As usual spring weather is unpredictable. If you live in the New Mexico you know spring
is synonymous with wind. As we plan our
hike we are watching for wind. I have seen
my fly fishing buddies battling the wind and it usually makes for a very long day.
We have two hikes in mind; one to find the ever elusive
Guadalupe box with waterfall(s). We have
seen images of waterfall but we have not found them ourselves, yet. We have two locations from two different
people with a third plotted from a New Mexico fly fishing book. The three interpretations are anywhere along
a 2.5 mile stretch of the river. Between
Byron and I exploring one time and me going one other time we know two
locations where the falls aren’t.
The second hike is back to the Rio Cebolla. This time, Mark, another avid fly fisherman
is coming along, he is looking to fish.
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| Image courtesy of Byron |
Assuming a long day of climbing up and down the sides of
canyons I thought we needed extra sustenance.
I picked up a couple breakfast burritos from the Burrito Lady on Lomas
and Eubank. We've had her burritos
before so we know that these are not for eating while on the road. We stopped and ate in the comfort of a fast
food restaurant with forks and knives.
The Guadalupe is fast and clear as chocolate milk. The farther we drive upstream the thinner the
chocolate milk but neither Byron nor Mark is interested in trying the river
until later this year; on to the Rio Cebolla.
Since we took the forest road between the Guadalupe and the Cebolla we discovered
many possible sites for both fishing and photography. I’m sure we will be hitting this area later
this year.
Clouds and wind are coming and going the entire drive. About the last mile before arriving at the
parking area the snow hit. It’s coming down
quite heavy and if it keeps up this way for a few hours we may have to shovel
our way back out. As we pull into a
parking spot we looked at each other; first thinking, then saying, “Do we want
to do this?” There’s one other car in
the parking area so we are not the only ‘dedicated’ (instead of foolish) people
out here so we decide to go for it.
While we are putting on our extra warm layers and waterproof gear the
snow lets up then finally stops. It’s
still cold, but once we hit the trail with fishing and photography in mind the
cold disappears.
About a half mile into our hike we ran into the owner of the
other vehicle we saw in the parking lot.
He’s on his way out; he arrived here before dawn to hunt turkeys. No luck on the turkeys but he did see a small
herd of elk in the valley.
 |
| Image courtesy of Byron |
The grass is green but little else is showing signs of
spring except for a few sweet alyssum and dandelions; much the same as last
year. The aspens are bare, not even buds
are showing. There are still patches of
snow hiding in the shadows of the mountains, but they are definitely few and far
between. Winter is obviously giving way
to spring.
The fishing below the pond is slow. I finally catch up with Mark at the pond finding
out how his day is going. “I hope it’s
better on this side of the pond”. Byron
caught a trout or two and Mark none.
We separate; I hike up along the edge of the valley looking
for scenes to shoot, Mark follows the river in search of cutthroat trout. Byron follows about 20 minutes later.
Clouds build, blow over or dissipate all day; the heavy dark
gray clouds bring gusty winds and occasional sleet. I keep my eye on the sky constantly; I don’t
want to get caught in a heavy storm, while at the same time hoping for a sky with
some great cloud formations, neither one shows. |
| Image of a cutthroat trout courtesy of Byron |
We stop for lunch along the river to compare notes. Neither Mark nor Byron are competitive
fishermen but they do know how many they caught. We plan the afternoon and take off in our
different directions. Catching up with
Byron a bit later gave me the opportunity to try my fly fishing skills, which
are few. I didn’t catch any this time,
the trout here are a little more cautious than the last river I fished, so I
practiced just getting the fly into the water; it’s not as easy as it sounds as
the river is only two to three feet wide.
The urge to fly fish is getting stronger each time I try it.
Each of us ended the day agreeing we had a good day. Today Mark added the Rio Cebolla to his list
of places to fish. It has been Byron and
my favorite for a few years now.
The Rio Cebolla is in the Jemez Mountains; take SR126 to
Seven Springs Fish Hatchery following the Forest Road to the end and start
hiking. Enjoy
Thank you for stopping by,
Mark
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