Every trail of my childhood. We didn't turn around. In the Jemez there were several "trails" that were effectively "follow the river until you see the funny-shaped rock on the horizon and then scrabble to it as best you can." Speaking of... Story checks out. In summer you need to watch out for rattlesnakes. The little ones like to live in there. Lots of these to eat: Marmots. In Silverton once we heard a couple Texans asking their waitress about all the "pygmy bears" they saw everywhere. "Seen any pygmy bears?" in an excessive drawl became our touchstone for Texan off-roaders. Word. The Pecos Wilderness loses a lot of its charm when there's no escape. You get used to the elevation. The brown will drive you slowly mad.Going under it meant dropping down twenty feet with no obvious way to get back up. Going over it meant trying to get up twenty feet. And going across it meant a steep slope with loose dirt where slipping meant a twenty foot slide into trees and rocks. I pride myself on being safe. I turned around.
On the way back, I followed that as best I could, but it wasn't nearly as worn as the other trails were.
I encountered a talus field. It was like walking on the rocks under railroad tracks. Everything was loose.
I scared up a couple... I don't know, beavers maybe? I'd say groundhogs, but they apparently aren't in New Mexico.
However, I wasn't terribly impressed with the bits of Santa Fe and Albuquerque I saw. Endless beige dirt is depressing.
Yes! Marmots is definitely right now that I see them. I've crossed some pretty sketchy stuff in the Adirondacks, but something about that trail really had me stuck. I think it was feeling off because of the altitude combined with the loose soil from the recent erosion. It just felt like crossing marbles with a twenty foot slide if it went wrong.Every trail of my childhood. We didn't turn around.
I suppose the idea that some drunk kids would have crampons and an ice axe is laughable?