More Jemez Mountains

A couple weeks after our trip to the East Fork of the Jemez River Byron and I decided to return to a different part of the mountains.  He wanted a different stream to fish and I wanted a different area to photograph.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

New growth

We started at the Rio Guadalupe, later in the day, a few miles upstream we hit the Rio De Las Vacas.  There are quite a number a ‘rivers’ in the area and I had to pull out the Santa Fe National Forest map to determine which river is what and where.  I don’t think I have enough time or space on this blog to describe this part of the Jemez river system.  I have it straight in my mind but I am not so sure of the people that have fished the area for years know where one starts and the other one ends.

Not Saturn, just bubbles on the river

Our first stop was on the Guadalupe, there seem to be very few points where there is easy access.  We pulled over at a parking area reasoning that there must be an ‘official’ trail, after all there is an official parking area.  We followed along the open areas and after several minutes of back tracking and looking over steep inclines found the path of least resistance.  By the time we got down to the river it actually looked like a trail.  The river here is gorgeous with lots of boulders, pools, small waterfalls and lots of holes to fish.  There were lots of small bugs flying around the area.  Byron was able to name most of the bugs and attached the appropriate fly to his line and went after fish.  I am not a fly fisherman so to me they are bugs, they didn’t bite so I let them live.  He was successful after a few casts with his first of many catches.

Rocky Mountain Iris

I climbed and scrambled around and over rocks and boulders over about a 200’ of shoreline.  I got several shots along the river then went up into the trees and open areas along the river.  Some plants had already flowered and others were still working up to that point.  I’m sure the drought we are in makes for a very short flowering season.  One of the plants I’ve included is totally foreign to me.  If anyone can identify it please let me know.

What is it???

We started our return by way of the trail we came down on but quickly lost the trail.  With Byron using his GPS and me using my compass we  found our way back to familiar surroundings which led us to the car.

Life returning

After a few hours on the Guadalupe we drove up to the Rio de Las Vacas.  This area is very open with meadows on either side of the river.  The road is quite close to the river so there was no finding of the official trail.  While Byron kept on fishing I decided to cross the road and go into the forest.  There have been wild fires on and off in this area over the past few years and on our drive up here we saw many blackened parts right alongside the road.  The burn areas are fairly wide spread here.  Burn patches 20' – 30’ in diameter are scattered but it is mainly just dried needles in this area telling me this was on the edge of one of the fires.

The first thing I noticed when walking here is that the burn smell still lingers.  You don’t smell it all the time but if you step into a blackened area the odor fills the air.  I had to look but did see grasses and flowers growing and blooming in the middle of some of the blackened spots.

Byron had more successes in catching fish on the De Las Vacas and is eager to return again.  We drove further upstream along the river and saw many families camping.  I’m sure it’s not usually this crowded but this was Memorial Day weekend and they were out for the unofficial start of summer.

On the return drive we stopped at the Jemez pueblo to watch some Native American dancers.  They also had an art and craft show going on selling Native American pottery and jewelry.

 

 

On a sad note:  As of last Friday, May 31, several forest fires have started in the area.  One of them is probably within 5 miles of our last two hiking/fishing expeditions.  As of this morning the fires had expanded to just over 6,000 acres and I’m sure will continue to grow before it is under control.  I’m asking you to think of us and pray for rain.

Thank you for stopping by,

Mark