to eliminate the rain chance. The Cebolla Mesa Trail starts at primitive camping area 800 feet above the Rio Grande River. We head out around 8:30 and make the turn onto FR 9 which will take us to the trailhead. The road in is about 3.3 miles long and dirt heading downhill losing just over 500 feet in that distance. We were worried how bad it might be from yesterday’s rain but it seems to be okay.

Dirt Road to Trailhead

We were heading down the trail into the canyon just a little after 9 AM which is fairly early for us! The bulk of the elevation drop is in the first 3/4 mile with numerous switchbacks. It was nice because we were in the shade of the canyon for most of the downhill section.

View at Top

Starting Down Switchbacks

Nice Canyon View

We are near the river by the 1 mile mark. The trail then heads upstream along the river but is probably 40 to 50 feet above the water. The trail continues for about 3.25 miles. There are some side trails that head back up the canyon wall to other parking areas but our goal is to stay along the water until we think we have reached our half energy point - trying to factor in the fact we will have a tough climb back up.

Trail Along Rio Grande River

After another quarter mile, we reach a bridge over a side stream that flows into the main river.

Bridge Over Tributary

It is a beautiful area and the trail is in nice condition. Not much beyond the bridge is the first remote campsite along the trail. I was expecting a simple flat spot with a fire ring but we found there was an actual shelter and picnic table as well.

Camping Shelter Below

At roughly 1.6 miles, we intersect the first trail that heads up the canyon to another camping area on top of the mesa called La Junta. We veer to the left to stay on the river trail.

La Junta Above Us

Prickly Pear Cactus Bloom

We were surprised to see a short section of the trail was very close to the water level. It would seem that periodic flooding might pose an issue but the trail was fine. There was one section with a major rock slide but it happened long enough that the trail across the slide zone was fairly obvious but did require care when crossing - twisting an ankle at this point would be bad news.

Near Water Level

Rock Slide Area

Beautiful Claret Cup Cactus Blooms

We came upon another camping area around 2.4 miles into the hike. We decide to take advantage of the shade from the shelter and have our PB&J sandwiches while listening to the water rushing nearby. It was only a little after 11 at this point but we felt the amenities were worth stopping early. While sitting there, we thought we hear thunder in the distance. We didn’t really see any threatening clouds to the north but we had just enough cell coverage to eventually get the weather radar app to show where the storm was. It looked pretty far away and seemed to be moving in a direction that shouldn’t affect us but we decided to we shouldn’t push our luck and start to head back.

Chris in the Shade for Lunch Stop

Heading Back

It was neat to see things along the river coming in the opposite direction. We stopped at the other camping area to finish our sandwiches and now the storm seemed to be getting closer. We made it across the bridge and approached the start of the climb. There were still the clouds to the north and they were getting closer, but there were also some dark clouds approaching from the west. We were just about ready to start the climb when a couple with their two dogs came down past us. We were a bit incredulous that they would be heading in given the conditions surrounding us. We asked if they were okay and they claimed that they checked the radar and the storms were not going to hit here. I felt a bit sorry for the dogs since they probably could sense the impending storm and really wanted to turn around. I know our dog Shelby would have been very good at getting us to get away from the storm.

I won’t claim we “flew” up the trail but we were moving pretty good. By now, it was clear the storm to the north was intense but we were still dry and only had half the climb remaining when another couple started down past us. We asked if they were concerned about the storm but they just shrugged it off.

Dark Clouds to the North

We started to feel the first sprinkles just a couple minutes before we got back to the car. So we had made it back safely and dry - except for the sweat. The hike ended up being 5.4 miles and 1388 feet of elevation gain and my heart rate had gotten quite high during the accelerated climb. We knew the road would be a real mess if we got into a downpour before making it to pavement. It started to rain on the drive out but not enough yet to make the dirt road muddy. When we turned south on the main paved road, we assumed we were home free.

You know what they say about assuming? We probably should not have considered the drive home to be an easy one. A few miles down the road, the rain really started to come down hard. Wipers on full had a hard time keeping up. Then a few miles later the noise of the drops changed to something louder. Sure enough, it was now hailing pretty hard. It was difficult to tell just how big the hail was but it sounded large. The road started to be completely covered in hail and our speed was quite slow. There wasn’t a safe place to pull off until we got to the little town of Arroyo Hondo. There was a store/dinner/gas station so we pulled into the parking lot. The area under the canopy for the gas pumps was already full of vehicles so we just pull to the side to wait it out. I did feel sorry for the guy on a motorcycle. The outside temperature had dropped into the 40’s and the hailstorm lasted another 5 minutes or so. It looked like most of the hail was around pea sized with a few a bit bigger.

A Lot of Hail

Hail Closeup

As we pulled back onto the road, it truly looked like there was about 2 inches of hail on the road - enough that a snow plow could have been used. We drove a few more miles in rain before it stopped completely. We were a bit concerned about how bad it was back at the motorhome given our roof is covered in solar panels. We pulled into the campground and everything was dry. I spoke with the guy that has been working on the shelter next to our rig and said it hadn’t stormed here. I took a quick look at the Jeep to see if we had hail damage but it seemed to be fine - thank goodness! I later found a map that showed where the worst of the storm was and much of it was over the mountains east of us. An exciting way to end a great hike.

Hail Map (X = camp)