10/19-21/2007: Last Chance Canyon, NM

Wyatt, Colter and I left Dimmitt a little after 2:00 Friday afternoon and drove to the Pumphouse Trailhead on the western end of Last Chance Canyon. The access to the trailhead was long and passed over rough roads, but by 8:00 we had the tent set up and were settling in to our camp.

Saturday we awake to high winds and a temperature in the 40's. We took down the tent and fixed oatmeal for breakfast. By 9:00 we were packed and ready to descend into the canyon.
Wyatt and I had visited the canyon a few years before from its eastern end with Uncle Jerod. We had spent the night camped on a limestone shelf overlooking it's small creek. The magic of a desert creek brought us back again.

The trail started by descending steeply down limestone slopes clad in a combination of typical Chihuahuan vegetation with scattered juniper, oak and pinyon. We ate lunch at a beautiful perch overlooking the canyon. The high winds continued to blow, but we found respite descending the lee side of the slope.

We took our time as we descended and by noon had made it down the 600 feet into the bottom of the canyon. We spent time exploring the fern draped oasis of the upper spring in the canyon, shaded by white oak, Gooding willow and walnut. The sound of water trickling out of the limestone crevices and the wind rustling through the large trees seemed quite out of place with the sun baked slopes we had just descended.




We wandered downstream through stands of cottonwood, looking for a place to set up the tent. We found the perfect spot at the base of a waterfall on a small mound covered with a dense lawn of bermuda grass. Though it was not our most "Leave No Trace" campsite, it was too good to pass up. The grass was as soft as camping in someone's backyard.

The boys spent the rest of the afternoon playing in the small creek as I relaxed and enjoyed the solitude of the desert afternoon. The wind began to die down some and we built a small fire in a dry portion of the creek bed. The temperature had reached about 80 degrees.

We turned in around 8:30 to balmy temperatures and increasing winds. We read, sang and played before finally going to sleep.

Sunday brought an unseasonably warm temperature of 60 degrees and high winds ripping through the canyon. We ate breakfast inside the tent to stay out of the wind and broke down camp. By 8:45 we were back on the trail.

We made good time heading back until we hit the climb. Colter and Wyatt decided they needed rest breaks about every five minutes. Because of the long drive back I carried them intermittently on the ascent.

We made it back to the trailhead by 1:30. With the exception of having to change a tire we had an uneventful drive back to Dimmitt.

10/2-7/2007: Rocky Mtn National Park, CO

The five of us left Dimmitt a little after 3:00 Tuesday afternoon. We drove to Louisville where we spent the night in a hotel.

Wednesday morning we awoke and finished the drive to Rocky Mountain National Park. We headed to the backcountry office where we picked up our permit for the Mill Creek Basin backcountry site. We drove out to the trailhead in Hollowell Park and loaded our packs and got ready for Zane's first backpacking trip at two months of age.




The trail started in the meadows of Hollowell Park at about 8300 ft. and proceeded west into the forest. We could see brilliant aspen trees contrasted against the green of the pines. Wyatt did a great job walking as we slowly climbed next to Mill Creek. Logging before the establishment of the park created many of the aspen groves we walked through on the trail.




Two hours, 1.6 miles and 700 ft of climbing brought us to our campsite for the night. We set up and let Jen, Colter and Zane take a nap while Wyatt and I walked another 3 miles up to Bierstadt Lake. The winds were roaring up on the lake and Wyatt dictated that we didn't stay there long.We arrived back at camp and began cooking dinner. While we cooked we listeded to elk bugle in the timber. As it began to grow dark they moved down into the meadow which we were camped next to. We ate dinner and enjoyed being the only people around to watch the rut. Several males locked antlers while we watched.




As it grew even darker we cleaned up and climbed into the tent. The boys quickly fell asleep as we listened to the last of the elk bugles.

Morning brought clear skies and a temperature of 38 degrees. The boys and I got up and cooked breakfast while Jen and Zane slept in. We heard a few elk, but none came out into the meadow. After Jen and Zane ate we cleaned up camp and broke down the tent.

We were treated to more beautiful aspen as we descended back down to Mill Creek. The aspen were a spectacular gold and the sky was a deep blue. We took our time on the way out and arrived back at the trailhead around 1:30. From there we headed over to the YMCA Camp and to our cabin.

Friday was spent exploring the park. We drove up Old Fall Pass Road, climbed "Heart Attack Hill" by the Alpine Visitor Center and spent time down in the Kawuneeche Valley before heading back to the cabin.

Wyatt, Colter, my Dad and I took a horseback ride on Saturday. Afterwards both my parents and the five of us spent the afternoon at Sprague Lake before going elk watching and playing in an aspen grove.
Sunday brought the end of our brief trip and a long drive back to Dimmitt.

8/24-26/2007: White Mountain Wilderness, NM

Friday Night- The boys and I left Dimmitt around 3:00 Friday afternoon. We drove to Roswell where we stopped for dinner, before continuing on to Bonito Canyon. We set up camp for the evening in the canyon.
The night brought intermittent thunder storms, while Saturday dawned to overcast skies. We cooked some oatmeal, took down the tent and packed up. The drive to the trailhead was short. We parked and loaded up the packs and by 9:30 were on the trail.

We followed Bonito Canyon up along its namesake creek. Colter got off to a rough start by tripping and falling into some mud within a hundred yards of the trailhead. After changing into some shorts he calmed down. We stopped and explored a small mine, letting the boys wander around its short tunnel.

I was initially a little concerned about our water situation as we were down to a half liter when we started off. Bonito Creek, which had water lower down, was now dry. However, further up the creek had decent flow.

We set up camp about a 1 1/4 miles in, just past the junction of Little Bonito and Big Bonito Trails. we found a small site near the creek for the boys to play. After setting up camp we climbed the rest of the Little Bonito Trail up to the Crest. My hope was for the boys to walk most of the way to the Crest. About thirty yards into the walk I discovered this was not to be. I put Wyatt on my shoulders and carried Colter the remaining mile and a half to the crest.
The Crest was beautiful and grass covered. We were able to enjoy a few minutes up there before building clouds and distant thunder sent us back down. We spent the remainder of the afternoon playing in the creek around camp. We had chicken and noodles for dinner and retired around 9:00.

We awoke around 6:30 Monday morning to the intermittent bugle of elk. We built a fire to warm us up from the 48 degree temperature. Breakfast was oatmeal and afterwards we broke down camp and by 9:00 were on our way back down.

We made good time on our way out. We took some rest stops and some rock throwing breaks. By 11:30 we were back at the truck. We drove back through Capitan and made it back to Dimmitt a little after 5:00. It was a great trip and a nice break from our busy summer.