A Walk in the Woods

Heading up into the woods this evening...

It's been several years since I put a pack on my back and walked for any great distance. I grew up backpacking all over northern California. I also spent the first few years on the east coast sleeping in a tent on various parts of the Appalachian Trail in Virginia, West Virginia and Pennsylvania.

I like to think of myself as someone who doesn’t so much as hug trees as waves at them from a distance. Like old friends.

Over the past several years, however, I’ve been more enamored with the likes of the Westin and its room service, than I have of spending a night out under the stars, in a tent, on a Therma-Rest.

Still, the Sandias have a way of getting under one’s skin. After living in their shadow for more than a year, the Sandia Crest Trail has been on my mind. I want to see if I’m up to the challenge.

According to my trusty hiking guide, I’m looking at twenty-six miles of difficult trail with an elevation gain of more than four thousand feet. (check out the elevation gain)


I’ll hike north to south, beginning in Placitas at the Tunnel Springs trailhead and finishing in Tijeras at the Canyon Estates parking lot.

Weather looks mostly clear with a small chance of rain in the evenings.

I'll post some pictures with a bit of commentary after I get back.