Valles Caldera hike

Penstemons

Earlier this year I wrote about the Valles Caldera, VC, and how I was going to get back for more hiking.  In late May we had several forest fires go through the area one of which went through a portion of the VC.  The VC closed around Memorial Day weekend and I wasn’t certain when it would open again.  Around mid July I looked at their calendar and saw they had just opened up and they were hosting their ‘Wildflowers’ guided hike.  I wanted to make this hike hoping to see many wildflowers in the VC so I made my reservation….

Valles Caldera entrance

When I arrived I stopped to look over the VC to see what the fire had done to the area.  I could see many small patches of blackened trees but in general there was a lot more green than black.  While on the hike Carmen, our guide, said overall the Thompson Ridge fire was a ‘good’ fire.  It burned off a lot of the low growing plants and debris but did not do much harm to the forest.  The fire basically ‘cleaned out’ the forest.

As we started our drive to our hiking destination we went by a large prairie dog town with a badger looking for lunch.  This is the first time I have ever seen a badger in the wild, it looked like a very short dog with a long fur coat.  The prairie dogs were very agile and at least this time did not end up on the badger’s dinner plate.

The hike itself is not on any trail; instead we drove around several of the small hill tops within the caldera to the edge of an open field.  From there we will hike across the field to a saddle in the mountains to see how wildflowers are coming back from the Los Conchas fire which went through the area in 2011.  The area is quite green at this time because of the recent rains that came which also helped extinguish the fires in the area.  Along with the herd of elk which call this area home, ranching is also done in the open areas of the VC so one has to watch where they step.  Several cows were giving us the eye as we were hiking through ‘their land’.

At the start of the trip I was not certain what to expect, I knew there would be wildflowers just not how many.  Looking at the overall photos of the area you see green.  The wildflowers are there you just have to stop and look.  I took photos of several of them but didn’t stop for every type.

Carmen also spoke of pollinators.  That makes me think of bees, butterflies and the wind but not much more than that.  She pointed out that ants, bats, hummingbirds, beetles and anything else that gets into flowers are also pollinators.

There are nine of us in this hike.  Carmen emailed us early in the week to be ready for rain and to bring rain gear along with drinking water and lunch.  With all the storms that had been going through the area one had better listen to the advice.

Aster

The ride to the trailhead took about 30 minutes of riding with occasional bouncing on gravel roads.  Parts of the road wash out from downpours with accompanying heavy runoff.  We joked that it’s a good thing there are nine of us, if we get stuck there are eight pushers and one driver.  Along the way we saw a number of cowboys herding their cattle.  We also saw a number of English horse riders.

Bell flower

All along the way Carmen pointed out wildflowers.  Some were in large colonies but many times they were in clumps of ones and twos.  Large clumps of grass were repopulating the area.  Where the fire was intense the clumps were still brown and lifeless but for the most part new grasses were pushing up from the old clumps.

As we were hiking the clouds kept building.  For the most part they were behind us, in the direction of the parked van now over a mile away.  We kept hiking enjoying the wildflowers and just getting back out into the natural world.  As we approached the saddle we decided to stop before getting into the middle of the trees.  We had a quick course on where to go when a thunder storm is in the area, not in the middle of the trees!  We had lunch and watched the storm move through the area.  I counted the number of seconds between the lighting and thunder something I learned as a child and have done ever since.  The storm was better than 5 miles away.  It was heavy in spots, one could not see through the downpour in localized areas.  We finished lunch and saw another storm appear to our left and decided to stay put and put on rain gear while we were still dry.  We waited out a 45 minute storm of continuous rain, heavy at times with occasional half-pea sized hail.  I’m happy to say my rain gear held up, jacket and pants.  This was my first hike where I needed my rain gear. My hiking boots newly covered with water repellent did not fare so well.

After the storm passed we all came out mostly, but not entirely, dry and decided we could pass on the rest of the hike enjoying instead a soggy hike back to the van.

On the return trip we saw a number of red-tailed hawks, elk and coyotes.  We all got back happy and a bit soggy but at least for me I’m ready to do it again.

Allium

 

Penstemon

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Thank you for stopping by,

Mark