Santa Fe National Forest and Campitulation

After a brief stay in Santa Fe to get clean and catch up on sleep (we'll be back for Meow Wolf!) we drove northwest to the nearby Jemez Mountains and the Santa Fe National Forest.  It was a bit bittersweet because we had just decided that this would be our last stint in the woods before heading back to Austin.  See below for campitulate explanation.  Jemez here we come!

Parker's still not afraid to get dirty. 

Our first day in the Santa Fe National Forest, we did a hike in Los Alamos called the Mitchell Trail, that leads up to a cool natural arch. 

Sybil has taken on some pretty difficult hikes on this trip, not without a sometimes significant amount of whining and foot dragging. As soon as we got to the hand over hand climbing on this hike though, she was stoked to be doing it. 

Hudson with full bat ears on our breezy hike.

It was nice to see smiles after all the whining. 

That night we were fortunate to be joined at our campsite by Lindsay, Travis, and their 2 kids, Henry and Charlotte. It was so fun to camp with friends! We played nature bocci ball, swung in socially distanced hammocks, and laughed late into the night (or at least 9:30 pm). Good people and good times!

The next day we did a short hike to some very cool waterfalls and swimming holes along the East Fork of the Jemez River. 

Sybil and Henry in the shallow pools of the Jemez River. 

The next day we did a beautiful hike, Las Conchas, which follows a stream down a valley rimmed with rock outcroppings. 

Sybil frolicking along the stream.

I happened upon this beautiful moment after we ate lunch while watching rock climbers scale the walls of the canyon. 

Our last hike was to the San Gregorio Reservoir. The lake itself wasn't much to look at, but the 1.2 mile hike to get there was through a beautiful forest of ponderosa, aspen, spruce, and fir trees. 

A murky peek into our nightly bathing ritual. We would warm water up to bathe, and often the water was so dirty after one kid that we would have to  warm up a whole new pot of water for the second one. This is what the water looked like after Parker's bath on our last night of camping. 

Campitulate kəm'piCHəˌlāt - (v) surrendering or ceasing to embark on more camping due to overall lack of sleep, filthiness, or other various discomforts.  

After 20 days and nights in the national forests of New Mexico we decided it was time to head home and provide an environment more conducive to sleeping for Sybil and Parker.  The solitude and beauty of the outdoors exceeded our expectations in terms of time together, mind reset, and as an escape from the worries of the pandemic, however, the girls were just not getting enough sleep.  Parker was averaging about 4 hours less sleep per day while in the woods than she would normally get at home, and Sybil was losing between 2 and 3 hours.  We were torn because just as we started to discuss the inevitability of returning to Austin all of the media were reporting how the pandemic had surged back aggressively in Austin and Houston after the initial reopening of restaurants and bars.  We started the trip with Austin in a state of optimism because of the reopening and have returned with Austin back in lockdown and fear that the pandemic is not even close to being resolved.

Despite the apparent increased risk and stress of living in a big city, it is nice to be home and catch up with friends and family.  If it gets too much, we now know of some stellar locations just an 11 hour drive away in New Mexico.  Let us know if you want to join us because there is plenty of space out there!

ABQ & the Carson National Forest

The Gila NF was beautiful, but much more rugged than the Lincoln, so we headed to Albuquerque for beds, baths, and laundry, with a goal to be back to explore and hike more when the kids are older. We are lucky to have two friends from Austin that have settled in ABQ and were able to catch up with them while we prepared for our next stop, the Carson NF. 

This one is a joint post!

We played ultimate at UT with Maria Lane and her husband Matt (Maria was my first captain on the UT women's team, and the first of many positive female role models to come in ultimate). It was such a joy to catch up with Maria about her family, life, and career (she's a geography prof at UNM, swoon)! - C

Another bad ass woman role model, Lindsay Lowe-Worthington. We played against each other in college, we played together on Showdown, and we coached the UT women's team together. More on Lindsay and her family later since we're planning on meeting up in a week to go camping in the Jemez together! -C

The Carson NF holds the cities we are most familiar with from past ski/snowboarding trips, Taos and Angel Fire.  However, this was our first time to explore the area when it's not covered in snow, and we're so glad we did! -M

Our first forest road in the Carson NF warned us that it was not suitable for "passenger cars." "Passenger car" was just vague enough for us to explore since we are definitely carrying more than just passengers.  Thankfully we did because after 3.5 bumpy miles we found a great campsite near a creek that was the perfect depth and speed for the girls to play in. - M

Yeah dispersed camping!

Sybil is just starting to learn the art of making tortilla faces, a necessary skill for any Tex-Mex loving Texan.

The next morning we set out on our most ambitious hike of the trip so far. Over 1,000 feet elevation gain in just over 4 miles up to Williams Lake in the Taos Ski Valley.  It brought us over 11,000 feet so we were hoping for some snow as well as beautiful alpine views, and it did not disappoint!  

Sybil hiked most of the way, but our deal was that she could ask for a ride from her sherpas at any point to keep morale up.  Hud has been tasked with the important job of carrying all of our snacks, and in return he is rewarded with a dog bone once we stop for lunch.   

Williams Lake!

We enjoyed our lunch overlooking the lake and the surrounding mountains.

Sybil was happy to see snow again.  This bank was inviting enough to deserve a hug. We saw some hikers go next level and store a couple beers in this snow bank to enjoy on their way down. 

The next day we packed up and drove to Eagle's Nest Lake in the hopes that Cara could catch a fish for our dinner that night.  It was too windy to fly fish and packed with other families and people fishing so we just ate lunch on the banks before piling back into the car to find our next campsite closer to Questa, NM. -M

The Carson NF provided once again and we found our second campsite in a row just off of a crystal clear creek.  The Columbine Creek was a bit deeper, faster, and colder.  There weren't as many dispersed camping options in this section of the national forest so we settled in to our first developed campsite of the trip and it was a great spot.  Our site was secluded, had great access to the creek and a nearby trail, and the bathrooms were as clean as a Bucee's (my dad would love it).- M

Cara and the girls made me honorary "Camp Champ" for Father's Day! - M

It's more than honorary, Mike is the best husband, dad, and adventure/camping partner. - C

Near Questa, NM is the Rio Grande del Norte BLM park/National Monument which has the Rio Grande and Red River gorge.  We knew that the established campgrounds in the park were closed, but the majority of the trails were still open. - M

La Junta: where the Rio Grande and Red River (not the same Red River as Texas) meet.

We wanted to get a closer look and another opportunity for Cara to catch our dinner so we hiked down the canyon to the Red River.  It was a beautiful day and we were the only ones on the trail. -M

The Red River gorge

Beautiful views, but not the best spot for fly fishing.  The Red River was fast in this section and the bushes and trees on either bank made it difficult for Cara to cast.  The amount of knot tying and untangling of fishing line would frustrate me to no end, but Cara still assures us that she enjoys it so we will continue to support this hobby knowing we will benefit from a happy momma and an inevitable fresh trout dinner. - M

Still smiling after losing her third fly for the day.  Perseverance! - M

Another view of the Rio Grande gorge

Our last morning in the Carson NF we went for a hike on the Columbine Trail #71 to Twining.  I went for a trail run there the previous day and I was excited to lead them to some of the bridge creek crossings. - M

  Sybil was stoked to wear my trail running camel back and gave her new motivation to just keep stepping. - M

I already have hopes to come back to this trail for a backpacking trip with the family and spend a night or two out in the mountains.  Just a mile in and you are surrounded by nature and separated from it all. We saw a beaver dam, but no bears. - M

One of the best things to come out of this trip has been watching the relationship between S & P develop. We're starting to think we're on to something here. If you want your kids to get along, all you need to do is: take them away from their friends and toys, force them into close proximity for weeks on end, and subject them to sometimes frightening and life threatening situations. They'll turn on you and have no one to turn to but each other. (Trademark T&C Winging It) - C

After 5 days we were out of most of our clean clothes and once again in serious need of naps, so we packed up and headed to Santa Fe to recuperate.  On the way out of the woods we stopped at Taos Pizza Out Back for lunch.  Rarely does food live up to our romantic memories of prior trips, but this place did not disappoint.  If anything it was better than we remember.  If you ever want to see Cara speak about something with true passion and love, just ask her about Sybil and Parker, teaching, or Taos Pizza Out Back. - M

Gila National Forest

We found out some very sad news during this leg of the trip. A very close family friend of Mike's, Mary Jo Rutstein, passed away Sunday from a very aggressive form of cancer. Mike and Matt, Mary Jo's son, were best friends growing up so we saw her most times we were in Houston and she was an extended member of the Natenberg family. I'll always remember her as a strong, funny, put together, take-no-shit kind of woman who could cook and bake anyone under the table. She was a loving mom and grandmother, and I'm feeling so deeply for Matt, the rest of his family, and the Natenbergs who are deeply grieving. Sharon Natenberg, Mike's mom and another amazing woman, said that her death is a hard reminder to make the most of every day you have. Since we couldn't return to Houston for a funeral due to COVID-19, we decided to take her advice. 

Matt Rutstein and Mike when they were teeny tots. Matt is Mike's oldest friend, which means that Mary Jo was like a second mom to Mike.

After recharging for 2 nights in Las Cruces to scrub the layers of dirt from our skin and clothes, we headed northwest to the Gila National Forest, where Parker covered herself in more dirt a mere 2 minutes after we found a camping spot. 

The site we found off Forest Road 4085X was in a ponderosa pine forest and delivered some seriously epic sunsets.

Sybil had been asking to see some Native American houses after reading a book with my mom about American Indians, so we spent the next day at the Gila Cliff Dwellings National Monument.

The cliff dwellings here are awesome. Home to the Mogollon people around 700 years ago, and almost all intact and original walls. The scale was perfect for where we're at right now, a little over a mile hike and a a couple different small sections of dwellings. They even had dog kennels at the beginning of the trail you could leave your dog in. 

A view from inside one of the dwellings. Seeing the ingenuity of a group of people with so few resources was mind blowing. 

This is a typical day's lunch, a picnic at a park or off a trail. This one was right next to the Gila River. I hope we come back to when the kids are older to hike the West and Middle Fork Gila River trails, since they looked incredible. 

After the Cliff Dwellings we came back to our campsite and went for a short hike from our campsite up a little canyon forest road where we were fortunate to run into Jessica, a USFS fire ranger.  She showed us her fire truck and even let Sybil spray the fire hose. The NM fire season is revving up right about now; there was already a fire just a few dozen miles away that closed a road we were planning on taking. 

More epic sunsets. We don't have much time to enjoy them because we spend most of the evenings putting out our own fires (i.e. Parker crying in a tent, or Sybil getting up 4 times to tell us she's scared that the coyotes we hear in the distance are going to come to our campsite).  

The next day we drove to the northern part of the Gila on the recommendation of Alex, my Parks & Recreation co-teacher, friend, and guru of all things amazing in the outdoors. He's explored New Mexico extensively, and a lot of what we're choosing to do is based on his recommendations, except scaled down to adjust for our car's and kids' abilities and tolerances. 

In the Catwalk Recreation Area there is a beautiful short hike up Whitewater Canyon on a series of metal catwalks on sheer cliff walls about 30 ft above a river. The original catwalks were built by the CCC. Hooray for public work programs! 

Sybil was confident we would see some cats, but not a cat was seen. 

The catwalks end and the trail continues up the canyon, but we went creek stomping instead. 

Next we had a very eventful drive to find our next campsite off FR 28, which included: striking out on finding a site near where we originally wanted, over an hour of an exhausted Parker crying non stop, running into a man on the road who had gotten his car stuck off a 4WD road and had run out of water hiking to find help (his grandpa was back with the car), and then running into some forest rangers who told us a fire had just started in the area we were headed to as our Plan B (they saw the smoke jumpers). We were frazzled and the kids were exhausted, but we finally found a site far enough from the fire to feel safe.

Clearly this site was popular with hunters during hunting season, because there was elk skin and leg bones hanging from the trees and bones scattered all over the campsite. We did hear elk bugling in the mornings, and saw 2 on our drive in. 

The next day we took a day trip out to Snow Lake. The turnoff to it was only about 3 miles from the Willow Creek fire that the rangers had told us about the day before. We hiked a bit and I got some fly fishing in. 

But the real treat was getting to see the wildland fire helicopters dip their huge buckets into the lake to dump water on the fire nearby. We were so close to it a few times that we felt the spray of the water and had to hold our hats to keep them from blowing off. Two different helicopters were going back and forth all day, and since I didn't catch any trout I'm going to blame it on the helicopters for scaring the shit out of the fish.

Sybil has made it clear that she REALLY wishes she had her Elsa costume on this trip, and that it's boring without it, but luckily I packed this stinking adorable young naturalist outfit that she's been wearing nonstop since she found it in her luggage.

Our dashboard collection (I know, I know...Leave No Trace, but these are small concessions for keeping a toddler happy and there were at least a billion other pine cones for other people to enjoy). 

 

The Gila was rugged and stunningly beautiful, but we were worn down by the 4th day of poor sleep for Parker and starting to feel like seriously neglectful parents. So we packed up and headed towards Albuquerque for a couple of days in a hotel to hopefully catch her up on sleep. We passed the VLA (Very Large Array) on the way, which is a life dream for me to see and visit since Contact is one of my favorite books and movies! But, like so many things, the visitor center was closed due to COVID, giving us just one more excuse to come back to this incredible area of the state. 

The dispersed camping that we are doing on this trip, which is primitive with no established campsites, facilities, water, etc. is definitely difficult with 2 kids as young as they are now (especially P). We're digging catholes to poop in, carrying all of our food and water, and constantly cleaning clothes/dishes/kids/the car. We rarely have cell service and sometimes only pass a few other people on the roads for whole days. The days are full of incredible beauty, meaningful experiences, and amazing quality time together. Towards night however, after a day of sub-par naps and the non-stop nature of managing all of our stuff and kids in such a tiny (our car) and secluded space, we're exhausted and doubtful if we're doing right by them. So we have a similar conversation most nights in the very little time we have together alone, which usually consists of us trying to gauge how much is ok to ask of them/put them through and weighing the pros and cons. 

For posterity, and just in case we're actually traumatizing them, here is the list we came up with of pros and cons, just in case they want to know why we did it. 

What it boiled down to is: we're fortunate to be able to do this at this time, and we may not be able to do it in the future. It's not easy, but life wasn't easy in Austin under COVID either, so at least we're doing the hard work somewhere beautiful and 40 degrees cooler.