Soon the lot filled up with cars and people standing outside their vehicles to chat. Where was everyone heading? I chatted with three older men who recommended I try the Aspen trail for the views, and that is what I did. The Aspen Vista trail is a gated forest service road that meanders uphill to the radio towers above the ski lift. I would go long enough to get a good workout in.
I kept a steady pace. I had the dogs offleash here since no one else was around. Soon I noticed a blonde woman in a large strawhat gaining up to me. Were the dogs preventing her from passing me? I yelled at her not to worry, that the dogs were friendly, but I could not understand what her response was. At the 2.5-mile mark I rested on a boulder and reigned the dogs in to let her pass. A squirrel behind me up a pine tree was busy knocking pine cones to the ground and chattering; I was disturbing its peace.
But the woman didn't want to pass. She was fine being behind me. It turns out she was out to test herself, wanting to go as far as she could in one hour, and then turned around. She hadn't hiked in a while and was unsure of her abilities.
"Why not try to make it to the overlook?" I asked. "It's only another 1.5 miles away!" She agreed and we became hiking partners for the duration of the hike. She is Katzi, originally from the Austin area but now in Santa Fe, hiking on her day off from the bed and breakfast she works at.
By now the three older men from the parking lot were also catching up with us. While I stayed with Katzi and answered her questions about solo-hiking (Wasn't I afraid, what do I use for protection?), the three men were never far away at this point. The dogs were comfortable and went offleash again.
The Aspen Vista at the 3.4 through 3.9-mile mark makes a nice destination. The Rio Grande valley stretches out along the northwestern horizon. Large boulders off the road make sitting here inviting. The road continues with a sharp turn uphill and disappears into the higher pines. I opted to make this my destination for the day, sat down on the ground and chatted with Katzi and the men.
"The views from the top are spectacular!" said one man. Continuing my hike to that hilltop was tempting, but in the end I opted to join Katzi for the return walk. to make her feel confident. She had made it this far with little effort.
"See how easy it was? Don't underestimate yourself!" I reassured her. Getting out into the wilderness for me is often about challenging myself.
People were now catching up to us by this point, including other dogwalkers. I erred and left the dogs offleash. Zeke saw another dog and ran up to that dog, barking in its face and totally pissing off (rightfully) the owner. I had Sadie on leash but wasn't expecting Zeke to be the aggressor. "I'm sorry, he's normally very friendly!" I told the man. "Yeah, that's what they all say" he answered back. Point well taken. So both dogs went back on leash as Katzi and I chatted some more. I took them offleash when the crowds passed.
It was past 10am and the trail was humming with traffic. What was once a shaded early-morning hike was now a sunny road, with families of all ages and abilities starting the trail.
I stopped to take pictures of flowers and a pair of butterflies mating in flight. The butterfly doing the flying was weighed down with its mate and had to take frequent stops on the ground.
Katzi was now ahead and not slowing down for me. Were the dogs annoying her now? Sadie, as usual, ran ahead of me that last quarter mile, ignoring my calls and just trotting back to the truck. A young couple with child and dog saw her come toward them. Sadie attacked the dog and bit its ear. I didn't see that part, but took the man's word for it. Sadie has been rather cranky on this road trip, but actually attacking another dog is not something she has done before. Bark and nip, yes, but not attack. I was willing to give them my name and address, but the woman assured me that wasn't necessary as it wasn't a serious bite. Still, the news upset me.
Katzi and I hugged and thanked each other for the company. "You pushed me forward!" Katzi told me. I will continue to push people (and myself) to achieve their physical limits. It's something I've done all my life.
The parking lot was now full. The dogs and I were tired. Katzi drove off, then I did, too, but soon lost her in traffic once we got back into Santa Fe. She had told me there was a recycling station just down the road, but even that proved too puzzling. I have so many tin cans from all the canned dog food to drop off.
It was after 1pm. I was hungry and thirsting for a craftbeer. The Santa Fe Brewing company off Water Street in the historic section doesn't open until 3pm and I didn't want to wait around for that. The place doesn't serve food anyway. I needed to eat.
So back on TripAdvisor I went to look up highly-rated restaurants. I chose the Blue Corn Brewery on Cerillos Avenue, which is a main southwest-northeast artery through town, away from parking meters and tourist crowds, but with long traffic lights at every intersection. The place wasn't very busy when I pulled up and parked on the shady side of the building. The dogs were content and napping and I went inside. I was inside long enough for a cheese enchilada meal and two beers. This is a big, spacious restaurant with three large rooms and an outdoor patio, but dogs are not allowed anywhere.
Full of food and rehydrated, I wanted to check out the old town plaza. I enjoy Spanish plazas, they invite one to sit down on a bench and people watch. There was a music festival going on and parking was hard to find. I didn't want to take the dogs out because of the crowd and had to find a shaded area for them. Parking is $2/hour and five cents gets you a minute (!!!) parking time. Throwing in all my coins that I had handy only gave me enough time to 5:50pm, and the meters go free after 6pm.
The Plaza is what draws a lot of art collectors, shoppers and fine diners to Santa Fe. Buildings around here are restored to the old Spanish style of the 16th century. Sadly, the plaza has outgrown its surroundings. Built when horse and carriage were the transportation, the many cars and motorcycles now crowd out this pedestrian haven. Homeless sit in street corners and argue with passers-by. It's loud, it's crowded and everything is overpriced. And yet, it's still worth visiting.
I walked around as long as the meter was running, but got back feeling more exhausted. The heat was on. And that's when I decided to drive back up the mountain, camp at the same campground as last night and enjoy one more day of mountain coolness.
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